February 2022 Grocery Challenge

mumtoomany

I always buy my dishwasher off ebay. 500 for less than £40. Always fine and much cheaper. Of course i run my dishwasher the or for times a day. Hope this helps, mumtoomany.xx

PipneyJane

OrkneyStar said:

I never know which month to join, because our budget runs 15th (or thereabouts) to 14th (or thereabouts) due to pay dates - is it too late to join here? This month I am aiming to log all spends, so don't have a set budget, because I want to see realistically how much we need to budget to feed the three of us with current price increases (2 adults, son 14 but adult appetite, so 3 adults really) in a location where we have limited shops (Lidl, Tesco, Coop, Poundland, Superdrug in big town, Coop nearby, small local shops in big town and nearby). I used to do the grocery challenge years ago, but kind of got out of the habit. Thanks for reading, and well done all!

Hi @OrkneyStar. 

Everyone's timetable is different but you may find it useful to read along with the new month, even if you continue to post in the old.  At the end of the day, it's about keeping ourselves accountable and sharing the highs - and lows - with others.

Not certain if this will help you, but a few years ago, I used to get paid on the 19th of the month.  Since my DH got paid on the 31st, what I did was put my share of the Grocery Challenge money into a savings account on payday and then took it out on the last day of the month. That kept our GC months running consistently from 1st to 31st.  When I suggested to my DH that I change the date that I contributed, he said that having the contributions split would do his head in! (We operate in cash for the Grocery Challenge and for the Meat Fund.  Everything else is electronic.) 

- Pip

OrkneyStar

PipneyJane said:

OrkneyStar said:

I never know which month to join, because our budget runs 15th (or thereabouts) to 14th (or thereabouts) due to pay dates - is it too late to join here? This month I am aiming to log all spends, so don't have a set budget, because I want to see realistically how much we need to budget to feed the three of us with current price increases (2 adults, son 14 but adult appetite, so 3 adults really) in a location where we have limited shops (Lidl, Tesco, Coop, Poundland, Superdrug in big town, Coop nearby, small local shops in big town and nearby). I used to do the grocery challenge years ago, but kind of got out of the habit. Thanks for reading, and well done all!

Hi @OrkneyStar. 

Everyone's timetable is different but you may find it useful to read along with the new month, even if you continue to post in the old.  At the end of the day, it's about keeping ourselves accountable and sharing the highs - and lows - with others.

Not certain if this will help you, but a few years ago, I used to get paid on the 19th of the month.  Since my DH got paid on the 31st, what I did was put my share of the Grocery Challenge money into a savings account on payday and then took it out on the last day of the month. That kept our GC months running consistently from 1st to 31st.  When I suggested to my DH that I change the date that I contributed, he said that having the contributions split would do his head in! (We operate in cash for the Grocery Challenge and for the Meat Fund.  Everything else is electronic.) 

- Pip

Thanks for that all that info. Much appreciated. We do all do things differently but it's great to get ideas from others. I used to post regularly on MSE forums, and just getting back into things, but I can see folk are still really helpful.

nannygladys

Updated signature after after two small spends.
1. At the community pantry.
2. At the sm, getting some milk and a red onion for a recipe I want to try.

I was really tempted by a few bits in the sm for the house but refrained, so feeling pleased about that! Anyway still on track but wanted to get a few things as I don't really want to go far if this storm hits where I live.
Nannyg

Doom_and_Gloom

£24.36 spent since last post in Mr S and L!do.

£99.89/£150.
£50.11 left.

zafiro1984

Already blown the budget by 30.59p so no more shopping for me this month. Quite unhappy with my efforts or lack of effort.
Looking at what I have, particularly fruit and veg I maybe Ok until the end of the month.
The sad thing is the March budget will have to start 50.59p down.

mumtoomany

More milk and more chopped tomatoes. £3.07. DD3 off work now for a week, will have to go for milk ourselves. Total to date £265.07/£2640. Take care all in the storm, mumtoomany.xx

Suffolk_lass

Just milk to add to my total this week. The market has been cancelled (probably for the best) so temptation removed. Make do and carry on time

bargainbetty

I picked up a 'Too good to go' bag on Wednesday - bit of a disappointment as there was nothing in the way of veggies or fruit, but at least I won't have to buy snacks/treats for a while. £4 for a lot of biscuits, pre-packaged cakes etc. Sticking to supermarkets from now on. 

I had taken my lunch to work so thought I would invest the savings... not such a great gamble.

pelirocco

zafiro1984 said:

Already blown the budget by 30.59p so no more shopping for me this month. Quite unhappy with my efforts or lack of effort.
Looking at what I have, particularly fruit and veg I maybe Ok until the end of the month.
The sad thing is the March budget will have to start 50.59p down.

If you start the next month down due to an overspend  you could be setting yourself  up to fail
Personally I would drawva line under it and try to come under budget on the next  month