August 2015 Grocery Challenge

missyp123

Hello all

i would really like to start the grocery challenge but my start date would be the 21st August due to pay dates

would i still be able to join or even comment on this thread for updates etc?

i do not have a fixed amount of how much i spend on shopping at all, at a guess i would say £600 ish.

we are a family of 4 with my 2 year old currently using pull ups for potty training. its been a couple of weeks and most days he prob wets once. its just tackling the number 2's and then im hoping he will be out of them which will then save me some £'s!

i have been looking at the idea of batch cooking but not sure about this as my husband does not eat ANY kind of veg....so when i cook things like spag bol me and the kids have veg separate rather than mixed in.

looking forward to giving this a really good go, id like to aim for £400.

my plan is to do my usual big first online shop (which is usually £150 ish) at £80-100...this usually is allt he heavy bulky stuff like drinks, pop etc. I have sainsburys codes so hoping i can get freebies and some money off my shop, just looking for a free delivery code atm

then i will do small shops as i go....im quiet lucky that i have asda, morrisons, aldi and a tesco which are all a short drive away so i can play around with offers and vouchers.

Hope i can join Thank You x

dramarama

Morning all,
I've spent £55 since last updating. A rather large shop at Ald* and a supposedly small top up shop at morries which was over £20. Note to self don't shop half asleep and without a list, with OH in tow it all adds up very quickly!

Bonus is that OH has had a few days off and has been making us some lovely dinners!


I think I've got just over £13, hoping that'll be used on milk, bread etc!

joedenise

Missyp123 - no reason why you can't join the thread and comment on it at all. Although, personally I think I'd wait for the September GC which should be starting shortly and make your month from 21 August to 20 September.

Or you could do what I did when I first started doing the GC as DH is paid 24th of month and for the first few months I done the payday to payday and then later decided it would probably be better to get on to calendar monthly to make things easier. I did this by doing just from the date I joined up to the end of the current month and using 1/4 of the monthly amount. I then joined the following month's challenge with a full amount for the calendar month. This, of course, only works if you have some "spare" money you can use for the first week or so.

Good luck with which ever method you decide to go with.

Denise

*snow*white*

Happy birthday for yesterday Bluegreen

No more spends since Sundays Aldo shop so hopefully will be ok this month and be under budget (famous last words).

craigywv

hi new peeps xxx off work today been busy in kitchen got 4 large packs sausages ys for 8p each local farm name over here so good quality so cooked them off and waiting to cool will freeze in portions for saus casserole sliced on toast and pizzas and whatever else. did well last night in ys mr t loads of meat Halleluyah! pork loin rosts 1.09 each got 2 quite big so chopped and frozen and lamb steaks ditto got plenty of mince down to 30p a box and fruit and veg loads too was surprised I was only person around the ys thinks the hot weather over here kept peeps away spent just under 15 quid but got some not so mse things too. got the 7p loaves and various bakery items for freezers so that's me for a while. just made big tub of tuna pasta for oh lunches well whatever he calls them as he works night shifts ,did a load of sausage rols the other day for freezer so he well stocked up I love just opening freezer/fridge and its sitting there no having to make it.spag bol and salad for tonight for me and son oh will have shredded wheat as its his breakfast. was glad I got cheap stuff last night as I got a few Christmas pressies yesterday to hide away needed to get them as I can never find pj to fit son nearer the time as they all too warm !! he says so got 2 summery ones . good luck all pouring out of heavens over here xxx

Bluegreen143

Thanks for the birthday wishes last birthday before our wee man arrives and I'm a mum! Strange feeling.

Will need cat food today so will update once I've bought it.

Had leftover smoked salmon and cream cheese on a mini ciabatta for lunch from the birthday leftovers yum!

Billie-jo

Not logged on for few days so a belated 'Happy Birthday to Bluegreen I hope you had a lovely day.
Shopping this morning and now almost half way through our budget, not doing too bad. £120.73/250
However have spent more than usual on grand children as its their school summer holiday and we have taken them out a few times, hopefully a day or two at the seaside next week (depends if we can leave mum overnight or if she is having a really forgetful day) then they go to stay with friends for a couple of nights and once back just one or two more days out to pay for.
Better go and start the ironing now as put it off for days. Not my favourite job at all but it has to be done sporadically.

lynnejk

Afternoon all :hello:

joedenise wrote: »

Missyp123 - no reason why you can't join the thread and comment on it at all. Although, personally I think I'd wait for the September GC which should be starting shortly and make your month from 21 August to 20 September.

Or you could do what I did when I first started doing the GC as DH is paid 24th of month and for the first few months I done the payday to payday and then later decided it would probably be better to get on to calendar monthly to make things easier. I did this by doing just from the date I joined up to the end of the current month and using 1/4 of the monthly amount. I then joined the following month's challenge with a full amount for the calendar month. This, of course, only works if you have some "spare" money you can use for the first week or so.
Good luck with which ever method you decide to go with.
Denise

Missyp - I totally go with the above as well ^^^^^. Jump on in and good luck with the challenge.

Having another NSD here today, mainly because I can't be a***d to go shopping as it looks like it's about to rain again :mad:

Going to make tuna pasta for dinner with some salad and garlic bread.

Hope you all having a good week
Lx

hazeldreams

Hi All

I've now spent £325.82/£380.00

Still have 2 shops to do before 1st September. I was hoping to be under budget by 10% but alas this wont happen. I'm consoling myself with the fact that on average my monthly shop over the last year has been £400 with last months bill being £490!!! :eek: So huge strides forward already and coming in on budget for my first grocery challenge will be a good result.

Fingers crossed I can come in on £380 - our freezers are still bursting to capacity, we're still being donated cucumbers, potatoes and rhubarb and I've enough free courgettes chopped and frozen to feed an army! So we really only need milk and fruit and kids snacks (I've even switched from A**I to F**mfoods for the milk as its quite a bit cheaper and am using the local greengrocers for fruit) so it should be doable.

We already bake our won bread therefore no need for expensive loaves either.

Kids snacks over the holidays are a cost I could do with avoiding but finding the time to do my own baking proves difficult with a FT job!:o

Here's hoping we can succeed this month! :rotfl:

t14cy_t

nsd yesterday.x