April 2013 Grocery Challenge

prophecy_grrl

Hi all, am going for £150 this month as it's almost a 5 week month for me.

Good luck all

P_grrl xxx

Florenceem

WantToBeSE wrote: »

Can i please try AGAIN this month?

I don't know what I am doing wrong I am not managing to stay within budget at all, every month!
So I have changed to weekly, in the hopes that it might help me budget better..but i have tried weekly before. Lets see if it works this time.

Any advice appreciated.

Please put me down for £60 a week in April.
Thanks.

Have you done a good stock take of cupboards/fridge and freezer - followed by a meal plan then a shopping list? Keep to the list when shopping.

mummyyof5

Thank you JayJay and k9andfeline..will be trying both of those xxxx

NickJW

Hello all!

After coming in over budget in March, I'm ready to start afresh in April.

Going for £130 again...and will do an online shop tomorrow to get stocked up early!

Bluegreen143

WantToBeSE wrote: »

Can i please try AGAIN this month?

I don't know what I am doing wrong I am not managing to stay within budget at all, every month!
So I have changed to weekly, in the hopes that it might help me budget better..but i have tried weekly before. Lets see if it works this time.

Any advice appreciated.

Please put me down for £60 a week in April.
Thanks.

What about pricing your list online before you go shopping, then you'll know if you've gone over or not? When you do your weekly shop, leave £10 or so to allow you to top up on milk and fruit without going over. Are you buying loads of YS/"bargains" every time you go shopping? Yes these help you save money if they are things like veg and meat and will be used - but do you really need them or are they treats? Someone else last month (can't remember who) had the EXCELLENT suggestion to physically pull the stuff out that you want to use up out of the cupboards before making your list, then meal planning around it. So if you have red lentils and onions and rice, make daal one night. Do you buy loads of wine etc? Maybe cut back on that for one month and see if it makes a difference?

Alternatively, are you setting your budget just too low for you to achieve? If you're failing every month, that's not a nice feeling, maybe you need to increase the budget a little bit for just now?

HTH

mrs-moneypenny

thank you again for the new thread zippy, hope you are feeling better now.

cant believe we are in april already! were is this year going??

cooked to much veg yesterday for the huge family dinner so we will be having leek and potato soup at lunch and quorn and veggie pie for tea - that should make it a cheap day and use most of the leftovers up

msgnomey

Morning (just!)

Tried to stick to this a few months back and failed dismally!! So I'm going to have another go

£60 per week, £240 for the month, that's for me OH and 2 fussy cats. Oh and we have 3 extra adult to feed every Sunday although they often bring contributions of food!!!

I do meal plan but OH has mental health issues and doesn't always fancy what I've planned even though he helps me do the planning but that's another story and I know he can't help it!!!

I abhor throwing food away but work long hours and plans change suddenly (no excuse I know) anyway I am aiming to cook what is planned and freeze it for another night or for my lunches when he doesn't fancy it

I am also planning to get £60 cash out and try to make that stretch. Must also add up on the way round the super market (I shop at Ald* with top ups from Asd* for the things Ald* don't have)

WantToBeSE

meg72 wrote: »

Are you using cash,I find putting thr bedget in a separate purse helps me focas , when yu see the cash going down really makes you think do I really need it. Good luck

Hi Meg, yes i already use cash, as i thought it may help to keep within budget. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Florenceem wrote: »

Have you done a good stock take of cupboards/fridge and freezer - followed by a meal plan then a shopping list? Keep to the list when shopping.

Hi Florenceem- yes i already have done a stock take (i tend to every week), and also meal plan (but admit i have fallen off the meal plan several times over the last 2-3 weeks, so maybe thats not helping).
i always make a list, and stick to it. Thanks for the ideas.

Bluegreen143 wrote: »

What about pricing your list online before you go shopping, then you'll know if you've gone over or not? When you do your weekly shop, leave £10 or so to allow you to top up on milk and fruit without going over. Are you buying loads of YS/"bargains" every time you go shopping? Yes these help you save money if they are things like veg and meat and will be used - but do you really need them or are they treats? Someone else last month (can't remember who) had the EXCELLENT suggestion to physically pull the stuff out that you want to use up out of the cupboards before making your list, then meal planning around it. So if you have red lentils and onions and rice, make daal one night. Do you buy loads of wine etc? Maybe cut back on that for one month and see if it makes a difference?

Alternatively, are you setting your budget just too low for you to achieve? If you're failing every month, that's not a nice feeling, maybe you need to increase the budget a little bit for just now?

HTH

Thanks bluegreen. This is my major problem-We only have 1 supermarket here, and they don't always stock what's online. So if I made a 'list' online, I wouldn't be able to guarantee getting the same stuff in there store.
I think it's the 'top up shops' that get me into trouble. ...like sweets, milk, bread etc...so I think I am going to limit the sweets to once a week for the kids, and also buy some UHT milk to stock up on.
I really want to keep to the £60 a week, as i think it should (is!) possible for me and 2 children-even if they do both eat loads-but will reconsider next month if i can't manage it this month.

Thanks for the help guys, it's really appreciated.

MrsCautious

Hello everyone,

I just did my first shop of the month and spent £41.61, with £16 of that in Aldi and the rest in Sainsbury's. I have stocked up on rice (40p for Basics 1kg bag from Sainsbury's) and pasta (29p for Everyday Essentials penne from Aldi -- 500g) as well as other 'store cupboard' ingredients -- including paprika and tahini for making hummus as I found some chickpeas lurking!

I know Sainsburys is more expensive than Asda but it's nearest for me and just down the road from Aldi. With this in mind, I do my best now to shop to keep costs down as much as I can. I got the following today which were good value I think:

Basics rice pudding 15p for a tin to serve 2.
6 Basics apple pies -- 50p
Basics rice -- 40p for 1kg
YS finger rolls (6) 35p, best by tomorrow. (Got 2 tins Aldi hotdog sausages at 49p -- could be a very cheap lunch/tea )
Four tins Princess tuna in brine £4.
Cooked ham and chicken (70g each) two for £1
Basics double strength orange squash - tastes nice - 80p for 1.5l

I bought most fresh fruit at Aldi, except for half a cucumber as I can't see they do halves, so I could spend less and not waste, plus two kiwi fruits asked for by my daughter, they were much better value in Aldi, but I didn't want to buy 6.

I checked prices of everything I wanted at Sainsbury's on MySupermarket so I could get it from there if cheaper rather than assuming it would be cheaper in Aldi. Anything the same price (like the rice) I buy in Sbury's for the nectar points and cashback on a credit card.

I bought big tub (750g) mushrooms from Aldi for £1.49 plus Super Six onions at 49p to make lots of soup for my lunches, will make this week and freeze.

Hope my wittering is useful for someone, just trying to justify to myself that Sainsbury's doesn't have to mean I am spending a packet where I don't need to, as I know I have for the last 10+ years. Could be typing this from Rio now I'm sure if I'd been more thrifty

ETA: Making the most of nectar points is also helping and every time I hit points worth £10 I take that off my shopping. I boost points through adpoints, e-shops and nectar search. I'm thinking of getting a Sainsbury's nectar credit card and paying off balance in full each month to get more points that way.

I have a cashback credit card at the moment, coming to the end of 3 months at 5 per cent cashback, was a bit disappointed to not be able to use at Aldi, but use cash where I can. I certainly wouldn't want to encourage anyone to get a credit card just for this little difference on their shopping if they are doubtful they can pay it off each month but it works for me, I don't think I get the cashback for ages but that will be a nice bonus.

This month I should also get a Love2Shop voucher from TopCashback with around £11 on it -- from bonuses for signing up I think, you can spend this at Iceland, so I'm planning on using this as an unexpected boost to my grocery budget xx

pinkypig

98p on onions and a sliced loaf in Aldi. Not going near a shop until at least Sat. Weather forecast for the rest of the week is cold but sunny. Perfect for hill walks and picnics. Much cheaper than shopping too:)

PP xx