May 2011 Grocery Challenge

LittleMissMPB

Have been thinking about joining this thread for a while, but at the beginning of each month I keep thinking 'I Can't get my shopping much cheaper, we need nappies etc' and by the end of the month the bills are down because I get the 'essentials' at the start. So I've just now decided to say 'screw it' and I'm doing it. Okay so I'm joining half way through the month.... I did just manage to shop for £28 for myself, OH and my daughter (including nappies for my baby son). I love the little yellow stickers on the meat.... and I did have a £15 tesco voucher so threw in some extras, crisps etc we probably could have done without.

I have decided to start making my own bread? Is it worth doing? I kinda like the idea of doing it, but does it actually save money?

Our meals for the next 7 nights are nice and simple things. Tonight is cheesy chicken breasts with pototoes, there is sausage and mash, jacket potatoes, pizza, omlettes, lovely simple and cheap. Oh maybe I could just buy some tomato purree and make my own pizza bases next week? Now there's an idea... I'm bursting with idea's right now lol. Is it wrong to be excited? I'd never realised it could be this easy to save money.

guccigoo

hi everyone, im pulling out of this months GC, feeling very low atm and cant concentrate I hope to be back in June, good luck all for this month.

quintwins

lmp do you have a breadmaker? if not you could try get one off freecycle and make your pizza bases in it aswell as ur bread it isn't really cheaper it costs 40p for a small loaf but it's alot more filling so you eat less which makes it more economical, also i use a tomatoe sauce that i make as my base, it's really just tinned tomatoes, garlic onions and some seasoning

oh dear i've gone very wrong and i'm now well over, £13 in m&s on junk food (and some reduced cream thats in the freezer) and £9.49 in tesco on 5 bags of stuff all reduced except for some bread and cooking bacon for a yummy sat morning breakfast and some milk so i'm now well over budget but my freezer is bunged

Sunnyday

guccigoo wrote: »

hi everyone, im pulling out of this months GC, feeling very low atm and cant concentrate I hope to be back in June, good luck all for this month.

Aw sorry to hear that, hope that you feel better soon.

Have a dodgy hug :grouphug:

SD

dawn060861

In my house there is me, my Husband and 4 days a week my 5 year old Grandughter, we go shopping just once a week, we go to Asda and we spend about £100 a week, this includes all food, toiletries,cleaning products etc. We can't afford to keep spending this much money and even though I meal plan I can't seem to get the shopping under say £85-£100 a week! I read the posts here and see some people spend that in a month so where am I going wrong?
I don't buy ready meals or lots of junk as I want my Grandaughter to eat healthy homecooked meals when she is here 4 days a week, My Husband takes a packed lunch to work every weekday .
I would love to cut our bill down to about £50/£60 a week or more if I could, I have a decent freezer and could do batch cooking but have been really lazy on the food front! any ideas where I start?

quintwins

might be woth posting your average shopping list or meal plan to see if anyone has any cheaper ideas, other than that just the normal cheaper cuts of meat, making your own bread and snacks, and going shopping late on in the day for reductions

meritaten

Do you have an Aldi or Lidls near you? I save a LOT of money by doing my weekly shop at Aldis and only using Tesco to get items Aldi dont stock (about once every three months I do a Tesco Shop and spend about £25. for things like Oxo cubes, Shwartz curry powder, tins of Butter beans, Homepride cook in sauce (sorry, but its handy to keep in), Creamed mushrooms, Frozen Broad beans and chicken livers etc.
I spend approx £50 a week in Aldis on my main shop and even my OH think we eat like kings! I could get it lower but we like to eat well.
I used to use either Asda or Tesco and a weeks shop used to come to about that FIVE years ago! I would hate to think what it would cost now!

suzybloo

THe main thing I have found is to meal plan for the month and stick to it. Not necessarily day by day but enough meals to see you through. I have various columns in my notebook. Column 1 is what the meal is column2 is the ingredients needed and column3 is what I need to buy for the meal. I do the same for breakfasts, snacks and suppers
I then work out what is to be on hubbies sandwiches for the week(s) and do the same - so column 3 is basically my shopping list.
I have a staple monthly shopping list eg 9 toilet rolls, washing powder, tissues, shampoo etc, 4 tins soup, 2 tins custard, jar coffee, dozen and half eggs, flour, sugar etc and so on. That way I am only needing to buy fresh produce during the week and this cuts down on impulsive buys. I have started getting milk delivered, along with getting rolls delivered too.
Like you there is myself and my husband and we have my 2and a half year old grandson three nights a week, I would reckon that I am approx £140 for the big shop, and £30 each week, and a milk bill of £17 for the month - so coming in at approx £300 maximum, some months slightly less.
It may seem like a lot of work but I start making my list about 10 days before the month end, to be delivered about the 1st or 2nd of the month, The majority of my shopping is the same everymonth, so after a little while you more or less are previous months lists.
I also bulk cook and freeze, that way we dont rush out for take aways when time is tight.
Hope this helps,

JLL

I was spending just over £80 a week for my DH, me and a cat. I'm well chuffed to say i've got mine down to about £45 a week. It can be done. Don't just shop in Asda check out what Tesco, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl sell. When you've got a bit of time on your hands just go and have a wonder round these supermarkets, just to check out the prices and see if you like them (people tend to get stuck in a rut with their own supermarket). Downshift brands that a big thing. I was spending £1 on a 250ml shower gel which woulr last just under a week. Brought Tesco's own (which smells lovely) 500ml bottle for 68p and it last just over 2 weeks. Dh hasn't complained

Pink.

Hi dawn,

I think with the way prices are rising at the moment that it's difficult for everyone, so you aren't alone.

For lots of tips and ideas on cutting back your grocery bill have a look at Martin's article on Supermarket Shopping and we also have a board where grocery offers are posted regularly: Food Shopping & Groceries Also the Discount Codes 'n Vouchers board has vouchers and codes that should help with online shopping.

Meal planning is a good way of managing your grocery spending. It takes a bit of getting used to but once you do it's a great way to save money by making sure you don't buy unnecessary things. Perhaps try it for one week to see how you get on by making a list of what you have at home and trying to build your meals around that. To get some help with mealplanning have a look in The Complete Menu Plans Collection.

For cheaper meal ideas have a look here: Cheap recipe threads

It might be worth joining in with the May 2011 Grocery Challenge thread. You can set a reduced amount that you feel comfortable with and if you manage that then try to reduce it a little the following month. In that thread, everyone sets themselves a personal grocery budget and try to encourage and support each other throughout the month to stick to their own budget. What you include in your budget is entirely up to you. I'll add your thread to that one later.

I'm sorry to have bombarded you with so many links but if you take the time to read through them it should help you to cut back. Good luck with reducing your bill.

Pink