January 2011 Grocery Challenge

martafdz · 21 January 2011 at 10:59PM

I have an app in the mobile (Nokia) where I record my expenses at the moment. It is called "Handy Expense" and I think it is available for several mobiles. You create the categories (or use the default ones) and then just add expenses with a couple of clicks. It has an option to create a "report" and I use this to keep constant track on where I am spending more money. Apparently my downfall this month is public transport!!

Groceries are quite good this month

Then toiletries have taken a bit too much, since I have used too many hair products and dye this month ... oops! I am doing good with lunches and coffees, since I am taking with me from home, so I have seen that category reduced drastically

I am looking forward to the 31st !!! I really want to see how much under I have managed to stay!

adelight · 21 January 2011 at 11:04PM

Hi all, shall be going £idl tomorrow to pick up some bits, 49p broccoli, 49p cottage cheese, ~50p bread and max £1 on fruit at the market. 500g mince is 99p this week, I'd love to get a pack but imagine it'll be sold out by the time I get there

katholicos · 21 January 2011 at 11:24PM

NSD number 13 today :-)

We ate at my Mum and Dad's this evening.

Sue14 · 21 January 2011 at 11:27PM

I've been very good this week, no grocery spends from last Saturday until yesterday, when I had to get cat food and milk, total of £7.02. Will need more milk and a couple of other bits tomorrow, but will only get what I NEED, lol, as I'm getting very close to budget and still have over a week to go!

gdyr1945 · 21 January 2011 at 11:36PM

Well today wasn't as scary as I expected. Had appointment with emergency dentist who just put in temporary filling. No drilling or injections. Took about 5mins and cost £16.50. I have an appointment to see my regular dentist on 31st. That will be more expensive as I will probably need a crown. It is a front tooth so can't leave it.

Glad you love D.Russell meat MOTHERSHIP. We have been eating it for years. Nothing seems to match it. We had a lovely bone-in- beef rib for Christmas. Too expensive to have normally but just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

Getting fed up with Home of Research site; seems that every survey I do, I get 75-80% through when they suddenly say 'sorry you do not fit demagraphic'. So I have given them the information but don't get any points. Valued Opinons tell you after a couple of questions and you don't start the survey and the pay is better.

My month goes from 18th-17th (this when my credit card is due). Last month, Jan not too good, but I do have LOTS of STUFF! I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY will resist buying ANY bargains - I DO NOT NEED ANYTHING! There, I will type this out in very large font and stick it on door as a reminder!

Feeling pleased as I have done my 30mins walk and 20mins with a 'strength' programme every day. All right it is only 5 days but I have to start somewhere.:A Do not want to end up a weak old lady. I don't have high blood pressure or chlorestral(?) but I have become very unfit since I retired 5 yrs ago. And boy has the weight piled on! Found an old pair of jeans that used to be loose; now I can just get them over my knees! I intend wearing in the autumn.

janie-h · 21 January 2011 at 11:44PM

mummygems wrote: »

I did see a Home Bargains sign go up on an empty store when I was in our local town earlier so that really excited me as I often see it spoken about on here but this is the first time i have ever seen or heard of one in our area. Are there any pros and cons for this store that others would like to share?

Make sure you take a shopping list and stick to it... I always buy other things. If I go for toilet rolls, pasta sauce, rice, etc I ususally end up with extra toiletries/kitchen stuff/garden stuff. All usually bargains, but not necessarily needed!

And Mummyems, wishing you all the best on your upcoming birth x

martafdz · 22 January 2011 at 12:13AM

gdyr1945 wrote: »

Glad you love D.Russell meat MOTHERSHIP. We have been eating it for years. Nothing seems to match it. We had a lovely bone-in- beef rib for Christmas. Too expensive to have normally but just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

Getting fed up with Home of Research site; seems that every survey I do, I get 75-80% through when they suddenly say 'sorry you do not fit demagraphic'. So I have given them the information but don't get any points. Valued Opinons tell you after a couple of questions and you don't start the survey and the pay is better.

Aish... I really would like to try that! I am going to use all the meat in the freezer and if I am doing good with the challenge then I will try that website. Everybody has good words for it!

On surveys, I like Lightspeed/MySurvey (they have merged) and Pinecone. Both pay with paypal if you want, Pinecone sends £3 after a couple of days and in MySurvey you can exchange the points for £3, £5 or £10(?), it is usually about 6 surveys or so, it depends of the points, but I think it is good value. Valued opinions is good but I still have not been able to claim anything from them

. Now Toluna is sending more surveys and you can also get 1000 points every now and then with the sponsored polls if you have patience! I think 80,000 points is about £10-£15, so I would say a voucher every 3-4 months if you do the surveys and sponsored polls. I never have so much time though! They apparently take up to 8 weeks to arrive. I am still waiting for mine, but at least if they get lost in the post you can ask them to resubmit it within a limited period. I never got any of the test products from the Test area but I had a few that came from the surveys, when at the end they ask if you might be interested in doing more research. I got to try well known brands of deodorant, cereal, air freshener, etc. I also like Gfk, both the TV surveys and the distance shopping surveys. I seem to get £2-£4 in vouchers every month in the draw from either one or another.

I can't be really bothered with the other survey sites, I do them when I have time but it takes ages to grow the balance sometimes!

Missus_Aka · 22 January 2011 at 12:27AM

have 15p for the rest of the month, think i stocked up too much all good offers though that will save me in the long run......guessing i am going over this month but its only my first month.

When you stock up and you wont be using it this month do you take it off this months grocery budget or do you take it off the month you use its budget? am not really sure how to work it out? any ideas please on what you find is best for you

NickJW · 22 January 2011 at 12:37AM

martafdz wrote: »

Aish... I really would like to try that! I am going to use all the meat in the freezer and if I am doing good with the challenge then I will try that website. Everybody has good words for it!

On surveys, I like Lightspeed/MySurvey (they have merged) and Pinecone. Both pay with paypal if you want, Pinecone sends £3 after a couple of days and in MySurvey you can exchange the points for £3, £5 or £10(?), it is usually about 6 surveys or so, it depends of the points, but I think it is good value. Valued opinions is good but I still have not been able to claim anything from them . Now Toluna is sending more surveys and you can also get 1000 points every now and then with the sponsored polls if you have patience! I think 80,000 points is about £10-£15, so I would say a voucher every 3-4 months if you do the surveys and sponsored polls. I never have so much time though! They apparently take up to 8 weeks to arrive. I am still waiting for mine, but at least if they get lost in the post you can ask them to resubmit it within a limited period. I never got any of the test products from the Test area but I had a few that came from the surveys, when at the end they ask if you might be interested in doing more research. I got to try well known brands of deodorant, cereal, air freshener, etc. I also like Gfk, both the TV surveys and the distance shopping surveys. I seem to get £2-£4 in vouchers every month in the draw from either one or another. I can't be really bothered with the other survey sites, I do them when I have time but it takes ages to grow the balance sometimes!

I know it's off topic, but the ONLY places I've had rewards from are Lightspeed and Valued Opinions. I got £5 from Lightspeed in 2009 and since they have merged I haven't received any invites. Valued Opinions, although they take a while to receive seem to be quite good. I've had 3 £10 Mr T vouchers from there so far. I'm nearly upto the next £10 threshold with them, but I think I'll stop when I get upto the £10 Mr T voucher limit. The same applies to MyVoice - they seem okay and I'm 200 points off getting the £20 Mr S voucher.

I don't know - when I started doing them I think I saw it as an easy way out, but now I think it's better to manage my money better rather than trying to earn extra to fund my excess. Obviously it's different for different people, and admittedly I don't have the time to dedicate to the surveys to make the most out of it.

I WILL continue to work on the surveys until I get to the limit to get a voucher - I've worked for it!

I don't know if I'll stop afterwards though - it all depends on how the economy goes and if the surveys get more frequent/money increases....

Hippeechiq · 22 January 2011 at 12:37AM

A NSD for me today, bringing me up to 10 out of 10 hoped for days.

Several spends since I last updated bringing me to £156.77 but I have an A$da delivery coming tomorrow which will take me over the £200 mark, but will update after I've received it.

Also need to get some balsamic dressing and some milk, which isn't going to leave me much left out of £250, so I'm a bit apprehensive, as next week I still need to buy some Chicken Thighs from £idl (£2.69) 850g Chicken Breast Pack from Icel@nd (£5) & Twin Pack of M&S Sausages £3.50/99, can't quite remember which. (Am fussy about my sausages and refuse to compromise

) but roughly £12 in total.

I could buy smaller packs of thighs, breast and one pack of sausages, but smaller amounts work out dearer, so refuse to do that.

Don't think the remaining budget will run to all 3, so I may have to rethink my planned menu. Unless, I buy the meat first and then make do with what's left :think:

Cut my budget by £25 this month as I need to save £25 per month if I'm to afford Christmas this year, and as we've only one income, this is the only way it can be done. However, I only managed twice in the last 6 months to bring my challenge in under budget when it was £275! And food is going up!

But!.... it's something I really have to achieve now - and this is called the Grocery Challenge

says she, far more positively than she feels.....

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January 2011 Grocery Challenge

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