September Grocery Challenge

Simba_25

hiya,

I was going to give this a go this month but im just going to half do it instead as i am moving soon and have to get everything in. I have no food at all to take with me so i know this months shop isnt going to be a typical one! I am however going to start shopping online as it will stop all the little impulse buys i see as im going round. I only get £100 a week for me and my little un and thats for the bills food and debt....would be entertainment to but i never have any left for that So i seriously have to start budgeting!

will be keeping a close eye on this thread for hints n tips ready to start properly next month

Cheapskate

I've been a member for a while & have tried to do the grocery challenge once or twice, but computer has been very poorly for months & only just got it mended, on top of other problems! So...I'm going to do this properly for the first time.
There's 2 adults, 2 teenagers here; don't think I spend hugely, but watch this space! I'll keep all my receipts as advised & I'll go with a tentative budget of £350 for all food, groceries, etc. I have a huge bramble bush in the garden - last year got nearly 10 pounds (weight) of fruit off it! Looks good for this year, so lots of free-ish puddings for the autumn & winter.
I have been buying more food in my village - 2 bakers, 1 greengrocer, 1 butcher & a couple of general stores - & know that a lot of the fresh stuff is better quality, cheaper & locally made/grown, so I'm going to try & be a good girl!!
I think that I know how to shop wisely/cheaply, but have got into bad habits (don't we all?!) I remember when the kids were little & we were poor, & I could make money go a long way - so I suppose it's re-learning those tricks.
Any tips welcome, & I'd be happy to pass on what little I know, along with recipes, etc!
Thanks for reading this, anyone!

halloweenqueen_2

Well I'm gonna give this month ago - probably won't be very active on here but will test the water by saving all this months stubs/receipts and seeing where the money is going, need to cut down as have a few expenses this month!

BoltonMinx

Just started my Sept shopping I've decided to stick to £60 per week as we're doing oK on this for 4 adults. So far, Ive spent £42.47 thanks to BOGOF's and have even got my sausages and bacon for christmas period stocked up while there are offers on So I can treat myself to a nice pub lunch today for a change

nicki_2

Taking a big step towards saving some money on groceries today - I'm going into Liverpool City Centre to try shopping in Lidl... if I can find it :eek: I'm also going to try Wilkinsons for some bits but that's mainly for DD going back to school Will post my success / failure later as I'll be taking DD with me and she isn't the best "town shopper" :rolleyes:

some1shy

ill join to..£200 for the month..for two adults..seems alot but i am sure i can make it lower than that

brummiebabe

Well, got back from hols yesterday (having spent way TOO much cash!) Definately need this challenge this month. Decided to try and do one big shop each month, with small (hopefully) top-up shops of fresh stuff each week.

So today made a trip to Wilkinsons to stock-up on most of cleaning/toiletries for the whole month. Got my fruit/veg from greengrocer- £6.71. Had to buy bread/milk/T-bags prior to Tesco delivery on Monday, this came to £3.33. Also bought 1 baguette & 2 sausage rolls from Greggs (for lunch) this was around £3.

Grand total thus far is £38.42. Tesco shop due on Monday (maximum amount of £72) but will add this once coupons etc been deducted!;)

ashmit

Well after coming here and nearly posting about 5 times this month already, I'm finally joining in I've even added a 'September Grocery Challenge' page to my budget spreadsheet - sad but true!

I'm going to set myself an initial budget of £150 for myself and my husband. It's to cover all my food, but only about half of my husband's, as he won't take lunch into work I'm pretty sure I can come in under that though because today we've done our Asda and Lidl shops for the month and we have soooooooooooooooooooo much food - and so far this month we've spent a total of £86.45 and we have most of what we need for this month. I'm trying to ban myself from going shopping again before we have eaten our way through all the stuff in our cupboards. It's ridiculous really - stuff never goes to waste, because we always get through it before it goes bad, but I'm driving myself mad! So am going to try and keep to only buying fruit and veg (and maybe a *few* other bits, but will try and keep them to absolute essentials).

And my fruit and veg are mostly from the market, so there isn't too much temptation to get carried away

I just have to ask one question while I'm here, though - how on earth do you all remember how to actually *USE* your vouchers? I took £5 worth of vouchers to Asda and totally, completely forgot to hand them over until just after she handed me back my credit card. Even though I'm terrible for this and had left them sticking out of my wallet so I, ahem, 'couldn't miss them'.

Oh well... will still be valid next month... hopefully I'm remember them then....

squeaky

Hi all,

I am unsticking the Challenge now that it is off to a good start. If, later in the month, it falls off the first page please remember that you can find it again in our "Challenges" sticky at the top of the forum listing, or you can follow the clue in my signature any time you see it or...

..you can use the Monthly Challenges link in the Blue Bar at the top of every page which looks something like this:-

JCL

Going to be a tight month as a lot of money going elsewhere at the moment.

Set a budget of £50. Spent £3.05 today so £46.95 left for September. Wish me luck!