November 2025 Grocery Challenge

carboot_karaoke

Afternoon Everyone 

Many thanks to @elsiepac l only discovered this thread 18 mths ago but its made a HUGE difference to my behaviours and spending.

Thank you @JingsMyBucket for taking on the mantle  😊

October (so far) has been much better than l expected. So with that in mind I'm going to try for a reduced budget in November this should give us a healthy December budget. 

In September we managed  £10 a day, but l did have more in the freezer and cupboards then l do now. 

November's grocery challenge will be £12 a day for a family of six with a further £50 for bulk items.

New Totals 

Grocery Budget £0 / £360
Bulk Fund £0 / £50
Grocery Challenge £0 / £410

itsthelittlethings

£1.65 on tiger bread in Asda.

£86.81/£250

itsthelittlethings

£24 on coffee.

£110.81/£250.

Changeyourlife25

£400 

Again in November for me, we have a week away mid November so food no main meals needed but will get drinks/snacks/lunches ect, going to try do the whole month in cash to be stricter and more motivating with myself 🤦‍♀️

PipneyJane

PipneyJane said:

count me "in" @JingsMyBucket and thank you for running the thread. 

Please put me down for £180.

Apologies in advance, because that is likely to change if we have money left over from October (which is highly likely since we still have £41 in the kitty at this point).

- Pip

As predicted, we finished October with money leftover.  @JingsMyBucket

Please increase my November budget by £13.60 to £193.60.  

I will be shopping this afternoon, after work.  Can’t avoid it because I have a L!dl freebie to collect and the voucher expires today.  Since L!dl is near Sainsbugs, I’ll go there, too, and purchase the yoghurts, mushrooms and bananas we’ll need for next week.

Thank you.

- Pip

PipneyJane

Afternoon All

This afternoon, as mentioned above, I went to L!dl and Sainsbugs.  £12.87 spent in L!dl, where I collected our free smoked paprika (was 85p), a Salmon en Croute (£4.99),  smoked salmon 2x£2.09 (on offer, I got the last 2 packets), a YS Deluxe cheddar and bacon quiche at £1.79 (50% off), and a tub of Deluxe chocolate ice-cream for which we had a 20%-off offer, spending £1.91.

In Sainsbugs, I hit the mother-load of Nectar prices on Yeo Valley Yoghurts.  All of the flavours of the 450ml tubs had a £1 discount, selling for £1.25 instead of the £2.25 shelf price.  Their 450ml Greek-style Yoghurt With Honey was also discounted but only down to £1.85. Six of the tubs of regular yoghurt found their way into my shopping basket - one YS at 83p - as did 2 of the Greek style.  Also purchased, were 2 packets of red onion and chive bagels (£1.35 each, Nectar prices), a packet of wholemeal wraps (99p), loose mushrooms, loose broccoli and a hand of 8 green bananas (which will ripen over the weekend).  £18.73 spent.

This brings my November spend to £31.60/£193.60, leaving £162 for the rest of the month.

Vague meal plan for the next few days.  All breakfasts are cereal and all lunches are leftovers, unless otherwise mentioned:

Tonight  Dinner is broccoli pasta made with crème fraiche, cheddar and chorizo.
Saturday. Brunch - the YS quiche purchased today.  We’ll eat out for dinner.
Sunday.  Lunch - MrT’s meal deals.  Dinner - slow cooker beef stew.
Monday Thai chicken livers with coconut milk and noodles.
Tuesday.  ??
Wednesday Tuna lasagne, made with mozzarella and bacon from the freezer.

- Pip

thriftwizard

My first spend from November's kitty is a very moderate £58.39. DD2 & I are off to Wales for a few days next week so I'm leaving OH stocked up with his favourite things. We're taking food up there (a shipping order of flour from the mill & some packs of our fishmonger's "famous" £5 pie-fish) and will be bringing some poultry (turkey drumsticks and ginormous chickens) back in my camping fridge! But the flour & fish are from DS1 & DDIL's budget and I'm counting the poultry as a bulk buy; at just over £3 per kilo for a 1kg drumstick, which does us at least 6 main portions, simmered with veg all day  in the slow cooker, they are amazing value! 

Blackcats

Thank you @JingsMyBucket for running this thread for us.

£350.00 for November please

BogStandardBob

Hi, I'd like to join this but I've never used a budget. I've always just tried to spend as little as possible and leave things that seem like bad value. I've always spent well below income through all the different stages of my life and levels of income. Now, everything in the supermarket is crazy expensive so I'm going to try a budget. Please put me down for £560 for the month. That should be two supermarket shops of £70 per week for 2 adults and 2 teens. I'm not including school dinners or lunches at work as I want to get things on track myself before I try to get family members on board! 
£560 for November please @JingsMyBucket

diminua

Hi JingsMyBucket, thanks for picking this up.

Could you put me down for £250 for the month please?

thank you