January 2026 Grocery Challenge

JingsMyBucket

Budgets updated to here 🙂

carrotstick_2

£100 a week - hoping to average to £5200 over the year. 

I am excited to get started! I haven't joined before, so hoping to do well. We already have a freezer full, and I will be using the community kitchen as much as possible. We are a family of 5, but there's definitely room for improvement. I know we are quite wasteful at times, so I want to concentrate on using as much up as possible.

LotsOfTea

I lost track in December so I'm going to get back to normal in January and start using up all the stuff I already have in stores. I'm going to put down my normal amount for the month but if I properly make some headway on the stores I should come well under.

£300 for 2 adults and a teen for the month

oceandreamer

My freezer is groaning so I'm going to try and make a proper effort to eat up what I can and reduce spending - at least for January.  

£200 for the month please

cuddlymarm

Good morning guys
We have loads of Xmas food left over so I’ve put the 3 unopened boxes of mince pies in the freezer and will chop up and freeze the peppers, tomatoes and spring onions that won’t be used in time into bags to tip into tomato sauce type meals in the slow cooker. I’ve already got the makings of a big bubble and squeak in the freezer from Xmas dinner leftovers. 

We’re having a cheese omelette for tea to get rid of some of the cheese mountain. I didn’t account for guests bringing cheese and pate so I’ve frozen the two packs I bought and will gradually use them for my work lunches with crackers later on. Any unopened cheese I will freeze if it’s coming up to use by date.
We’ve loads of spuds and carrots left too but they’ll go in my menu plan over the next couple of weeks.
So in theory I shouldn’t need anything apart from milk for at least a couple of weeks ( unless there are any really good bargains 😋)
Good luck for the new year Challengers 

dollypeeps

I have totalled up last years grocery budget. I kept a monthly log of it. Im sure I left out some things but it’s given me a good guide.
£4830.65 for the year or £92.90 per week. Only £2.90 per week over but that still £150.80 over that year.
My 1st shop for 2026 should be 2 January as I usually food shop on Fridays (payday for us).
Im hoping to use up freezer meals that’s I’ve made and do a reduced shop just to get us through the week and for the lunches.
Im toying with the idea of 2nd purse. 

Any balance left from that weeks £90 to be put aside in there.
Only having my £90 may force me to be more selective/thoughtful on what I buy.
Could put it towards bulk buys - currently not in this challenge.
I forgot to add that I also have £10 cash in my purse for any weekly grocery money like xtra bread or milk or my egg delivery.
I’ll try and remember that when I update.
W.I.P. …. Very much so 

Rowan9

Could I please join for £250 a month after being absent for a couple of years? This is for two adults and includes cleaning and toiletries although not much of those needed as have plenty. 

Soontobeoap

We are starting January today as we have just got home from a lovely 8 days celebrating with family.

£11.46 spent on essentials. Juice, milk and bread. We had plenty of gifted biscuits which if kept sealed will last us to the end of February as we are away again from Saturday.

My meal plan is :- shepherds pie tonight
                                Sweet and sour chicken tomorrow
                                Pasty Wednesday
                                Roast beef Thursday
                                Stew and dumplings Friday

We should only need to buy a few veg and lunches .

Spent yesterday morning making a large turkey and ham pie, a large sausage casserole and a family sized bag of turkey nuggets for my daughter's freezer to use up a lot of her left over meat and veg.

She has no time between a new full time job, 3 children a husband she never sees because he works shifts and a large house renovation happening around her! I wish I had had longer as there were so many veg and bits that I could have created something with and she still had a whole breast of turkey left. Still she now has a few meals that she can pull out when needed.
                                

MissMoneyMishap

Hi, can I join for January please? 2 ad & 1 ch.

£60 per week 

mandco

Thanks @JingsMyBucket for the new thread

I’m as yet undecided on my jan budget as we still have quite a lot of snacky stuff left over from Xmas -including 5 boxes of biscuits & 3 tubs of sweets as yet unopened we were gifted which means the spends are likely to be quite skewed vs a normal month so might just keep track of what I spend and go from there.
More importantly for 2026 is to start keeping track properly - I tend to start off well then things slide as the month goes on and all the little excess spends creep in