October 06 Grocery Challenge

SnowyOwl_2

Hi Pollyanna - yes, Lidl is good for veg - they often have it at half price, but it's competitively priced anyway I find. Unfortunately prices change all the time in the shops so it's hard to say which store is consistently better value for a particular item. Grrr they don't make it easy do they!! I have started a price book, ie note down how much things cost and where. It is a bit laborious to be honest, but I think that in the long run I'll be glad I did as prices do vary so much. Once it's up and running I'll be able to recognise a good offer when I see one (cos lots of the time they aren't really bargains at all!) and know which shop normally has the best prices for whatever. See http://www.organizedhome.com/content-73.html for more details, if you're interested.

I'm coming to the end of my first ever week in the grocery challenge. I started with £40 in my purse - and I've only got a bit of small change rattling around in there. If nothing else this is telling me that I need to get my house in order!! It's only me...yes I have two kitties but I haven't actually bought cat food or cat litter this week....so that £40 went on me only. And no I haven't feasted like a King nor been on extravagant shopping trips. I've kept my receipts...think this whole grocery challenge is going to be one mighty eye-opener for me. I even thought I was living frugally...but I obviously am not!!

BusyGirl

Thanks SnowyOwl for the link. I'm a real list/planning type of person and the printable sheets are great!

GottaGetSortedOut

Morning all.

My DMP starts on the 1st Nov and Im trying to stick to the budget worked out with chap from CCCS.

And........... we get paid today and from the budget worked out for groceries living on etx (after all bills and debts paid) .... I have .... wait for it...



£10-00 in my purse :j

catznine

GottaGetSortedOut wrote:

Morning all.

My DMP starts on the 1st Nov and Im trying to stick to the budget worked out with chap from CCCS.

And........... we get paid today and from the budget worked out for groceries living on etx (after all bills and debts paid) .... I have .... wait for it...



£10-00 in my purse :j

Oh my goodness! Is this before you have done a food shop? Do you have plenty of stores in?

catznine

This weeks spend was £32 - £8 under allowance :j
Have plenty in store and today is another leftovers day as oh is out for the day so shopping day has been pushed back by a day. Read somewhere that this is a good way to save money on the food if you can do it - make it 8 days instead of 7 on designated amount and you should have 4-5 days free over the month!

Have also been reading the Shirley Goode books again and she splits her hk into 4 parts - Dairy, meat and fish, fruit and veg and groceries. If she makes savings on one section the money can either go towards another group or be put towards future stores of food. I am going to try this out as already have £10 for fruit and veg box, so another £10 for groceries, £10 for dairy (know I can save here) have enough meat and fish in the freezer so will try to save that £10 towards a big shop at Costcos next month.

crazyhazy

So far this month have spent £35.39, target for the month is £150 so not doing too badly and have some extra things in the freezer for the coming weeks too, which will save some cash. It's my first week of maternity leave this week so have been tackling the shopping differently to normal. usually we go to the shops once or twice a week and do biggish shops to last a few days but cos I've been on foot this week I've been down most days picking up stuff for that nights dinner, was worried I'd spend more this way but so far seems to be going ok.

EagerLearner

Our October spend it £28.84 at the mo - not too bad as this is because we did not have to buy 'en-masse' last Saturday as I had batch cooked the week before - I am batch cooking tomorrow too after having been to market, butchers etc - rolling sleeves up now!

GottaGetSortedOut

catznine wrote:

Oh my goodness! Is this before you have done a food shop? Do you have plenty of stores in?

Done the food shop. Have got jacket potatoes, corned beef, baked beans, chicken thighs, etc

went to asda WOW got some bacon bits (98p) for pasta, salads, jacket potatoes.

Going to Makro next week with my £100-00 (weekly budget) to get the washing poweder etc. Washing powder is 11-99 Fairy 90 washes. Toilet rolls 7-99 for Charmin 36 rolls.

500 grams X 3 carrots 1-00
500 grams X 3 broccolli 1-00
cooked, squidged and frozen for the baby!!

12 cans of tinned tomatoes 2-99

case of Carling 11.99 (have to keep OH happy)

5 ltr Fairy washing up liquid to decant 6.99
2 X nescafe 200g 6-00

24 rolls of bounty (buy one get one free) 5.33

TOTAL 55-28 !!!

:j :beer: :j

EagerLearner

Well done GottaGetSortedOut! Although on the tinned toms, I can highly recommend Sommerfields own value ones @ £0.15 a tin - better than the value Sainsbury's ones and 15 cans would be £1.80... Re the kitchen rolls, my local £1 store does 6 for £1, so 24 would be £4... but I don't go by the brand as long as they 'mop up'.

Charmin' toilet rolls are a bargain at Makro!

We don't get any such luck here in Brighton...

GottaGetSortedOut

Makro is okay as long as you cant stick to the ON OFFER deals :j

As members we get a catalogue of the offers and then I do the list from that and then we go once a month.

Forgot to say aswell that the washable nappies are saving me a fortune... been using them now for two weeks!!