January 2010 Grocery Challenge

brodie1_2

Hi all,
have just uptated my signature as ahd a small veg spend 3.46 so have 24.95 left..shouldnt be too bad may need some more milk,dog biscuits and bread.
This challenge has really made me think more and has inspired me to use my slow cooker again, forgot how cheap they are to run.

Definately going to do next months challange, and going to lower my budget. This months I joined about 9 days in, knew what I had spent but now feel I have a :rotfl:better budgeting head on. This thread has made me think twice about buying 'just in case':).


Can I February GC £200 for 2 adults and 1 teenager,1dog 2 cats, food ,toiletries etc.
thankyou

Long_tall_sally

Well so much for a NSD! Knew that I would have to get some veg for dinner tomorrow and decided to go this evening instead of tomorrow morning & then ended up spending £13.65 on reduced eggs, salad stuff, chocolate spread, fruit shoots, apple sauce, strawberries and brie as well as the f & v! Oh well, still within target (just!) so no need to despair just yet!

fabforty

Hi everyone

I managed another 4NSD :T. I needed bread, milk and fruit so made a dash for Mr S, the market would have been cheaper but Mr S was nearer - lazy, I know. That's it until the end of the month bringing my final spend to a respectable £101, within my £150 target. The past two months have all been well within budget, so perhaps I need to reduce my target to make it more of a challenge. But not just yet , so can you put me down for

£150 for February please

I made a huge spaghetti bolognese for dinner today - will freeze the remainder of the sauce for next week. Tomorrow's dinner of roast chicken will also stretch a few days - chicken sandwiches for lunch for both OH and me and chicken chow mein for dinner.
I am working from home next week which should make it easier to stick to my budget and meal plan for this week.

I still have plenty of store room basics (pasta, tuna, rice etc plus basic toiletires). Not very MSE I know, but I'm not ready to go back to the empty cupboard days just yet. I could probably survive for
2-3 weeks without buying anything (I wouldn't starve but I would be bored), I can't help thinking 'just in case' - typical Capricorn.

luce181

Not updated for a while, and I've lost track a bit of what we've spent so I think I might have to guess

On Mon we spent 7.42 in Morrisons, We had a veg box on Tues £10, & OH bought some beers in co-op for £7 on Fri.

We also had an approved food order the other week which I forgot to include, oh dear me not good at this

I'm only gonna count half the cost of the app food though (and the other half for Feb) cos there is soooo much in there it will last into feb and beyond
So that's another £12.50

I think that's it tho, so that makes the total so far £97.88

I have a dilema tho as our monthly shopping (For Feb) is coming on Mon- it's the only day this week I could fit in a delivery slot and we need a shop before the weekend.

As it's my first month doing the GC I'm not sure how to add that up, the vast majority of the food will be for Feb. Any ideas?

Edit- OK just had a brainwave, I think I'll start my Feb challenge on Mon and just make Feb a 5 week month instead of Jan, think that will work

daisy1973

Hi all,:hello:,have been to Mr M today as we were in the area so to speak,saves me going on monday that way.Anyhow i spent £47.65 so ive got £44.85 left and got a 'little' shop to do midweek so might be ok after all:j.Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone:D

slowandsteady_2

Evening all,

I decided to head back to Mr A tonight to get another tub of the 'growing up' Formula milk they have on offer and ended up getting

formula milk £3 with two pound off vouchers
paper 57p
tinned fruit x 6 £?
wine £3.38
lager £2.36
snacks £1.69
reduced extra special mature cheese burger things £1.69
fake weetabix £75p-nicer than real weetabix

total spend £15.21-mostly impulse buys apart from formula and alcohol which i went for. But the first real impulse buy shop ive done this month whereas a couple of months ago id be doing 'little' shops like this every single day! So thats progress!

Still praying im paid on Tues from this new job and that i dont have to wait till Feb. Im too scared to ring payroll as i would rather wait and see than spend two months worrying endlessly rather than just one month!

Will update signature

weezl74

slowandsteady wrote: »

I decided to head back to Mr A tonight to get another tub of the 'growing up' Formula milk they have on offer and ended up getting

hiya s and s after a year old, isn't it ok to give cow's milk? Just trying to be helpful cos I know I'm looking forward to a year cos it'll be cheaper :money:

slowandsteady_2

Thanks Weezl-i have been wondering the same actually. I think ive been lulled in with that ad where they have to give the baby 20L of cows milk to get the right amount of iron so i worry now! I am going to the baby clinic tues to get her weighed and im going to ask them as she has normal whole milk with her porridge. She just turned one on 30th december and i too have been waiting for that first birthday to come! Formula milk is so expensive. Unfortunately i wasnt able to breastfeed cos i was very ill after her birth and am probably a bit of a worrier regarding her diet as she is still so tiny as was prem. Im ok on what foods contain iron but just not the quantities and ideal types are iykwim.

Hope health visitor tells me its ok to stop and 'growing up' milks are just a marketing ploy!

pammyj74

spent a few pounds the last couple of days, so total so far £102.05, should only have to do top ups of fruit and milk hopefully next week..

HowlinWolf

Weezl & Slowandsteady, formula milk is completely unnecessary after a year. Full fat cows milk is perfectly fine and nutritious. Don't believe the formula adverts it's complete tosh, just remember that your babies are getting loads of nutrients, vitamins and minerals from their solid food, the milk is just extra. The formula add only compares milk against formula milk not formula milk against a full and varied toddler diet.