January 2008 Grocery Challenge

rosieben

Hi Ruth, welcome to OS!

not sure we feel smug but the things you listed - and many more similar - are what the Old Style forum is all about, and we're all doing them.

If you're interested in cutting costs even further have a browse through the old style index. I'm sure you'll find some useful ideas

MRSMCAWBER

Morning all :wave:

Today will be my 2nd NSD in a row... and I WILL NOT spend anything tomorrow.... no, I won't and I CAN'T spend anything on sunday as everywhere here is closed on sundays :j .

Im pretty sure that we have plenty of everything to last until my new week -no.4 starts on Monday :T

But i am developing an obsession -you see I have now set myself a mini target of getting to the end of the month having only spent €50 -1 weeks budget -well it seemed a nice tidy figure:rotfl: which leaves me €10.57... for next week :rolleyes: which I actually think is do-able...milk, salad and apples should be about all i need (keep your fingers crossed for me)the little white van will be pulling up outside any minute im sure

That would leave me the €150 to use for febs budget and allow me to put all that months house keeping away :whistle:

This week I have shifted another 3lbs -making 4st 2lb so far:D and the combination of the OS weight loss thread and this one seems to be an absolutly brilliant one... trying not to spend, so staying out of shops, so less temptation and not being willing to spend money on "garbbage" :j

right i had better get off... keep up the great work everyone

aytch

Am so enjoying reading this thread - I reckon you could put together an MSE cookbook, and sell it!

My penny pinching is having a knock on effect, my OH is coming in and the first thing he now says is - no, I havent spent anything today!

I think we will come in just under budget this month, which is amazing considering I am a spendaholic. Watching the Jamie Oliver late night food show two nights ago really opened my eyes re buying ready meals, pies etc. My aim is now not only to spend less, but spend wisely and eat healthily.

Thank you for all the shared advice.

:beer:

JoJoB

Will probably go to aldis today and do a stock up, so anticipating going over my budget already which is a shame. By the end of the month I will try not to go more than £30 over.

Still, it just shows how much I must have been spending before I actually started trying to keep to a budget! Interesting to see what the major culprits are in terms of sending me over.... beer, chocolate and cake, all things we can really do without, and all things which we succumb to out of boredom about 6pm and nip round the (expensive) corner shop for.

Things I wasn't previously conscious of before i started this challenge: yellow stickers in tesco, quality and cheapness of aldi food, and the joy of batch cooking.

Will take the lessons learned this month into the next and make my budget stick!

NEgirl

should be a nsd for me today as im going to start decorating! :T *is it wrong to get excited about decorating!* :rotfl:

Last thing i bought was some of the mr t pure milk - hopefully its a permanent price change down to £1 - well i can hope cant i?? :rotfl: Looks like i might finish this month in target :T :T

Janeryan

Janeryan wrote: »

Ok end of week 3 for me(well no more shopping this week anyway-the end of the week is actually Friday!) and the totals look like this

21/12Budget £40-spent £16.79
28/12 Budget £40-spent £14.63
04/01 Budget £40-spent £78.51 (this did include £20.50 on my veg box as I owed them for 2 deliveries plus I stocked up on all the half price goodies in Sainsburys so I have plenty of dinner ingredients now-freezer was looking very empty before this shop)
11/01 Budget £40
18/01 Budget £10.07(monies left from underspend weeks 1 & 2 less overspend from week 3_

Good luck to everyone for the rest of the month-will check in again next week!

Ok time for my weekly update
21/12 Budget £40-Spent £16.79
28/12 Budget £40-Spent £14.63
04/01 Budget £40-Spent £78.51
11/01 Budget £40-Spent £17.61
18/01 Budget £32.46 (monies from underspend Weeks 1/2 & 4 less overspend from week 3
25/01-Three days to go until payday!!

Have left myself a bit of leeway because if I come in on budget for this week I will have actually spent £160.00 in total so the excess can either carry forward to the three days till payday or into the first week of Feb.I am going to try to move my week to a Monday from next month as thats how spendingdiary.com records them so it will be easier to keep track.

Nearly there folks!!

Rowan9

wow janeryan - that's good going!
Welcome to all new folks - this is my first month too and keeping a note of costs certainly helps you decide what to put into the shopping basket! I've also started peering down at the lowest shelf of food - tins etc- and am surprised at the low costs of some of the value products. i often buy store brand, tesco etc, but rarely bought value stuff until I came on here! Even then it was not very often but I have been reading through the thread with the comparisons about what is good and what isn't and feel the urge to try some out. One thing is tinned tomatoes - i buy expensive ones when on offer but i see that the value tins are much much cheaper. they seem to have mixed reviews but i think I'll give them a go and squirt in some ketchup. I love cheap ketchup and find Heinz just too thick and sweet. My fav ketchup is the kind you get on your chips at fairgrounds - nice and watery and vinegary
wen

jackiegibbo

Hello everyone hope you are all doing well with your challenges:T :T

I had a no spend day yesterday and will do today also but tomorrow i need to go to Mr ts for lunchbox things etc so i need to be very strong as i only have about £3 for the rest of the month:rolleyes:

Have a good day everyone im off to work delivering my mail and getting very very WET:eek:

theamazinggem

hey all, sounds like you're doing well still :T

got bread and eggs yesterday £2.66 (in tesco garage, tho went without cough mixture as it was nearly a fiver).

got dragged to the pub by OH who'd had a busy day, which was bad (only for one tho) but won on the quiz machine (again bad, but also good) and ended up £5 up on the evening was well pleased, i'm normally rubbish at those things.

attempted banana bread last night too but it didn't really rise and was soggy in the middle. tasted ok tho! i cook well but i'm rubbish at baking, you guys have got me inspired to keep trying tho!

not sposed to be spending any more till tuesday now, but thinking of trying out aldi on sunday as i've not been in years... will have to just take a fiver and do my best with i i think...

sweetpeas_2

ive stopped doing aldi now cos i find they arent as cheap as they used to be. i find most stuff is the same price as tesco etc and they dont have value make and bogof's or offers. its ok for bread though cos u can get a nice loaf for 59p whereas everywhere else a decent loaf is over £1.

i remember the good old says... when you could fill your trolley to the brim at aldi for like £40-£50.

going now, before i make myself sound any OLDER!

xx nog xx