September 2010 Grocery Challenge

Milly-Ann-Molly

DH spent £7.03 on bread and milk etc yesterday

Hopefully I can avoid a supermarket trip completely this week. My DH is off work for a week though so snacks and spends are always attached...hmmmm

wilf55

hi

failed miserably last week as didint keep any records and no i overspent

today however
have spent £1 on w tins of beans
get paid tomorrow so want to do a few shop as cupboards are pretty bare

in preparation
i WILL do an inventory and i WILL menu plan for the week ahead

£1/ £100

Janeryan

Hi all

I used to take part regularly in the GC but since my DH has changed jobs he now gets paid on the 15th of the month(2weeks in arrears and 2 weeks in advance0 As I am now redundant this is the only money coming into the house but I am struggling to make it fit in with the monthly Grocery challenge as mine will straddle two challenges if i run it pay day to payday-any suggestions or tips on how you cope with this would be gratefully received!!

JulieGeorgiana

CupOfChai wrote: »

I so agree with those who don't get people who don't get it about this. I know someone who has actually told me they don't have much money and has to watch the pennies, yet they only ever seem to buy ready meals or top branded or "Best", "Finest" etc everything! I just look at it and think "What are you doing?!"

I have a friend who earns 1.5 times my husbands salary and her husband has more that her!

We live on just my husbands salary...

She tells me she has to budget and watch the pennies!

The buys a new car on HP at £350 a month, and is constantly buying new things for the house... games and toys for the kids!

Family of 4 living on £500 groceries a month and more!

1 of the children eats warm at school... so £500 is a lot!

When I tell her i'm finding it hard she tells me they are in the same boat!

Only she has army accommodation... so the rent of 50% of mine if not less!!!

makes me want to SCREAM!!

JulieGeorgiana

Janeryan wrote: »

Hi all

I used to take part regularly in the GC but since my DH has changed jobs he now gets paid on the 15th of the month(2weeks in arrears and 2 weeks in advance0 As I am now redundant this is the only money coming into the house but I am struggling to make it fit in with the monthly Grocery challenge as mine will straddle two challenges if i run it pay day to payday-any suggestions or tips on how you cope with this would be gratefully received!!

I have child benefits every 4 weeks and hubbies pay every month (25th)

I work out that I have £50 a week... I kind of just rob peter to pay paul!!!

If there are 5 fridays in a month... I say I have £250, 4 fridays £200... and even though it's coming from different pay periods... that's how I work mine!!

jintyb

Havnt posted much this month but I've been lurking!
Decided to go to another(bigger) MrT's which is a bit further away than my normal one, got there already to start and realised I hadnt brought my £10 off voucher which was the whole point of going there in the first place, grrr:mad:
Came home and got it, went back and started all over again! Groundhog day or what?;)

Anyhoo, got all items on my list so thats the final shop for Sept for me - my payday is next Monday so I've more than enough in. Worked out £30 UNDER budget for the month thanks to judicious planning and Mr T vouchers!:j
My year to date figures are balancing out ok after the last couple of months which teetered over the edge a bit!

jintyb

EvieSaver wrote: »

I feel just the same, all my friends and family spend like crazy - and not just on groceries. Thing is though that no-one I know (except OH and this site) even has the slightest interest about saving money, which as it is something I enjoy the challenge of and like to talk about/discuss ideas I feel that a lot of the time I bore them all!. Even though I told my parents how they could save £100's on their energy bills they still don't do anything about it. Makes me mad but oh well:mad:.

I love reading all the comments on here. Makes me feel normal!:j

Evie -dont be embarrased - thanks to you and the other folks for your posts,
this is the only place I feel I can discuss stuff like this with kindred spirits!. My sister complains all the time about her weekly shopping bill( @ £150 p wk for 4 adults:eek:) but poo poos me when I tell her what my budget is for me, OH dog and cat per week. I plan for @ £40, this covers all meals ( including packed lunches) She thinks we dont eat properly, but we have plenty f &v and eat really well, mostly home cooked prepared food. I very rarely buy ready meals and I am a big fan of the "cook once, eat twice" principle - oh, and I adore my slow cooker!;)

JulieGeorgiana

jintyb wrote: »

Evie -dont be embarrased - thanks to you and the other folks for your posts,
this is the only place I feel I can discuss stuff like this with kindred spirits!. My sister complains all the time about her weekly shopping bill( @ £150 p wk for 4 adults:eek:) but poo poos me when I tell her what my budget is for me, OH dog and cat per week. I plan for @ £40, this covers all meals ( including packed lunches) She thinks we dont eat properly, but we have plenty f &v and eat really well, mostly home cooked prepared food. I very rarely buy ready meals and I am a big fan of the "cook once, eat twice" principle - oh, and I adore my slow cooker!;)

My budget is also £40 a week for 2 Adult, a Child, 2 cats and 2 Rabbits! We eat well... we eat healthy!

£150 is stupid amounts of money!! It sounds like a lot of meat... which isn't good for you!! Good for you... be proud of what you do xxx

poppy-glos

the good news is yesterday i did really well on whoopsies, got loads of veg of different types at 10p - 20 p a pack, plus i've preserved ten kg of pears off a friends tree, made industrial quantitiies of plum and apple chutney and am about to start working out what to do with the apples that are left on the trees. The bad news is i have misplaced receipts, and have said 'yes please' each time someone has suggested eating out recently.... :mad:.
So know i am over where i should be, and need to be disciplined and do some sums and meal planning. The freezers are full so no need to buy meals, just milk, cheese...
Hopefully next time i post there will be numbers in my signature box

CupOfChai

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

I have a friend who earns 1.5 times my husbands salary and her husband has more that her!

We live on just my husbands salary...

She tells me she has to budget and watch the pennies!

The buys a new car on HP at £350 a month, and is constantly buying new things for the house... games and toys for the kids!

Family of 4 living on £500 groceries a month and more!

1 of the children eats warm at school... so £500 is a lot!

When I tell her i'm finding it hard she tells me they are in the same boat!

Only she has army accommodation... so the rent of 50% of mine if not less!!!

makes me want to SCREAM!!

Sometimes I just want to slap some people! Regardless of whether they really are on a 'tight budget' or if we don't think they really are compared to some, you think "Well it wouldn't be so flaming tight if you didn't keep doing X, Y, and Z!"

Unfortunately I truly cannot comprehend how some people are so cr*p with their money, I just can't grasp it at all, and this can make me seem a bit harshly judgemental and unfair sometimes I think.