January 2020 Grocery Challenge

sarahj1986

€3.22 spent today

Needed weetabix and bread for my girl. Unfortunately I can only buy branded weetabix as they don’t sell supermarket knock offs over here. My daughter loves them so I buy them for her and I might have them occasionally too.

€292.71 left

miss_empty_piggy

NSD for me today. Plus DD2 tidied her room and brought down a carrier bag full of Xmas sweets and chocolates she'd received. We put them in the snack box. Hopefully this will stop DOH from spending money at the tuck shop at work in the coming weeks, that's if he doesn't get through it all by Monday lol xx

zafiro1984

baggins11 wrote: »

Quick question about the grocery challenge? I would like to reduce my overall grocery spend but I tend to buy in bulk when things are on offer that I use. For example today I bought 4 jars of alta rica coffee as it was half price and it is the only instant coffee I like. I only ever buy it when it is half price and it is never wasted so in my mind I am money saving but buying like this makes it very difficult to do the grocery challenge.

Does anyone manage to do the grocery challenge when they buy in this way? Or does the grocery challenge suit buying little and often more. I don't use many brands but the ones I do like I want to stick with.

I do exactly the same with offers that I use. It works best for me if I have two budgets, a general budget which includes food, toiletries and cleaning stuff and a smaller 'bulk budget' which allows me to stock up on items I prefer when I see them on offer. If, at the end of the month I haven't spent all my 'bulk budget' I carry that amount forward onto the next month.
I started this idea a couple of years ago and I'm sure it has saved me an awful lot of money. Last year I had saved up quite a substantial amount which enabled me to buy dishwasher and laundry tabs on offer - I'm still using them 8months later. I only buy bulk items that are long term and not items that I would use more just because they are there. Coffee is ok, things for the freezer and cleaning stuff but should my favourite biscuit/chocolates be on offer I try my hardest not to buy them for obvious reasons.

Today for example out of my 'bulk fund' I bought 6 packets of yellow sticker mincepies at 10p per packet. I froze them as they will be used with custard as a dessert for DH over the next couple of months.

franby64

Good morning
Thank you Elsiepac for running the thread.

Finally done my post Xmas tally and January is looking a bit thin...so please could you put me down for£260 for January.

peony40

Morning, yesterday I had a very small spend of £2.10, I will need to get some potatoes and some more greens today, but that should be it.

Suffolk_lass

baggins11 wrote: »

Yes jam I think doing an annual target might work. I think it just might be a bit harder keeping motivated so maybe like you say borrowing budget from other months might work.

I have a regular amount over 10 months, a lower amount for our holiday month and a higher one for December, plus a stores budget (so basically 13 months) in my annual budget. I only ever buy my coffee on special offer (Douwe Egberts here), along with shower gloop and laundry detergent, where I have tried others and gone back to my brands.

The only regularly used thing outside my grocery budget is face-cream where it is my self-indulgence pot and I buy once or twice a year (always only when on offer).

patentgirl

Done my first shop since Christmas £50.34 at Tescos had it delivered last night with £6 of code meal planned for couple weeks will adjust total still paying everything on credit card then paying all off might try cash next month to see if save more.

savingpennies

Hi everyone, I feel as a family we overspend on food and we all too often, despite having a full fridge and freezer revert to takeaways if we are short of time or just plain knackered. If I planned my time better, we wouldn't have this problem. We are a household of 3 adults: me, OH, DD1 and 2 dogs. DD1 works for DD2 and her OH, and she has her evening meal with them. I'm initially aiming for £400 a month and have an unused make up bag I am going to use as my food budget purse.

Shopped at Aldi yesterday as we had run out of butter, bread, eggs, and emergency milk (UHT). I'm aiming to do a meal plan today after looking in the fridge.

miss_empty_piggy

Have done my freezer and cupboard inventory this morning before heading out to the shops. It's not that great to be honest but there is almost enough to get us through the week along with some supplements. Here is the (not very exciting) meal plan for the week. I try to have a mix of carbohydrates across the week i.e. rice, potatoes, pasta, bread etc. We also generally have cereal for breakfast and soup and bread roll for lunch. DD2 has school dinners.

After tea is the worst time for snacking/having dessert but I'm going to bake some rock cakes or see if I can get some YS mince pies to have with custard or cream for DOH. I am going to try to refrain as this has become such a bad habit and the pounds have certainly piled on over the holiday period.

I was going to brave Mr T on a Saturday!!! as I have vouchers I could use towards the shopping, but think I might leave them for birthday presents in the future and just go to L's instead.

Have a great day everyone.

SAT - HM sausage rolls and wedges
SUN - Lamb chops (bean burger for me) and vegetable cous cous
MON - "Meatballs" and pasta
TUE - Sausage, mash, veg and gravy
WED - Chinese chicken and veg rice dish
THUR - Scrambled egg/beans on toast
FRI - Chick Pea curry and rice or Pizza
SAT Leftover surprise

Mrs_Cheshire

Jacs205 wrote: »

Newbie here, how do you all do this - is it a case of drawing cash out and keeping to that? My background is still have two grown up kids and one of their partners in the house but really I am just buying groceries for hubby, pets and I (well bread and snacks get used by all) but I still go shopping like I'm feeding a family of five. I'd really like to stop buying for a siege since I've got a freezer, tin cupboard, 2 dried food cupboards and snack cupboard rammed full. I'd love to just spend £200 until I get paid in four weeks and wonder if I'd be better just taking that out then going out with no bank card?



Sorry for long post! Thanks for any replies

Using Cash is a great way of seeing what your actually spending. It makes you think twice about impulsive purchases.

baggins11 wrote: »

Quick question about the grocery challenge? I would like to reduce my overall grocery spend but I tend to buy in bulk when things are on offer that I use. For example today I bought 4 jars of alta rica coffee as it was half price and it is the only instant coffee I like. I only ever buy it when it is half price and it is never wasted so in my mind I am money saving but buying like this makes it very difficult to do the grocery challenge.

Does anyone manage to do the grocery challenge when they buy in this way? Or does the grocery challenge suit buying little and often more. I don't use many brands but the ones I do like I want to stick with.

I'd try a small bulk buy purse of perhaps £20 per month for these extra purchases, you can always carry over what you don't spend.

miss_empty_piggy wrote: »

Have done my freezer and cupboard inventory this morning before heading out to the shops. It's not that great to be honest but there is almost enough to get us through the week along with some supplements. Here is the (not very exciting) meal plan for the week. I try to have a mix of carbohydrates across the week i.e. rice, potatoes, pasta, bread etc. We also generally have cereal for breakfast and soup and bread roll for lunch. DD2 has school dinners.

After tea is the worst time for snacking/having dessert but I'm going to bake some rock cakes or see if I can get some YS mince pies to have with custard or cream for DOH. I am going to try to refrain as this has become such a bad habit and the pounds have certainly piled on over the holiday period.

I was going to brave Mr T on a Saturday!!! as I have vouchers I could use towards the shopping, but think I might leave them for birthday presents in the future and just go to L's instead.

Have a great day everyone.

SAT - HM sausage rolls and wedges
SUN - Lamb chops (bean burger for me) and vegetable cous cous
MON - "Meatballs" and pasta
TUE - Sausage, mash, veg and gravy
WED - Chinese chicken and veg rice dish
THUR - Scrambled egg/beans on toast
FRI - Chick Pea curry and rice or Pizza
SAT Leftover surprise

I'm also using up stuff out of the freezer, really makes you look at what you've already got in.