Grocery Challenge - February 2012

PennyGrabber

Hi all, very excited about the new thread!

Helen Jelly - could you please add me to the annual peeps, for £1680? Thanks! I do give myself a budget every month, from my annual, according to whether I need to buy expensive things in a particular month. How greedy am I, having monthly and annual targets?! Sorry to make you do more work!!

I said this on the Jan thread, but will repeat here as I'm possibly going to be very proud of myself soon. I did my weekly shop on Friday last week, and I may be able to go until Saturday without spending anything, which would be SEVEN NSDs in a row! I really want to achieve this, and it would be a first! Reeeeeaaaaalllllllly hope I can make it!

Night all,

PG x

elsiepac

Hi all

Wow, this is such a big thread!!!

I get paid on last working day of each month, so my month always starts then.

Thus, tomorrow is my first weekly shop (although it's a mini one for fresh stuff). Tomorrow will also be my "stock" shop.

It's my new way of budgeting for the month as it's just for me.

Basically have £25 for stock items each month, such as coffee (I'm particular about this and get through 2x jars a month - £6 straight away!) and tins of beans/ grains, big block of reduced fat cheese, tins of toms, bread mix which will last the month, etc.

Then weekly shops of roughly £15 for fruit, veg, milk, yoghurts, recipe ingredients etc, basically the fresher stuff. I tend to do my shops on a Friday evening where I can, as Friday is the day I start all my budgets.

So, to make myself commit, as this is the lowest budget I've ever set myself for a month, I wanted to say that my shop tomorrow should total no more than £37.50. This is stock and weekly, to clarify.

I'm not worried about the low budget, because I've meal planned to the pennies, and my shopping list for the month totals £96.94 with very slight overbudgeting.

LC

Winchelsea - I'm so sorry to hear of our loss, you have my hugest sympathies at this difficult time.

AlwaysHappy

Evening, just posting to get it off my chest. My February started on the 20th Jan (payday) and already I have spent £257.52 in 10 days - leaving me with the princely sum of £24.48 for the remaining 20days (oops!!!). In my defence - I did a Donald Russell order for delivery in 6 weeks time but had to pay for it straight away - and - I have done a freezer inventory and reckon I have the makings of 67 meals in there!!!! - sooooooo, in theory (not that it ever pans out that way) - the budget will catch up with itself next month. Damage limitation is now the way forward - I really would like to spend as little as possible over the next 3 weeks - though already know I will need some dog food, lots of milk, fruit & veg, oh, and meat for dh's sandwiches - yikes - that already sounds expensive. I read this thread as if my life depended on it on a daily basis and I'm certain the predicament would be a whole lot worse without it.

[Deleted User]

Hi folks. Spent £13.18 in Mr T tonight. I now have a freezer full of bread and rolls that cost between 1p and 12p. Also got some Anchor butter on offer 2 for £2.50 and Cathedral city mature chedder cheese for £4.48 - BOGOF. Tomorrows dinner will be soup and pudding - making roasted pepper and tomoato soup.

PolkaDotsAndLace

Can I be put down for £180 again this month please? Had hoped to reduce it but didn't do well enough last month really, so will just try and keep under this month, especially since it's shorter.

Trying to rethink my tactics - we still spend far too much each week, so am thinking of doing a big shop every fortnight (after mealplanning) and just a very basic top up shop for milk, bread etc the weeks inbetween might be better. We seem to spend too much buying food in weekly. Will see how it goes anyway!

Am also putting toiletries in a separate budget, so I'm not including them in groceries anymore, though it was never a lot to begin with.

lisakay_2

£180 for feb please ladies x thank you so much for keeping me so close to budget last month. just 50p over and i rounded totals up so in reality i was probably on target

Budget runs from 25th of each month (dh payday) and i tend to do my weekly shop on a sunday.

i really do try to keep up with the thread, but my apologies because you're all just too quick for me. as always i send you all lots of love and hugs x

£46 spent in aldi so far of febs budget and i'm actually hoping to miss out next weekends shop as the only thing i may have to buy is more catfood and maybe some milk.

I have a separate budget for takeaways/eating out (minimal, we rarely eat out) but i have been invited out for a meal friday night, pleased to say that i have been on the restaurants website and decided on a meal that will fit the budget and not blow the diet:beer:

WelshDreamer_2

Evening all done a weekly shop in @ldi on sunday and i was impressed bigtime with the prices i havent shopped there in many years and the fruit n veg was fab !!! £70 there after the £5 off voucher and £3 for coffee elsewhere so thats my first spends this month ....

Can anyone tell me if @ldi washing powder and softener is any good please fab prices ??

Stay warm all xxx

pinkpinkuk

Hello, could I be put down for £120 please?

This is exactly the boost I need to keep within my budget :T

Florenceem

We had Pizza - from the freezer - don't like bought ones but Mr F brought it home! I did home made wedges and roasted red cabbage/red onion and white onion. I put 2 Tbsp of Balsamic vinegar/2 Tbsp Olive Oil and 1 Tsp Sugar in a 99p shop ovenware dish. Mix together then add the vegetables and toss to coat - roast 30-40 minutes - yummy! I bought a red cabbage from Li.. for 51p - used 1/4 of it tonight - and people say - fresh vegetables are expensive. The thing is - eat what is in season and on special offer. The whole meal cost 98p for us two. First day of my Feb GC - NSD.

hamish222

£5.85 spend in Ald* today. And a £2 spend in Mr M getting some fruit shoots for my nephew.