May 2019 Grocery Challenge

[Deleted User]

Hurrah! Just in time for my new month starting!! :j

Five week month this month so expecting to be pretty much using my entire budget:o However, I'll be doing my best to keep the spending as low as possible :D

elsiepac

squirrelgirl - do you want to set a budget?

[Deleted User]

Hi elsie

I have an annual budget of £3600 so estimate around £300 per month (you've already got that one )- thing is I buy most of my stuff in bulk from Suma - £300 is the max I can spend in a month (its usually a lot less) then the remaining cash is put to the side for my bulk purchases every 3 months or so

elsiepac

squirrelgirl wrote: »

Hi elsie

I have an annual budget of £3600 so estimate around £300 per month (you've already got that one )- thing is I buy most of my stuff in bulk from Suma - £300 is the max I can spend in a month (its usually a lot less) then the remaining cash is put to the side for my bulk purchases every 3 months or so

Sorry, I did look afterwards and saw you are on annually!! Ooh lovely, what kind of stuff do you get from Suma? Is there a saving to be made in bulk? My local Co-0p has started stocking quite a few of their tins and packet items on the sort of free from shelf end!

[Deleted User]

It's definitely a saving on buying from a health food shop elsie I buy the most ethical brands I can and in the biggest quantities to reduce packaging- unfortunately it works out extremely expensive whichever way you look at it but thats the choice I have made - I am fortunately in a position where I can make this choice now but certainly wasn't in the past! I buy all of my household and toiletry products from them, all my dried stuff (pulses, grains, flour, coffee, sugar, etc) and all my tins /bottles (sauces, tomatoes, puree etc) ..the only things I buy elsewhere really is fruit and veg and I get that from the local organic market stall

They have a minimum spend to get free delivery too (essentially they are a wholesaler so it makes sense ) but as I tend to do an order every three months or so I'm always way above that!! :rotfl:

PipneyJane

Thanks for the new thread, Elsiepac. Hello to all the regulars and welcome to the Newbies. May your May be prosperous and low spending.

I’m signing up now, although my month doesn’t start until May 1st. Please put me down for £120.

- Pip

BrassicWoman

£200 again for me please!

ditty1234

Hi £250 for me.
I might be ready to start doing a wholesale type shop in the beginning of May as would like to build stock for summer through September (the low income monts for hourly teaching), but this has to come out of general food budget.
Is there a list of good places to buy quality bulk?
I know i have seen organic wholesalers, but have long forgotten where. I would like things like quality flour and stuff. I also need to restock things like organic henna hair colour and maybe other toiletries.

Smoosh

Would love to take part it May! We're currently allowing £300 a month for two adults, a dog and a cat. This includes my lunches for work but not OH's as he gets them for free.

We have a separate bank account that we only use for groceries, so it's relatively easy for us to keep track of it. I would like to lower us to £250 over the coming months so I think this will help keep us on track! My first step is going to be working out how much we spend on the cat food and see if we can get it cheaper online.

elsiepac

Budgets updated to here

My May budget is £200. May is a 4 week month for me. I'd like to keep trying to aim for my £40 a week. I may not have managed it in April, but that's no reason not to keep trying! Of the £40 left, I think £20 will be on toiletries top ups, and a double batch of loo rolls as I've been operating without a spare pack and I like to have spares of EVERYTHING! The other £20 is going to sit there and be there for emergencies by which I mean incidentals :rotfl: