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February 2011 Grocery Challenge

zippychick
zippychick Posts: 9,334 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
edited 28 January 2011 at 9:44PM in Old style MoneySaving
Hi Everyone,:wave:

Welcome to the second Grocery Challenge of 2011:beer:

This is my first time starting the thread so EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK! It's a bit scary.:eek::p

Pink, you're not going to shout at me are you?:p Just thought I would have try to help you out and have a bash at it myself this month. :j:A Credit where it's due Pink - this thing has pickled me brain! :D

If your new month starts early feel free to join this thread, or if you're still working on your January budget, then keep on posting in the January 2010 Grocery Challenge

As always this challenge is to reduce your own grocery budget to levels that you will be pleased with, not forgetting that we always recommend that you stay inside your own comfort levels and take things gently one step at a time. Remember that this is not a competition....it's designed to take you and your grocery spending to a level you are happy with.

If you are new to the challenge I have quoted the advice from Galtizz below which will help you get started.

Please post into this thread for help and advice and support at any time. Good luck to everyone taking part! :)
I have said this before, but for all the newbies to the challenge;

For the first month I took a guess at the budget but I really had no idea how much I was spending.

I found the best thing is to have a guess the first month but SAVE ALL OF YOUR RECEIPTS (and yes, that does include the ones from the local shop when you run out of milk ), then at the end of the month add them all up and have a look if you were on budget, if not, it doesn't matter because your budget was a guess. For the next month you can use the total of your receipts and take a bit off to get a realistic budget, just shave off as much as you think you can, it could be £1 a week or £20 a week.

If you are currently spending £200 a month don't suddenly drop it to £100 - you'll never do it but if you cut £20 a month off for a few months you'll get there eventually without feeling you're missing out on anything.

You might think you've done everything you can in the first month but someone always comes up with a new idea and, if you try it you often find you save a bit more (unless you are SarahSaver who is an expert at this and could only save more if she turned her back garden into a paddy field and lived on rice ) In the first month I thought, I'm planning meals, I couldn't possibly save any more, but then I started double cooking and freezing, and making soup instead of buying it in tins.

I've been doing this since Feb but only saved ALL of my receipts last month, it has given me a much better idea of where it is all going. Budget for next month is £80 for 2 of us, I'll start on 30/4. I could probably save more, by eating different foods but I can afford to live on £80, I have saved a lot of money since Feb. and I don't waste food or money any more. So I'm happy with my budget.
For quidelines on posting in this thread please read the second post in this thread.

For everyone's targets and totals for the month please read posts #3 and #4 on this thread.

For the Grocery challenge Recipe Index please see posts #5, #6 and #7 on this thread.

I hope everyone has a great month. Hope it's a good one for all of us. :)

Zip :)
A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men :cool:
Norn Iron club member #380

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