January 2013 Grocery Challenge

nicknack

Could you put me down for £200 for January please?

Hope everyone had a great Christmas, and good luck to all for Jan!

tjak

Back in for a fresh start this year. Budgeting for £250 for 1st Jan to 31st, or £50 pw. I am going to try and do this in cash, and it will include cleaning materials and toiletries, and all meals.
Three of us in the house, but I am starting with well stocked cupboards.

cattysmum

Hi all not posted on here since end of October I think. I totally lost the plot grocery challenge wise as we were on holida y for two weeks in November and when we came back beginning of December I realised christmas was almost upon us and I had not done a great deal shopping wise, so I panicked a bit and definately overspent in December both on the pressie budget and the grocery budget. So new year is almost here and Im ready for new challenges in the new year starting with my grocery budget so am setting £200 budget limit for January please. Im also going to do a sealed pot challenge in new year my aim ...... a Kitchen aid red food mixer. wish me luck!!! I will be spending a lot more time on this thread as Im sure I will need lots of motivation from you lovely people. Hope you dont mind me joining in, I need lots of support!!!!

rising_from_the_ashes

she_who_can_not_cook wrote: »

some times the staples (i have found) to be cheaper in asda and tescos than aldi but its up to you both to see what you like/prefer

I find this too - I think it's because Al*di (and Li*dl) don't have the 3 (or sometimes more!) tiered approach to their products (value, own, special IYSWIM). However, I did see a value type pasta in Al*di the last time I was there so maybe they're becoming more conscious of this and will get some more basic products in.

MrsCD wrote: »

Risingfromtheashes - I'm glad I'm not the only one who has senior moments when working out my budgets :rotfl:Good to see you.

I did chuckle at that one!:cool: Nice to see you too MrsCD really looking forward to getting back into this after the disaster that was the end of this year :eek: - will be tough though as diet is still pretty restrictive but will just have to work harder at it!:)

Living_proof

Evening all,

I haven't posted since autumn as I had a major house move and have since 'been in the wars' having had an altercation with the staircase in the new house. Needless to say the staircase came out on top - and I came out battered and broken at the bottom.

Could you put me down for an annual £1400 please Coxy? I have a freezer which is full of HM meals for one and lots of ingredients for more when time and space allows. I left my big chest freezer up north but it soon became apparent that I wouldn't be able to have the variety and cost-saving without one but I got a very good deal on a Beko model as a Coop member, and this is especially designed for the garage which is where it is housed.

Having previously had a 25 mile round trip to the SMs I now live within walking daistance of Al*i, Li*l, A*da and Sainsbugs with a covered meat and veg market to boot. The challenge is not just to spend less but also to shop less! I have already run out of freezer space and have a few items to process yet so will have to re-arrange things until it will all fit in.

My budget will be all toiletries (already have a year's supply I think!) and any cleaning stuff required. I hope to end 2013 with the same good stock as I have now. Canny shopping one and all!

lynneee

Evening All! Happy New Year to everyone
It's been a few months since I have done this so would like to rejoin for January please. My budget is £150 please. (that's for 3 kids and 2 adults!)

KolaKube

Evening all! £5.81 spent earlier at the local shop - first spend of the Jan GC.

Was really pleased though as I got 6 local FR eggs, a box of lasagne sheets (I usually use the value ones, but these were a bit more expensive at 99p, boo!), a block of mature cheddar, 6x metal 'take away' cartons for the freezer, and 2 boxes of non-bio washing powder (Each with 30% extra free) for £1 each :j I was going to put some into my online shop at £4 a box for mini-Kubes clothes so I'm really pleased with that saving. Will last ages as I only really use a tiny scoop each time.

Dinner tonight was sausage baps (not healthy, but handy lol and the sausages needed using up). I also made a huge batch of bolognese sauce for lasagne, using up all the odds and sods of going off mushrooms / onions / carrots etc in the fridge. Tomorrow I plan to make up a lasagne for tea, and 2x small lasagnes to go into the freezer as the start of a big pre-mini-Kube batch cook. Determined not to slip into expensive ready meals / takeaways when he arrives. My aim is to have about 2 weeks of homemade ready meals stashed away at least :T

I'm off to make a start on the monthly online mega shop lol x

nicolula87

Well it took til day 3 of the GC month to spend, and it was only a small one. OH picked up passata and garlic for curry for tea (turkey of course) and it came to £1.38.

However the recipe only called for a small amount of passata, any ideas for what to do with the rest of the carton? Is it better to buy jars even though they are more expensive? Appreciate any ideas, thanks!

cowboymum

So first shop of new budget. I'm using the second purse system, however, all the money in second purse was spent on Christmas! Stores also seem a little low so going to spend from grocery budget a bit to get stocks back up. Today went to sainsburys and loads of bread and vegetables yellow stickered. Also got meat and tea for second purse. So spent in total £66.93 (£47.64 second purse stocking up and £19.29 on normal groceries).

bossymoo

Hi all

I've set myself a budget of £140 from now until 18 jan which s when I get paid. It was going to be £100 but my freezer and stocks are low after having guests over the festive period, so I've got a mr t (free delivery voucher) coming tomorrow. It's about £75 but should keep us going for 10 days. I also had £40 surplus from December, so not a worry.

For next month I'll probably go back to £250, but we'll see how the stocks go. I'm trying to avoid the shops...