September 2018 Grocery Challenge

donnajt

Hi I'd really like to join in, I've tried and failed (denial in spending) in the past, but money is getting tighter and tighter since losing my job last August and the cost of living increasing by the minute

I have no idea what I really spend so I shall read the thread and keep a close (and honest) eye on my spending and try and bring it down each month

Lauralozzle

Still posting in the August challenge until the end of the month.

Will be taking part in September though so budget will be £250. This includes food shopping/toiletries/alcohol/takeaways.

September will be difficult as there's another weekend in there which the food shop will have to go towards. Takeaways will have to be banned because I don't think we'll make it otherwise!

September challenge for me runs from 1st September - 30th September.

thriftwizard

I'm also still in August & will be until 31st. For September I'm going to bite the bullet & try to aim for £380, a little less than August. In theory, DS3 will have returned to his university town, but as this depends on his friend's solicitors getting a move on, I'm not holding my breath! He can commute from here, it's just a pain on the parental taxi front when his train gets back after the buses have stopped running, not to mention a bit extra on the grocery bill. He's going off to Furrin Parts for two weeks to extend his knowledge of the many varieties of his main language, Spanish, so we won't be feeding him for half the month anyway. If I manage to get away with this small reduction, I may be a little tougher in October... That's to cover food, toiletries & cleaning products for 4 (or 5) adults, 4 cats, 2 cockatiels and 11 assorted chickens & bantams.

pamsdish

£180 for me again please, 1st Sept-30th, really need to concentrate as away last week of October until 8th Nov, going self catering in Budapest, plus dog kenneling, which is an annual expense for around those dates, my dog gets really frightened by fireworks, so she goes into very remote kennels for 3 weeks, costs me far more for that than people pay for the pleasure of their fireworks.

VintageLady

Hi there. This will be my first time doing the groceries challenge. I've had a look through our accounts but since we sometimes pay for shopping on our individual cards and sometimes on the joint card it's really difficult to work out exactly what we are spending. So I'm just going to make an educated guess as a baseline and see where that takes me in this first month. For me a month will be from my payday to the next (DH's payday fluctuates). I think we will do ours as food, including takeaways & meals out for just the two humans (Maisie Bones the cat is a budget unto herself)

So here goes September GC running from 24th August to 24th September. Budget = £150

littlesimplelivingcottage

Hello, would it be possible to put myself, the other half and our two pups down for £200

We spend quite a lot now (sadly) and we really need to get some decent savings behind us, so I thought I would go with a number that sounds ok but not scary lol. Hoping to use a lot from our store cupboard, foraging and just generally meal planning. Fingers crossed.

Edited because I forgot my dates!! I get paid on the 25th so I will be doing then till the 25th for September

Highland_Fling

Hi everyone
Highland Fling GC is aiming for £160 for September.
Thankyou.

peony40

Hello,

I’d like to join you all this month, as money is getting more scarce at the moment, and my monthly shopping bills have been creeping up. Please can you put me down for £200. This will run from August 25th to September 24th for all food and toiletries for 2 adults.

Many thanks.

dingdongavon

Hello I am new to the GC and as its the first month of trying will be aiming for £400 including toiletries and cleaning etc but not take away for 3 adults and 2 teens. We spend far too much on junk food so need to try and reduce that.
Will be going from 1st Sept.

elsiepac

Hey all,

I'm in for £250 this month.

September will be 24th August - 26th September for me, so 4.5 weeks but I need to do a stock up of cleaning products and a few dry goods and tins again. Really I should be able to do all that in my usual £200 budget but as I'm struggling so much and going over every month anyway, I'd rather give myself the budget and stand a chance of coming in on target.

I'm just getting back into meal planning and actually prep, so hoping to have change at the end of the month, although I am spending more on fruit as I now have it for breakfast every day (Slimming World changes lol) with my oats and also vegan yoghurt which has somehow quickly become my latest obsession (I have started having every evening 125g A1pro Strawberry over fresh strawberries with 10g flaked almonds which I dry toast in a frying pan - seriously recommend it, so yummy as a treat dessert and 5 syns if on SW (3 if you use non vegan muller light which I think is free)).

Budgets updated to here