March 2011 Grocery Challenge

burge23

MumOf2Beasties wrote: »

happy tuesday everyone:p

quick update of spends, popped down m'sons and whent a little over budget by spending £13.52, think i have plenty in to last untill the 31st so fingers very tightly crossed that i make it!!!

dd has chicken pox and will be off nursery for atleast this week and next, saves me £26 on nursery fees (live in a flying start area so get 12 hours free and i pay for two lunch sessions per week) so that's an extra driving lesson for me

can't get over how expensive childrens paracetemol is, but nur*fen was on offer for £2 and got own brand c*lpol for £1.77 and it will last ages tbh.

will update sig with spends and will give total for march on thursday night, just incase i end up spending more:o

My sympathies! Last time DS was ill I had a similar problem. Following advice elsewhere on this site I shopped at an on-line chemist and saved a packet. DH teaches PE and is out all summer with horrible Hayfever. Saved a fortune tablets for that as well as a generic children's paracetamol syrup in cherry flavour which DS claims was the best ever. Over all saved £20-30 on the order from high street prices even with delivery. Worth a look before the next flu season.

PennyGrabber

Hi all. NSD today.

Just been told today that I've got another week's work as supply, as my teacher has been signed off for another week. So that's good. Well, for me, not for her... I'm going to use the extra money to finish paying for my new fridge freezer, and then to buy my daughter a new bed - one of those bunk things with a double futon underneath so we can actually have people over to stay. Thanks to this challenge, I've become much more disciplined with money generally, and I've managed to save enough money already this year to decorate both of my children's rooms, and (almost) the new bed. I'm really pleased with this, as I've been in my house for 3 and a half years, and not touched any room to decorate, so this is definitely the start of something good, so thanks to everyone who contributes in any way on here - you're all fab!

Of course, now I just have to tear myself away from here to go and actually do the decorating!...

Night all,
PG x

philsmum

Hi everyone,
Failed miserably this month. :eek:
Mrs. Mac will you put me down for £200 or April please. Cant believe the price rises this month.
Good luck to all in April.
Pat

Sue14

Just a small spend of £3.80 between Mr T and £1 shop. I don't think I will need any more shopping between now and the end of the month, but as usual I will wait until the last day before I declare, just in case.

rachelww1

Small spend for me in c00p of £3.56 as I'd completely run out of salad. It also included 80p on a reduced family sized steak pie....well, i would have been rude not to buy it . Won't declare just yet...just in case

boultdj

A $4.10 spend yesterday to finish me off giving me a total of
$159.02 :jso under by $10.98, so pleased it's going in the right direction.

stuckdebt

I have all the receipts for the month on my desk. I'm dreading the total, im sure ive overspent. Going to add it all up tonight when i get back from work.

rosieben

philsmum, don't be disheartened, you're doing well and we're all struggling a bit with the rising prices just now

Winged_one

Look, it's been a hard winter, spring is only starting, and prices are going up. So while we are all trying to keep control, it is not always easy. And especially for those who arre only starting out, the first few months can be tricky until you get a better idea of what you NEED to spend every month.

The important thing is taking that control and at least tracking the spends, so that they don't spiral out of control. And then start to reduce them as you can.

I also find that, some months I can do really well and come in way under. But other months - things happen. Life goes mental, we have unexpected visitors, work goes bananas, I don't feel like cooking, there are loads of special offers I hadn't anticipated, veggies don't grow - all sorts!

So trying to track monthly spends is great, but also try to keep an eye on the bigger picture. For me, that is trying to keep the annual spending under reasonable control (which means that I can let some months go bad). Others may do it differently.

OK, sorry, this is not meant to be a lecture or hectoring. It's meant to be helpful (may be a bit "chin up, jolly hockey sticks" when I read it back - sorry). I can't do warm fuzzy huggy stuff usually in writing. But we'll get there. And starting to at least keep an eye on the spends is a great start!

CRANKY40

I've finished my shopping for March and I'm declaring a total of£218.95 thank you.