January 2022 Grocery Challenge 22 December 2021 at 4:11PM edited 22 December 2021 at 4:14PM in Old style MoneySaving 463 replies 31K views

cw18

I NEED to get back to this - way too many treats bought in 2021, and far too much food thrown away

I'm setting myself a budget of £4/day, which includes feeding OH the odd day he's here (not currently every weekend - or even the 'every other' that his new job promised he wouldn't be working).

I'll probably up it when we're away (self catering), but for January my budget stands at £124.
This includes the value of anything I use from my personal food mountain/stash - that way I can reallocate that money somewhere I need some extra cash (washing machine repairs / car repairs / new gas boiler etc.)

try_harder

Please could i join in with a target of £4,000 for the year please .Thank you very much

CRANKY40

Suffolk_lass said:

CRANKY40 said:

Thanks for the thread elsiepac.

I'd like to join for January please. I already know what I spend and I'm not liking it at all. Food prices have increased so much and there is a variable foot fall through my house due to my son's partner staying some most weekends, my best friend coming for lunch at least once a week and the person that I look after having snacks and meals with us three days a week. 

I was ill at the beginning of the year and couldn't eat. My cooking mojo disappered and hasn't really recovered. Even when I was fixed, 6 months of not being able to eat properly left me exhausted and I still tire easily. I have been prescribed folic acid by the GP but told they would prefer if I could get it from food. If I wasn't too tired to cook that would be a great idea!

I need to try to make better use of my resources and cook from scratch more. I'm only working on Tuesday then I'm off until the following Tuesday so my holiday reading will be recipe books. The freezer is full so I'm hopeful of coming in under budget for January which is a 5 week month for me (I use Monday as the start of my week).  

£400 for January please.

@CRANKY40 sorry to hear you are still suffering from being ill at the beginning of the year. A couple of really easy options for increasing folate in your diet are a microwaved bag of spinach with a poached egg, or fortified cereals - both better than tablets and the iron in the spinach will help too. Lots of bread is fortified too.

We are now believers in taking bio acidophilus after illness. Despite my scepticism it seems to improve energy levels after infections treated with anti-viral or antibiotics. It is prescribed by many doctors on the European mainland but not in the UK. Here it is available in health food outlets rather than pharmacies. I know and believe all the arguments about how the acid in our digestive system breaks it down before it gets to the gut but it still works. DH was prescribed some medication over several months a few years ago now that made him very low mood and he admitted to having suicidal thoughts. I told him it was a vitamin supplement for about a fortnight before things suddenly improved, and continued to do so, restoring him to my husband!

Thank you for the advice @Suffolk_lass. I just have time to add spinach to the shopping delivery for this week. I've already ordered eggs. I had a gallstone stuck in my bile duct, I went an interesting colour and if I ate anything the pain meant that I had to lie down on the floor until it stopped. My gp did try to get help for me as my liver enzyme readings were awful but covid was happening so no joy. One day the pain didn't stop and I ended up in A&E followed by a 4 day hospital stay concluding with the gallstone being evicted. I couldn't eat properly for roughly six months prior to being in hospital and things were still a bit ropey afterwards - I was tired from not eating properly which led to junk food which led to......you get the picture. I'm now taking a proper vitamin supplement and starting to feel more normal. It makes sense looking back but at the time I was just in a fog of exhaustion and convenience food. I have another week off work too which will help as I can cook properly then have a rest if I need to. 

Suffolk_lass

@CRANKY40 that sounds completely horrific. My personal regime for restoring energy also includes the removal of anything with sugar added to it - so zero shop-bought bread or any other processed foods other than a box or two of matzos. I find the removal of starchy carbs and sugar does wonders to restore things to normal, both gut and energy wise (and not too shabby on the scales either!) - 

My plan for January is to be really mean with what I spend. It will take until mid-February for the frivolous spends to work through the credit card but I will be sticking to minimum spend, although leftovers are always an issue here after Christmas and New Year, with friends staying different amounts of time either side of NYE. We shall see.

allie23

My first food spend from my January budget today as OH is making Spaghetti Bolognese today and needs wine to go into this recipe plus some grated parmesan to top it.  I am really looking forward to this meal, it's a fav recipe for me and it feels like we are getting back to 'normal' eating after Christmas.  

We have some carrots in the fridge needing used up so a couple will be grated into the Bolognese and the rest will be made into carrot and corriander soup.  I might even get some HM bread made to dip into it  .  That's lunch and dinner sorted for the next couple of days.  I'll need to get a food plan made up but I know I'll be making Steak Pie for New Year's Day along with veg and roast potatoes.  The steak pie I make is this one https://www.jamieoliver.com/videos/steak-guinness-pie-jamie-at-home/ and it turns out brilliant every time I make it. 

diminua

Hi Elsiepac, I'm still on the December budget at the moment but could you put me down for 

£200 for January please

Thank you.

Money_Choices

Hi Elsiepac
Thanks for starting this challenge for January 2022. My grocery spending target is to spend £120 per month, this includes any non food items that are bought in my grocery shopping.

Money Choices

outoftheviciouscircle

Hi
Could I possibly join this challenge. There is just 2 adults and a dog but she has more than enough food to last her until April. grocery shopping is where I fall down when it comes to budgeting. I meal plan and then decide on the day that I don't fancy what I had planned. That either leads to a trip to the supermarket for something quick and convenient (which usually means pricey) or a takeaway that is pricey.

I'm ashamed to say but our current grocery spend probably tops £600 a month. I am going to aim to cut this in half but secretly hope for more. So can I join with a target of £300 please. My month starts on the 4th

No idea what happened to the text in the middle sorry!!

Herbyme

@Suffolk_lass do you mean this sort of thing?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BioCare-518605-BioAcidophilus-Probiotic-bacteria/dp/B0013GAE10/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_i=B0013GAE10&psc=1

Its_time

Suffolk_lass said:

@CRANKY40 that sounds completely horrific. My personal regime for restoring energy also includes the removal of anything with sugar added to it - so zero shop-bought bread or any other processed foods other than a box or two of matzos. I find the removal of starchy carbs and sugar does wonders to restore things to normal, both gut and energy wise (and not too shabby on the scales either!) - 

My plan for January is to be really mean with what I spend. It will take until mid-February for the frivolous spends to work through the credit card but I will be sticking to minimum spend, although leftovers are always an issue here after Christmas and New Year, with friends staying different amounts of time either side of NYE. We shall see.

That's really interesting, I am joining the Give up Sugar thread on 1st January and plan to cut out as much sugar as I can, I feel very bloated and low on energy when I eat bread and cake etc. but just can't seem to get it in my head that it is making me ill.  I have fasted 16/8 a few times having my last meal around 7pm and starting again at 11am the next day, once i've told myself that I really don't need breakfast I feel great, my energy levels are really good and I have a clear head so will be doing this as well.