January 2025 Grocery Challenge

EcoIntent

@thriftwizard thank you so much for your encouraging words , so kind. One step at a time! Out of interest though do people usually include non food buys? Ie like cleaning things, toilet roll etc, toiletries etc? This is at least all in for us.

joedenise

@EcoIntent - it's entirely up to you what you want to include in your grocery budget but most people include everything bought in supermarkets, markets etc.  Others will have a separate budget for somethings like toiletries, toilet rolls, bulk buys.

Black_Saturn

Starting 2025 with a monthly grocery budget of £600 please. This is for four of us, and I suspect January won’t be as high due to stock already in. However, my aim is to reduce, reduce, reduce, as the cupboards are overflowing, no matter how much I try to use things up. 

Today, I have made a creamy vegetable soup, and there is a vegan chicken and prawn curry in the slow cooker for later. I have also done a stock-take on the freezers, with the cupboard stock to do this afternoon. I’m also going through the menu lists on the first page, along with a couple of cook books, to see what I can make with supplies already in, which is different to our usual menu 😊

Suffolk_lass

EcoIntent said:

@thriftwizard thank you so much for your encouraging words , so kind. One step at a time! Out of interest though do people usually include non food buys? Ie like cleaning things, toilet roll etc, toiletries etc? This is at least all in for us.

@EcoIntent as @joedenise says, it is up to you. Mine is included but within GC I track grocery (butcher, market and supermarket), store cupboard (non fresh stuff) and direct debits & subscriptions - (big river for some brands in bulk and milk, although more expensive, is delivered with a weekly DD as my weakness is shopping, so I minimise how many times I go and am tempted). I do not include livestock & pets, treats & entertainment or fuel. Mine is for two adults, and sometimes four (with occasional 2-adult raids on the store cupboard), with regular roasts for DS & P.

The main thing initially is to track and record so that you can identify what or where your weaknesses are. My brands are pared back to the things I feel it is worth buying (oats, coffee, shower gloop, dishwasher thingies, for examples) and I buy these on offer only, but in bulk. The rest, I adapt, substitute and make do where I can, shopping about every three to four weeks (as DH eats all the biscuits in that timeframe). My weakness is stockpiling and over-shopping, hence the limited shops

TravelCrystal

Good morning all
Before I divulge spends so far.
As has been said previously @EcoIntent, we all do things differently.

My budget includes all things we eat whether on holiday or at home and also household items, loo rolls, washing machine and washing up liquid but not personal toiletries like shampoos which we pay for ourselves.
Cat food is in another budget.

We had a surprise visit yesterday from DS 1 and his dog and D.S 2 and 2 of his children.
Homemade pizza and free chips satisfied them.
It was lovely to see them as they both live a distance away.

So first shop for January includes 4 Greek yogurts on the Lidl’s app. £1 discounted.
Marg, butter, fruit and veg, gravy granules x 2.
Toilet related items, and toothpaste.
Muffins, cause we like them 😊

Total spend £33.57/£200

We have a couple of days away next week again at Warner’s this time Littlecote House.
Hopefully it doesn’t snow and we can get there, and hopefully we don’t spend too much on a couple of lunches.

Have a good day all. 

T.C

Thistimenxtyear

Hello, 2nd time around on the MSE wagon - the last time was over 10 years ago when i was in lots of difficulty. Started again with a new account as the motivation is now to be able to afford all of the home improvements i want.

Need some accountability! We currently waste a huge amount of money on convenience and i know i can do better. I've got a food cupboard full of seemingly random things that i need to go through and turn into meals. I have a tendency to be lazy on lunch prep and spend too much at the supermarket/cafe to pick up lunch on office days which also doesn't do my waistline any good. I have a hello fresh delivery coming on Friday but that wont come out of my Jan budget which I've just finished allocating. 

Budget for Jan 25 is £375

This is to feed 2 adults and 1 ravenous teen (only here at weekends). This is my budget only, hubby is likely to spend additional on branded luxuries and takeaways but we have separate finances so that's his problem. 

Sausageroll14

Any tips for getting out of the 'just in case mindset'? 

For example, we just ran out of baking paper. It's not something we regularly use. It's already on the list before I can stop my DH. I've trained him too well 🤣🤣🤣 I live within easy distance of at least 5 shops that would stock this. 

Also any ideas for an alternative for baking paper? 

WickedLady4

I use a lot of baking paper and find the Tesco Baking/Greaseproof paper absolutely fine and good value for the roll.

Suffolk_lass

Sausageroll14 said:

Any tips for getting out of the 'just in case mindset'? 

For example, we just ran out of baking paper. It's not something we regularly use. It's already on the list before I can stop my DH. I've trained him too well 🤣🤣🤣 I live within easy distance of at least 5 shops that would stock this. 

Also any ideas for an alternative for baking paper? 

Some cereal wrappers (inside the boxes) are ok - it depends whether you are cooking in it or wrapping with it. A compromise might be to wipe out the cereal bags and use them for wrapping and minimise the amount of baking paper you use in that way. A casserole dish with a lid (pyrex, or FBMP unloved cast iron) are good alternatives, as is foil that can be used several times. All of these take a little longer to get hot. 

EcoIntent

@TravelCrystal @Suffolk_lass thank you for the explanations! Really helpful. 

I had a No Spend Day yesterday. My first attempt at a week was going to be from this Sat to next Sat. Probably as I was thinking we'd be over for the week we are in regardless. However, we are at the moment at £90.46/£130 with the main shopping for the week in, and a meal plan - so will still track how we are by the end of the week. We are hosting for NYE tonight, so have a couple of additional bits linked to that I want to get today, and we need milk. I also need block butter as am on desert duty for visiting family for New Years Day dinner. I'm thinking if I really focus on the odd missing thing we genuinely need, good chance we might do it after all this week!