September 06 Grocery Challenge

sammy_kaye18

I did my shopping yesterday and i spent £42.90 so im £2.10 under budget for these 2 weeks but some of that was milk as i got 16 pints (4 x 4pts bottles)for £4 at Iceland. and i also picked up some chicago town pizza (2 in a box microwave ones) so i got 4 boxes so i now have 8 pizzas too which will probably last us a fair while. I did also manage to get 184 points on my clubcard too!

Am going to take food to work tonight though because i usually buy my food in work so i think ill save a fair bit if i make a packed lunch or have tea before i go as i start work at 6pm - that sounds better idea actually

sammy_kaye18

Hi All

Just reading over the post and thoguht id share some useful if not money saving information

Coop reduce twice a day, once in the morning and once near the end of the night between about 8 - 9pm.

in the morning tends to be freezer stuff and the bagged breads (plus whatever else needs reducing then in the evening tends to be all the fresh bread that has been cooked that day and fruit and veg.

I know this becasue i work in a co-op and its store policy that there is only two reductions a day so if you want to stock your freezer with cheap bread/muffins/pancakes/doughnuts etc then pop along in the night as most of them are reduced to abotu 20p for a bag fo about 6 small rolls or 3 baguettes or seeded loaves etc.

I always get a few things put aside for me - on friday last week i had two bags of apples (16 in total) for 38p. plus i had a punnet of strawberries for 10p as they were reduced in the evening when i work. They can really help a budget and you can get a stocked freezer with bread and rolls for about £2 not to mention other goods.

Hope that helps in a way.

x

benjacksmum

Week 1 done and I've spent £41.75. At £200 for the month and it being a 5 week month for me averaging £40 per week I am a teensy weensy bit over but I'm still quite pleased with that figure as we seem to have finished the week with loads of food left to go at yet. Will need bits and bobs next week but hopefully will be an even cheaper week next week.

With thoughts of Christmas preparations beginning (aaargh!) and the very interesting thread pointed out to me by Icemaiden (thank you ) I have decided that if I come in under budget (fingers crossed) this month, I will spend whatever is left on my Christmas alcohol stash - my boys are only 3 and 6 and OH is tee total so it'll be MINE ALL MINE!!!!!!:D :j :T

Continued Good Luck to everyone else involved.

Ang xx

BusyGirl

I've been reading your posts for about a week now and I've finally plucked up the courage to join in.. We usually spend at least £360 on food each month (if not more) for two adults and two children. I do make most of our meals from scratch and we have one take-a-way meal each week. I know I buy too much stuff each week and my cupboards have stuff falling out of them!

So this month my target is £240. So far I've spent £36 in Aldi and £60 in Asda but I did buy Persil and loo rolls in bulk as they were on special offer.The cupboards and freezer are full and this week we've stuck to my meal plan. This leaves me with £144 for the next four weeks (£36 per week) and I do have £13 in Tesco vouchers but I might use them as my emergency fund.

I've also printed out lots of the recipes on this site and started using some of the money saving tips. My husband reckons I'm becoming obsessive! :rolleyes:

K9cuddles

I'm joining! I went over budget for August.. but have food in the freezer.. so I'm hoping to nail £120.. if not £100!

Karb

frosty wrote:

Karb wrote:

I have to feed 2 adults, 5 kids a fussy cat who will only eat Whiskas or Felix and only in pouches, and an evn fussier dog who will only eat fresh meat.

Our cat would only eat Whiskas,:eek: then I decided to buy a cheaper one,It was a battle at first but I won:j ,cats if left to go hungry will eat anything that is put down,they are a bit like children if we spoil them and let them eat everything they want they become fussy eaters.I have managed to half the cost of feeding our cat. :j Good luck.

Well, I've taken the plunge and bought a box of Morrisons "My Cat" pouches.

Prepare for battle, puss :rotfl:

russetred

Joining today! Never really added up how much I spend for 3 adults and two kids but after reading this thread probably far too much! Okay , today in the big mother house we spent £68.61.Hit the Co-op and got reduced meat worth around £65 for £23. By the way how come the reduced labels never go thru the till for me and every item has to be typed in individually whilst I maintain a fixed grin.Tesco next, surfeit of bananas calls for banana wine along with the rowan and golden dynamite to be started this weekend, a result at £2.29.Farmfoods for the last of the treats sweets , ice creams £5, should keep small ankle bitters from revolting though OH says since they turned 3....Tune in next week to see how our latest big mother contestants are doing!

giftbouquets

I'm new to this .........but count me in!

Not sure what we usually spend - but know we waste lots of money popping out for bread and milk, etc, as I am so disorganised. So for first month I am going to say £300 for all food and cleaning stuff for myself, OH and 2 adult children. Made a good start today - planned meals for the week and almost kept to shopping (added bar of chocolate!)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Week 1 - £72.40 spent
Week 2 -
Week 3 -
Week 4 -

Gemsy

Hi, complete newbie to the chatroom, but I am definitely in! Me, OH, a dog and a cat. Aiming for £100 grocery bill this month, instead of £150 ish. Have already tried food planning and am going to try Aldi this week instead of Asda/Tesco. Plan is to take all money out for shopping/travel, etc for the month in one go and split into separate envelopes to match budget - then hide all the cards. Is this a good plan to start with? (Any help and advice gratefully received!)

WelshWoofer

Hi,
Week 1 and I've spent over half of my 100 budget for the month - 56 quid in Tescos last night.
I have bought enough toiletries, dog food and cleaning stuff to last the month though and the freezer is packed full and we have plenty of tins and jars etc. I hope this will last me the next 2 weeks as we will both be working away for the 3rd week in September and the dog is going on holidays to his "Nana" in Wales (my mum who spoils him rotten!)

So 44 pounds to last the rest of the month? - should be interesting!
Rachel.