December 2010 Grocery Challenge

Georgiegirl2012

I had an e-mail this morning telling me I could have 3 free deliveries for Sainsburys (Mr S?) when I spend over £50 - before 8/1, 22/1 and 5/2.

So if I do a proper "what's in the cupboards?" inventory, and plan it carefully, but some stuff that I would need anyway (like toilet rolls) and stuff on offer, this could get me off to a really good start to the new year.

This is a really good offer for me, because I don't drive, so when I do buy packs of 18 toilet rolls, etc, I end up getting a taxi anyway.

ifonlyitwaseasier

MrsM, can i be put down for £140 for January please

this month has pretty much been lost, i'd forgotten how much some xmas things can cost. however in my defense it's been a while since i needed to actually do the shopping (long story)

peony40

Hello,

I would like to join in January please, if I can be put down as £35 weekly. Many thanks.

This will cover food only for myself and my husband. I will budget for toiletries separately this year as I am trying to get a better understanding on where our money actually goes.

For 2011 I am going to focus on sticking to a grocery budget and to do a storecupboard challenge/menu planning alongside.

I do have a tendency to become easily sidetracked, so I am going to put a post it note on the pc to remind me that I have joined this thread.

Chloris

Hello To All.

Hope you all enjoyed yourselves.

I have been chewing over the challenge. I would quite like to do an annual challenge along side a monthly challenge to keep myself on target and motivated.
Annual target £3500 January budget £300
I have already spent quite a lot of my January budget as our month began last Wednesday, so included quite a big shop:eek:. Still not too bad.

Spigs I read with interest you earlier post regarding supermarkets and their diabolical practice and all round ugly behaviour. I read the Shopped book some years ago and it turned my stomach. I want to keep my budget under control, shop ethically, buy quality food, shop locally and give as little of our hard earned cash to the supermarkets. I often shift the jigsaw pieces around in my mind to see if I can make them fit! I wish you good luck. :beer:.

suzybloo

my oh my..... dont like posting this as I blew the grocery budget last month £680 however in my defence all three freezers are packed full and the fridge is full. We have enough groceries to see us to February, except for the fresh stuff like bread, milk and cold meat with some fruit and veg towards the end of the month. I had hoped for £450 last month so went over by £230, for the month of January I will post that I will keep to a budget of £200 (5 saturdays @£40 per week), however I do have a savings card with £50 on it from Tesco, and £108 in Tesco vouchers which I will use up first rather than use hard cash, and the balance left in the cash pot will go towards paying off some debts.

Spiggle

Hi All,

Thanks for the prompt Mrs McCawber :A, please put me down for £240 for January 2011. Thank you. :T

We're here freezing again this morning as the boiler decided to once again give up the ghost last night at about 9.30pm. I'm waiting on a call back from nPo*er who're trying to find an engineer to call today seeing as how water is dripping from it over the electrics below. :eek:

OH has had enough and I think I have too to be honest. :mad: This is not the first year when it's decided to blow on or around Christmas Day - in 2006 we had 13 call outs between 26th November and beginning of January! :shocked: A new boiler will hit my overpayments on the mortgage but we can't go on like this. :sad:

Chloris wrote: »

Spigs I read with interest you earlier post regarding supermarkets and their diabolical practice and all round ugly behaviour. I read the Shopped book some years ago and it turned my stomach. I want to keep my budget under control, shop ethically, buy quality food, shop locally and give as little of our hard earned cash to the supermarkets. I often shift the jigsaw pieces around in my mind to see if I can make them fit! I wish you good luck. :beer:.

Thanks for your good wishes Chloris! In another life 16 or so years ago I was a campaigner on supermarkets and out of town shopping. I have obviously softened as I've got older because I [STRIKE]do use[/STRIKE] have been using the big sm but hearing on the Panorama programme statements that I was making sixteen years ago has relit a spark in me again (after I'd stopped shouting at the television "I was saying this in 1994!" ). Obviously using up the MrT vouchers and the N*ct*r points means that I will be shopping at them for the beginning of the year but it will be good to become a little more ethical again in my shopping habits. I just hope the budget will be able to stand it and economics don't force me back to the big four. :think:

ETA: Another good book on the topic is Tescopoly which also talks about 'planning gain' which in the early '90s I dubbed 'legalised bribery and corruption' which it still is today sadly.

My December budget is going to continue through to the 31st of the month. I got paid last Thursday but I'm ignoring that on the bank statement as if it was any other month I would have recieved my salary on Friday 31st. Besides which I can't eat into it as the mortgage and all big payments go out on the 4th January. So my 2011 challenge will begin with the first day of the New Year on Saturday 1st of January 2011.

I quite like the thought of my grocery challenge year running from the 1st January to 31st December, it has a completeness about it somehow.

I will be giving us an annual target too :think: (extrapolated from this years spend) for listing in my spreadsheet and sig but will be working to monthly budget. For me the monthly works well and I think I would tend to forget to log on as much or be as 'religious' about recording spends etc if I was working to a yearly budget. Just the person I am really, having such a long window for spending could mean us spending far too much early on and having a real struggle later in the year. :doh:

Ok, enough of my essay! Just had a call to say they've located an engineer who will call sometime today. Still gonna look at replacing though particularly if the weather is going to be more like this for the rest of this and future winters. _pale_

Keep warm, safe and happy.

Take care,
Spigs

boultdj

Mrs M can you put me down for $200 for january,will be starting on the 1st.

jintyb

Hello everyone,

hope you all had a great day yesterday.
Thanks Mrs Mc for posting the prompt. As I have loads in to use up, could I please go for £100 for January and set an annual target of £2300 ?
This is only an increase of £20 on 2010 budget, but I think it will be ok. The first part of this year I wasnt as strict with myself as I was in the latter part so this will keep me focussed.

Thanks for your post re the ethics of food shopping Spigs, I didnt see Panorama but I will check out the reading you recommended. Hope you get your boiler situation sorted!

wssla00

OK.... so I'm back all be it with a bit of trepidation after last month. so please put me down for £200 for January! Many thanks

~moneysavingnovice~

Still got one big shop to do from the Dec budget and not much money to do it with so putting it off for as long as poss.

We've got lots of Christmas food in but not much 'proper food'. And we've had OH's family staying which was unexpected!

Will have a more frugal Jan!