January 2013 Grocery Challenge

Shortie

Hello everyone! Last GC month saw an overspend of £2-3 which I was pleased with as it contained a fair amount of the Christmas food (incl the large FR chicken) and snacks but we did use up some stocks which we can't maintain forever clearly!

This month started early for me on 17th Dec and runs to the usual 20th Jan I've also had to allocate a £200 budget (please) for this month which is quite a big drop on last month as the boys now want school dinners and I've decided to cut £50 off the food shopping to try and help pay towards it..

I've decided to split the budget as £80 to last to the end of Dec, £120 the remaining 3 weeks of Jan. We've so far spent £77.15 and all I can say is I hope we shopped correctly to get us to the end of the month. We will have plenty of leftovers I know, but I somehow feel 'tetchy' about this month, mostly because of the budget drop. I might need to see if I can put the budget back to normal next month...

storytime

I'm new to this so will start higher than what I want it to be but lower that what I used to spend.( does that make sense?) To run from 1st to 31st January for 3 adults and a dog and to include food and toiletries and grandsons nappies. I'm loving the stretching it thread and will be trying some of the ideas so put me down for £375.

xxlouisexx56

Please put me down for £280

Anything left can go into my wedding fund this year, extra motivation

Kittenkirst

Hi, can I join in? Going to go for £160 for the two of us until 24/1/2013,

It sounds like a lot for two people but we have let ourselves get carried away with spending ways the last 4 months and really meed to reign ourselves in, this is one of the first small steps :0)

lushlifesaver

Yay I can officially put myself down for the GC now!

Our first month and I would like to be put down for a total of £150 - that's all in for groceries (food and non-food), doglet supplies and any/all treats! It's for two+one pup but bf is an athlete so eats carbs and protein like they might disappear any second. I'm certain I can get it down by a lot but its as good a starting point as any

Won't be starting it until January 01st and determined to make it stretch to January 31st! Have my lists of whats in the cupboards already and a rough meal plan in mind which I will get down on paper later this afternoon. Ready to hit the ground running next year - we stock up on meat, laundry supplies and toilet rolls (36 in the wardrobe atm!) at Makro and then buy pasta/rice, cleaning supplies at a supermarket. The rest I get from Iceland/the market.

Thinking of trying a monthly online shop for the main then just top ups from town - does anybody find that this works for them? Would usually use ASDA but considering Tescos for the added clubcard points, another option is to do the shop online at ASDA with Bfs mum to save on delivery/get offers. She only lives 2 minutes away so no real extra hassle as we're often round there...hmm lots to consider
Will be sticking around to get all the hints/tips possible!

LavenderBees

Hi :j

Skulking back after a wee break that turned into a longer break...thank you for having me

Ok, I'm going for £100 to take me from now to the end of January. I'm happy to record it in my signature.

I have a full freezer and reasonable stock cupboard, and want to use these up before restocking in early Spring. So, really...in January, I should only need fresh fruit and veges...given how much Christmas food I have in just for me this year, I'll desperately need to cut down in January anyway :rotfl:Chocolate, anyone? How about a nice retro snowball...remember those? Bit of cheese...go on, you know you want to...:rotfl:

Seriously though, not intending to go shopping again now for quite some time and I WILL resist the lure of the YS on Christmas Eve, nowhere to stuff any more.

Hope you all have a lovely Christmas. Enjoy!

LB xx

CupcakeLisa

I am going to try an annual budget this year as I found with monthly I didnt stock up as much as I should when there was a good deal as I didnt want to go over. I am reducing my budget by the quivilent of £20 per month from last year and since I have quite a bit left of my budget this month im hoping to go into January needing very little.

Can you put me down for £1680 for the year?

Kitchenbunny

I'm going to ask if I can do the same as cupcakelisa - could I switch to doing an annual budget this year please? I can never keep up with the monthly ones but if I have a "big picture" budget to stick to I might be better able to do it.

I'm going to work towards a budget of £1800 for the year, starting from January 1st 2013, if that's OK? I get discouraged easily if I go over on one month's budget so knowing I can still make it up in another month might better help me too. As of now we're pretty much stocked up on everything with the exception of a few fresh bits which I'll get when I can. For now, it's all meal planning and budget stretching into January, and making belt tightening on both levels a New Year's resolution.

KB xx

lottie3000

Well I thought i'd finished until after Christmas but popped into town and ended up buying some sausages and chicken and bread. So ended up spending a total of £9.28

sillyinthepast

Hi I am so going to stick to this challenge this year. My January budget is higher as I have used up most of my stockpile and freezer before the move. I want to replenish a few supplies and also do quite a bit of batch cooking so we have easy meals in the freezer.

My budget for January will be £375