Grocery Challenge - February 2012

helen_jelly

Afternoon

Budgets done to here - please shout if I've missed you

Helen x

helen_jelly

Over the next few days I'm going to make a start on changing names on the front list to numbers

If you don't want your name on the list anymore but are still part of the challenge can you post and let me know so I can make the list shorter :]

I know that some of you are happy just to have your budget as part of your siggy and that some of you want to stay on the list - if you want to stay on the list then please continue to post your budget [I'll be on the list as I need to see my budget somewhere that makes me accountable lol]

Thank you
Helen x

elsiepac

Hi helenjelly

Please can I be a number (preferably an odd one!). I will set a budget of £70 for March but my month doesn't begin until the last day of February.

Thanks! :j

LC x

bupster

Hi Helenjelly,

I'm going to set a budget of £100 for March - but this time will make sure it's only food, and put everything else under my £100 entertainment budget. And if I run out of that I run out. Anything I save on food though goes into a money box which I can call on at the end of the entertainment budget if necessary!

I know it's not exactly thrifty, but I live on my own and it can get very isolating if I have to keep telling people that I can't ever come out - and originally I had budgeted £300 for myself for the month, before breaking it down into constituent parts!

nimbo

well went shopping today - and am now a bit over budget (oops) i got it into my head i'd only spent 70 for the monthwhen i was on 79.99....

hahaha

so spend this month is £106.59 so far....

i will have to try harder, and be good for the rest of this week....

hugs to all.

AlwaysHappy

elsiepac wrote: »

I only have to budget for 3 meals daily for myself and I have a separate monthly budget for toiletries (£30 as I get through a fair bit of make up!!!) - this budget is literally just for food/drink groceries.

To be honest, this is my lowest month EVER! It was the lowest budget I'd ever set myself at £98 and I'm actually going to be coming in at around £73.

I'm very pleased

This month, the reason I've managed this is meal planning (which I've been doing for maybe 4 months now), and also I've expanded my meal planning s/sheet to include some Visual Basic programming, so I have an item list which I update with prices from various places I shop (it expands as I find another item I haven't yet bought since setting up the list so very much a work in progress), and then for each month I have 2 worksheets in the overall workbook - one is the actual meal plan (which covers lunch and tea) and the other is the shopping list for the month based on that meal plan. It's complex and it's taken me a LONG time to get it to a point where I'm happy it's now really helping me (I use it in conjunction with a "Stores" s/sheet so I know if I need stock items like tinned toms, beans, pasta etc). I constantly update throughout the month (e.g. if I'm out unexpectedly at a friends for tea maybe) and keep a VERY accurate record of what I'm buying and spending. I think I can get it down a bit more, but for now I'm happy with my improvement.

For example, looking back at my original spreadsheets from when I started budgeting (and tracking spends) properly last year, my budgets were:

July 2011 - £160
Aug 2011 - £140
Sep 2011 - £140
Oct 2011 - £150
Nov 2011 - £140
Dec 2011 - £150
Jan 2012 - £150
Feb 2012 - £98

March I am setting £70.

To be fair a lot of the spends were before I was meal planning, and also I have a bad habit of if I need e.g. one tin of chickpeas, I'll buy three so I have 2 for stock. I don't have a lot of storage as I'm at my parents at the moment, and what I do have is busting at the seams. So March and April are to be about using up stocks so I can get more bargains!! I'll be interested to see how I get on after that, when I don't have the stocks to rely on!

HTH - If you're interested I can make my meal planner shared online and put a link on here so you guys can see it - I warn you - it's complicated but makes perfect sense for me!

LC

ooh yes please - I would love to see the meal planner - if its not too much trouble!!

mumwithamission

Pennygrabber - if only 3 toilet rolls would last us till the end of the month!!! I swore I would never recite my dad's instructions to me as a kid (" 2 sheets for a wee and 3 for a p**") I used to think he was so tight, but my kids take it to the opposite extreme and virtually block the loo with each visit! Have pleaded over the years to their sensibilities but with no success - we are easily a roll-a-day household:eek::eek::eek:

elsiepac

AlwaysHappy wrote: »

ooh yes please - I would love to see the meal planner - if its not too much trouble!!

I've put it on my Dropbox, HERE

Shout if you have questions. If you're wondering where Jan is, at the end of each month I turn the tab black so I know it's finished and move it to the end so I still keep the record (i.e. scroll to the right).

When planning ahead, I tend to leave a couple of blank days which will get moved around throughout the month, as unexpected events occur.

*Freezer* on its own means some kind of sauce based meal from freezer, i.e. chilli, curry, lentil ragu etc. Something I would serve with pasta or rice etc - stuff I would have in the cupboard.

Bear in mind that I'm trying to use up stocks at the mo.

Also remember that the list at the front of "Items" is MANUALLY updated by me when I either find a new product I haven't yet bought since making the list, or if I notice the price has changed when I go shopping.

Also, I've blocked off my SA trip at the end March/beginning April - suggest you don't!!! :rotfl:

Knock yourself out (and bear in mind I'm OCD...:p )

LC

ETA: If you want to use this please feel free - only update the Items list tab, and then you can choose the item from the drop down list each month. for the prices, just select the top cell, and Fill Down to get the formula to replicate. LC

coldcazzie

I did a bit of shopping today at the butchers and market, total spend was £29.50 which means my running total is currently £222.78 with two and a half weeks still to go. I've a bit of shopping to do tomorrow at the sm but it shouldn't be much. I am hoping to shave my budget back further next month, I think a £400 total will be good.

mumwithamission

OMG elsiepac that is SO IMPRESSIVE! puts any of my lists and plans to shame - you should do this for a living :rotfl: