March grocery challenge

tiff

Hi Talon, we are a family of 4 with kids aged 7 and 4 (ie NO NAPPIES!). I started properly budgeting in February and managed to meet my target of £160 for the MONTH. It was quite easily done but you have to be careful and plan your meals to some degree. I buy lots of fruit and veg, and a small amount of meat. I cook from scratch but try to make more than I need and freeze the rest. I have withdrawn the monthly budget in cash and put in a separate purse which helps because basically you want to keep as much as you can in that purse so you dont spend! lol

Have a read through the February grocery challenge thread, the cheap meals thread and the slow cooker thread for starters.

I cant remember if there is a meal plan thread or not? Did I dream that one?

halloweenqueen_2

The peking duck is usually £3.79 at Netto but they occasionally do 2 for £5. Farm foods are definatley 2 for £5 and very good - I seem to remember them being cherry valley, they are legs but plenty to go round! and very very tasty! I hae made my own but remember if you make it to tip boiling water over the duck first to raise up the fat.

MATH

Talon_Karrde wrote:

we are 2 adults and 2 kids (4 and 1) what YOU think is realistic budget for a month? currently we budget £320 pm, or £80 per week, which includes everything, household, food, grocery's, toiletries, chemicals, nappies et al!
You think this is Ok, or by how much should we aim to trim?
ta muchly!

We're a family of five with kidz aged 9,7, & 4 out budget is £40 per week for all food, houshold, chemicals, and toiletries. If you havn't budgeted before I'd start by shaving £10 per week of what you'd normally spend. If that feels OK than shave some more off the month after. You'll be amazed at what you don't actually need and how little you can spend and still like a good life. - GOOD LUCK

Talon_Karrde

cheers tiff & MATH!
i'm a chef by trade, and my wife is vietnamese, so we eat shed loads of fresh fruit and veg, and i should be Ok with the meal making bit eh? ;-)

I AM however very impressed with £160pm! i mean, that's exactly HALF ours!! although we just set ourself a monthly limit according to whats coming in and most months we SPEND it!! Rather than you who sets a budget according to what you NEED to spend! We do have a slight problem which might make us more expensive.....as i'm in the food trade, we made a family decision not to buy supermarket meat for ethical and quality reasons. The quality from the butcher is outstanding, and we are happy that the animals are better treated, and we are supporting the local businesses ad farmers. However, inevitably, it is more expensive. I just spent, last week, for around a fortnights meat & poultry, £34.00.

BUT because he's a butcher there's plenty of offal/cheap cuts, and you buy how much you want, not how much is necessarily been packaged by the supermarkets!!

AND we can make plenty of others savings in other areas, one of which is definately houshold chemicals/toiletries from wilko or places like Aldi??
We will be down under £200 by end of march, i can promise you! And that extra will go on starting our futures money (pension or such like which is something i will be taking up with another area of this site!)

Thanks for ALL you help/advice/suggestions...keep them coming!

Love-a-bargain_5

Does anyone else find themselves going to the shops with a list then as you make your way round, spotting interesting things and putting them in your trolley, or remembering other stuff you meant to buy but didn't put on your list? I don't think I have ever been into the supermarket and actually bought exactly what was on my list, no more, no less. I need to spend less!!! Any tips? Internet shopping is not for me, by the way, I like to look at packets, fat contents, sell by dates, etc, feel and choose fruit and veg. Can't do that online!

Help!

Also, how do you work out what you are spending as you go round? I tried to do it roughly in my head but stopped to chat to an old woman and then lost count! I'm used to just picking up what I want and not looking at the price but I really need to cut down and save a bit of money. I buy too much unneccessary stuff. PAH.

Talon_Karrde

know what, that's a good question. wifey said the same thing last night!! said we'd look like old biddy's (not that theres anything wrong with being older of course) walking round with a calculator!!

tiff

I dont use a calculator but before I go to the checkout I look in the trolley to see if there is anything I could really do without until next time and just buy what I need. I never used to be like that though lol, I used to put in whatever I wanted. (and get into debt )

Lillibet_2

I walk round with a calculator & I'm only 30!? It is a little keyring one that sits in the palm of my hand, I expect some people notice it but not many & I've never had a funny look that I'm aware of? Saying that, I tend to use it more for working out prices per unit etc rather than keeping a running total unless I'm on a particually tight week. I usually keep an approximate running total in my head, I round prices up for ease & that way I always come in under budget at the check out, but I try to anticipate prices on my list before I start anyway so know if I'm likely to go over budget in advance & can make adjustments before I start. It also means if I spot an extra-good deal on something I just can't miss I can remove thing of a similar value from my list/trolly to keep the total around the intended amount. I usually factor in £5 per trip for reduced items etc as obviously I can't anticipate these.

Quote : Does anyone else find themselves going to the shops with a list then as you make your way round, spotting interesting things and putting them in your trolley, or remembering other stuff you meant to buy but didn't put on your list? I don't think I have ever been into the supermarket and actually bought exactly what was on my list, : Unquote

This is exactly what they want you to do!!!!

I don't give in to impulse purchases very often, it has to be an exceptional deal for me to do so. I check fixtureferretts.com when making my list so that I can see what BOGOF's etc are on offer & decide if I want to get them in advance. If in store I see something I hadn't considered but think we would enjoy then I add it to my NEXT shopping list, that way if I still like the sound of it next time we aren't being deprived & it fits the budget beacuse I have factored it in, but most of the time I just think"why did I think that was a good idea?" & cross it off later! I only go to aisles where there is something I want to buy, I don't browse, don't look at end-of-aisle displays where the latest "special" offers are piled up to tempt us & I avoid the bakery section like mad cos the smell alone can cause the demise of the best planned budget, let alone the sight of all those delicious pasteries!

HTH?

Love-a-bargain_5

Blimey you've got things organised! I think I'll have to take my calculator next time. I'm a sucker for special offers though so I'll have to try and remember your tips - put it on the NEXT list instead - I expect by then I'll have forgotten all about it and realise that I didn't need or want it.

Thanks for the tips! Now, where did I put my calculator......?

Lillibet_2

Love-a-bargain wrote:

Blimey you've got things organised! QUOTE]


There's organized & then there's being an@l. Unfortunatley I think I fall into the latter catagory (you should see my Christmas & birthday present lists) but thanks for the compliment!