January 2017 Grocery Challenge. NEW BEGINNINGS!

dreamingofmoney

Hi,
Have done this challenge many times before and found it really useful but then end up slipping away and slowly the old bad habits creep back in. Am definitely going to make 2017 the year I take money seriously and would like to start with a budget of £250 this is for 2 adults 2 childre, a dog and various other small creatures, again like many others the cupboards and freezer are fit to burst, so hopefully Jan and Feb should be lean months, I mainly shop online with top up shop in between. I need to make those once a week and only for the essentials, not for little extra treats which soon tot up to a decent amount, got plenty in for lunches at work etc so should be good, I do meal plan, and have staple go to meals, just need to be careful we don't get too bored and have a variety, I might make a list of family favourites and see if I can add those in at least weekly, so they can't moan too much if they are not keen one night haha. Also my month will run from the 1st to the 31st

Take care and great big hugs to all who need them,
Xx

[Deleted User]

Afternoon everyone. Please can I join this thread for January? I really want to get focussed in 2017 and minimise spending in any way I can. My budget for January will start on Jan 2nd as we are away for New year and that's the day we get home.

My budget from 2nd Jan to the 25th (that will be my normal starting point as that is payday) will be £130.

Once home I will do a freezer and cupboard inventory. I will have quite a bit of meat - mostly chicken fillets - to use up from the freezer as we got a muscle foods delivery at the start of December. There is also a full chicken that we can roast. But this will be experimental as I have never cooked a full chicken so I will have a look around for recipes.

Coxy 11, I am so sorry to hear about your nephew. Thank you for being part of the team that runs this thread.

thriftwizard

And I'm into January budget-wise, declaring a spend of £55.88 between the market, the bakery and a small raid on the local supermarket. I'll also need to go to the farm shop early next week to pick up some poultry essentials; as they're not able to free-range at the moment, they're going through more bought-in food. Egg-laying is a little bit down too, so I've had to buy some eggs in, which doesn't happen often! But having some there means I can make the most of some other resources, like leftover ham & cheese. There may be a bit more spent tomorrow, too, though only if I spot some excellent YS bargains to pop into the freezer for later in the month!

[Deleted User]

Can you put me down for £60 for the month for myself and my daughter (23), but she does buy her own stuff mainly and eats out a lot with her boyfriend. It's to cover everything, takeaways (whats that ??), food/coffee on the go, toiletries/cleaning stuff etc., (which is mainly value vinegar/salt), but not alcohol. I'm secretly hoping I will come in at £40, but have never managed to do that. Anything left over will go into an overflow pot, which I'm now going to create from my savings from last months budget, to be spent however I want. I have a ton of store cupboard stuff and loads of veg, which I'm hoping to cook into soup. Good luck everyone.

littleskintdragon wrote: »

I budget £50 a week for 2 adults, 3 children and a dog. Ive never done this challenge before so im not sure how that compared to everyone else.

Sounds Amazing

suzeesu2000 wrote: »

This is so much fun already, thank you for having me!!

Well done - yes, it can become a bit addictive - in a good way.

Coxy - So sorry to hear your sad news {{{hugs}}} - will be thinking of you and thank you for the hard work you put into thread.

sitesafe

Thank you to the person running this at what must be a very difficult time.

I'd love to join and would like to be added for a monthly target of £130 for the 2017 challenge.

I love my food and recently completed a nutrition course. I've started to take nutrition seriously and tend to plan my meals around that. I could easily eat plentifully on £130 if I wasn't fussy about what I eat but to eat a nutritionally balanced meal every day, on a budget is hard.

It's just me in the household and there's no freezer facility where I live so that's two things that are against me. I don't really want to eat the same meal/ingredient several times a week because to be healthy I like a varied diet. Unfortunately I might find I have to compromise here due to no freezer and the restrictions involved in shopping for one.

I have a very tiny kitchen space for food prep too. I have the basic store cupboard essentials already - a few herbs and spices, balsamic, olive oil.

I can't really afford meat or fish every day for protein so I will be gearing towards plant based proteins instead - lentils, beans, chick peas etc. They will probably be tinned although I guess dried ones would be more cost effective as often I won't need to use a whole tin just for me.

My vice is chocolate and wine. If I do buy either then it still comes out of food budget. I might wait until the end of the week/month to see if I've got money left over and either use that for such treats or to supplement the store cupboard with some more herbs or oil etc.

Fingers crossed and good luck to everyone.

LesP50

Coxy -So sorry to hear of your loss.

[Deleted User]

sitesafe wrote: »

Thank you to the person running this at what must be a very difficult time.

I love my food and recently completed a nutrition course. I've started to take nutrition seriously and tend to plan my meals around that. I could easily eat plentifully on £130 if I wasn't fussy about what I eat but to eat a nutritionally balanced meal every day, on a budget is hard.

Well done on completing a nutrition course. I'm not fussy about what I eat, but I don't like eating rubbish. I find it very easy to eat a healthy diet on a budget, moreso than if I was eating junk. I guess it depends on whether you buy organic or not - I don't mostly, so that really does keep the cost down, though tinned stuff usually aren't organic, so i'm assuming you don't always, which will help. I'm Vegan, try to mostly make things from scratch. Now make my own oat milk, houmous, etc. Bulk buy when there are good offers, like the ones at the moment, veg packs for 19p, which I make into healthy soups, stews, curries etc and freeze, or just blanch and freeze. I buy wholemeal seeded bread & rolls for pennies, as they are always reduced (not sure that is healthy though). Gonna try and make some more brussels balls, which is a work in progress. Last ones were brussels and sweet potato burgers, which were lush, these are going to be brussels with stuffing, as I have loads of boxes (27p), but you can make them healthier with potatoes, or other veg etc. I will have with a tomato herb sauce and cous cous. I try to stay away from rice because of the arsenic levels, but do eat it occasionally. I do chuck in some packaged food, but try to limit it. Sure you will do well, be interested to hear what cheap healthy meals you make. Good luck.

catznine

(((Hugs))) Coxy so very sorry 😔 My Nana used to say
"Looking back - give thanks
Looking forward- take courage"
All to often I have had to remember her words - more (((hugs)))

iammumtoone

sitesafe wrote: »

I love my food and recently completed a nutrition course. I've started to take nutrition seriously and tend to plan my meals around that. I could easily eat plentifully on £130 if I wasn't fussy about what I eat but to eat a nutritionally balanced meal every day, on a budget is hard.

It's just me in the household and there's no freezer facility where I live so that's two things that are against me. I don't really want to eat the same meal/ingredient several times a week because to be healthy I like a varied diet. Unfortunately I might find I have to compromise here due to no freezer and the restrictions involved in shopping for one.

I have a very tiny kitchen space for food prep too. I have the basic store cupboard essentials already - a few herbs and spices, balsamic, olive oil.

Hi sitesafe

that course sounds really interesting. I also have the problem where I dont like eating the same two days in a row but with a small family its difficult no to, if you are trying to avoid waste.

Will you be posting your meal plans? As I would like to follow your progress and hopefully get a few suggestions.

LesP50

32.90 in Aldys and Morry today.