April 2010 Grocery Challenge

highland_fling_2

Good morning everyone,

have not been able to post for a while. Last ten days have been very hectic due to illness in the family. Hopefully things have settled down now and I will be able to catch up on reading the thread.

Hope you are all managing to stay within your GC budgets.

Nicifer_noonoo

I know I'm late, but I'm going to join this one...£30 a week for the rest of the month. Last week I overspent by £2.80, so going to see if I can balance it with this weeks shop whice will be done today...

dreamingofmoney

hiya
To all those who are really struggling, i had an horrific march, and spent twice my budget, and still don't know how i managed it.
Somehow i managed to rein myself in, take a look at how i work out my finance's and had a bit of an epiphany really,
I now still have a monthly budget (£300) but now also work it out in percentages of month gone and budget gone, and also draw out of the bank the amount i need for that week, and i work mon to sun, eg 1st April fell on a thurs so on that date i drew out £40 to last me til the sun, and then on the mon drew out £70 to last me to the next sun, and so on.
It has worked fab for me. And the percentage thing is really inspirational (sad as it sounds)
Take care and chin up
50% of month gone and 49% of month gone

caitybabes

Have you tried that challenge where you step down your brands by one step (i.e. own brand to value or from branded to own brand)... not sure what you're already buying but could be worth a try?

KITTY_2-2

Had 1 small spend in Mr A on Monday and another NSD yesterday. This month is certainly going better than last (so far!)

Will now update signature.

Best of luck for the rest of the month everyone, K x

jintyb

Just back from a little shop at Mr A so have updated sig. My month ends on Tues 20th and I am @ £50 UNDER BUDGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :jI am SO thrilled as last month was a bit hairy! Ive been so strict this month, meal planning and sticking to my list and comparing prices. Obviously that's the way to go as its worked!;) Im rolling the £50 into next month as as I'll use it to stock up freezer etc at Costco and I'll be able to reduce May's budget a bit. Just as well, as OH is off sick ATM and doesnt get paid while off so we need to tighten belt!
Have a great day everyone - hang on in there!:)

mrsgreentoad

hi its £120 aweek not a month have not a slowcooker, i buy all the bargins like beans and suff like that

banwa

Bluefire wrote: »

I wish my OH was like that - I send him in for 2 things and he'll come out with 5! "But I've never seen these in a can before..." (We have some weird & wonderful collections in our kitchen cupboards!)

It took me about 5 months to use up the 10 tins of various types of beans we had somehow accumulated (including some I don't really like - pinto? or some such thing). I snook them into soups and casseroles and congratulated myself on not having wasted them. Then my lovely husband came home with another half dozen tins of said beans because he noticed 'we had got a bit low':doh:

*slaps hand to forehead*

Anyway, I'm not posting everything i am spending, but keeping my signature updated. I am half way through my month and 42% into my budget. According to my spreadsheet I should have spent £160 by now and I have spent £133, and that includes £30 on 4 months supply of Royal Canin cat biscuits. So am pretty chuffed so far.:j

Btw someone asked the question earlier do you include wine? I include wine and beer, all toiletries, cleaning products and pet food and litter, and any kitchen supplies, ie utensils, tupperware, baking trays, anything I would use for cooking. It's for 2 cats, me and husband and 4 step children (2 adults so beer for them too, 2 children) for a weekend every 3 weeks. I base my budget on how many Fridays (generally my shopping day) there are in the month and give myself £54 for a normal week and £80 for a step children week. Would love to know what everyone else's budgets include because some look impossibly tiny.:A

Keep posting everyone:T

anguk

mrsgreentoad wrote: »

hi its £120 aweek not a month have not a slowcooker, i buy all the bargins like beans and suff like that

I still think £120 a week for 3 adults and 4 children is very good, I'm sure I'd spend loads more than that if my family was as big. Does your shopping bill include washing powder/cleaning stuff etc.or just food?

Does everyone eat the same thing at mealtimes or are there any fussy eaters? Buying in bulk is a good idea, especially things like potatoes & pasta etc. but be careful in the supermarket and check the prices because I've found that sometimes it works out more expensive to buy the bigger packs. Do you have a decent local butcher, they may do you a good deal if you buy in bulk?

You don't need to have a slow cooker, you can slow cook stews, curries etc. in the oven.

I would suggest keeping your receipts for a couple of weeks and really having a good look at what you buy and spend to see if there are some things that you don't really need (normally things like crisps or biscuits). It's surprising how a few extra things each week soon adds up.

Could you give us an idea of what you buy and the meals you eat?

finnigan

What are you running out of by Thurs?

Sounds a silly question, but is it main meals - meal planning will help you, or is it snacks, store cupboard stuff?
I've struggled with all of the above and am putting strategies in place to combat them, eg, I now meal plan with a white board up in the kitchen so everyone knows whats on the menu. Tell us more!

ps Do you think you waste much re leftovers?