April 2007 Grocery Challenge

Janeryan

Bit late joining in this month but was trying for my normal budget of £50.00 a week(£250.00 this month)

Sadly have already spent £237.84 due to DS on school hols/Easter Eggs/ and entertaining three weekends running.Payday is 28th so tomorrow we will be halfway through the month with only £12.16 left to spend so I am not optimistic about my chances!

On the good side though if I do fail it will be the first time this year that I have gone overbudget!

The problem is that DS sleeps most of morning so has breakfast at lunch time than has lunch at dinnertime so doesn;t want what we are having for dinner so keeps cooking himself something seperate later in the evening so seem to be getting through loads more food!

Any suggestions on how to get round this as I can see it happening more & more the older he gets!

newmrslockwood

I send my 2 younger sons upstairs at 9am to wake my 13 yr old!:rotfl:
I won't let him sleep in!
I know, rotten mother!:rotfl:

poohbear59

Janeryan

My Dss are 21, 18, and 16. This holiday I bought loads of cheap pasta in sauce things from Aldi. They don't cost much but when they were hungry they could have one of those or toast or cereal. It seems to have worked as we are still within budget and have lots of food in freezer and cupboards. I have also not bought any biscuits or crisps for months now and they no longer notice. It was just a waste of money for us as we are on a very tight budget.

angelatgraceland

happyathome_withmyboys wrote: »

Thank you, angelatgraceland - its one of those tools that could be so useful, and it does have so much potential - but one person alone (who has any kind of life that tends to get in the way!) just can't realise it. I forgot to say on the PM that I forgot to apply a filter - the document I sent was a rescued one - after offering the thing I found out it had been 'lost' during one of my many child-induced computer crashes...

Yes, if we bump it back and forth between a handful of us it will be really great. The one thing lacking at the mo is a total column for the shopping? Ive done the formatting for the extra colums to add to yours(that was easy) If it gets lost in the future at least someone else will have one they can return to you. That is the great advantage of sharing! Same goes for photos of course(off topic I know) but if you have "shared" and you lose yours, there are always some about to get copied.:money:

angelatgraceland

We had some 8p noodles the other day! Kids thought they were great. Junk I agree but fine once in a while :+)

EagerLearner

I can lend a hand with spreadsheet if anyone would like?

Just PM me and I'll let you know my e-mail addy - the Grocery Challenge Calculator I have within thes spreadsheet in my sig is a bit basic and I would mind working on something new to stimulate me brain cells a bit!

happyathome_withmyboys

angelatgraceland: I have just come to the same conclusion re totals myself today - i did a test run with a few prices, and tried to guess how much the total would be so I could take the appropriate amount of cash with me - much better if the shopping list told us how much it would be! Also - it would be cool if we could then decide whether to do total shop in Lidl/Asda/Tesco and weigh up any individual price differences against the cost of extra petrol/diesel....

Eagerlearner: any additional help/suggestions would be fabulous. As I've said it is very very basic - but lets make it great. Please PM me your email and I'll get it right to you.

lil_me

Looking forward to seeing how the spread sheet develops. Wouldn't mind a copy when it's been passed about. I am seriously lacking in ideas for improvements but more than willing to try it out.

So far with being ill haven't been out shopping today, did have 2 weeks milk money to pay today but had took that out already (ordered double being hols to resist the daily shopping for milk, which rarely ends up being just milk)

I am also bugging DP for a new fridge/freezer, limited storage for frozen food means bulk cooking means only one meal in freezer and not a lot of space for bread etc. Also have to not buy bargains or risk not using them before they go off. It's when I have to shop more often for little things I have been spending more, I was getting better at just getting what's on the list but have fell off that wagon and been naughty!

Hope everyones having a good month, it is a relief seeing others finding this month tricky with the extra purchases with hols times etc, of course I am not happy because others are struggling, just knowing Im not the only one helps.

ti1980

Lil-me, shopping little and often works best for me but I think it all depends on how many people you are shopping for. I'm only shopping for one and I used to waste loads when I was doing weekly/fortnightly large(ish) shops.

I've started being a bit more selfish and only buying what I use these days. I rarely have cereal with milk and tend to only eat bread at work so have pretty much stopped buying it for the house.
I quite like having sweet cereal as a snack even though the amounts I eat it is probably worse than a chocolate bar!:o

poohbear59

I have managed to go a whole week without spending any of my grocery budget. WE were hoping to get to Aldi this afternoon but car broke down so were brought home and mechanic wouldn't divert to a supermarket for me.lol, So egg beans and chips tonight, and rethink things tomorrow. If DH is not working he may have to take me shopping which will cost more as he can't resist buying unnecessary things, or 'bargains'.

I am really keen to try having a go with your spreadsheet when it is done. I tried the supermarket comparison website but as no supermarkets deliver to us doesn't allow me to make on line comparisons.

lil_me have you tried freecycle for a fridge freezer, many people in my area have been pleased to get them usually when people are doing up kitchens.