March grocery challenge

Moll

Well done .its the first time ive joined in with the challenge this month ,Hope i can do as well as you



Moll x x


my february grocery spend for 2 adults, 3 children, 3 cats, hamster, fish but not including the chickens! was £148.81, which is about £37.20 a week. i

needmoney

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this hasn't come out properly but the question I want to ask is and duh! I'm already answering it in m mind.
When they say 3 for 2 do you order 3 or 2 I ordered 3 and got one free what a DUMBO

Janeryan

Okay have been to building society & drawn cash out and have my three purses on the go one for grocery one for petrol & for me spending.

Been to Sainsburys and spent 7.85 (bill was originally 10.35 but used a reward voucher worth £2.50. Also that included multibuy discounts of £1.94 £2.17 saved by buying reduced goods so actual bill should have been £17.16)

Hubby away for next week for work so just me & son to feed. I shall have dinner at work on 3 days(get lunch allowance) and the rest of the time we will be eating letover portions of various stews,etc that have been frozen by me so should be a cheaper week than normal. i hope so as I have only allowed £20.00 for this week and given the other £30.00 to hubby for emergency money whilst away-don't know yet if he will have to pay for meals etc upfront & then claim them back or if it is all be catered for.

Tiff you are welcome to the info-let me know if you decide to do it too.

Curry_Queen

Moll wrote:

Thanks Curry Queen for all the advice,To be honest ive never used Excel
( told you i was a computer idiot) but i did follow your table of expenditure,,,,and it will help me A LOT , as ill do it that way too. and i enjoyed reading how you had got on for the month , Its nice to see how others are coping.
What things do you consider "Household" . I hadnt thought about breaking it down like that ,and at the moment , just had lists of food,, general stuff..that wasnt food .....and one off purchases,like birthday presents etc,
So i think if i do it your way ,ill have a better idea.

I'm glad I was able to help

Things that I put under "household" include all cleaning materials (which have been greatly reduced since being on this forum and mainly consists of white vinegar LOL!) toilet/kitchen rolls, light bulbs (although I'm gradually switching them all to energy saver bulbs as two I bought 10 years ago are still going strong! ... saves a fortune) and basically anything non-food that I'd use around the home.

I don't include anything else on that spreadsheet as I also run MS Money to track all my transactions to check against bank statements and you can customise categories in that to track expenses, but I wanted a more detailed breakdown on what I was actually spending my money on at the supermarkets so I could see where I needed to make further cuts.

Living on benefits you have to watch every penny and even though I'm not absolutely destitute now that I've won my appeal for DLA, I still feel as though I'm living on borrowed time financially so I'm trying to save as much as I can for rainy days. The DLA has given me a little more freedom to be able to bulk buy and take advantage of offers as they arise which means more savings in the long run.

It takes a bit of planning to get a rota going but it pays dividends if you can do it. I won't have to buy any household or toiletries stuff for March so I can top-up the food cupboards (tins, pasta, cooking ingredients etc) and possibly squeeze in a freezer shop from Iceland by the end of the month if I concentrate on using up what's in there now, so in April I can spend the bare minimum on food and top-up anything I need in the way of household/toiletries etc ... and so on and so forth.

I couldn't have done it without the help of this site though, and despite being here only a month it's made a huge difference to my life and the way I do my shopping, not to mention all the money saved with vouchers etc

Sorry to hear you havent been well ,its hard to think straight when youre feeling grotty, but the big batch of cooking im sure would work well for you , so you have meals on hand to use , on the days you dont feel good

Thanks again
Love
Moll x

Thanks! ... it's funny how a few kind words from a stranger on a forum can make all the difference

I've battled with depression and agoraphobia for many years now but have had a reasonable level of stability for the past year, until this week when I completely lost all internet connection for several days, which I posted about here on the Vents board.

It only takes something like that to rock the boat, especially when you rely on the internet 24/7 for everything, but I'm determined not to let it beat me to the ground, even though the stress of it all has left me feeling quite depressed again, and reading the messages of support and encouragement here, not to mention the giggles I've had over some posts, has really cheered me up today (do I get the record for the longest sentence there LOL!)



Me thinks I should not have a 3rd glass of wine (hic!) cos my posts are getting longer and longer!

Curry_Queen

needmoney wrote:

How kind of you I find this board great for getting replies there's loads of great tips and friendly atmosphere.

I totally agree with you! I've been online for around 10 years now, and have joined many web forums covering various topics over that time, and I have to say that this is the friendliest one I have ever come across, especially considering the number of members it has!

elona

Curry Queen

When do you expect your slow cooker to arrive?

Have you already seen the thread on slow cooker recipes - there are loads of them! :):)

Even so I bet my daughters will not like what I make! Just as well hubby enjoys the stuff or I would really lose heart.

Hope the next few days are better for you.

likabu_2

Curry_Queen wrote:

Thanks elona

I've just checked out the slow cooker and it looks great so I'm definitely considering it. Found it a tad cheaper at Amazon - £24.51 with free delivery - unless anyone knows of any Tesco Electricals vouchers I could use to knock a bit off their price

Have zoomed across to Amazon and ordered the slow cooker!! Scrummy hassle free food here we come!!!

Had been umming and aaghing about buying a slow cooker as I thought they all cost over £35, that was a nice suprise!!

Lisa

moggins

Curry_Queen

You have been a great inspiration to me since I joined MSE. I hope you feel better soon.

Payday isn't until Monday for me, but I had to take mum shopping today as dad has just had an eye operation, she bought me a few little neccesities such as bread flour, yeast etc. so next month should be a doddle

I also found some reduced Salami in Tesco so the kids enjoyed a homemade pizza, the murmurs of appreciation were music to my ears.

toadhall

Moll wrote:

Well done .its the first time ive joined in with the challenge this month ,Hope i can do as well as you



Moll x x


my february grocery spend for 2 adults, 3 children, 3 cats, hamster, fish but not including the chickens! was £148.81, which is about £37.20 a week. i

i've already spent £142.22 for the monthly shop this month that includes everything coz i buy in bulk too, even the 7 6 pinters of milk that go in the chest freezer. so that leaves me £20 max for any extras at the end of the month.
it does take practice and leaving all my cards at home really helps;)

halloweenqueen_2

I wanted to get involved in the Feb challenge but had too much going on at home to keep posting although I'm naturally parsimonious when it comes to grocery shopping anyway.
Still got a fair bit of frozen stuff from xmas eve bargains so will probably rely heavily on them and hope to refill over the easter time!
Netto have their four pints of milk at 99p at the moment, but I try and stock up at farm foods when i can get there as you get 2 for £1.50 so it works out at only 75p for four pints and now i have a bit of room on my freezer! the kids are quite used to it defrosting nicely in the kitchen!
Still I could really do with a budget month on here, found a few more decorating jobs that need doing round the house and i don't have the spare cash for them at the moment, so i'm trying to cut down on the grocery spending and petrol!