January 2013 Grocery Challenge

thewestfive

An update from me.

I have spent £265.88 out of my £400 grocery budget.

I admit it was a very high budget but seeing as it was the first budget for about 3 years i more or less plucked a number out of the sky. Although i'm sure i have actually spent this in months gone by.

I have kept a track on all our spending. At the beginning of the month I did really well as my resolve not to have takeaways and minimize waste was strong, however it did wear off as the month went on, so we ended up spending just over £47 on takeaways and a visit to pizza hut with our youngest because it was parents evening, it wasn't worth coming home between school finishing and option/parents evening starting. School not local.

I also included general householdy things in this budget, things like batteries, light bulb, wall screws from B&Q. over the counter medicines from pharmacy when half of us succumbed to the dreaded lurgy that was doing the rounds.

So all in all a good month, I will post a final update at the end of January, I will probably need to spend about £20 for the last 4 days of January because there's not a lot in freezer now. Not sure whether to make do n just buy what i need from local small morrisons or do a big asda internet shop for February early and divide the cost across both budgets.

Although I've not really posted through the month, this grocery challenge has certainly motivated me.

tessie_bear

hi...liz paul a drop of vinegar in some warm soapy water is good for fetching off dirt on windows...not too much though or your car will smell like the pickle factory....with sinks pushing broken egg shells ( from a boiled egg) down is suppose to clear them
hth tess

pinchingpenny

Happy monday everyone, hope you had a good weekend.
I have some naughty spending to confess.. apparently someone with a hangover hijacked my shopping basket :whistle:
I am still under budget but I know I could have done much better..
£4.50 on a pizza express pizza from Mr.S is just ridiculous!
Add to that some biscuits. It could be worse though, at least I went in for the fruit as well, albeit expensive fruit: Grapes, strawberries and cherries haha.
Also picked up some milk and lemonade. I don't even like fizzy drinks so now I'm just going to have to drink it so it doesn't go to waste :wall:
Have resolved to do better next time.

liz-paul

Thanks Mrs money penny & Tessie - just what I was looking for!

Dumb question - can I use malt vinegar or should it be white? thanks!

mrs-moneypenny

i use whte vinegar the smell evaporates quickly
DH hates vinegar i do all the windows and mirrors in the house with it and he doesnt know as long as i do them while hes out

havent tried malt but someone who has or knows it cant should be along soon to help you with that one

Chloris

Declaring for January £332.67 so underbudget! Didn't think I would manage it. I am ending the month a couple of days early as I wanted to do a stock up online shop and I have already meal planed till the end of the month so it didn't feel like cheating. So I will see you guys over on the February thread! Good luck all. x

katholicos

Hi liz-paul, i echo the advice of others. I too pour soda crystals ( vary in price but at home bargains nearby they are less than 70 p a bag), about a third of a bag into the plughole. Leave them for a little while and then pour boiling water from the kettle over them to flush them through the plughole and top clear out the pipe.

Any vinegar will do for the cleaning of glass/mirrors, just use what you have.

nicolula87

Declaring for £257 out of my £300 budget which I am pretty happy with as it included the dogs food as well! Now over to Febs board to start it all again!

maximus_leeds

Declaring at £302.93/£450 for January given we're on the last leg and I've done my last shop (at Al*i and at H*me Bar**ins). I will, in truth, probably need a bottle of milk and some fresh fruit, but doubting that'll be more than £3 as I'm being rather hardline! I am genuinely stunned as to what can be saved by shopping lists, meal planning with cupboard and freezer inventories, and by internet shopping (via mysup**mar**t). My husband is impressed too - and that's a rarity
I want to say a big thank you to all of you for sharing tips, meal plans and how you actually budget throughout the week. I'm going to share more of what I do in the next month. Fingers crossed for savings for all - see you in Feb xx

GreenFairy

Adding €6 to my total...salmon and some fresh pasta. Freezer and presses are bulging for the most part but I reckon I won't squeak through without another tenner for milk, cheese and perishable bits.