November 2007 Grocery Challenge

lil_me

brummiebabe sorry I am with Mike on this one, if you are over budget every month it obviously isn't working, go through what you are buying, see where it is all going, I would also increase the budget, get to a stage where you can stick it then gradually work out trying to decrease it. Keep a waste list, make sure you're not throwing money away.

LouiseJ posts like that make me so thankful we don't drink usually, DP has vodka bought for him occasionally and just drinks that. Hope the 'beer isn't healthy' talk helps. Maybe you could set a seperate budget for alcohol for your partner with the 'once it's gone it's gone' then it would save you worrying about it coming from the grocery budget.

Tired_Mummy

Well done to everybody who has so far managed to stay on budget.

We're not doing too well , we're already over budget, thanks mainly to the massive shop I did online today, although that should last into December!

Roll on the December grocery challenge :rotfl:

meanmarie

I have never included alcohol, except for Christmas, in the grocery challenge...OH deals with that and the petrol out of his 'pocket money', while I deal with all other expenses out of the rest of our income...IYSWIM!

Brummiebabe.....maybe you did set your budget too low...I found that I could easily stay within €340, but when I moved to €330 all hell seemed to break loose...even that €10 made a huge difference. I have resolved for the last two months to empty my fridges and freezers to allow me to defrost in preparation for Christmas, but they are both still almost full...are you making the same mistake I wonder. As others have said, go carefully through your receipts and see if you are going wrong somewhere...maybe your budget can't be cut any more atm.

Marie

brummiebabe

Thanks for all the advice everyone....I agree that I really need to go back over my receipts!! The thing is..£400 should be enough for us, that's what gets me mad:mad: !!

I don't buy any alcohol at all, yes I have to buy nappies, wipes etc but DD won't eat jarred food & eats what we eat!! I cook from scratch as much as possible (but NOT every night!!) - I don't buy 'ready meals' so am not sure why it's so high!! I know we spend a lot on bread, milk & cheese (my children love all of that!) and I buy a lot of fresh fruit, yogurts etc etc. We eat quite a bit of pasta . This budget also covers lunches (school & work)

The thing is I need to get a handle on it as I need to look to reduce it to £350!!! I'm going back to work after 14 months maternity/parental leave in January & need to cut our spending down due to nursery fees!

I only have a small freezer (and no space for another one) so batch cooking is almost impossible!!

I have been doing Tesco online shopping but have been sticking to my 'favourites' as it's easier. However, did actually go to Tesco on Friday to try & look at cheaper alternatives...did find some, but not sure what difference they'll make long term!

Anyhow...sorry for rambling

Jacks_xxx

Liberty9515 wrote: »

My budget has gone a bit to pot this month.
My dad had a heart attack and I spent a week going up and down the M5 between him in hospital,and my kids who were staying at their dads for that week , as my house was upside down as i was having central heating fitted and work! My Dad is stable and back home awaiting a triple bypass as his arteries are totally knackered!
Then my PC decided to go and die on me! So a fab friend came down for a few hours from London today, I live in the south west, and give me a laptop and set it up for me. They are also going to get me a super dooper PC in the New Year, they work in computing and often get decomissioned ones through work! I am so lucky to have such good friends!
So everything has been chaos for a few weeks and I must admit I have lost track of things!
i hope things have been going well for you all.

Oh my goodness honey! :eek: Best wishes to your dad and I hope he gets his bypass op nice and quickly.

I bet his arteries aren't the only thing that's totaly knackered with the month you've been having cherub!

Here's hoping that it all settles down and you have a nice calm Christmastime.

Love Jacks xxx

lil_me

brummiebabe, might be worth starting with a few simple things, here is what I would do, take or leave advice as you please, like I said it's what I would do, probably focusing on one thing at a time or it can be overwhelming.

• start with looking at what you are spending and where
• see where the big spends are, I found mine were things like packed lunch items, meats, cheeses etc
• see where you can make cut back n the big spends, I did things like less meat in casseroles and more veg, cheaper items for lunch boxes, grated cheese so use less, I use powdered milk more, make bread as it's cheaper now, reduced portion sizes (helping on the waistlines too ) - all little things that can help but depends where your extra spends are
• set yourself more realistic targets, once you can achieve it, drop it by 10% at a time max, nothing more!
• seperate the baby budget for nappies, wipes etc set that as what you spend usually (then any offers are a bonus) you could possibly try using flannels and water instead of baby wipes (it'll be a nice bonus once baby is potty trained!)
• keep a waste record of what you throw out
• organise the freezer, if it's small it needs to be organised, check what you have in and write it down, cross it off as you use it
• meal plan from the freezer list, cupboard stocks etc, using up what you have
• might be worth looking at how much your average meals cost, keep a list of how much what you have costs, even roughly, maybe try and throw in some cheaper meals to balance it out
• look for cheaper alternatives for the items you buy

I'm speaking not as a person who has always managed on £270-£300 for 2 adults, 2 kids for ALL meals and the animals (2 big dogs, lizard, hedgehog and fish) including laundry stuff, toiletries, cleaning, then any meals out and takeaways, but someone who has spent £800-900 a month before and has been through the process (with the help of those on this thread and others) of halving that and more. No I don't use coupons before you ask as stores up here don't take them. I don't buy nasty meats etc, I only use farm shop butcher and one other butcher I use occasionally. I buy a lot of freshfruit and veg, fruit especially.

tattycath

Liberty9515 wrote: »

My budget has gone a bit to pot this month.
My dad had a heart attack and I spent a week going up and down the M5 between him in hospital,and my kids who were staying at their dads for that week , as my house was upside down as i was having central heating fitted and work! My Dad is stable and back home awaiting a triple bypass as his arteries are totally knackered!
Then my PC decided to go and die on me! So a fab friend came down for a few hours from London today, I live in the south west, and give me a laptop and set it up for me. They are also going to get me a super dooper PC in the New Year, they work in computing and often get decomissioned ones through work! I am so lucky to have such good friends!
So everything has been chaos for a few weeks and I must admit I have lost track of things!
i hope things have been going well for you all.

Hi Liberty9515.
I'm so sorry to hear you Dad is unwell, Ditto what Jacks xxx said and my thoughts are with you. Everything seems to come at once doesn't it. I can relate to that, we have had and are having a mad/distressing time this last couple of months-hoping things will settle down soon. Month nearly over now, I still have to update my sig, but it won't be tonight, I'll try to do it tomorrow. Take care Liberty 9515 and keep your chin up. Continued good luck to all for remainder of November.
Thanks Belfast girl for your positive comments, let's just hope I can keep it up next month:eek: . Scary being Christmas month as I normally go mad and buy all sorts of Christmassy food that we don't need etc!!!
Anyway my bed is calling-early start in the morning!!

LouiseJ

lil_me wrote: »

Maybe you could set a seperate budget for alcohol for your partner with the 'once it's gone it's gone' then it would save you worrying about it coming from the grocery budget.

That would be a really good idea Lil_me but I know my OH would just go and buy some more if we ran out he really isnt buying into the MS and says we are OK for money so why am I bothering with budgets, the thing is though I would rather save for our and the childrens future than overspend on groceries and booze.

Sorry about the rant, and yes I have said this to him Many Times.
Never mind at least one of us is MS minded, could have been worse (it has been alot worse). x

WelshWoofer

Hi,
My month is finishing tomorrow and I'm just about to tot up the damage....

I had £37 left from a £100 budget for all food, dog food, toiletries, household stuff etc.
This weekend I spent
£8.03 Wilkos (toiletries and dog treats)
£3.60 Tesco Metro (painkillers and runner beans)
£1.29 Tesco (used a coupon to bring it down to this)
Total £12.92

So, I have £24.08 of my budget left.
Total spend £75.92 for the whole month!:j

(I have nothing left in my cupboard or freezer though!)

rosieben

Rachel, well done :T Be kind to yourself next month if you're having to restock cupboards and its christmas too, dont push your budget too low.