Grocery Challenge 2014 [Threads Merged]

Kevhog1988 · 27-01-2014 9:54am

I am starting this morning with £55 in my wallet (I'm in the uk for work). I think this should easily suffice. Only problem i can envisage is my boss is here for the week and he likes to go for breakfast each day with each of us taking turns to pay.

lilacclery · 29-01-2014 8:57am

Livinsane why not use cloth wipes as well when using cloth nappies? My baby is breastfed cloth nappies & cloth wipes, buy a pack of disposables maybe once a month for childminder but hoping to stop that as well now.

livinsane · 29-01-2014 10:54am

lilacclery wrote: »

Livinsane why not use cloth wipes as well when using cloth nappies? My baby is breastfed cloth nappies & cloth wipes, buy a pack of disposables maybe once a month for childminder but hoping to stop that as well now.

It's something I've considered but so far all our wipe costs have been covered by Boots vouchers I earn online for doing surveys. I suppose I could spend it on something else though!

€54 spent this week on groceries so gone about €50 over budget, bringing total spend to about €250. The fun will really begin on month two, trying to better it or at least equal it.

SurferRosa · 29-01-2014 12:03pm

SurferRosa, 2 adults, 3 children (1,3,5 years):

Week1:
4/1/14: - Lidl main shop - 81.29
9/1/14: Dunnes top up shop - 17.31 (98.6 for first week so almost €19 over budget!)

Week2:
12/1/14: Lidl main shop - 87.51

Week 3:
17/1/14:Local garage - €1
18/1/14: Super Valu main shop: 60.65

Week 4:
24/1/14: Aldi - €61.38
24/1/14: Tesco- €.95
28/1/14: Boots - €29.99

Total: €340.08
Remaining: €59.92

Made a once off purchase in Boots, that will hopefully save money in the long run!
Going to try better this next month, though I will need to stock up on meat, so not sure how that will go...

SurferRosa · 31-01-2014 3:56pm

SurferRosa, 2 adults, 3 children (1,3,5 years):

Week1:
4/1/14: - Lidl main shop - 81.29
9/1/14: Dunnes top up shop - 17.31 (98.6 for first week so almost €19 over budget!)

Week2:
12/1/14: Lidl main shop - 87.51

Week 3:
17/1/14:Local garage - €1
18/1/14: Super Valu main shop: 60.65

Week 4:
24/1/14: Aldi - €61.38
24/1/14: Tesco- €.95
28/1/14: Boots - €29.99

Week 5:
31/01/14: Aldi - €59.33

Total: €399.41
Remaining: €.59

Just about made it within budget for this month's shopping! Was nervous at the till today as they had specials on nappies and baby wipes which I couldn't resist, but managed to just make it. (Didn't even use calculator!)

livinsane · 31-01-2014 9:31pm

livinsane wrote: »

€54 spent this week on groceries so gone about €50 over budget, bringing total spend to about €250.QUOTE]

... Just remembered the tenner I spent in the English Market last week, whoops.

livinsane · 31-01-2014 9:44pm

Anyone who took part last month should have a better idea of a realistic grocery budget for this month. Can it be bettered?

State the number of people you are shopping for, any other interesting details and your monthly/weekly budget. Update as the month goes on.

Last month I plucked a figure of €200 out of thin air. We went over by €60, but most purchases were necessary perishables so I think €240 is more realistic for this month - 2 adults, 1 baby.

Calculators at the ready. Good luck to all.

jenno86 · 02-02-2014 6:07pm

SurferRosa wrote: »

Made a once off purchase in Boots, that will hopefully save money in the long run

lilacclery · 03-02-2014 8:30am

livinsane wrote: »

It's something I've considered but so far all our wipe costs have been covered by Boots vouchers I earn online for doing surveys. I suppose I could spend it on something else though!

€54 spent this week on groceries so gone about €50 over budget, bringing total spend to about €250. The fun will really begin on month two, trying to better it or at least equal it.

I find I only need one cloth wipe per nappy change no matter how messy it is. Could get nice shampoos & shower gels with your vouchers!

lilacclery · 03-02-2014 8:39am

Didn't join in last month but will this month. I'll count shop done on jan 31st as feb grocery budget as it'll be used in feb
€120 aldi
€18 Lidl
€22 butchers
€160 total - 3 adults 1 child & 1 baby
This shop involved buying toiletries & cleaning products, I'll aim for €110 per week for rest of shops.

livinsane · 03-02-2014 8:14pm

Lidl - €24
Boots - €14

€202 remaining for the month

lashofeye · 05-02-2014 10:36am

Jan 2014

Week 1: 13/1/2014 : Tesco 65.87
Top up shop (Milk and bread ) 3.73 Total : 69.10
Saved: 20.90

Week 2 : 20/1/2014 : Tesco 62.25
Extra fruit and milk Dunnes 4.22 Total : 66.47
Saved : 23.57

Week 3: 27/01/2014 : Tesco 63.12
Top up shop 7.69 Total : 70.81
Saved : 10.09

Total saved in Jan : 54.56 !!!!!!!!Go us . I have put this money in a jar towards a holiday

Feb 2014

Week 1 : 3/2/2014 : Tesco 65.20

[/QUOTE]

livinsane · 10-02-2014 4:07pm

55e spent in Lidl last week. €7 spent on lamb burgers in fancy butchers O Crualaoí's. €140 left in the pot.

This time last year, we were doing most of our shopping in SV. It'd be interesting to know the difference in expenditure. I still go there for Green Giant sweetcorn. Have yet to find a cheaper brand that beats it on taste. The Lidl one is only fit for adding to cooked dishes; it's awful eaten from the tin.

SurferRosa · 10-02-2014 8:16pm

Hi, only getting around to updating for February now.
Family of 5, 3 children aged 5,3,1.

Monthly budget €400.

01/02/2014 Aura €1.80
04/02/2014 Lidl €2.49
04/02/2014 Asian shop €2.25
07/02/2014 Lidl €68.28
08/02/2014 Butchers €40.00
08/02/2014 Lidl €5.59
08/02/2014 Asian Shop €3.99
10/02/2014 Texaco €2.09

Total so far: €126.49

Remaining: €273.51

Had to buy meat for the month, and bought a large bottle of vinegar and soy sauce in an Asian shop. So plenty spent already, but hopefully will tighten up as month goes on - thank God it's a shorter one!

SurferRosa · 16-02-2014 8:55pm

Guess I'll update again for this last week

Family of 5, 3 children aged 5,3,1.

Monthly budget €400.

01/02/2014 Aura €1.80
04/02/2014 Lidl €2.49
04/02/2014 Asian shop €2.25
07/02/2014 Lidl €68.28
08/02/2014 Butchers €40.00
08/02/2014 Lidl €5.59
08/02/2014 Asian Shop €3.99
10/02/2014 Texaco €2.09
12/02/2014 Lidl €3
12/02/2014 Texaco €3.18
14/02/2014 Tesco €6.60
14/02/2014 Lidl €5.04

Lots of tiny shops, but managed to get the main shop in Tesco for €6.60, as my parents gave me a €50 voucher they didn't need, and I had €3.50 clubcard vouchers too.

Total so far: €144.31

Remaining: €255.69

livinsane · 20-02-2014 1:03pm

12/02/14 - €30 in Lidl
13/02/14 - €14 in SV
17/02/14 - €42 in Dunnes
19/02/14 - €5 in Hassetts Bakery

140-91=€49 left... I've been sick for the week and feeling very un-frugal so have definitely spent more on convenience products.

pkkil · 25-02-2014 3:57pm

What a good thread I will join in March as this month is nearly over though I have a record of all food I have purchased and how much I have saved for January and Feb 140.40 so far we are a family of 3 adults one cat and one dog ( I always buy their food in bulk) and I love to find a way of saving money and getting extra stock from the savings Keep up the good work also can anybody tell me where I can get some Aisan food spices etc in Dublin I live in Kildare but I go to Dublin a few times a month so I would like to stock up when I am up there Thanks

Pretty Polly · 25-02-2014 5:36pm

pkkil wrote: »

What a good thread I will join in March as this month is nearly over though I have a record of all food I have purchased and how much I have saved for January and Feb 140.40 so far we are a family of 3 adults one cat and one dog ( I always buy their food in bulk) and I love to find a way of saving money and getting extra stock from the savings Keep up the good work also can anybody tell me where I can get some Aisan food spices etc in Dublin I live in Kildare but I go to Dublin a few times a month so I would like to stock up when I am up there Thanks

You should try the Asian supermarket at the Jervis Street Luas stop. I buy spices, vinegar, fish sauce and other bits there because it's cheaper. There is another Asian supermarket on Drury Street as well. I must pay that one a visit as well sometime.

izzyflusky · 24-03-2014 8:28pm

Is this thread still going? Found it very interesting and would like to start the challenge to...Little one's birthday in April though.

livinsane · 25-03-2014 4:25pm

izzyflusky wrote: »

Is this thread still going? Found it very interesting and would like to start the challenge to...Little one's birthday in April though.

I started the threads but went totally by the wayside this month. I had planned to start a new thread every month. Maybe it'd be better to have one super thread and do it week by week instead so people could drop in and out of it as they please? Anyone have a suggestion? I'll ask a moderator to merge the existing threads into one.

Davy · 25-03-2014 7:10pm

Jan and Feb threads merged

livinsane · 25-03-2014 9:29pm

I can't edit my first post but as you can see the monthly threads have been merged into one general thread. I think it might work better and people won't have to wait for a new thread to be created every month. It might encourage general discussion too.

I'll get the ball rolling. I've started to do a big weekly shop with the last two weeks. For years we've done a few small ones per week and thought that was working well but I'm beginning to reconsider. We cook all our meals from scratch but are bad planners so sometimes end up doubling up on ingredients or buying things we already have in the freezer, but don't have the time to defrost.

This week I planned all our meals before shopping. Still strayed from my list but anything extra was not perishable so will be used in time. Spent €80 in Lidl and about €20 in SV.

Tomorrow Im going through my cupboards and planning next weeks meals around the contents. I definitely don't intend spending €100 every week.

livinsane · 26-03-2014 11:51am

Mother of god. I went through the presses and along with 9 small tins of baked beans, here is our collection of packet sauces:

Only one of us eats baked beans and I rarely use packet sauces but I am responsible for the multiple bags of different flours and three bags of porridge. I was going to make bolognese from scratch today but feel guilty for not using one of the packets! Maybe I'll just sprinkle some in as seasoning. To make myself feel better I've just used up some apples to make applesauce and I'll make breakfast muffins later which will use some of that porridge and flour.

Tiriel · 26-03-2014 12:50pm

livinsane wrote: »

Mother of god. I went through the presses and along with 9 small tins of baked beans, here is our collection of packet sauces:

Only one of us eats baked beans and I rarely use packet sauces but I am responsible for the multiple bags of different flours and three bags of porridge. I was going to make bolognese from scratch today but feel guilty for not using one of the packets! Maybe I'll just sprinkle some in as seasoning. To make myself feel better I've just used up some apples to make applesauce and I'll make breakfast muffins later which will use some of that porridge and flour.

Check the dates on them!! They're the kind of thing that unless you move house, can end up in the cupboard long past their use by dates!

Kayraa · 30-03-2014 5:14pm

I'm going to start this tomorrow, I'll do it monthly and my budget is €140 a month. It's just myself in the house so hopefully I will spend less than this and my budget can be reduced

livinsane · 31-03-2014 6:05pm

Cork_girl wrote: »

Check the dates on them!! They're the kind of thing that unless you move house, can end up in the cupboard long past their use by dates!

All in date thankfully, even though I wouldn't be a stranger to using out of date stuff.

I've no budget set but we spent €100 last week so hoping to keep it low this week.

31/03

€26 in Lidl
€2 in garage
€1 in market

€29

Kayraa · 01-04-2014 2:36pm

so with my weekly budget of €35 I've done okay. I forgot my list and bought a lot I didn't need lol

01/04
€6 in Dunnes
€21 in Tesco

€27

karen89 · 06-04-2014 8:48pm

Love this thread just found it while watching extreme couponing on tv, not fair that the usa has so many vouchers/coupons and we dont

livinsane · 06-04-2014 9:31pm

livinsane wrote: »

€26 in Lidl
€2 in garage
€1 in market
€29

Adding to this:
€26 in Lidl
€9 in SV
€5 in Market
€6 in Boots

€46

Bringing this weeks total to €75

Man, groceries are dear. This week we bought only the bare minimum fresh fruit and veg, eggs, bread and milk. No meat. The bulk of all dinners came from stuff we already had in the house. I was expecting to have spent less. Although the baby has started solid food so I'm buying him expensive organic produce! In better news, boyfriend dearest caught a load of cod today so we've plenty fresh fish.

livinsane · 06-04-2014 9:41pm

karen89 wrote: »

Love this thread just found it while watching extreme couponing on tv, not fair that the usa has so many vouchers/coupons and we dont

I'm signed up to a survey site called Irish opinions. They email you links to surveys, you complete, your account is credited and when you have a tenner built up, you request a voucher which is posted to your home address. You can choose from Boots, Tesco and two online sites. You earn different amounts per survey you qualify for (could be up to €3 or as low as 75c). I probably get a tenner voucher every two months. Not a lot but I get a buzz spending them and then getting my Boots points on top. Boots definitely have the best customer loyalty program I've experienced.

Grocery Challenge 2014 [Threads Merged]

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