September 2026 Grocery Challenge

TravelCrystal

Thanks @JingsMyBucket for the new thread. Still working towards my annual of £3700, so far so good

£300 for this month should be enough as I have a couple of things to report shortly

T.C

mandco

back to my usual £800 for September please

Thanks @JingsMyBucket for the new thread

Now I know I rarely come in on budget but Ideally I’d like to keep spends closer to £750. Need to doing a proper inventory on what’s in and try to use up some stuff particularly from the freezer which has lots of odd & ends in -those bits where there’s not enough for a full meal so just get shoved at the back to start making space for Xmas supplies. Need to find a bit of inspiration and there Might be some ofd combos but there has to be enough random bits to make at least a weeks worth of main meals in there.

joedenise

Could the odds & ends be used as jacket potato toppings? It's something we do occasionally but usually as a lunch as our home grown potatoes aren't really big enough for a main meal but OK with a decent topping for lunch.

Furgalqueen

Hi ,

I am new here and would like to take the challenge. We are family of 4 ,my average budget is 400 per month.would like to see can I reduce expenses atleast 30 this month.

TravelCrystal

So I have been spending money already. A trip to Lidl so I could knock out the dearer items for the month from Ocado.

Fresh and instant coffee, toilet rim block, toothpaste, Parmesan and cheddar, Greek yogurt’s, spaghetti, biscuits, various nuts, pate, tandoori chicken breasts, b beans, marmalade, breaded haddock, marg, Tom puree, olive oil, olives, s/s sauce and cubed bacon

£48.14 spent

Naked Wines were tempting me and I succumbed to 15 bottles for £89.99 🤭That will last until the end of the year.

Ocado delivery to come on Wednesday so will add up spends so far then.

Just off to eat my tea, beef goulash(slow cooker) with basmati and green beans from the garden.

T.C

Soontobeoap

Welcome @Cressida100 please come and join us . The more people we have the more potential.to learn from each other. This is my 6th year and I am still learning tips and tricks.

Welcome @library0602 well done for being brave. You are only working with your own targets and it is very interesting to add it all up and see how much you spend on food year on year. A lot of us put our yearly results in our signatures and it is interesting to see the results. It shows that something is working when you see that some people's yearly spend stays roughly the same even with the cost of living rises. Enjoy

Welcome @Frugalqueen it's so nice to see so many newcomers it sounds like you have a plan. Lots of us will be doing a freezer inventory and using up freezer stuff to make room for Christmas. Good luck and enjoy seeing your results.

We are away hopefully for 2 weeks in September and have lots of bits and pieces to use up. I also have £40 in M and S gift cards that I am hoping to spend on food. I would really like to claw back some of the money spent this month on feeding 6 grandchildren as well as ourselves so I am going for a rather ambitious £150 please

RedRose61

£270 For September please.

I managed to come in under budget for August but we were away for a few days which helped. We’re away for a few days in September too but I’m being cautious because I’ve run down my stocks a bit. I’ll also start buying some none perishable stuff to put away for Christmas from September too.
Thanks @JingsMyBucket for running the thread.

JingsMyBucket

Welcome to all the newcomers @Furgalqueen @library0602 @Cressida100! Thanks for joining us. We're a fun and helpful group who will help you wrap your head around your budgets. 🙂

Budgets updated up to here.

For myself, I'm going for the regular:

£350 for September 1 – 30

diminua

Hi Jingsmybucket. Could you count me out this month? I've realised that I'm simply not sticking to this because there's no pressing need (I'm lucky to be earning about 20% more than when I started). I will add up my spends at the end of the month and see how scary it is with the brakes off though, and may creep sheepishly back.

K9sandFelines

It seems although my grocery budget for main spends is sticking, I'm a bit all over the place with the bulk fund. I can't help but keep seeing things I normally buy at a better price and then blowing the BF budget, so that being said I'm going to up it by £10 and lower the overall food budget by £10.

So, £100 for general shopping and £30 for Bulk buys.

Also, does anybody know why I keep seeing a little banner with a 💡 symbol when I like a post ( the thanks button)? I can't see what I'm typing as it then covers the whole of the comment box, if I've pressed it a few times!