January 2012 Grocery Challenge

mumsiemum

Florenceem wrote: »

Did what I was told - have I got a signature now?
Yes! Previewed post!

YAY!! - well done! :j Your posts made me smile cos they were all the questions I had to ask at the begining and was unnaturally excited when I got my sig updated

MM

Spiggle

mumwithamission wrote: »

Hi Rachel021967 - spotted on your signature that you have same family combo as me (my teenagers are eating us out of house and home and the 7yr old is on a continuous growth spurt!) New to this forum - going to request to join up, but scared by how frugal some folk manage to be. I have always spent loads on food (and so have always been in debt) which needs to change. Encouraged by your budget, but wondering if you've done this before and know you need that much, or are guessing? Please advise me, I don't want to be unrealistic and fail at the first hurdle. Many thanks.:o

Mumwithamission, welcome :hello:

Please don't be scared by us - this is one of the most friendly and supportive threads on the forum honestly.

I'm sure Rachel will respond and give you some tips.

In the meantime, have a look at post #345 on page 18 of this thread for a list of tips with starting out. It may be that you don't set a budget this month but just monitor spends in a spend diary or on a spreadsheet so you get an idea of how much you are spending. The important thing is that it is up to you what budget you set and what you include as this is not a competitive challenge but like minded people trying to get by and getting the best value for what they need.

You really are most welcome and I hope you will join us.

Take care,
Spigs

Northern_Princess

I am SO impressed with myself. Have done the months pantry/meat shop as well as cleaning materials, toiletries and dog and cat food for £240. This incorporates lunches etc Have filled the redundant freezer in the garage with usable sized portions of bread/wraps/pitta too so hopefully no waste! I have budgeted £20 a week for the rest of the month for fresh fruit and veg but will hopefully come in well under this as I've discovered a farmers fruit and veg market straight across the road from work which is on a Thursday and the rest of the girls at work love it. :T

mumsiemum

Brassic_Park wrote: »

Spent £5 on lunch today it was the first day back at work and I felt rotten so I needed some comfort

Same - ate 2 bags of malteasers at work after my NYR was to not spend any money at work. Mind you it did make the morning more bearable :rotfl:

MM

lemmings1986

have also just seen a recipe for mars bar cake which sounds nice but i havnt got any mars bars in except the ones in the tub of celebrations so went on t's a single mars bar is 58g so am going to weigh the mini ones to 56g and have ago at making them lol hopefully i will have enough mini ones to make it will be back to let you know how i got on

lisakay_2

I'm on to the second week of this month and spent £14 yesterday. None of the stuff I bought was urgent, but I was out with my mum and even though she knows I'm trying to spend less, she still encourages me to buy more! Saying that, I would have needed it all soon, so all is not lost and kids butty boxes are sorted for th erest of the week and most of next week too. By sunday I will be on to week 3 and even that shop will just be a top up with some fresh fruit and veg. hoping for 3 nsd til then.

mi_jardin

Made my first purchase of the year!
I spent £2.23 of my £100 budget on an aluminium roasting dish (the disposable ones they sell for turkeys) for 45p to sit in the bottom of the oven and catch anything, some bananas, and a tub of bicarb and bottle of cheap vinegar to scrub the kitchen floor with when I am holiday next week.....I think I'd rather go to work!:rotfl:

mumwithamission

Can I please join? Have been watching from the sidelines for a few days now and am ready to jump in. Really eager to deal with my overspending but not sure what's a realistic goal for a newbie. Have hitherto operated an 'if I want it I buy it' system - but that's got me into all sorts of bother
Think I'll plump for £500 for Jan, hoping that doesnt sound too greedy - it terrifies me!!

Loving Motherships Second Purse system (post 6) and have already got that up and running

Sazdaz

Quite impressed, day three of the month and so far only spent 55p on mushrooms. have to get a few more things in a few days time but hoping I can keep this up. Also just been reminded by my nan that I have food in her freezer as well from when I freezer stopped a month ago.

SueP19

MissOrganised1972 wrote: »

We live in a nice house in a nice area. We worked hard to get here but find ourselves in a position (due to numerous pay cuts, changes in circumstances etc) where we can pay our bills but not a lot more! This is why I am on a grocery challenge aiming for £30 per week! My neighbour, although she does not know our exact personal circumstances, knows we are not in the same affluent possition they are! Her kids go to private school & they have just bought an expensive house to do up whilst they continue to live in their big house next door to us! Let me just say she is a lovely lady & I feel a bit bad ranting about this but nonetheless I am pretty mad and so here goes........!

Earlier, her daughter came round with a huge bag of 'hand-me-down' clothes for my daughters. How thoughtful I thought. My kids have enough clothes (they got a lot for Christmas). I said to the little girl 'ask Mummy if she wants anything for these'. Some time later she came to the door with the daughter. I thanked her and repeated my offer. If I am being honest I expected her to say 'don't worry' they would have just been thrown out!' Oh no! She said well if you'd like to make a donation to me for them because I have had to buy DD some new ones! :mad::mad::mad: Did I ask for the clothes, do I need the clothes? No! But now I am expected to shell out some money for 2nd hand clothes I did not need & can not afford! Oooh I am hopping! Deep breaths!

Back on topic............
I have got one of my Lidl packs of British Steak Mince out of the freezer (which I bought for £1.34 on one of their offers) & added lots of ingredients to it to make burgers. That will be tea. I am hoping to have 3 left to freeze. Will be serving them in baps with salad.

NSD for me today:)

lemmings1986 wrote: »

hi just tell her no of the clothes fit so you dont want them and just giver her them back,mmm hm burgers sound nice

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Ohhhhh MissOrganised I'd be fuming too ....... I'd be tempted to send them back and say that she can ebay them or take them to a car boot if she needs to make some money from them!

I would use one of the above, if your feeling brave go for the ebay one :rotfl:

I had a friend, years ago that I thought was soooo kind, until I realised that it made her feel good to play lady bountiful :mad:

Hold your head high hun, nothing is forever and you are on the road to learning valuable skills to last a lifetime. I am sure she would crumble if it had happened to her !!!!!