December 2007 Grocery Challenge

tattycath

Mollymop5 wrote: »

Hi everyone.I've been reading this thread for a good half hour now.Hats off to you all.What a fantastic challenge.I plan to join you in the new year when spending is back to normal if that's ok with everyone

Hi Mollymop.Welcome to the grocery challenge thread!!-the more the merrier!!

mikeD

Mollymop5 wrote: »

Hi everyone.I've been reading this thread for a good half hour now.Hats off to you all.What a fantastic challenge.I plan to join you in the new year when spending is back to normal if that's ok with everyone

Welcome Mollymop its certainly OK with me. Some of us are a little bit dotty but the sane ones will offer you humungous amounts of tips and good advice. Enjoy!

Did a Mr T Christmas shop today which at arrived at the gynormous amount of £150 :eek:, but as I've upped my budget just for December I'm hoping I won't be too much over budget.

Good hunting one and all, keep those wallets lean and mean!!

tattycath

mikeD wrote: »

Welcome Mollymop its certainly OK with me. Some of us are a little bit dotty but the sane ones will offer you humungous amounts of tips and good advice. Enjoy!

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
BTW Mike. I could prob be bribed with chocolate and/or cream cakes too!! lol
and fyi I'm not dotty am I Mike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

the_cat

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! I'm really cross now!:mad: :mad: :mad:

Not only have I just spent more than I wanted on the weekly shop, I have got home and realised that one of my BOGOF's was not taken off my bill. £3.69 overcharge!

Will try going back in to get refund later on but don't know if it will work as I've never done it before

EDIT Thankfully got refund today. Will def be checking ALL receipts carefully before leaving shop in future!

WelshWoofer

Have now done my final (except Xmas from a separate budget) shop of the year and have spent another £17.77 - thi sdid include some wrapping paper and cards so not too bad I suppose.
The previous total was £46 and now its £63.77 from a budget of £75 for the period of 1st Dec-23rd Dec. If I can keep it at that I'll be very happy - £11.23 under budget.

I also did a whopping big Xmas shop on the weekend and spent £84 but have £80 already saved/vouchers so not too bad - just the fresh stuff to get now on the 23rd/24th which hopefully will be no more than about £25.

My new month will start on Monday 31st December and end on Friday 1st February and I'm hoping to stick to £100 for all food, dog food, toiletries and cleaning stuff - I will be away for a week in Japan with work so hopefully its do-able!

Good luck to everyone else - I'm not relishing the thought of the rugby scrum that will be Tesco on the 23rd/24th!!:eek:

hilary1

this is my first month but I have realised that I need to use this board because

I did some extra shopping at Tesco only to find I cant get some of it in the freezer (thats the bigger freezer in the shed) which means I should be looking to use that up before buying so many extra things. At least next weekend I will only need to buy milk.

I'm not really counting money at this point of the year but am def going to budget better from jan and count every penny by using what we've got instead of keep spending.

xx

Trying_hard_5

Hi, I've only just read this thread today.
Could someone give me a rough idea of what a budget for 1 person (and one greedy cat!) for 1 month should be?
I have no idea what i spend on food each month, and don't impose any restrictions on myself (ie: pret-a-manger for lunch every day!!)
Have tried to add up all the receipts but don't have a month's worth, and don't want to put this off any longer. I suspect my current monthly spend is similar to that of a couple/familys!!!
All ideas will be greatfully received

tattycath

Trying_hard wrote: »

Hi, I've only just read this thread today.
Could someone give me a rough idea of what a budget for 1 person (and one greedy cat!) for 1 month should be?
I have no idea what i spend on food each month, and don't impose any restrictions on myself (ie: pret-a-manger for lunch every day!!)
Have tried to add up all the receipts but don't have a month's worth, and don't want to put this off any longer. I suspect my current monthly spend is similar to that of a couple/familys!!!
All ideas will be greatfully received

Hi there. Welcome to the December grocery challenge thread. It's difficult to say how much one person and a greedy cat shoould spend a month on groceries etc. It's a personal thing and no 2 families are alike. I joined the challenge in November, I have OH and 3 kids & a cat. I wasn't sure how much I spent, but I can safely say it was well over £300 a month!! I didn't have receipts etc, so I just guestimated Novembers figure to give me a guide. I didn't know whether I would achieve target or not, but i did manage to. Being on this thread and knowing I am challenging myself, keeps me focussed and gives me the incentive to achieve. It aslso makes me think about what I actually spend my money on and how much food etc we used to waste. I would suggest you hazard a guess as to how much you currently spend and give yourself a guide target to aim for. If you find the figure you go for does not work for you, you can always adjust it in following months until you find a mangeable figure. I hope this helps. No doubt some one else will be along soon, and they will probably be in a much better position to advise. We are a friendly lot and will help and support you as much as we can.

rosieben

Trying_hard wrote: »

Hi, I've only just read this thread today.
Could someone give me a rough idea of what a budget for 1 person (and one greedy cat!) for 1 month should be?
I...

I eat quite simply and I have a budget of £80 a month for myself, which includes all toiletries cleaning etc. But we're all in different situations with differing eating habits and prices/choice of shops vary so much from one area to another that its difficult to compare.

I suggest you check through your receipts - even if you only have a couple of week's worth - and get an idea of your weekly spend.

Lots of ideas on this thread and on other OS threads for cutting your grocery spend. Buying lunch every day is expensive so that might be a good place to start - could you take something in from home?

Also decide if you want to budget separately for meals out, wine etc. you need to be sure of what you're including to get a realistic result

Keep posting on here and you will loads of good advice and suggestions

hth


ooops cross-posted tattycath! :hello:

rosieben

trying_hard - forgot to say , dont try to go too low all at once, reduce gradually is the best way.