July 2012 Grocery Challenge

Possession

My July challenge starts tomorrow as well. Did OK in June but that included a week we were away so no grocery shopping. July will be the real thing! I'm going to try for £200 again and will update in my sig.

katiegirl

*Copy and pasted from the June thread.

I've set our budget for my first month of the grocery challenge at £150! It starts tomorrow which is pay day and is to include all food, including meals out, and any other household stuff like cling film, bin bags, cleaning products etc. I'm hoping this is quite realistic as we have quite a bit of food in the cupboards/freezer still; I'm also hoping to sell some stuff on ebay to make £30 for an approved food order.

I'm also setting a petrol budget of £150, which started today (because I wasn't quite sure I'd make it home from my friend's otherwise!) £47.03/£150.

We're moving house next month, as well as saving for a big trip next year so money is going to be pretty tight for the rest of the year really.

Good luck for July everyone, and well done to those who succeeded with their June challenge!

KatyReed+5

Ok here we go, my first full month of GC.

I have bought myself a book to write everything down in, i have 2 pages for July - Food, 2 for July - Household, and one for July bills, so everything i spent will get written down.

I have bought myself 2 clear plastic zip bags ( cost £4.18 but in my eyes worth it to help me long term ) today that fit in my bag, one for food money and one for household money. as we have been paid i have put £400 in for food, which will include anything we eat ( but not including the kids hot dinners which i pay for termly ), takes away etc, and £100 in for household which will include anything else including nappies, wipes etc.

I am still pretty stocked up from last month really, 9 dinners in the freezer, quite well stocked cupboards. I do need some packed lunch things, will get them tomorrow as i will be going past sainsburys.

I need some advice, where should i shop, i live in quite a large village and we have a co-op but that's it, they have good reduced things though. it is 7 miles to tescos, sainsburys and waitrose, 20 to aldi or lidl, is the driving to the cheaper places economical and money saving in the long run?

Today has been 2 spends so far, £1.90 in wilcos as i didn't take the kids juices out with me, whoops, and it's very hot so had to get them really and £4.58 in superdrug on baby wipes. They were buy one get 2 free which is an offer i couldn't give up so bought 6, will be back for some more tomorrow.

On another note me and my other half split up this morning so that's going to save me some money right there, all bar the comfort eating i've already been doing, whoops.

Went to Co-oops on the way home from the school run and only went in for juice but came out with £26.24 worth of shopping, will add to sig in a minuet 3 packs of really nice reduced sausages and 3 pack of reduced chicken, bread, milk etc, I did save £8.04 though by getting the reduced things so i don't see this a a complete waste.

Katy, X

XSpender

My challenge started on 22nd June and I have set a budget of £500 for just about everything! Food, laundry and cleaning stuff, dog food, toiletries, food/drinks outside the home, diesel, and gifts.

DH is away for the rest of the week so I am eating basic veggie meals until the weekend but I am running short of loo roll and salad cream(loads of salad stuff to eat up) and may have to visit the shop before Friday which is my usual shopping day. Will be doing everything I can to last until then and need to keep the shopping bill as low as possible after my embarrassing overspend last month.

Got given some unopened left over buffet stuff today which will do for a week worth of meals for DH as I will stick it in the freezer until next week.

2nd NSD of my month today:D

WelshWoofer

Hope you're ok after the split Katy? Take care of yourself. xx

I'm in this month again too. Just checked and its a 4 shop month for me (weekend shopper) taking me in to the school holidays (teacher - hurrah!!).

So I'm going to try for £100 again - didn't quite manage it last month but I could have if I'd really tried harder.
I'm trying to lose a bit of weight and am currently eating loads of salad and fruit and so hopefully Aldi will help me along. I also have 2x £4 off £20 vouchers from Mr S so will buy the tinned/frozen/dried stuff there and stick to Aldi and the greengrocer for fresh stuff (find Mr S very expensive for a lot of F&V and fresh goods).

Eyebright

Hugs to you Katy hope you are ok.

Thanks for starting up the July thread Zippy

I'm in for July with £200 again, hoping to do much better at keeping to the budget this month!

Am currently roasting a smallish chicken which will do roast chicken with mash, carrots, peas, onion and gravy for dinner tonight and the LO's are going to make a chicken and chorizo jambalaya for dinner tomorrow night! Yum.

Mrs_Money_Penny

Hi All please put me down again for £400 for July. Many thanks.

mummybearx

Hope you are okay Katy

Please keep me at £250 for July, that's for all food and cleaning products and also pet food from 1st til 31st July.

Was very lax this month, literally no idea what I have spent. Going to buy a little notebook this week and shall be marking down all spends in July. Need to stop procrastinating and actually do it properly!

Xx

sonastin

July starts on the first for me. I'm really pleased with June's success (so far) but I don't think this is the month for cutting the budget - we're going away camping for a week at the end of July and I know the shops in the area are more expensive than usual, plus the cooking options tend to lead towards more expensive meal choices too. Although I've been targetting £200, my actual budget is £225 so I think I'm gonna set that as the target for July just in case.

Islandmaid

Hi all

I,m back.....:D

£350 for me in July please.

Life got in the way over the past couple of months, but my bank account is begging me to get back to OS.:eek: