June 2008 Grocery Challenge

ifonlyitwaseasier

morning all,

managed a nsd yesterday!! mainly because i hid out at my folks house

might manage the same today, am deciding what to have for my lunch and whether i have enough in my work draw to satisfy my hunger......

have enough food in at home to feed an army so def don't need anything for there.

vickster0304

Hiya, did my last shop before holiday on Thursday and have updated my signature. I think My July budget will be £220 for two adults a two year old (in nappies) and a cat.

Flylady_Flower

fertyskids wrote: »

Hi

I'm new to all this. i have been reading some of the posts on this site and have gained an increasing amount of respect for so many who are achieving what i want.

im a stay at home mum. hubby has job in IT for the time being. we are overdrawn by £600 this month. no other debts at mo but ive only just stopped working. our outgoings approx £200-£300 a month over thats just on essentials, mort bills food etc. i would love to know where to begin. i have 3 kids, 13yr boy, 3yr girl and 11mnth baby to feed. spend approx £100 a week inc lunchboxes, nappies etc. already buy cheap cuts of meat but starting to realise i but too much so will look at menu planning again.

any suggetions on how i can cut back a bit.
sky went ages ago. no eating out or holidays all clothes for the little ones are borrowed of friends. pay as we go mobiles. what else can i do.

thanks karen

Hi Fertyskids,
Welcome to the club!

I'm new to this site too, only been on since last month but it's very addictive as you want to succeed so much. I would suggest the following, as this is what helped me the most:

1. Read the very first post of this thread. It will give you some ideas on how to go about the GC
2. Work out your budget using the MSE budget planner (check down the right hand side of this page) - it will open your eyes!
3. Once you have done this, see what you can cut back on and what are 'set in stone' so to speak and work out what you have left that you can cut back on.
4. Things like changing gas/elec/telephone/broadband/insurances, etc should be checked - you will be quite amazed at what you can save
5. I think someone has said this already, but always take a list when you go shopping and make sure you stick to it.
6. look for 'woopsies' - reduced items, you can get some real bargains
7. 2 for 1 offers are great if you use the item - store up things like loo rolls, non perishable stuff when it is on offer, try not to buy when normal price
8. use money off coupons (MOC) wherever possible - there is a thread on this site that has most of them - try some of them even if you haven't brought the product, sometimes they still work!
9. Again, i think someone has said this, but wherever possible, bulk up your cooking - oats and vegetables are the main thing and freeze extra portions for days when you 'don't want to cook!'

I hope this helps. There are loads more you can do, but this thread has been great for me, I've learned to love my kitchen again and we are definitely saving money.

Have fun, enjoy the recipes and above all, enjoy saving money...:D
Denise

OrkneyStar

fertyskids wrote: »

Hi

I'm new to all this. i have been reading some of the posts on this site and have gained an increasing amount of respect for so many who are achieving what i want.

im a stay at home mum. hubby has job in IT for the time being. we are overdrawn by £600 this month. no other debts at mo but ive only just stopped working. our outgoings approx £200-£300 a month over thats just on essentials, mort bills food etc. i would love to know where to begin. i have 3 kids, 13yr boy, 3yr girl and 11mnth baby to feed. spend approx £100 a week inc lunchboxes, nappies etc. already buy cheap cuts of meat but starting to realise i but too much so will look at menu planning again.

any suggetions on how i can cut back a bit.
sky went ages ago. no eating out or holidays all clothes for the little ones are borrowed of friends. pay as we go mobiles. what else can i do.

thanks karen

Hi Karen, and welcome :T .
I am a newbie on the gc too, although been doing my own little challenges/budgets at home for ages (did not realise this wonderful thread existed- how did I cope lol ?).
I am a SAHM, gave up a fairly good job because I felt it important to be a SAHM (not criticising those who do work of course, it was a personal thing for me and DH). Hubby earns not a lot but we get a little CTC/WTC and of course child ben. Things are quite tight and we have to budget like crazy. Where DS, nearly 1, is concerned we use reusable nappies and wipes, using disposable nappies only at night at wipes when needed lol Even if you don't fancy changing to reusable nappies you could try the wipes ? What do you put in lunchboxes ? Could you make your own alternatives ? We also meal plan and budget a set food amount every month- be realistic and cut down gradually as more likely to succeed. List all thats in your freezer/cupboards and you might be surprised what you can concoct together that is yummy! Loads of recipes on here too, and some superb meal stretching ideas too. Some people shop online, as they say it saves them being tempted in store (we don't though). Don't be afraid of the reduced section either- many things can be frozen. There is a also a thread on reducing waste- try joining that- I did and it motivates me to use all we have instead of buying more.
Ok, not sure if this is any help but am sure other peeps will have loads of words of wisdom for you.
x

Also popped on to update total, having bought 2l of milk and a banana in the COOP, spent £1.51.

Girl_least_likely_to

TheBees wrote: »

With only about 8 weeks til our holiday I am going back to following Weight Watchers to hopefully lose a pound a week before the holiday! Trouble is I am trying to eat more fibre due to the IBS and on checking the points values of some of the foods I've been eating I've noticed they're quite high. (Wholemeal bread, prunes, seeds & nuts etc) Any advice from fellow W watchers?

I'm not doing WW, but have suffered from IBS in the past. My main problem was not getting enough fibre. My savour has been Morrisons own brand High Fibre Bran (wheat bran cereal). I'm looking on the packet now and it says a 40g serving plus 125ml of milk is 171 cals and contains 10.8g fibre which is pretty good imo. It basically helps me go , without it I don't. I've tried Kellogs All Bran and Tescos own brand but they don't have the same effect even though the make up is very similar. Hope this helps

BigMummaF

Hey Newbies & Welcome...my advice is to read thru the thread regularly & use the bits that will fit in with your life-style & the rest will fall into place as you jog along:p

Thinking about your day out Dink--does it have to be actually going out? Perhaps youy could give each other a pamper session & do each other's nails & a facial from honey & porridge oats:D or whatever you use....soz I don't do 'girlie':o Or perhaps have a picnic in the park if it's OK weather-wise & at home if it isn't--you can still put the rug down on the floor etc to make it more fun. Do you have any colleges near you that you could book a lunch, hair-do, massage etc? Just hire out some real chick-flix & have a home cinema day with HM popcorn & cheapie sparkling wine or fruit juice spritzers....but don't forget the tissues:D

Quick update...Pup is doing fine & back to looking adorable if we're eating toast! But his vet food will finish today & then he's on chicken & taiters for a week so don't feel too sorry for him! It'll be us on bread & water:rotfl:

skintscotslass

fertyskids wrote: »

Hi

I'm new to all this. i have been reading some of the posts on this site and have gained an increasing amount of respect for so many who are achieving what i want.

im a stay at home mum. hubby has job in IT for the time being. we are overdrawn by £600 this month. no other debts at mo but ive only just stopped working. our outgoings approx £200-£300 a month over thats just on essentials, mort bills food etc. i would love to know where to begin. i have 3 kids, 13yr boy, 3yr girl and 11mnth baby to feed. spend approx £100 a week inc lunchboxes, nappies etc. already buy cheap cuts of meat but starting to realise i but too much so will look at menu planning again.

any suggetions on how i can cut back a bit.
sky went ages ago. no eating out or holidays all clothes for the little ones are borrowed of friends. pay as we go mobiles. what else can i do.

thanks karen

Hi there and welcome to the GC

Look at other boards like Debt Free Wannabe and Up Your Income. You can look at ebaying/amazon, surveys/daily clicks, quidco etc.

HTH xx

WelshWoofer

Just a quick update to the totals...,.
Spent exactly £10 in Superdrug on toiletries on Friday and then £30.20 in Tescos yesterday on stuff for the week. I was a bit hungover yesterday and did make about £5 worth of non-essential items (choc, crisps and pop etc) to make me feel better. Never mind - will enjoy them (haven't scoffed the lot - yet!).

Have about £18 to last me to the end of the month - won't be shopping no wuntil next weekend and then I only need to think about a week or so's food to the end of my month.
I might take advantage of the Mr M voucher (I checked yesterday and you can use it in Mr T but only during the week its valid on) so that would mean overspending on this months budget but I can adjust nect months accordingly as I could use it to stock up on the store cupboard stuff thats running a bit low.

Have this weeks food all planned - just have to stick to it now!
Good luck to everyone else....

dink1

thanks BigmummaF,

they are great ideas has certainly got me thinking
dink1

FelineFantastic

Gosh its taken me all morning just about, interspersed with a little bit of work:eek: ) to catch up on the thread!

Hello to everyone- and welcome to the newbies :T - I hope that you are as inspired as i have been- this is my first month and even though I am over target its still a lot less than it would have been otherwise! Scary thought! Also been baking again and trying out some of the other recipes from here and its made a difference to meals in general.

Its nearly the end of the month for me so I will declare when I receive my next lot of housekeeping and will keep the same budget for next month :j

MrsM could I have the little stocking pattern too please- am stuck on my current knitting project:mad: and want to try something else- nearly finished my crochet string bag too!

(((hugs))) to everyone that needs them

A
xx