January 2008 Grocery Challenge

bails

Hiya, I've read some more posts and I see what you include can vary so I think I'll try £160 from Jan 1st - 31st for 2 adults, 2 cats and 2 guinea pigs. Good luck everyone!

lil_me

bails it's completely up to you, you add what is right for you and you take off the coupons etc if that is right for you. Until you know what you are including I wouldn't advise setting a budget as you will be unsure what you are budgeting for. Figure what you want to include then work out an amount you feel you can manage on to provide them.

Personally I add all food, cleaning, toiletries, household goods, takeaways and eating out for all 4 of us and the animals.

rosieben

bails wrote: »

Hi, I'd like to join in please! I'm setting my initial budget as £150, see how we get on. Can anyone tell me, do I include pet food in this? Is it simply food or anything bought in the supermarket e.g. toiletries etc? And do vouchers/BOGOF etc come off the total? (at the moment they go into my PMS fund). Sorry, spot the newbie!

I include all food, toiletries and laundry supplies. I also include a small amount for fish and chip lunch which I have weekly with an elderly rellie.

Some keep a separate budget for 'entertaining' which could include take-outs, meals out and wine and beer etc.

Its up to you really as to what you include, I think most people probably include pet food though. :cool:

sorry, I cross posted again lil_me

bails

Thanks for your help guys, much appreciated. I'll aim to include pet food, toiletries and household stuff in that and see how it goes. Only the first month after all but good to have something to aim for. I'm thinking of joining the 4K challenge but not sure if it's wise for me this year.

Trying_hard_5

Hi All,
This will be my first challenge - I'm going to go for £120 for month, for only me and the cat. I can see most people spend this and feed more people, but this will def be a challenge for me as I usually spend twice that amount!!
I'm going to take the amount out of bank in cash, and keep it in a seperate purse for the month, don't have to bother adding up receipts then!!

MissEyre

Just been to Morrisons and stocked up on cake making stuff-a few parties and bits to go to next week and would rather take cake than drink, so am £15.57 down already :eek: but have tons of flour, sugar and eggs, so will roll up my sleeves and get baking!

DenBo_4

Hello everybody, please can I join in? Had decided I could only spend £25 a week on groceries etc (unfortunately I have to eat gluten free so pasta etc is a bit more expensive), I had thought this was too little to manage - even though there is not a penny more available, but seeing what some people have said they are going to manage on I feel much more optimistic! There's only me and two little dogs to feed

MoneyGypsy

Trying for £150 as it is a 5 week month - lets hope it doesn't all go awry like last month!

Frugaldom

This is a great thread and, like someone else mentioned, I only found out about the challenges and massive forums a couple of months ago even after receiving the newsletters and using the site for a couple of years now! I guess I was forumphobic and never even thought to venture into them

I've seen so many great challenges here! Shopping is my pet hate because of the lack of choice where I stay, however, there's talk of an Aldi store being built in 2008 in a nearby town!!

I'm opting for the 'use as much as I have' option - just baked a banana sponge loaf so I didn't need to throw out 3 grossly speckled bananas and think January should be not too bad as I am well stocked with every conceiveable BOGOF bargain that's been available for the past year LOL

Good luck everyone! If all else fails, there is always homemade soup and milk puddings

EagerLearner

I am in on the Jan 08 challenge - due to MSE and these challenges we saved over £400 on food in 2007. I want to increase that in 2008!

Overall, food and home total savings for 2007 are £1150, due to more thought, careful planning and MSE! This means that technically, we saved enough to buy our yearly holiday for both of us!

I highly recommend anyone who has not done these challenges to start the January one - with food planning, bulk cooking and a bit of willpower, you will surprise yourself.

For Mr EL and myself, it will be £130 for the two of us in January but I am sure I can beat that....

Good luck all!