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June 2017 Grocery Challenge

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  • Doom_and_Gloom
    Doom_and_Gloom Posts: 4,750 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Kittencat wrote: »
    Good morning lovely people xx

    Quick question if I may?

    Do you count the odd bottle of wine/beer in with your groceries

    Xx

    Spirits for us is a different budget. I buy beer out of my personal funds as the OH doesn't drink it at all so that wouldn't be fair to add to either budget in my opinion. The odd bottle of wine may get added to food spend though as we buy on offer for £5 at most a bottle and we rarely drink more than a bottle a month.

    Cleaning items, toiletries etc are also different budgets. We buy vegan eco friendly cleaning products/hand wash/laundry detergent etc and I buy vegan toiletries and the like so it would make the grocery budget look larger by quite a bit despite only really buying when on offer (bulk buy when on offer and can't easily plan for when that would be, so year budgets for those).
    I am a vegan woman. My OH is a lovely omni guy :D
  • I realise it's different in Aus but I also only buy my toiletries, cleaning products and store-cupboard things when they are on offer. I only buy one if I have run out and no offers but if they are on offer I buy several (how many, depends on my store-cupboard budget at that point). I have not paid full price for shower stuff, laundry detergent or tins of food for two years plus now. I got my budget together by "banking" the savings I made when I shopped the offers.
    I also do this, I try and wait for when they're half price :)
    Love people use things. The opposite never works.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 1 June 2017 at 11:26PM
    Kittenkat I have a separate fund of £20 per month (at the moment), for alcohol bought to drink at home. If I was to go out, that would come out of the entertainment budget.

    Elsie - that's very sad about your families loss. Wishing you all well.

    Went to market just before closing and got a ton for £6. Fruit gets washed, frozen and bagged, for smoothies, ice cream etc. and the broccoli is now soup. I got;

    Hugh bowl of blueberrries (the one they normally have tomatoes in)
    8 punnets of raspberries
    3 large broccoli
    10 advocado
    4kg onions
    Sweet potato

    Just want a few more bits n I'm done for the week. Have updated sig.
  • K9sandFelines
    K9sandFelines Posts: 2,777 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 2 June 2017 at 12:24AM
    Still to add up my April total yet, but count me in again this month. Annual figure of £4,000, so approximately £333.33 for the month; to cover bulk buys aswell as any delivery saver payments.

    Thanks to all for contributing and running the thread, i haven't been very active lately as life is just too busy.
    GC Jan £101.91/£150 Feb £70.96/150 Mar £100.43/150 Apr £108.45 app/150 May £149.70/150 Jun £155.15/150 July £74.69/£150 (includes food, toiletries and cleaning from 13th to 12th of each month. One person vegan household with occasional visitors)
    Forever learning the art of frugality
  • First shop in at £90.93.

    I wrote a months plan of meals based on my groaning freezers and stocked up on all the dried/tinned stuff for the month. Fingers crossed I'll be within budget this month; the rest of my budget is for fresh stuff and the cereal that my children still make disappear at an alarming rate.

    Hopefully if there is anything left over I can add it to my holiday spending money.
    JAN - £208.56/£250 NSD-8
    FEB - £121.51/£200 NSD- 1
    Penny a day challenge #001: £200.79/£667.95
  • Half price cleaning products here too, unless I buy them from Aldi which is significantly cheaper anyway. Or Costco on occasion.

    I'm trying a different tactic this month and trying to think monthly rather than weekly for the meal planning. To that end, I just went to the butcher and bought a range of things to plan around, rather than the other way around. I was disappointed, though: I was hoping for some good bulk discounts (mince is often cheaper if bought in 2 kg lots, for example) but the butcher told me they're having trouble keeping up with demand in the wintry weather, so no discounts for me! Supermarket meat is something I'm not willing to compromise on.

    Anyway $71 later I have:

    2kg basic beef sausages - 3-4 meals
    A 2kg roasting chicken - 2 meals plus it'll stretch to some lunchtime sandwiches or a bit of soup
    2kg marinated pork chops - 3 meals
    1.4kg lamb chops - 2 meals
    1 kg beef mince - 2 meals

    The sausages'll probably get used up for weekend lunches and things rather than proper dinners, if I know my family (Australians seem to have super high standards for what counts as a proper meal!) but I should be able to make all that last for 3 weeks' worth of weekday meals and then Mr Expert can be a bit more extravagant on the weekends when he cooks.

    I'm determined not to break into that stash until my official shopping week begins tomorrow (Sat), though, so tonight is leftover HM baked beans (delish! Slow cooker with a ham hock highly recommend), cheese omelette and chips.
    MFW diary here. 1 Feb 2017 $229,371 - MFD Feb 2043 :eek: aiming for May 2028
    14 August 2017 - Refinanced: $220,000
    January 2019 $211,580 Current MFD 31 June 2036
  • elsiepac
    elsiepac Posts: 2,667 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 2 June 2017 at 9:28AM
    Thanks Save Dosh.

    Re alcohol in the budget, I have a separate budget. Cleaning and toiletries except for make up come from grocery budget. But make up comes from entertainment as "non-essential". Technically it is an essential for me, I only wear a little Day to day, but I wouldn't go out without it (except to pop to shop or something, but I don't like it!) but as I suppose I could survive without it I don't take it from grocery.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Old Style, Crafting and Techie Stuff boards.If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
    GC: May 22 £tbc/£250 Vegan 27-8-13
  • t14cy_t
    t14cy_t Posts: 1,437 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    did a huge ys shop and clearance xl and spent £71 in total, so £9 left for the rest of the month!!! whoops. on the plus side we are very well stocked for the month! xx
  • pamsdish
    pamsdish Posts: 2,585 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Small spend yesterday as needed creme freche and some more on offer rhubarb for freezer. £8.50
    I thought everyone stocked up on cleaning products and other household goods when on offer, says the women with 15 bottles of ariel washing liquid, in fairness I do give some to my daughter and daughter in law in their goody bags I make for them, I also have 5 of the oven cleaners from the £ shop, I like the 25% extra packs as I have enough then for my double oven too.
    Do I need it or just want it.
  • spendaholic
    spendaholic Posts: 1,550 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Debt-free and Proud! Name Dropper
    First shop of the month came in at just over £71. I stripped out the magazines and bought those with some printer paper - I can put both through my books (magazines come under market study/research/portfolio) so could do with the separate receipt anyway. Pleased with that on a £75 per week budget.
    spendy/she/her ***DEBT-FREE DATE: 11 NOVEMBER 2022!*** Highest debt: £35k (2006) MY WINS: £3,541 CASH; £149 Specsavers voucher; free eye test; goody bag from Scottish Book Trust; tickets to Grand Designs Live; 2-year access to Feel Amazing App (worth £100); Home Improvement & Renovation Show tickets; £50 to spend on chocolate; Harlem Globetrotters tickets; Jesus Christ Superstar tickets + 2 t-shirts; Guardians of the Galaxy goody bag; Birmingham City v Barnsley FC tickets; Marillion tickets; Dancing on Ice tickets; Barnsley FC v Millwall tickets
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