March 2008 Grocery Challenge

rainbowbrite_2

Can I do this too please?I have £200 per month for groceries and would like to use this challenge to keep track of what I actually spend.We are 2 adults,2 children and 2 dogs.
I picked up a 1966 home economics book in a charity shop today for some budgeting tips.I will have to work out the suggested spend in todays money as it says £5-6 off a weekly wage of £16 should be reserved for housekeeping.
Goodness how things have changed in the last 40 years.Average house prices were £2,500 and a womans wage if she worked was put into savings and used towards extras such as holidays and treats as only the mans wage should be relied upon.Infact when applying for a mortgage the womans wage would not be considered as it was assumed by the lending institutions that she would cease to earn when she became pregnant.
There is even a bit on types of food to buy for men and women,men of course needing more protein and "the housewife herself may also need energy giving and blood foods,especially if she is inclined to be nervy and anaemic".
Anyway,I am sure there will be some valuable segments.

I won,t use the 1966 food budget amount as its about 1/3 of weekly income which is too much,that would be over £100 in todays money.I guess food was more expensive then.

Disdisbiff

Hi All
I'm in again for march £300 for the month (29/2-31/3) this is for 2 adults and 3 kids hoping to come in under budget this month.
Good luck everyone

Decla

May I join please?

This is my first month so I'm guessing a little but I would like to aim for £220 for just me and my partner. The month started on 22nd February and will last until 31st March. I have spent £114 already but am nicely stocked up so should only need bread and fruit and veg.

It seems like a lot but I'm trying to cut down gradually. This month I'm focusing on planning meals ahead and not wasting any food. We'll see how it goes I guess.

Busterollie

Well after an overspend in the February foodie budget of £16.32 I am going to try even harder this month to keep in budget. A little dissapointed with myself that I couldn't keep to budget but it isn't just me in the family is it. I think I am going to have to try a few more budget lines instead of trying to be 'green' and 'organic'. Have taken a few tips from the grocery threads already and am now using dried milk where I can which is quite a saving. I am trying to buy local stuff so that helps in that it is also in season and therefore cheaper. I am using coupons where I can but my local Sainsbury's will only take them if you actually have the product. I have overcome my bad habit of buying the products just to use the coupons though because I ended up with a load of stuff I didn't want! Since the start of the February Grocery Challenge (when I actually joined in) I have been putting the money saved from using the coupons into my sealed pot - well elephant actually - so another challenge on the go at the same time.

Anyway, Good Luck eveyone for March - may we all keep in budget :T

Frugaldom

rainbowbrite wrote: »

...I picked up a 1966 home economics book in a charity shop today for some budgeting tips.I will have to work out the suggested spend in todays money as it says £5-6 off a weekly wage of £16 should be reserved for housekeeping.
Goodness how things have changed in the last 40 years.Average house prices were £2,500 and a womans wage if she worked was put into savings and used towards extras such as holidays and treats as only the mans wage should be relied upon.Infact when applying for a mortgage the womans wage would not be considered as it was assumed by the lending institutions that she would cease to earn when she became pregnant.
There is even a bit on types of food to buy for men and women,men of course needing more protein and "the housewife herself may also need energy giving and blood foods,especially if she is inclined to be nervy and anaemic"...

Love it! :rotfl: :rotfl: If you multiply it all by 42 years, that's like £210 per week housekeeping out of a weekly wage of £672, and the average house price is £105,000 :eek:

nopot2pin

Platinum_Horse wrote: »

Quick question - does anyone do this whilst still shopping 'Ethically' (local/organic/free rn
ange produce)? if so, how do you find it? Is it a lot harder? At this time we're wanting to eat organic foods, as my OH is breastfeeding -so we want as little chemicals etc to go into his system as possible!

Welcome Platinum Horse

I am sure the FrogMaster aka mikeD will be glad of some male company

Off the top of my head I think Doom_and_Gloom gets her organic veg box delivered. The pictures she posts are cracking
And I know there are another couple of people who shop locally rosieben is one that I can remember, but I am sure there is another few

I do try to buy organic veg from the supermarkets, but it is not always possible. I always buy freerange eggs locally, which actually does work out much cheaper

Good Luck

redsquirrel80

Wow that's a long list of challengers!

My month started on 22nd Feb and runs till 19th March (get paid again on 20th thanks to the bank holiday). There's only me to feed, and I include all food and drink, cleaning products and toiletries. I don't include food bought from work canteen etc for lunch but I'm trying to cut down on that, or any other meals or drinks out. Sooo.. I've been on a budget of £50-60 for the last few months and generally doing OK. As it's a shorter month for me and I fancied challenging myself a bit more, I've cut the budget down to £45 this month (although I do have £3.50 in Clubcard vouchers and £5 Sainsburys voucher from a survey site on the way which could be very useful in the mission!) I'm trying to keep a detailed record of what I've bought this month as I think it'll be useful for future reference and to see where I could save more. I'm not really meal planning but I am keeping a note of what I eat to make sure I'm making good use of what I've got.

Here's what I've bought so far...

From Home Bargains:
Wholemeal spaghetti - 15p
Jacobs Essentials crackers (2 packs) - 78p
Crunchy muesli (535g) - 69p
Sharwoods Thai salad dressings x 2 - 58p
Astonish for cleaning stainless steel pans - 85p
Pot scourers - 39p

From Sainsburys:
Sardines (tin) - 35p
Mackerel (tin) - 58p
Brie - 95p
Butter - 94p
Tin tomatoes x 2 - 42p
Milk - 40p
Cheddar - £1.27
Mushrooms 750g (reduced) - £1.19 (got lots of little portions of these cooked and in the freezer now)
Beef mince - 74p
Frying steak - £1.64
Turkey pieces (reduced) - 90p
Charlotte potatoes 1kg - 89p
Onions 1kg - 76p
Bananas (reduced) - 94p
Aubergine - 99p

Wilkinsons:
Toilet roll (6) - 60p
Milk - 66p

Tesco:
Toilet roll, painkillers, soap - £3.02

Pizza - 99p
Frozen okra - 99p
Toffee yoghurt x 3 - 66p
Cheddar Cheese - £1.69
Feta Cheese - £1.08
Aspirin - 24p
Chillis (3 packs) - £1

Other:
Eggs from friend's free range chickens - 60p

---

Total spend so far £28.42! Leaving me £16.58 for the next three weeks... :eek: Let's see how it goes!

Good luck everyone x

carolt2

Good evening all :hello:.

Welcome all newbies to the challenge.

Wow were on page 4 already.
Well me and OH went shopping on tuesday (our march challenge is for 22/2 to 21/3) and we spent a total sum of £43.34:o . This has replenished the freezer, cupboards and fridge. We shouldn't need to go to the shops until next tuesday and that should only be for milk.
Also bought some things for Easter.

Just realised that my next payday falls on Good Friday. Will have to remember to ask tomorrow when the money will go in.

Good luck to all.
Signature updated

searching_me

Hi everybody hope everyones ok this fine but cold evening.... i would like to join this... put me down for £200 ive been spending far to much (esp when it come to my daughter) so ive decided its high time i kept an eye on things... first time doing this so fingers crossed im good and stick to my budget xxx

saver03

Please may I join? I need to start being very strict and I have set myself a budget of £100 this month for 2 of us as the cat won't need any food. I do hope to come in under though as freezer and cupboards are fairly full.