March grocery challenge

pandas66

Last month I dipped in and looked at how you all shaved money off your weekly food bills. I felt I couldn't make a huge difference to my out goings that much. How wrong I was ! Tax credits stopped and so enforced savings have to be made. I shaved off 50p per child per lunch money, 5 pounds a week saved. I've made soup every day for my own lunch and saved another 5 pounds. This month I'm going to be better, I have never really taken account of food costs but I'm taking cash to the shops and leaving the debit card at home. That'll make me aware of what I just shove in the trolley. Thanks for the inspiring stories and recipes and as a bonus people at work are jealous of the yummy soup aromas. Ha ha to them!!

arkonite_babe

I'm starting the March challenge from today as I got paid yesterday. Lets hope I can save some money! It will also give me good incentive to clear the freezer to get it defrosted

Moll

Hello everyone , Ive been following this thread with interest, Can i join in the March Challenge with you .
Ive always been frugal with the shopping money . but im sure i can get it down some more ( hopefully)
We are a family of 4 adults, and 3 pets, usually have a few stray adults to feed regularly too, who tend to call just as im cooking,,,,,,,,,,,,,
The eldest daughter has some of her meals with us, but usually buys her own food , and has her own cupboard in the kitchen , as she prefers to cook her own spicey stuff etc, which does help me , as anything in her cupboard that is nearing its sell by date , she turfs out , and gives to me to use,
Thanks everyone for all the good ideas,and also for jogging my memory on a few things that i havent done for a while ,like the giant yorkshire pudding ,,they always go down well filled with sausage / gravy. or veggies etc,
Pancakes are another thing we have , if i want a cheap meal , as you can fill or top it with whatevers left ( Jam / orange / ice cream / treacle / lemon / savory etc) ,
Tonights meal was a 39p tin of corned beef from Aldi , mixed with cooked onions, and topped with mashed potatoes, & cheese, served with value beans , Im lucky as my lot ( with the exeption of my daughter) will eat anything i give them , I cook full meals roast etc, but they are just as happy if it was beans on toast, As long as its food ,,,,and its cooked ,theyll eat it . I cut corners in the bathroom , by buying Somerfield 2 litre bubble bath
( Jasmine i love this ) and fill the liquid hand soap bottle, shower gel , & a smaller bubble bath bottle, and for the "boys" i buy value shower gel from Asda , ( Around 39p ) and they like it ,
I buy the value dilute/ cordial drinks , in lemon / orange/ blackcurrant etc, as we like it ( Must admit i wouldnt buy any of the value/ smart price things to save money if we didnt like it ) and for fizzy drinks , i look for bargains , like at the moment if anyone has a Jack Fultons ,they are doing 6 cans of diet coke etc for £1.
I use all money off coupons i can get my hands on ,but i SAVE every penny,
i dont buy extra food with the coupon money , Last year i saved over £200 , and bought my parents a free view box and new TV aerial with it for Christmas,
This year up to now i have over £50 in the "Coupon tin " and this is going to be used for a future holiday ( Or for any unforseen emergency)
I have a freezer & slow cooker which are constantly used, Have to admit though , ive run my supplies down low at the moment ,so the March one will be a real challenge,as i wont have a lot to start with ,,,,
Does anyone know if there is anything on any site , like a print out to fill in for daily expenditure? If not ill have to try and write things down , and see exactly where the money goes, but i know id find it easier with something to print off and fill in . ( Im not great at doing my own on a computer, )
I know i can live easily on about £60 a week for everything , but im going to try and aim for £50 Or a lot less,
My biggest downfall is that both Hubby and DS have a sweet tooth , and both take packed lunches to work , so any ideas for things to put in ,would be gratefully recieved.

Looking forward to hearing how everyone is doing with the challenge
Love
Moll x x

Shawz

I'm amazed how you all get so much for so little :eek:

I will watch from the sidelines for now but may join in a bit later on

fazer6

Shawz, start with a very realistic target this month and then see if you can reduce it by £5 or £10 next month. You've got nothing to lose by giving it a go. It is suprising how easy it is to live on so little, but by making the odd small change in your life you could end up saving thousands each year and perhaps pay off your mortgage 5 years early.

md123

Got the motivation I needed this morning to definatley cut back in March. I have been offered a new job. My money will go down by about £40 a month, but as I will be working 20 hours a month less that just now I am not complaining.

I will definatley have to make cut backs as money is tight just now and will get slightly worse, but it will definatley be worth it. Working less hours will also give me the time to make all meals from scratch.

rchddap1

We've always been tight on the shopping at supermaket's front. Didn't realise how tight until I had a chat with my Mum & Sister at the weekend. I spend around £40 - £50 every 2 weeks for 2 adults. My mum spends around £70, and my sister £90...but she also has a 1 year old son to contend with.

I shall have to see if I can make them even more jealous by cutting back even further.

As for packed lunches have you tried making cakes instead of buying either them or chocolate bars. Its much cheaper to make a pile of fairy cakes, or a victoria sponge than to buy one. You can also vary them depending on your tastes at the time. From lemon, to chocolate...or my favourite...coffee & walnut. Much nicer, cheaper and a great deal more fun too. Well for me anyway...especially as I tend to leave the mess for the OH to wash up.

Shawz

fazer6 wrote:

Shawz, start with a very realistic target this month and then see if you can reduce it by £5 or £10 next month. You've got nothing to lose by giving it a go. It is suprising how easy it is to live on so little, but by making the odd small change in your life you could end up saving thousands each year and perhaps pay off your mortgage 5 years early.

Thanks for your encouragement fazer6, i'll give it a go and let you know how i get on

This might mean we can actually save for a deposit for a house/mortgage

Moll

To be truthful ive not made any fairy cakes for ages,,,but youre right ,,a bit of icing or something on them , and i reckon theyll eat them , and would work out a lot cheaper
Love
Moll x





As for packed lunches have you tried making cakes instead of buying either them or chocolate bars. Its much cheaper to make a pile of fairy cakes, or a victoria sponge than to buy one. You can also vary them depending on your tastes at the time. From lemon, to chocolate...or my favourite...coffee & walnut. Much nicer, cheaper and a great deal more fun too.

loobyloo1980

I'm new to all this money saving business, and I would really like to join the March grocery challenge. Up to now I estimate we have been spending about £325 monthly (£75 a week) on grocery shopping including cleaning products, toiletries, nappies, etc. for 2 adults and 2 kids (4 years and 18months).

I have been told this is way too high and that I should be able to get by on at least half of that. Anyway, courtesy of the online discount forum I have done this weeks and next weeks shopping online and used the vouchers for tescos. However, this means I have to meet a minimum order so on next week's shopping I have had to buy stuff I didn't need as much to boost the bill - which kind of defeats the object of saving. However, it is still a vast improvement on my current situation.

My March challenge is to shop on £200 for the month, although we get paid weekly so my weekly budget will be £40 a week for the 5 paydays of the month. I know this is high compared to some of you, but it is a great start for me and will be a culture shock, but a saving of a massive £35 a week on normal.

Anyway, count me in. I look forward to trying to stick with my budget. :eek: