October 2025 Grocery Challenge

leftatthetrafficlights

I'm back on the forum after being away for this year and would like to rejoin 😁 

We've increased our budget and I'm back on to a monthly figure so: 

£350 per month for me please 😁

I'll do a food inventory before winter starts in November so that I know where I stand - I have healthy stocks but it will help with meal planning. I also still have a bulk buy fund which I will maintain which is currently full thankfully but if I spend from that now I will declare that too 😁

£0/£350

diminua

It's day four and I've already been in 4 food shops - Wholefoods, a new to me zero waste place in Putney (surprised how much I liked it, I've found these places a bit too spendy and poorly stocked before. Admittedly it does mean hopping off the tube home and hopping back on, but I never have a seat anyway and I do like to shop after work and get in and out quickish) M&S and Aldi. Anyway: olives, pesto, venison steak (will do 2 meals, or 3 if I casserole it) bread, milk, carrots, toilet rolls, veg pate (for the fridge at work. I have cheese and tomatoes there too), green lentils, brazil nuts, muesli, pasta and washing up liquid (did nearly come a cropper filling that up but realised I hadn't turned the tap over before switching it 'on'). I also had fishcake and wedges at work yesterday and a drink with my Dad on Thursday so am up to £52.71, which doesn't seem unreasonable.  I do need more fresh veg though. Re meal planning - I quite fancy a casserole or a chilli. It's getting to that time of year.  

K9sandFelines

fifi35 said:

£160 per month or £40 per week

I haven't done this for a few years, but I really need to tighten my belt.     I am single with two dogs.  Can people who are on a £40 per week or £160 per month budget, please give me an idea of what you buy, etc?  

Without pet food for me, it's definitely doable. I don't eat any meat though or fish, dairy, eggs, cheese etc; so for some I think that's a big expenditure.
I bulk buy rice, noodles (Lucky boat on @mazon) and potatoes; and have lots of curries and Asian inspired meals, stews etc So, the basis of most of my meals are tomatoes, peppers and onion with some sort of spices added. Then beans and/or tofu/soya chunks or mince and a starch.

I try and use Olio and Bread and Butter thing where feasible. But Olio has been non existent by me lately and I've not been to the latter for about five weeks.

I'm rarely bored of these type of meals, and there's always something new to cook. It depends on your taste and diet really.

dollypeeps

I think I’d like to jump on if that ok.
We run a weekly budget so I shop every Friday for 3 adults at home and sometimes DS who calls in ( sometimes lots sometimes not)
I budget for £90 per week for food - fresh, frozen, meat, dry goods and bakery.
This weeks spends are £92.69/£92

t14cy_t

we are 2 adults, 1 large old dog, 5 old chooks and a rooster. we alternate months buy doing £200 one month, £100 the next. this includes all food for pets and everything for us. everything except alcohol that is!!  im a canny couponer and can make meals stretch. i mostly cook from scratch. i always keep an eye on yellow stickers, olio and too good to go. i regularly swap goodies with my daughter. my freezers are always full. i write a spends diary every day and it really does help. 

Changeyourlife25

£29.16 / £400 

£3.45 today in mr T’s , they had 4 for 3 on a few bits so I got stock cubes, onion gravy, white pepper, and a bag of stuffing I needed for dinner.
Stuffing was free as the cheaper item
Just booked butlins for ds 18th birthday! So determined to save as much as possible this month!! 😍🥰 

itsthelittlethings

My food budget is £250, I have about 120 left. Did a Tesco shop for £35 this morning. Not too bad.

Back to Aldi for the rest of the month.

Frugalistamama

Urgh, I've already spend half of my budget in the first week. I've got a lot of stock up items though so hopefully, if I can control myself, and stick to just fresh bits I'll manage to say in budget but it's the half term coming up so it'll be a bit tricky. 

I've got a massive 10kg bag of basmati which was on offer at sainsbobs. Two small 5kg sacks of potatoes, stocked up on tinned tomatoes/passata, beans and pasta sauces and some yellow sticker meat so I'm well stocked for meal basics.

I need to get my cooking mojo back again as this really keeps my budget in check. Lately I've been grabbing bits last minute out of the freezer then having to restock those 'emergency' bung-in-the-oven items which are not the cheapest way to eat. 


So I'm at £194/£400

Suffolk_lass

Welcome back @fifi35 - lots of good advice on here, and plenty in the first few posts each month in the way of economical recipes, whatever your diet. Over here our budget for two averages £200 a month, but I work on £3000 for the year so there is some extra for Christmas, when I always host sleepover guests. This includes all food and cleaning, including bulk buys and subscription stuff, but not my lotions and potions, pet or livestock, and with a modest treats and entertainment budget, also separate.

In terms of sticking to budget

• I buy my brands only when on offer and in multiples (I worked out how frequently they went on offer and bought enough to cover the gap plus one spare). 
• In terms of shopping, I am terrible and don't stick to my list, even after over ten years of doing this. So instead, I shop roughly once every month for a big shop, get my milk delivered (used to be eggs too, but the fox stopped that) plus the occasional top up from the local village next to ours. Staying out of temptation's way is best for me.
• I add carrots and red lentils to anything like bolognese, chilli or stews, along with onions and celery to pad out the protein - so we get a varied diet based on a similar base.
• I grow and preserve lots of fruit and veg -  freeze courgettes for soup, and rhubarb for stewed fruit, jams and crumbles. I am never sure if running the freezer helps or is just an extra overhead so I also preserve by bottling, making my own passata and stewing apples and plums into screw top jars where the lids pop, and using these instead of buying too much through winter
• I mostly cook from scratch, and I substitute ingredients if I haven't got something, instead of popping to the shops for it - the batch cooking and bread baking both help enormously to keep me out of the shops

I finished September at just under 75% of my annual budget, so trying for another small month with meat and fish from the freezer and seasonal veg to keep things simple. A bit of weight-loss hoped for too. We shall see!

itsthelittlethings

Might make some curry this morning while I have the effort in me.

My fridge and cupboards are chocka block.

I should block out 1 hour an evening to cook.

I am debating a monthly meal plan. As I get paid monthly I think that could work.