December 2007 Grocery Challenge

mumzyof2

hello if i was to join now how would i go about it as its not a full month left will end of dec?

rosieben

mumzyof2 wrote: »

hello if i was to join now how would i go about it as its not a full month left will end of dec?

Hi there and welcome to the GC.

Best bit of advice to start I think is to keep track of all your grocery spending for the rest of the month. At the end of the month you will have some idea of your weekly spend and can look for ways to reduce spend (you could deduct extra christmas spends to make it more realistic). Dont try to do it all at once though, reduce gradually until you find a level you are comfortable at.

You might like to try meal planning and making a shopping list. Hardest part is sticking to the list!!

If you read through the OS threads you will find loads of suggestions and ideas for saving money. They may not all suit you; the trick is to take what you can use and let the rest go.

Good luck!!

mumzyof2

Thankyou i cant wait. i set budget from today - tuesday till 31st jan... at £150 but it wont be anywhere near that as my mum has paid for xmas shopping food lol

rosieben

mumzyof2 wrote: »

Thankyou i cant wait. i set budget from today - tuesday till 31st jan... at £150 but it wont be anywhere near that as my mum has paid for xmas shopping food lol

Good old Mum!! :T

Remember to keep recipts for all your grocery spends, even the little trips to the corner shop (which can add up horribly over the month). Its really useful to have a check through at the end of the month, tends to be a bit of an eye opener too.

Since I joned the GC I have reduced my spend to £80 a month (just for me) and could go lower if I needed to. I was spending between 45 and 70 a week before!! :eek:

Good luck! look forward to hearing how you get on. you'll get loads of support and advice from the great people on this thread.

mumzyof2

Thankyou! My family are me, oh, 3 yr old and 22mth old
s cant wait till i start most of my challenges in jan woohoo

mumzyof2

i wil also be counting ciggrettes in my grocery total as i am going to start buying them in bulk when i do monthly shp as it cheaper. but then again my mum over from cyprus on wed woohoo so she bringing me some so will be free..and each time she comes home to england she wil bring me some hehe

WelshWoofer

Whoops!
Popped into Sainsburys last night and went mad with a reduced cherry pie and 2 packs of sausages for the dog - a grand total of £1.99!
So this months amended total is now £65.76 (from a budget of £75)
At least now I'm counting these extra bits and pieces - they would have disappeared into the abyss before the Grocery Challenge!

Trying_hard_5

Thanks Tattycath and Rosieben for your advice - I will have a look at the last two weeks receipts and see what I come up with. I def. need to start bringing in food from home (I also have a starbucks most days as well) - it's a wonder I have any money left at all!! (oink oink)
I tried putting moggy on cheaper food and she refused to eat for 3 days.... then I felt really mean and bought her some prawns to make up for it - she seems happier now!!
I will take about 25% off current weekly spend and see how it goes - I might end up losing some weight as well!!

chewy62

hi folks! Thought I'd better update my sig with my last week's food spending.
With a budget of £90 a week, I came in at £97.11 which isn't too bad and it's getting lower as I've only spent £75.60 so far this week and will only need bread and milk!Hooray!
Bit worried about Friday though as I'm gonna buy things for Xmas and pay for balance of turkey, so might go pear shaped!
Good luck everyone!

mikeD

Hi! Trying_hard and mumzyof2. Welcome aboard. As usual Rosie and Tatty have given the best of advice. I would also suggest setting up a spread sheet to record your purchases over a prolonged period of time. Then you can see what you spend and where you spend it. Also you can use MySupermarket to shop from Tesco, Asda Sainsbury or Waitrose, and you also get ipoints. Hope this helps.

tattycath wrote: »

: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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I'm sure you could my dear, but think how fat you would get :eek:. Sotto Voce - Methinks I've saved a few pennies there, eh what! :beer: