March 2021 Grocery Challenge

try_harder

Please could i join in again for March with £260 for the month pus another £100 for Amaxon where i also buy food ,supplements etc..Thank you 

mmharko

Hi, I'm going to tag along this month if that's ok? First month for me so i think ill just keep a running total and not put a limit on it this month. 2 adults and 4 children household, both adults working from home. I know we over spend, mostly due to quick 'top up' shops when we run out of things (milk, bread, cucumber and carrots mostly). Looking forward to reducing our spending!

Dansmam

Hi thanks for the thread. Can I go for £200 for March please. Had every intention of logging January and February here to keep myself accountable but let life get in the way (how does that happen when we're just indoors???!). Deep breath, picking myself up for the remaining 5/6ths of the year...

2Scratters

Hi Please put me down for £200 which will be 26th Feb to 26th March. I want to beat last month NSD of 15. Thanks for keeping us on the right track and focussed. 

2Scratters

Frugaliza

My grocery month for March starts today.  My goal this month is £260 to cover food, cleaning stuffs, essential toiletries that is for me and for my daughter who's home half the time.  Last month I managed to do it on £224.49 by eating a lot more vegetarian meals.  That worked out at about £37/wk/person.  What do others include?  

Tightpants24

I have just placed my main supermarket order which is £63.  I left quite a few items off this week as I plan to go to Aldi on Mon or Tues for some extra stuff.  Hoping to keep it all under £100 total for the week.  This is my first time doing this challenge so I have a long way to go.

thriftwizard

I'm galloping off into our March budget with a spend of £50 at the market this morning, on fish, cheese, a gammon joint, fruit & veg. The stuff I bought in town yesterday (meat, yogurt, cream, bread etc.) should probably have been in March's budget as that's when it'll be eaten, but I still had some of February's budget left, which hardly ever happens. I'm feeding 5 adults for most of this month, with at least 2 different diets (omnivore & pescatarian) and it's a 5-week month on the pay front, as the vast bulk of our food is bought at the weekend's markets, which keeps our money in the local community, if not in my pockets! Pet & livestock food are now in a separate budget as they're bulk-bought every few months & kept making me "fail" in the months I had to buy them, which isn't good for morale.

There may be a little more spent on Sunday before the market closes, when there are usually some excellent bargains to be had provided I can process and/or store them effectively. Sort of, £2 for a box of 8 mangoes, or 2 whole pineapples for £1. Things that won't keep 'til next week, but are still perfectly edible. A bit like YS, really.

Finstickle

Please put me down for £561 this month, as a longer stretch until payday - that works out at £16.50pd.

I started the month with a nice low spend at Lidl of £59.20, not sure that's ever happened before, but the benefit of OH overbuying last week, plus I have started weight watchers so treats are definitely more limited and focusing on wholesome veggie curries for lunch which keeps the cost down.
I also did a large meat order with musclefood (I find the quality and VFM second to none).
£76.75 for 58 portions, including 10 portions of steak, that makes it £1.32pp of meat.  This will obviously far outlast the month but with the stocks I have of other items this should be achievable within the current month's budget.
Currently at £135.95/£561

@thriftwizardI find pineapple freezes really well as I used to do similar when I had access

Suffolk_lass

Finishing February with a total of £460.66 out of my annual budget. As I predicted, some things have gone up. We have stopped eating meat for a month (fish is more expensive) and no longer going to the SM every week so don't see the same volume of offers that we used to. I have a humungous basket of food sitting on the Morries website - nearly £160 but it includes all toiletries, cleaning and laundry stuff, cat food and litter (indoor girl), as well as store-cupboard and fresh food. I was going to order for next week but we could wait a little longer - just don't want the offers to all end before we get them (over £21 at the moment). I might just look and see if the end date is there...

So 15.36% spent after two months.

By the way - Ariel stopped making a touch of Febrese laundry gloop some time ago (confirmed by P&G the makers). I have managed to get two catering size bottles (not cheap but over 150 per bottle) so the way I use it, no more laundry detergent this year (and possibly next year too!).

[Deleted User]

Morning folks, my month for grocery challenge started on 25th.  Thanks again elsiepac for setting up and running the thread.  Today we will do our start of the month stock up shop for things we use regulalrly and freezer items.  Finally starting to feel a bit more on top of things.  Food plan for the week ahead done and once OH gets up (he was nightshift last night) we'll go shopping.  I'll report back later and updadte how much I spent.