July 2013 Grocery Challenge

meg72

Well done Shoey, that the way to go.

hattifattener

Teccos monthly shop last night was £102.80 including delivery - finally our cupboards are bursting after ages of having no treats in!

Sainsbugs this morning for fresh fruit, milk, bread, ham etc and that was £14.86.

Total now is £119.35 - leaving us with £80.65 for the next three top up shops, more than our £25 limit per week.

I'm finding that the difference in price between supermarkets doesn't matter so much as how strict I am. If I go in distracted and pick up this yoghurt cos it's the first one I've seen or those apples because they're in a packet at the end of the aisle it all adds up. Today I went to the deli counter and got 100g of the best offer on cold meat sliced nice and thin for £1.19 - that's plenty for a good few sandwiches, unlike buying 4 slices in a sealed packet from the fridges.

Bluegreen143

No spends yesterday. Was off work for little sister's graduation then we went out for a family dinner (paid by my lovely parents) so didn't cook last night. Very nice evening with OH, sister & her OH, our parents and our grandparents

jedi82

Hello, spent 95p on bin bags. Still going well...... DD1 and DS have both got friends coming over tonight so will cook a load of sausages and mash. I'm gonna have some sweetcorn fritters cos they look lovely! Not sure about pud, tinned fruit I think.

Have a good day xxx

fivemoreminutes

Hi dylan2011! I'm new to this thread as well and also have an almost 2-year old and a 10 week old. Had found my shopping bill increased with all the nappies and wipes, plus all the new foods I buy for my DS to try, only to have them refused in favour of sausage rolls ...

Very early days here but am finding that it is definitely helping me to be more mindful of what I'm spending and look the amount as a percentage of my monthly allowance rather than the odd tenner here and there, which of course add up very quickly!

Good luck and let me know if you come across any good deals on food that a toddler will actually eat!

Billie-jo

Have spent £24.18 today - needed cheese, eggs, milk, butter, juice, potatoes and a few other things.
Sausage, mash, cabbage, carrots and sweet corn for tea tonight, grand children will have broccoli instead of cabbage as they don't like it. Not a problem as they eat loads of other stuff. Then fruit and yogurt for afters.

For those who state they usually spend around £100 per week on food and want to reduce this -I am proof that it can be done as we were the same. I had £500 a month and it always went every penny of it but have reduced this to between £200 - £250 a month. There are 2 adults for every meal, my mum comes most Sundays and I do her a meal 2-3 times a week and take it to her plus we have 3 grand children as and when needed, more so in the holidays and they are all good eaters. DH is diabetic and we both roughly follow slimming worlds so lots of fruit,veg and lean meat. Unfortunately from a cost point none of us like any pulses except beans on toast, neither do we like lentils, cous cous etc. I do manage to put some oats in mince meat and if there is only DH and myself can add a small amount of pearl barley to stews. Hate soya type things although tried a few times, nor will DH settle for more than the occasional meat/fish-less meal. So please don't think you cant do it because you can in time. Our budget includes all food, cleaning and toiletries and our main shops are A1di & Morri$ons. HTH

Cekaelta

Late start as we have been visiting family, but I have kept track of the little bits and pieces so far this month unlike the last. I would like to have another try at aiming for £200 this month please. So far we've spent £9.81 on little bits and pieces from travelling and I just did a big shop, first time using moneysupermarket, spending £74.56. Hoping that big shop should see us through the month in terms of cupboard and freezer supplies and cleaning products so its just the fresh stuff we'll need to top up weekly or so. Will update signature with total.

hattifattener

fivemoreminutes wrote: »

Hi dylan2011! I'm new to this thread as well and also have an almost 2-year old and a 10 week old. Had found my shopping bill increased with all the nappies and wipes, plus all the new foods I buy for my DS to try, only to have them refused in favour of sausage rolls ...

Very early days here but am finding that it is definitely helping me to be more mindful of what I'm spending and look the amount as a percentage of my monthly allowance rather than the odd tenner here and there, which of course add up very quickly!

Good luck and let me know if you come across any good deals on food that a toddler will actually eat!

Hi both - I've got a 2 year old and a bump. My toddler's a fairly good eater, but I find the best trick is whizzing things in the blender. So a lovely cheap veggie soup or a home made pasta sauce with lots of veg I whizz it before I serve it to him and he gobbles it up. Also, if I do a stew or curry I mash the veggies with a fork and he will eat loads of things he "doesn't like".

I like just4bums for nappies for him. They're cheap and just as good as brand name ones, plus they come in a box of a month's worth. But for the littlies I found terry square nappies were a godsend - so cheap and not much more faff than disposables once you get into the routine of them. Our LO grew out of his at about 18 months, but I will be getting a new set for next baby - going to upgrade to the posh ones with poppers and Velcro to make it even easier.

lovefullshelves

Bread, meat and milk, £3.34..would have been alot more but OH went without me!!

Florenceem

hattifattener wrote: »

Teccos monthly shop last night was £102.80 including delivery - finally our cupboards are bursting after ages of having no treats in!

Sainsbugs this morning for fresh fruit, milk, bread, ham etc and that was £14.86.

Total now is £119.35 - leaving us with £80.65 for the next three top up shops, more than our £25 limit per week.

I'm finding that the difference in price between supermarkets doesn't matter so much as how strict I am. If I go in distracted and pick up this yoghurt cos it's the first one I've seen or those apples because they're in a packet at the end of the aisle it all adds up. Today I went to the deli counter and got 100g of the best offer on cold meat sliced nice and thin for £1.19 - that's plenty for a good few sandwiches, unlike buying 4 slices in a sealed packet from the fridges.

Have you tried buying a gammon joint, cooking and slicing it - much cheaper than buying from deli counter. You could put a slicing machine - if you haven't got one - on a Birthday/Christmas pressie list. Also cook your own pork, beef etc joint for sandwiches.