July 2009 Grocery Challenge

randomer

My food money for a week( I know it's a lot but I'm new) just escaped out of my purse!
3O petrol....should last a while
35 a weekend away.....my summer holiday
5.....juice
5 coffee and cake from Church fete
The rest.....something nice for tea because we are tired out!

This is quite tough to maintain every day

skiTTish

Now that you aware of spending ,the battle is halfway to being won !
Once I realised how much we were spending ,things drastically changed ,we are careful without much thought now .
Gone from spending at least £100 a week on groceries to more like £60
And cut back other spending a lot too.
Just by 'being aware' we have managed to put away over £4000 in another bank account since feb

randomer

4 Grand! wow that is so impressive. I'd be very happy with 4 hundred!
What are your top tips?

absolutebounder

Olliebeak wrote: »

While I recognise your wider experience of international shopping habits, please realise that you do not represent the average British housewife.

Thank god for that:rotfl:

WelshWoofer

Afternoon all!
Just reporting my spending binge in Aldi and Mr Ts yesterday - £90!:eek:
In my defence, I had emptied the fridge and freezer before going to Cornwall for a week (lovely place, shame about the weather) and we had virtually nothing left.

I've restocked the freezer with lots of stuff that we won't necessarily use this month and loaded up the fridge and cupboards ( there's not an inch of room left in them) so we should be OK for this week and next week with the exception of getting a few fresh bits next weekend.

I'm over budget already but Ok with it as I really did use everything up and a restock was on the cards:o.

I've mealplanned for the next 10 days or so and OH seems to be joining in with that which is helping a bit.

Right - damage limitation for the next 2 weeks - perhaps I should change my budget to £200? Onwards and upwards!

lesley1960

Pink-winged wrote: »

Hi everyone,

AB appears to have some sort of problem with housewives and regularly trolls the Old Style board, rarely giving good advice and often posting in a derogatory and patronising tone towards the posters here.

In my opinion he wants to disrupt threads and is probably best ignored. Leave him to play with himself.

Pink

Lets hope he washes his hands before cooking dinner then

JayJay14

Updating my sig, doing ok this month but most of the time it seems to be just that I cba to go shoppng :rotfl::rotfl:

MrsM - my German Shepherd Kelso sends his heartfelt thanks for the dog biscuit receipe, (and it saved me a trip to the supermarket to get his usual bonio fix):D

I've been feeling really low just lately, had a few medical problems (nothing tragic, just not fun to live with!) and it's been really hard at work for the last few weeks - oh how I would love to be able to work part time. It will only get harder over the next 3 months but I have a lovely cruise to look forward to at the end of October - urgent weight loss required I thnk........

Olliebeak

Hi randomer - How well I recognise that feeling (((hugs))) to you! My money can open my purse all by itself .

As skiTTish says, awareness is half the battle! Recognise when/where the money dribbles away and then try to plug the gap, if possible.

- My No.1 hint is to NEVER go shopping on an empty stomach.
- Keep out of the fancy coffee shops (unless it's a really rare treat - like your birthday perhaps!).
- Make a shopping list and stick to it, BUT be prepared to be flexible within it. If you go for something for tea, and see similar on special offer - consider getting that instead NOT as well!
- Keep extra bread and milk in the freezer to stop those mid-week shops (going in for a pint of milk/loaf and spending £20!).
- Always check out the whoopsie cabinets. Lots of what's sold in those can be frozen for another day - but double-check that things can be frozen!
- Try the 'downshift challenge' where you try dropping a brand to lower your shopping bill. My cupboards are so beautifully green/white (Asda SP) colour co-ordinated these days .
- Buy meat in packs and divide up into smaller amounts BEFORE freezing - those small freezer bags are ideal for this.
- Always pick up the supermarket magazine - they have lots of great seasonal recipes and tips in them PLUS money-off coupons .
- Take advantage of the pre-payment cards for saving towards Christmas - £10 per month on one of those is £120 for December shopping - plus some of them give extra bonuses. I know it makes more financial sense to put the money in an account, but not all of us can be strong enough NOT to dip into it that way.

Good Luck!

Savvy_sewing

My vegetables are getting a bit old, as there has only been me here to eat meals, and needless to say I havent always bothered.
I have a packet of celery thats starting to wilt and 4 yellow peppers looking a bit sad. Other then making soup has anyone any inspirational ideas I could use them up in? I dont have any lentils, just rice, pasta, and some broth mix. I just dont want to waist it. I already have my dinner in the slow cooker for tonight.
DS may be back to join me for his meals tomorrow, but I can never tell with him!

Barneysmom

I always take a bottle of tap water when I go shopping now, otherwise I'd spend 3 quid on a Cafe Nero or something.

It's not like you've blown it on rubbish, you need petrol and a summer holiday! :cool:;)