January 2022 Grocery Challenge

dreamingofmoney

I haven’t been able to keep up with what I have spent this month, but know I have gone waaaay over. I will keep on at it though until I get into the groove of it. I don’t post much but read every week, so thank you to all for your inspiration (off to think about a bulk fund, thanks Joedenise)
Dreamer

joedenise

dreamingofmoney said:

I haven’t been able to keep up with what I have spent this month, but know I have gone waaaay over. I will keep on at it though until I get into the groove of it. I don’t post much but read every week, so thank you to all for your inspiration (off to think about a bulk fund, thanks Joedenise)
Dreamer

Have to admit it wasn't my idea!  I copied @PipneyJane.

rtandon27

rtandon27 said:

rtandon27 said:

rtandon27 said:

First grocery spend of the new year - £102.44 on weekly grocery delivery - this includes pantry items we have run out of (sugar & rolled oats), vitamins, non-food household items (soap, toothpaste & ibuprofen) and all of our normal food for the weekly shop. (OH's wine & the monthly delivery fee come out of separate funds.)  Over the past couple of years we've fallen out of the habit of top-up shops & in-store shopping in general so fingers crossed, next spend should be in a week's time.

Spent £102.44
Budget left for month £397.56/£500

Second week of the month - £133.15 spent in total - this includes a veg box, bulk buys (kitchen & loo rolls, long-life juice and milk  and ground coffee), more vitamins, non-food (bathtub drain unblocker & mould remover for window seals) and all normal weekly food purchases.  Happily we avoided any sort of top-up shop, so aiming for the next spend to be in a week's time.  Also contemplating reducing the fortnightly veg box to once a month with the remainder of our veg purchase shifted to weekly delivery.

Total Spent £235.59
Budget left for month £264.41/£500

Third week of the month - £101.36 spent in total - this includes a weekly grocery shop with veg, food & nonfood, some iron tablets, almond milk top-up as it is on sale for 25% off and we consume this every week.  No top up shop and no veg box which I'll count as wins!  If next week's shop can be kept under £100 then January spends will be around £400 for the month so 20% less than projected!

Total Spent £336.95
Budget left for month £163.05/£500

Fourth & last week of the month - we had a couple of unexpected additions to the groceries this week, some medicated skin cream & 'just in case' Sudafed for the medicine cabinet.  The total shop however was kept under £100 so January spends are 15% less than projected

Total Spent £423.62
Budget left for month £76.38/£500

A bit a of a win, so aiming to reduce February's spend to £450

[As an aside we had an emergency plumber out yesterday to repair a compression joint that had sprung a leak! - So £60 was reallocated to that expense from the groceries.]

JingsMyBucket

Alright, I’ve finally faced the numbers. My tallies are £250.59 for all of January in the UK and roughly $330 for the time in New York. I was just able to wrangle the numbers out of Mr. Jings to account for his time in January alone before I arrived back here. The USD total also includes me stocking up on a lot of products I can’t buy in the UK. 

Yes, I went over but I’m feeling okay about it. Oddly enough we’re finally running out of salt. I’ll buy some tomorrow but may just count it toward February at this point. We were just discussing next month and agreed to go with the £70/week boundary going forward. 

MissRikkiC

elbree said:

So, I'm declaring this month at £171/£150. 

I'm a but disappointed to be over of course but have learnt quite a bit in this first month. I underestimated the impact of a 5 weekend month and think from now on I'll adjust the budget based on how long the month is, I'm thinking £40 a weekend for food and cleaning stuff. 

I also found it difficult not to be able to top up the fresh veg as much as I normally like to. I try to eat no carbs when 8yo is not here but this month ended up padding out my meals with couscous etc, health wise I don't feel as good on that kind of diet. So I want to be able to eat the range of fresh veg I like, hopefully this slightly more generous budget will help with that. I also make cold salady lunches for school and that was more difficult with less in the fridge/cupboard so I ended up eating more junk that I would normally.

The monthly meal plan worked brilliantly, I enjoyed making it and 8yo loves it being written on the fridge. I found it took a lot of the mental load off my day knowing what we were eating (and that it was already made in the freezer or at least the ingredients were in). I'm definitely pushing on with that. I also made an effort to visit L!DL which is near my school but strangely hard to find the time to stop at. Will try and commit to an afternoon a fortnight to going after school. It is SUCH good value! (I realise I'm late to the party here! 🤦)

Have still got £1.30 in my purse for milk tomorrow if needed but payday is on Monday and Feb challenge begins 🎉🎉

I think it’s often hard to balance financials with other (equally) Important aspects. I would use the opportunity to figure out what healthier type stuff you could include in the lunch boxes which are filling but not as junk like. Homemade hummus pots with veg sticks maybe? Boiled eggs? Crackers with some grated cheese? Not sure how old the children are (maybe just the 8yo) so might not work as well but worth considering. 

The same for yourself, (if not the above) I’m sure cauliflower rice can be a good bulking agent instead of bulgar, agains finely chopped veggies (cheaper ones like carrots and peas) for lower carb options.  Maybe check the carb content for things such as split peas and red lentils and opt for the lower carb option. 

I love meal planning, I find it so satisfying especially when doing so from the fridge/freezer etc first, it really does help with mental load. 

PipneyJane

Evening All

I’m declaring at £122.50/£141.00, leaving £18.50 to roll forward to February.

Two spends this weekend.  Dropped into Sainsbugs yesterday to pick up some of their plastic-free broccoli (68p for 1/2kg).  Also managed to score a YS bag of spinach for 69p.  £1.37 spent in total.

Not sure if I’ve mentioned that my MIL broke her hip in November?  We went over today to restock her fridge. While in her local MrT’s, I bought a few things for us: large YS Finest Whole Chicken £1.38, a whole roast chicken for £1.25, £5 on flowers for my MIL and two £3 meal deals.  £13.63 spent.  The raw chicken will go into the slow cooker tomorrow, for dinner tomorrow night.  Pity I don’t have any available freezer space, because they had at least two more that I could have brought home and frozen.

My sympathies @rtandon27 - we’ve been having our own plumbing issues this month.  The power shower over the bath has packed up, so I’ve resorted to having baths, and then bath’s hot tap broke up in my hand while I was turning it off on Thursday.  (It wouldn’t stop dripping.)  DH attempted to replace the tap head and innards this morning, but something went wrong and it would not turn off.  I suspect the new washer but we really don’t know.  Once he’d put it together, the innards categorically refused to be unscrewed so we can’t look.  DH did, eventually, manage to switch the tap into the off position, without the tap head on, when the water wasn’t running.  (It wouldn’t do that when the water was running or when the tap head was on.).   We have running water and heating, so all is not lost, and a friendly plumber who will come over later this week.  I’m going to a friend’s tomorrow evening to borrow her bathroom and wash my hair. 

- Pip

Hettyhound

I’m declaring January with £163.66 out of a budget of £160.  The bulk fund is pretty intact with only a fiver taken so that is still at £35.  Very happy with January 😁

CatMama

Hello all

I’m declaring £302.40, so £17.60 under budget. Tracking our weekly spends helped me to identify that DH ‘popping’ to the shops to pick up something sweet for after dinner, a pizza when I declared it was cook your own dinner night etc. came to almost £20 in a week! He was as horrified as I was, since then he hasn’t been up there again and I have used up some baking ingredients to ensure he has something sweet every night. 😁 I’m off to the February thread now, see you all there! 

pamsdish

£26.93 in A1d1 on Friday, got loads in stock so will try to shop little in Feb.
Wrapping January over budget, hoping to pull it back through February.

Soontobeoap

boxofpaws said:

Morning all
I have really enjoyed this challenge, thank you to everyone who enriches the thread with their contributions..

I have cut down on brassicas and legumes in the last year.  I absolutely LOVE them but was struggling to digest, would end up bloated and in pain and was worried I would gas my husband in his sleep. My IBS has been a lot better, although I had a hysterectomy so it could also be that making me feel better.

I think I will declare here. No more shops, we are really winding down freezer and store cupboard stocks

3rd Jan £40.33,  Mr S delivery 

4th Jan £10 on shampoo and conditioner on offer in Boots
8th Jan £53.71 Mr S delivery 
11th Jan - Am'n - sauce 4.65
14th Jan £65.70  Mr S delivery 
21st Jan £75.90 Mr S delivery 
23rd Jan Mr T bits £11.25
23rd Jan garage Peanut butter £3
Takeaways 7th Jan- £19 and 21st Jan £19
£302.54 spent of £320

Also FIL spends £13.15 + £24.05 + £28

This is my first month doing it and we REALLY had to cut down to get there and we have used existing cupboard and freezer stocks, existing cat food stocks etc. Just what we needed to help with the overdraft but not possible long term.

The breakdown
Petfood £16 - will stick with this
Toiletries and household (includes lightbulbs, shampoo, dishwasher stuff) - £40 -will stick with this
Alcohol - need to add this £14
Takeaways - £38 will stick with this
Food £210 - need to increase this. Will try £292 (because it makes the total a nice round £400 per month) and go from there.


So my new budget will be £400 and this will include food, petfood, toiletries, household, drinks at home, and takeaways.

What does everyone else include?

Hi, it is my first month too. I have included all cleaning stuff, toilet rolls etc as well as food shopping. Fortunately we barely ever drink and for the purpose of cutting down this year we have cut out any more takeaways. ( luckily both enjoying life without work now so this is easily doable) I also include delivery costs in mine. If we eat out it goes onto our entertainment budget. This only happens about once every 2 months anyway. We are all different and I think it is about what works for you and your family.