December 2013 Grocery Challenge

flyinggiraffe_2

Ok I've been going through my spends and I buy AlOT of processed "junk" which I convince myself is ok as it's low fat crisps, cereal bars etc.

Going to set myself £140 for December, starting 29th November to 29th December.

meg72

Setting my budget at £100 for December but as I am fully stocked am planning to use it for offers and YS to stock up for Jan and feb so if the weather is really bad like last year I wont have to go out in snow and ice,

craigywv

hello all and good evening! just back from sainsbobs as I had 20 in gift vouchers to spend in there, I normally shop in mr t....................result.........hated it! everything about it was not nice. I thought it was a lot more expensive than mr t. I know a lot of you prob think the same vice versa. I didn't see as much of a variety and did bn't like the layout. rant over.........,! anyway I did spend most of the vouchers on butter now in back of freezer also got some reduced chicken thighs which I cooked in pan there now with sc sauce and soy so when its cold shall portion it and freeze for stirfrys. hope to spend very little in December on food as most of its in freezer,but still need all the fresh veg/fruit etc and milk. good luck all with your challenge xxx

BlueSky1

I learnt this tip from my mum, use cash to buy your groceries, it really makes you think about how much you spend, and budget.

I have a separate purse and each week get money from the cash till - not so little that I have to be miserable, but not a wild amount.

I buy my groceries and supermarket shopping from it, aiming to have some money left at the end of the week which I then empty out of my purse and start again.

It's amazing how much you end up with left at the end of a year - you can do what you want with it then. It can make a good nest egg that you don't even feel.

You also then know how much it costs you to live each month, and after you've paid standing orders and bills what is left is to spend on fun or whatever you need to pay for.

Beats overspending every time. Hope you find it a helpful tip!

AlwaysHappy

Hello there, can you put me down for £300 again please. Have my Mum coming down for a couple of weeks in December so will be tough but have a lot of food in if I was creative

Faete

I am *ahem* what you might call vertically challenged (5' 1") and I can't see what's on the top shelf of the fridge unless I get a step stool out. My normal sized BF will keep hiding (he says putting!) things out of my sight up there - I was sad to have to throw away a large out of date pot of yoghurt and pack of fresh lasagne sheets that had got missed.

I've threatened him no more perishables on the top shelf or he'll find himself in the freezer! :rotfl:

I'm going to start pricing wasted food to make us both think more about money going down the drain - so I'm starting with £2.00

Fae xx

shiningfaery

that's a good idea fae my OH doesn't seem to care when I say we have spent £xx on food and no meals. But if I changed it to we just threw £xx in bin he might start paying attention. Notice how I said might :rotfl:

mooomin

Morning folks

I have a split pea and ham soup bubbling away on the cooker this morning - should do 8-10 portions and total cost is under £3. I could water it down and do more, but we both like thick soup and it's real winter warmer weather in Scotland right now :snow_grin

I got an email from Sainsbury's with my points information on it and a triple points offer for my next trip to store :j I have a voucher for £4.50 off a £30 spend too, so might have a wander round tonight if we have the car back from the garage and see if I can get some reduced items that'll come up to £30.

just_the_two_of_us

mooomin wrote: »

Morning folks

I got an email from Sainsbury's with my points information on it and a triple points offer for my next trip to store :j I have a voucher for £4.50 off a £30 spend too, so might have a wander round tonight if we have the car back from the garage and see if I can get some reduced items that'll come up to £30.

I went to Mr T yesterday to buy booze which was on offer for Xmas party and split my shop really carefully to get 2 x £ 5 off 40 vouchers which I'll use next week for my big December stock up shop. Also went to Mr S to use my few points and came away with lots more money off vouchers - which I'll have to give to my sister! Once upon a time I would have tried to use them but that made me overspend so not going there this year.

Great idea re costing food waste Fae! Will try it.

mooomin

just_the_two_of_us wrote: »

Once upon a time I would have tried to use them but that made me overspend so not going there this year.

They can be very expensive for some things, but if you can catch the reductions at the right time then you can get some excellent bargains too! I always keep an eye on mysupermarket to see if they're doing offers on things like cat food or cleaning products too