September 2019 Grocery Challenge

elsiepac

Budgets updated to here

Also, PipneyJane, your Pipi-An recipe is in the index

elsiepac

Totally lost it again this month. I know I'm going to be coming in very near my £250 mark as I physically don't have more money than that, but any tips on how to stop myself bulk buying like crazy? For example, I like to keep a couple of spares of some things so I don't run out, I think that's sensible, in our example let's say deoderant and shower gel. I get these, amongst other toiletries, from $uperdrug as they are cheap, not tested on animals and vegan. I work just 10 minutes from the mall where the nearest branch is (don't have one in my town where I live), and I visit a friend AT LEAST once a week who lives just 3 minutes from said mall. So it's not hard to get to or like I'm never in the area.
Yes, these items are usually on some kind of deal for 2 in that shop. but that does not explain why I needed to buy EIGHT deoderants and SIX shower gels when I got paid this month. I tend to do a monthly stock up there, and I'm like this with all toiletries and tins and c leaning products. I NEVER go into a shop and just buy one of something. I have a pathological fear of running out and not being able to afford to buy what I need. I have a good job with a good income, but my budgets are screwed because I repeat this behaviour for EVERY SINGLE THING I buy. Which means I always AM skint for the last couple of weeks of my month, and therefore it reinforces the fear of being skint... Sorry to rant, I guess writing this out has made it obvious what I need to do, it's just SO DIFFICULT!

JingsMyBucket

I have two spends to declare for Sunday and Monday; today was a NSD.

£20.14 at Lidl for veg, drain cleaner, and 2 big tubs of OH’s favourite peanut butter. It’s the Whole Earth no sugar added peanut butter that’s 1kg for £4.99 per tub. Considering a 300g jar is about £3.50 in Waitrose, that’s a good deal for us. Those two tubs should see him through Brexit.

£15.27 at M & S for fruit, YS meat, feta cheese, and desserts for OH.

TOTALS SO FAR:
£131.71/£170
4 / 10 NSD

I’ll need to buy more detergent and dishwasher tabs tomorrow. We’re down to a couple laundry washes and about 8 dishwasher tabs. That’ll knock another £15 or so off my budget but at least Waitrose is having a household/cleaning sale this week.

Saver-upper

elsiepac wrote: »

Totally lost it again this month. I know I'm going to be coming in very near my £250 mark as I physically don't have more money than that, but any tips on how to stop myself bulk buying like crazy? For example, I like to keep a couple of spares of some things so I don't run out, I think that's sensible, in our example let's say deoderant and shower gel. I get these, amongst other toiletries, from $uperdrug as they are cheap, not tested on animals and vegan. I work just 10 minutes from the mall where the nearest branch is (don't have one in my town where I live), and I visit a friend AT LEAST once a week who lives just 3 minutes from said mall. So it's not hard to get to or like I'm never in the area.
Yes, these items are usually on some kind of deal for 2 in that shop. but that does not explain why I needed to buy EIGHT deoderants and SIX shower gels when I got paid this month. I tend to do a monthly stock up there, and I'm like this with all toiletries and tins and c leaning products. I NEVER go into a shop and just buy one of something. I have a pathological fear of running out and not being able to afford to buy what I need. I have a good job with a good income, but my budgets are screwed because I repeat this behaviour for EVERY SINGLE THING I buy. Which means I always AM skint for the last couple of weeks of my month, and therefore it reinforces the fear of being skint... Sorry to rant, I guess writing this out has made it obvious what I need to do, it's just SO DIFFICULT!

Awww,Elsiepac I am sorry you are struggling with this compulsion.It does sound upsetting for you.(I have a decluttering and organising business in Bristol,and often work with people who have a fear of running out of supplies,and feel the need to stock up.)

I think it can be a case of "retraining" your thought processes.Your "sensible head" knows that everyday you work 10 minutes away from Superdrug,and that logic says you can replenish your stock *any day you need to.And that day doesn't need to be today*.

Each morning,look at your stash,to remind yourself that,no,today is not the day you need to purchase.Remember this again during your break,or after work,whenever you normally visit Superdrug.It is not even such a silly idea to take a photo of your stash,and look at it when you find yourself thinking about hitting the shops again (I take before and after photos of my own house when I am doing a bit of decluttering,or a big deep clean.Just to remind myself how an area looked before I decluttered/sorted/deep cleaned it.You can take photos to remind yourself just how much you have,and how overwhelming that amount actually is).

Another thing you could try,is a reward system people trying to quit smoking often use (and similar to what alot of people on the Sealed Pot Challenge here on MSE do).Each day that you resist the temptation to spend on deodorant,shower gels etc,put aside the money you would have spent (maybe in a sealed tin).You are now rewarding yourself for not bulk buying,and at the same time,you can see the financial reward.You won't even need to imagine how much money you could save-it will be right there in a tin.

I am not sure if it is still going,but MSE used to have a "not buying any more toiletries" thread,where people celebrate "shopping from their stash".

(Edit:found it)
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6042966/no-buying-unnecessary-toiletries-september-2019

I hope some of these ideas help.Good luck,and do let us know how you get on x

Saver-upper

I did a top-up shop in Aldi this afternoon (then nipped across the road from there to buy the cream and milk I had forgotten ).

Total spent £28.48.

Over the weekend I cleaned and sorted out my pantry cupboard and freezer space (haven't sorted out the freezer like this since it was installed 3 years ago :eek::eek:).Now I knew exactly what I had in,I spent a bit of time doing a very loose meal plan.Which should mean only top up shopping needed for a while.We shall see.

Spent this month:
£118.60/250

Suffolk_lass

elsiepac wrote: »

Totally lost it again this month. I know I'm going to be coming in very near my £250 mark as I physically don't have more money than that, but any tips on how to stop myself bulk buying like crazy? For example, I like to keep a couple of spares of some things so I don't run out, I think that's sensible, in our example let's say deoderant and shower gel. I get these, amongst other toiletries, from $uperdrug as they are cheap, not tested on animals and vegan. I work just 10 minutes from the mall where the nearest branch is (don't have one in my town where I live), and I visit a friend AT LEAST once a week who lives just 3 minutes from said mall. So it's not hard to get to or like I'm never in the area.
Yes, these items are usually on some kind of deal for 2 in that shop. but that does not explain why I needed to buy EIGHT deoderants and SIX shower gels when I got paid this month. I tend to do a monthly stock up there, and I'm like this with all toiletries and tins and c leaning products. I NEVER go into a shop and just buy one of something. I have a pathological fear of running out and not being able to afford to buy what I need. I have a good job with a good income, but my budgets are screwed because I repeat this behaviour for EVERY SINGLE THING I buy. Which means I always AM skint for the last couple of weeks of my month, and therefore it reinforces the fear of being skint... Sorry to rant, I guess writing this out has made it obvious what I need to do, it's just SO DIFFICULT!

I feel really sad for you, reading this elsiepac. Don't despair, lots of people on here have been drawn into this by a combination of the feelings you describe - the sort of reassurance they get from their stash (I have some of that myself - I caught myself noticing I had only 4 spare shower gels) combined with the need to buy a bargain for the bit of adrenalin - I did it myself yesterday. I bought 2x4 pints of organic milk on offer for £3. Normally we drink less than 4 pints a week.

Saver-upper wrote: »

Awww,Elsiepac I am sorry you are struggling with this compulsion.It does sound upsetting for you.(I have a decluttering and organising business in Bristol,and often work with people who have a fear of running out of supplies,and feel the need to stock up.)

I think it can be a case of "retraining" your thought processes.Your "sensible head" knows that everyday you work 10 minutes away from Superdrug,and that logic says you can replenish your stock *any day you need to.And that day doesn't need to be today*.

Each morning,look at your stash,to remind yourself that,no,today is not the day you need to purchase.Remember this again during your break,or after work,whenever you normally visit Superdrug.It is not even such a silly idea to take a photo of your stash,and look at it when you find yourself thinking about hitting the shops again (I take before and after photos of my own house when I am doing a bit of decluttering,or a big deep clean.Just to remind myself how an area looked before I decluttered/sorted/deep cleaned it.You can take photos to remind yourself just how much you have,and how overwhelming that amount actually is).

Another thing you could try,is a reward system people trying to quit smoking often use (and similar to what alot of people on the Sealed Pot Challenge here on MSE do).Each day that you resist the temptation to spend on deodorant,shower gels etc,put aside the money you would have spent (maybe in a sealed tin).You are now rewarding yourself for not bulk buying,and at the same time,you can see the financial reward.You won't even need to imagine how much money you could save-it will be right there in a tin.

I am not sure if it is still going,but MSE used to have a "not buying any more toiletries" thread,where people celebrate "shopping from their stash".

(Edit:found it)
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6042966/no-buying-unnecessary-toiletries-september-2019

I hope some of these ideas help.Good luck, and do let us know how you get on x

This is really good advice from Saver-upper. You know I am sure this is why the second purse system that we faithfully reproduce at the start of each thread, was invented. We have to learn to get our little satisfaction hits from what we save, by putting it away, rather than potential savings on what we might have spent if we just stopped buying.

elsiepac, I hope it is reassuring that you are not alone - there are ways to help yourself, it is no different to other addictions and compulsions. Always help for you here.

pamsdish

elsiepac wrote: »

Yes, these items are usually on some kind of deal for 2 in that shop. but that does not explain why I needed to buy EIGHT deoderants and SIX shower gels when I got paid this month. I tend to do a monthly stock up there, and I'm like this with all toiletries and tins and c leaning products. I NEVER go into a shop and just buy one of something.

I am the same, I have 3 places to store cleaning materials, all full, toletries get stored in the bathroom plenty of storage in there too.:o

tessie_bear

hello x i have a fair stash in and although i despair of myself sometimes i take the view that as long as nowts wasted im not wasting money...take care and keep trying all we can do really x

i went shopping yesterday and didnt feel very well so didnt buy a lot good from a money saving point of view but i will be wondering where the food is later in the week

quintwins

The only way I stopped bulk buying stuff was when I had no room for it so I can't really help.

I had planned to buy dishwasher tablets and bread today but I have 2 kids at home sick so it's going to be a NSD.Not feeling great myself so not complaining about staying home.

elsiepac

Saver-upper wrote: »

Awww,Elsiepac I am sorry you are struggling with this compulsion.It does sound upsetting for you.(I have a decluttering and organising business in Bristol,and often work with people who have a fear of running out of supplies,and feel the need to stock up.)

I think it can be a case of "retraining" your thought processes.Your "sensible head" knows that everyday you work 10 minutes away from Superdrug,and that logic says you can replenish your stock *any day you need to.And that day doesn't need to be today*.

Each morning,look at your stash,to remind yourself that,no,today is not the day you need to purchase.Remember this again during your break,or after work,whenever you normally visit Superdrug.It is not even such a silly idea to take a photo of your stash,and look at it when you find yourself thinking about hitting the shops again (I take before and after photos of my own house when I am doing a bit of decluttering,or a big deep clean.Just to remind myself how an area looked before I decluttered/sorted/deep cleaned it.You can take photos to remind yourself just how much you have,and how overwhelming that amount actually is).

Another thing you could try,is a reward system people trying to quit smoking often use (and similar to what alot of people on the Sealed Pot Challenge here on MSE do).Each day that you resist the temptation to spend on deodorant,shower gels etc,put aside the money you would have spent (maybe in a sealed tin).You are now rewarding yourself for not bulk buying,and at the same time,you can see the financial reward.You won't even need to imagine how much money you could save-it will be right there in a tin.

I am not sure if it is still going,but MSE used to have a "not buying any more toiletries" thread,where people celebrate "shopping from their stash".

(Edit:found it)
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6042966/no-buying-unnecessary-toiletries-september-2019

I hope some of these ideas help.Good luck,and do let us know how you get on x

Thank you so much for this sSaver-upper, what great ideas! And funny enough I'm in Bristol, well, north of, and I live in Gloucestershire, but I'm referring to the mall at Cribbs Causeway! Small world :j

I don't buy un-necessary or new things, I just buy a lot of the few products I use. And I have specific places for keeping them and I don't buy more than that, but I do have a decent amount of storage space so it's not that limiting!!

I think the major points I can put into practice from your very thoughtful and incredibly helpful post, are to take pictures of the stores and regularly look at them - I could make this into a kind of inventory on my phone so it's always with me...

I wonder if the problem is that I only hit that shop specifically once a month on payday - the trouble is when I get in there, I get this crazy head on that tells me you might as well buy a load since you're here a minute, make it worth your while! Whereas what I maybe need is more of a rotating system, where I keep just 2 spares (I would say one, but everything always on buy one get one half price etc offers so you always get 2 as it's cheaper!) and when I am about to start the second spare, then make a trip and buy more. It's making me feel panicky thinking about it tbh!! :rotfl:

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

I feel really sad for you, reading this elsiepac. Don't despair, lots of people on here have been drawn into this by a combination of the feelings you describe - the sort of reassurance they get from their stash (I have some of that myself - I caught myself noticing I had only 4 spare shower gels) combined with the need to buy a bargain for the bit of adrenalin - I did it myself yesterday. I bought 2x4 pints of organic milk on offer for £3. Normally we drink less than 4 pints a week.

This is really good advice from Saver-upper. You know I am sure this is why the second purse system that we faithfully reproduce at the start of each thread, was invented. We have to learn to get our little satisfaction hits from what we save, by putting it away, rather than potential savings on what we might have spent if we just stopped buying.

elsiepac, I hope it is reassuring that you are not alone - there are ways to help yourself, it is no different to other addictions and compulsions. Always help for you here.

Thanks Suffolk lass - it's a strange one isn't it! I don't tend to buy "extras", it really is just the things I use, just I act like I'm never going to get to the shops again!! I feel like I've just taken the "sensible" having a small stash mentality and turned into something bad. I think I'll look at the second purse system again, I could never get my head round it before!

pamsdish wrote: »

I am the same, I have 3 places to store cleaning materials, all full, toletries get stored in the bathroom plenty of storage in there too.:o

Me too! I have 2 places though - big box and shelf and in my big built in cupboard where I keep spare cleaning products and toiletries like deoderant, hairspray and shower gel, and then in the bathroom cupboard I keep the spare make up and the spare make up removing/moisturiser etc. I don't use loads of that and it lasts ages so those are small stashes with just one or two spares.

tessie_bear wrote: »

hello x i have a fair stash in and although i despair of myself sometimes i take the view that as long as nowts wasted im not wasting money...take care and keep trying all we can do really x

Yes, mine isn't wasted money as such, it's more that I buy such a large amount in one go, whereas I'd probably be better just topping up my stash rather than letting it run down and buying a load of stuff again at once!!

quintwins wrote: »

The only way I stopped bulk buying stuff was when I had no room for it so I can't really help.

I had planned to buy dishwasher tablets and bread today but I have 2 kids at home sick so it's going to be a NSD.Not feeling great myself so not complaining about staying home.

Thanks for commenting though! And hope you feel better soon!!:D