March 2021 Grocery Challenge

joedenise

flossyblog said:

Another 10.18 spent today which takes my total for March to €313.18  that takes me €63.18 over budget. Out of the grocery budget I always keep note of cleaning and toiletries to see how much is spent in these areas. Only 1 item for household cleaning, a bottle of dreft washing up liquid for a €1.  I have stocked up in the toiletries department with 5 Nivea  foaming silk mousse body wash 5 for €10 and Nivea body mousse body lotion 2 for €6.49 .  My year budget is 3k which is still within budget .  €728.18/€750.  see you all on the april challenge.  

Would it be better to have separate  budgets for these areas?   I definitely find it helps to separates out these areas out from general groceries.

flossyblog

joedenise I  was interested to see what I spent on toiletries which then expanded to household items.  I was surprised to see that I barely spent over a €100 in each department.   I always buy when on special offer and stock up on certain items for the whole year . As I spend so little I don't think for me it's worth having a separate budget.    

ancientmum

I'm declaring March completed at £66.73/75.  This gives me a saving over the first three months of the year of £32,83, which goes into the contingency fund for bulk buys or extras when DS3 is home.  See you all in April.

goldfinches

I'm declaring at £120.99/£124 for the month having been very firm with myself today about not dropping in to the supermarket on the way home from my walk so that makes my daily average spend £3.90.
See you all over in the April thread, goldfinches. 

zafiro1984

I've had quite a major spend on food this month. I've stocked up on meat, game and fish and I think I've enough to last most of the year, the next major meat stock up will be turkeys in December.
Total spent so far on food since Jan is 1334.26/3317.85 or just over 40% of my annual food/cleaning budget.

Mrs_Cheshire

Declaring £261.54/£350 for March, have moved the remaining to our bulk fund. See you all in April

pamsdish

flossyblog said:

joedenise I  was interested to see what I spent on toiletries which then expanded to household items.  I was surprised to see that I barely spent over a €100 in each department.   I always buy when on special offer and stock up on certain items for the whole year . As I spend so little I don't think for me it's worth having a separate budget.    

I am the same, find one budget does all

JingsMyBucket

Evening all. My final March total came to £449.78/ £300 spent. It was interesting to do an open tracking this month to understand what our possible numbers are. I set the April budget for £350 but maybe I should try for £400 or £375 just to try. 

Suffolk_lass

@JingsMyBucket have you done any analysis of what you are doing? My spendy-things are to start with the last list and "ooh, we could" mindset instead of a pared back list based on a meal plan, and the irresistibility of the special offers and YS stuff. 

My best things are trying to skip a week by substituting other stuff, using things from the store-cupboard and freezer, and sending DH with a list. Getting my milk and eggs delivered and freezing what I grew last year means I shop far less often and reduces the temptation a lot.

K9sandFelines

K9sandFelines said:

I'm in for March, but might not be constant. 
We (DD2 and I are moving at the end of March). My eldest daughter is still here with granddaughter, so the whole situation is a nightmare (but thats a whole different story).
I will drop my budget accordingly when we are settled. We will now have access to an Aldi, a Tesco, HomeBargains and small Co-op on the doorstep (not sure what shops are further afield).So with those shops combined i should be able to pick things up on my days off, and not have to bulk buy because of the distance of where the shops are currently.
Here's hoping,anyway ....

I have finally moved, and so has daughter and granddaughter. We have no internet at the moment until Wednesday, so i will make this post quick. I budgeted £380, and was under by £136.33; as DD1 was buying the majority of her own shopping. I can now drop this for April; but will adjust this accordingly as the months go on, and we find our feet shoppong for two again.