October 2020 Grocery Challenge

Frugalistamama

Love to join in but my month runs from the 15th-15th so am about to start a new month.  I've got good stock levels at home and really want to use some up and lower the food bill this month to make some room for Christmas spending. Usually my budget is £400 a month for 4 people but i don't usually spend it all and haven't challenged myself to bring it down. I'm going to really go for it this month and go for £200 😬 i think i can do it using my stores first and discounts. I'll do a bit of reverse food planning first stores, then discounts then other items. 

pamsdish

Frugalistamama said:

Love to join in but my month runs from the 15th-15th so am about to start a new month.  I've got good stock levels at home and really want to use some up and lower the food bill this month to make some room for Christmas spending. Usually my budget is £400 a month for 4 people but i don't usually spend it all and haven't challenged myself to bring it down. I'm going to really go for it this month and go for £200 😬 i think i can do it using my stores first and discounts. I'll do a bit of reverse food planning first stores, then discounts then other items. 

Several of our virtual friends run similar months, it`s more about accountability. 

Money_Choices

Hi
I've spent another £42.48 as I had a food delivery on Monday 12 Oct. This makes my total £52.42/£120.00
Money Choices

killielila

 oh, dear I'm off to a bad start id hoped for a 300 month but overspent already ill be being frugal rest of month put me down for 350  and kick my !!!!!! to eat from freezer  I'm waiting to hear about moving house so need to empty them 

 I'm at 242.47  ( but 40 of that was steak and wine and treats for his birthday ) but all I should need rest of month is milk and bread so should be doable shouldn't it ?!?!

Mrs_Cheshire

Suffolk_lass said:

Mrs_Cheshire said:

I'm currently eating my way through the tinned soup. Does anyone do anything interesting with tins of spaghetti in tomato sauce, got loads but not keen on it as it is. 

Spaghetti pie?

Pastry case in a flan dish (I blind bake so not soggy) then cook off some streaky bacon and onions (could add more veg if sneaky), mix in a tin of spaghetti, top with grated cheese and bake 25 minutes at 180c (Gas 4, 350f) until cheese going brown and pastry cooked. Good TV supper on its own or with a bit of salad

Love this idea, think my kids wouldd love it too. 

joedenise

Another shop today but wasn't able to get everything on my list so will need to try another shop tomorrow but that's in a different town to where I was today!  I'm now at £115.02 for the rest of the month.  I did buy a big bag on onions so they should last next month as well, along with the sack of potatoes I bought the other day.

We're going away in our motorhome for a long weekend so we'll be eating out once but that will come from a different budget but don't need to buy another other than some salad which I didn't get today (lettuce didn't look nice and the cucumber was too soft so wouldn't last!).

Finstickle

A big Lidl shop for £126.33 and a couple of small shops bring me to £313.05/£650 for the month.
I'm exactly half way through my month and have spent 48%, which included £59 on a bulk meat order so v happy.
£20.87pd so far, £22.46pd remains.
- I like this metric, it sounds a lot though - really focusing my mind this way. Going to do for calculate months and hopefully see a downward track.
My average total NSD for 2020 is 11, will track alongside this. 

I reckon I've at least £250 left to spend, going to focus on keeping it as close to that as possible for a total of just over £550, which would see me back to where I was at the beginning of the year, spend wise 🤞😀

Mrs_Cheshire

mumtoomany said:

Well yesterday was fun! Up at five am, to load pigs into trailer. Our car had not been fixed in time so; Hour journey in neighbours ancient and very uncomfortable Landrover, with the dog on my knee. One pig tried to make it's escape at the abatoir, I had to chase her all around the yard! Equally uncomfortable hours drive home. Morning spent playing with DGD2. After lunch DD3 on driving lesson so did big monthly shop. Total of £81.98 spent across five shops. Plenty of bargains to be had at veg shop and cash and carry. Picture of veg, you can't quite see the five lettuce and two cucumber at the top. Cash and carry, 12 finger rolls, 4 Chelsea buns, packet of chiabbata, (sp) 18large wraps, litre salad dressing, 2kg cottage cheese, 4 large plain yogurt, 6 balls mozerrella, tapas, 2.27it wholemeal mustard. Total £14.64. Lots of cottage cheese salad this week! Mumtoomany.

What a great haul of fruit and veg

thriftwizard

I've added £40 to my total, having lost a couple of receipts; one, at the Asian grocers in the city on the other side of The Forest, was about £21, and the other, at the supermarket, was about £19, so I'm not far out. I've realised that actually, it is a 4-week month for us, as the last Friday is payday, but I'll need to order a sack of oats etc. which would otherwise put us over, so I'll leave it at £450 for now. No guests this weekend - the assorted sons are meeting up with each other on neutral territory, rather than invading us - so it can be an inexpensive week!

JustMum89

JustMum89 said:

£150.21 spent on this weeks shop 😭 that takes me up to £221.01/£400.

Mum to many I wish I could shop like that around here but due to mainly still staying indoors as much as possible im on a once weekly supermarket shop.

Just Mum x

£163.02 this week. Im going to smash through the budget at this rate.  I think £400 was a bit optimistic for us on our first month.  Will have to look at it again for next month and try chip away slowly rather than in one fell swoop I think.

Currently £384.03/£400 the shop I have just done will easily see us through to the end of the month for main stuff with top ups of fresh fruit, veg, bread and milk so may not end up too bad I think we will be over by a maximum of £50-£75. 

We are also in isolation as from today.  DS has a high temperature and is booked in for a covid test tomorrow.  Fingers crossed for a negative but I know I can feed us for the 14 days should the test come back otherwise.  

Hope everyone is keeping well. 

Just mum x