January 2010 Grocery Challenge

[Deleted User]

poppy-glos wrote: »

two shops today and now i'm over budget...


my month doesn't end til 31st so still potential to be over more.


went to lidl today in lunchbreak, bought out shop of own brand diet cola as like it, save me much more money on 'the real thing', got enough for two weeks in case dd is ill again and have to shop (at five times the price approx) at mr t.
bought butternut squash and sweet potatoes for curry/soup in lidl today, when in mr t checked the prices for comparison and lidl much cheaper per kg on both.
also bought parsnips and leeks which seemed cheaper.
Also bought the lucious crusty croc cheese hearts which i've put away for when i have a treat craving, and bought kabanos (thinking of a rice dish at some point - then ate it with colleagues back at work!!:rotfl:. Good job i have had less nsd's this month as has made this not as bad as doing it more regularly.


went to mr t on way home, lots of once reduced whoopsies, left them where the are, might go back at 8 to see if they've been reduced again.. alot of bread and veggies reduced:j.
also looked at the yellow sticker frozen section tonight, bought frozen broccolli florets at 85p for 907g, big pot toffee icecream reduced from 3£ to 75p, and cottage pie portion reduced to 34p.
Also bought own brand basic fromage frais 6 for 45 p, dd usually has frubes in her lunchbox but while its cold weather i'm going with these and a spoon, once hot again might revert to the more expensive frube tubes as can freeze them and more appealing and nicer for summer lunchbox than a warm (non prefrozen) pot.

Well done everyone

poppy x

I have never supermarket shopped at 8pm - I'm an early bird. I wonder how many whoopsies I've missed over the years:rotfl:

Well done on your bargains

Maisie_M

Hi all

well did my last spend of the month at M&S. Was planning to use the £5 of £25 spend voucher but mum was with me and wanted one of the £10 meal deals and a couple of extra bits. So ended up getting two meal deals for myself plus my shopping combined it with my mujms and we got £10 of the £50 spend. When I calculated it all out and my part should have come to £55.74 but I only paid £28.64 so I was well happy.

I have kept a note of all my savings over the month from deals and whoopsies and it comes to a total of £85.41. So although I am going to declare my January total as £182.34/£150 meaning a £32.34 overspeand I am cool with that having saved £85 and having well stocked freezers and cupboards as a result.

Mrs M can I be put down for £200 in February please.

eveie189

Looks like I have well and truly blown it for this month. So I would like to declare at £404.81 for January and can I set February at £400 please (although I have no idea why I think I could actually hit this considering I spent the same amount in 3 weeks this month). Mind you although I managed to have 6 nsd's this month I also bought 6 takeaways for the family, at not far off £15 each I can see where I am going wrong.

Good luck everyone

pink_numbers

January total for me is £65.11

What's amazing is not only did I come under budget (£100) but for the first time in my life, through out the month, I knew how much I had spent! I have never had that before. I used to just spend spend spend, then wonder why I was out of pocket later on.

Thank you so much for this challenge!!!

sistercas

ok I'm over budget this month

declaring at £356.32
going to add a bit more for next months budget

thanks everyone x

Long_tall_sally

And ANOTHER £7.30 spend for me today on expensive mushrooms & brocoli & streaky bacon for tonight's dinner of chicken casserole plus a half of a duck which was reduced to £2.21 and large bag of crisps £1. Had no veg & only had time to go to the local Co Op. Signature updated. Am going to ask OH to do a stock check of freezer which is in the garage (too cold out there for me!) and make an attempt at meal planning.

looie

Hi, I would like to declare £48.73/£40 for Jan so a slight overspend.

Can you please put me down for £100 in Feb which I think might be a bit more realistic. One good thing is I have used up quite a bit of stuff from the freezer and cupboards which has been lurking around for a while but there is still a lot to use. Slowly getting there though.

Coxy11

Hi,

It's DS2's 6th birthday tomorrow and DS1's 11th birthday next Friday, so we are having family over on Sunday. Have been to Iceland and MrS and have bought all the necessary party food, including cake, ingredients for Delias lasagna, beer and soft drink. Just need to get salad stuff on Saturday. Had budgetted £50 in total and have spent £47.21 so far.

My total for Feb looks terrible (mine started on 22nd Jan). However I do have enough in for the main meals barring 4, which I'll probably go on the whoopsie hunt for! Will just need bread and veg in addition to this.

Good luck one and all.

Coxy
xx

slowandsteady_2

miecherox wrote: »

hi,

This is slightly painful. I need some help for February. I would like to get our budgets under control particularly food etc and particularly because I seem to have developed some sort of obsessional supermarket/spend ethos.
Every night after work I was visiting the supermarket and spending 30-40 pounds on nothing... And I mean nothing. My kids thought it was a fundamental part of their day too... Oh help!
This has come to a head because I had to confess to dp that I'd spent the oil money - oh the shame.
Basically and quite rightly he took my cards off me until I broke the habit - which I have. And it actually turns out that the route of the excessive and inappropriate spending is a touch of anxiety and possibly depression. I am seeing the doc so hopefully get that sorted.
Anyway, I am a mother and partner and I need to move on. Currently I am using the cupboard contents for meals and I will continue to do so until they are empty ( I am a good cook and can make something out of nothing - in more ways than one!)
I am looking for some advice about where to start when I finally allow myself to shop again (dp has been getting the milk etc) Shall i do it weekly? online? monthly? I'm scared that's all that i'll step through the supermarket doors and fill the trolley with mindless rubbish, so some strategies would be welcomed.

Thankyou in advance x

Aw you have come to the righ place. Thats exactly what i was doing last spring/summer, and eventually i have stopped and realise now it was part of my Postnatal depression and anxiety, a result of which has left me with three freezers full and a pantry full of shopping ive accumalated over the past few months.

If you can face it do a freezer and cupboard list and work out a meal plan from there then work out what you actually need to buy. Sit down with the family and work out favourite meals and worek around that.

Hope you can get on top of it!

HowlinWolf

I am declaring at 240.90. Overbudget but I am still pleased with the amount we have shaved off our food spending this month. We've also eaten more fruit and veg, lost weight and reduced the amount of rubbish we produce. See you all over on the February thread.