January 2011 Grocery Challenge

tiredwithtwins

my final spend for jan was £223 ... overspent by £23 but not too worried as other half finally got paid for work he did ages ago.

so im going to be a tad more realistic for feb at £300 :beer:

happy february everyone! :beer:

Missus_Aka

NSD 10!!!! Am v happy with this as it includes all my rent/sky/gas/elec/all dds

Am waiting to see if i need to spend the rest of my budget...£3 odd...will maybe get a bottle of coke and a treat for us.

Personally i love doing my big shop at te$cos online just because i dont have a car & wouldnt be able to carry it (i drink way too much coke) and i can see all good offers at once and it gets added up for you so when you are finished you can go back and edit it if it is too much...i would hate to do this in an actual supermarket at the checkout.....cant imagine what the people behind me in the queue would do to me!!!!!!

Hippeechiq

Welcome stefc87, karmachilovething and all other newcomers :hello:

stefc87 wrote: »

Oh, and just a quick question for the seasoned MSE's is it a big myth that you spend less if you shop online rather than in store, or not?! Thanks

Personally, I find doing both works best for me.

So I buy the bulk of my heavy items, like potatoes, rice, pasta, tinned tomatoes - and anything in bottles or tins that are too heavy to carry in my backpack - online from A$da (and any bargains that they may have at the time of placing my order) and then choose my own fruit & veg and smaller, lighter grocery items from Te$co and £idl (both of which are within a 1½ mile round trip walk of me)

If any heavy goods are cheaper at Te$co or £idl at the time of placing my online order though, I walk there and buy a few items at a time - or however much I think I can carry in my backpack.

I can make my online shop come to as much as I want it to. I simply add everything I want to the shopping trolley, and if it comes to more than I wanted to spend, I take out what I don't really need until it comes to how much I have available to me.....works like a dream.

But it's horses for courses - everyone has their own way of doing things, and it's all trial and error until you find what works best for you

boultdj that's a fab GC result! Well done you - and everyone else coming in under budget :T and to everyone who is trying :T

NSD for me today bringing my total to 14....I think that may be a record for me.

I was a bit dubious about only doing the one online shop this month instead of two, as it went horribly wrong last time I tried, but so far, it's working out very well. I do feel a lot more focused this month though.

I've found (for this month anyway) by giving a ¼ of my budget to A$da and the other ¾ to Te$co & £idl, and a couple of bits from Ice£and like bread and kitchen roll, I seem to be getting more for my money too - although I am having to do and awful lot of walking to achieve it!

zippychick

the feb challenge is up and running! do let me know if ive made any catastrophic errors!:eek::D

Hales

Hi,
i'm a newbie to this thread - do you include household products (washing powder etc) and toiletries in the cost of the challenge?
Sorry if ive posted in the wrong place
Hales
x

rosieben

thanks zippy!

pipersky - coming within £ 1.17 of your budget is excellent! :T wish I could get that close to mine

boultdj

Hales wrote: »

Hi,
i'm a newbie to this thread - do you include household products (washing powder etc) and toiletries in the cost of the challenge?
Sorry if ive posted in the wrong place
Hales
x

Some people do,some don't,it's your challange, include what you feel happy with. hth.

martafdz

PennyGrabber, I hope you feel better soon and avoid the comfort food! What about dressing up and going to some nice restaurant with some friend? Have a look at the restaurant vouchers and keep an eye on Groupon, every now and then there are really cheap bargains! You need to use that dress!!

I tried to do a pizza base twice in the last few days. First one was a disaster, I put too much water, the oven was not hot enough and the dough was not thin enough. Second one was muuuuuuuch better! Now I feel comfident I can make it right. I did the lazy pizza / scone base that appears in the index. Really easy and it's ready and on the table within 30 min, from scratch. I think it was 150g of self raising normal powder, 25g of oil and 75g of water (a tiny bit less than 1/3 of a glass). Double check, though. Mix, knead for a bit, roll out and put toppings. Then into the oven.

wannabrich, you might want to read that recipe too, honestly it is very easy once you get it right lol Dead cheap and you can add whatever you have at home. I did a garlic bread with cheese with that same recipe yesterday. I am planning to do more this weekend! We are only two at home but if I get right the bread next time I might invest in a breadmaker. We love white rolls and I would love to be able to leave the thing making them for the morning! Or for tea time! The only problem will be that I will be eating it with butter the whole day! Lol

Hales, I do include everything that I buy in supermarkets: cleaning products, food, toiletries (except moisturizers or make up unless bought in the sm), household items such as bin bags or cling film, etc. It is easier for me to just add up the whole total of the ticket than separating items here and there, considering that everything is paid with the same money and thus budget. But I guess that it all depends how your house is organized. My OH pays for bills and I pay for supermarket items, so everything goes out from my account.

lil_me

Declaring at £254 spent, so a couple of £ over and a good guess that'll be at some point when I had put cleaning stuff in. I've got a few days left but got enough in for those days. Never spent so little and didn't have a massive amount in apart from pastas/rices

See you in February fred

Sue14

I have to confess I couldn't resist going shopping yesterday:o, went to A1di and spent £14.84! Not going near the shops over the weekend, and won't have time to go anywhere on Monday, so should just make it (famous last words, lol!).