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October 2008 Grocery Challenge

6K views 120 replies 44 participants last post by  Wendy99 
#1 ·
I am setting my budget at $400. That is $80 each Friday. I will also be keeping track of my spending on drinks, meats, veggies/fruit...and so forth.

Anyone with me?
 
#2 ·
I am going for $350. We will see how it goes!
 
#3 ·
I'm going for $400 !! (fingers crossed I can do it!!)
 
#4 ·
:grouphug2 I will join in......will post a total that I want to shoot towards for October. I need to restock the freezer and the pantry....so it will be a fairly high number. :jug:
 
#5 ·
I'm in for $400 again. Sales circulars looked pretty dismal this week. I may pop into the farmers market tomorrow.
 
#9 ·
I want to try this as well. I'm in for $200. (seems low, but no kiddies to feed)

Dawn
 
#10 ·
I'm in this month again also. Same $400 budget as usual, which includes everything (food, pet supplies, medicines, cleansers/paper, HBA, etc) for a family of 4 with 5 big dogs and 3 cats. I'm going to see how far under budget I can manage though.
 
#13 ·
Wow Suzysaver, I am humbled!

I went over by nearly $100. In my defence, I am Canadian. I have two super athletic teans, an athletic husband, a preteen (and I am trying to lose weight, NOT FAIR!). I also include all household supplies in the grocery budget ( anything I would buy at the supermarket or produce stand).
I did manage to start a stockpile because I think this is the key to getting the food budget down, for the future. I am stockpiling BOGOs and nearly free items and super deals.
So I will set it at $50 more, so at $500. It will have to include Thanksgiving.
 
G
#14 · (Edited)
I would like to join, too. We have a food-budget of 200€. This includes:
- vegetarian food for 2 adults (excluding luxury items such as soda, chocolate, and meals bought at the workplace if somebody was too tired to pack something)
- stockpiling items
- cat food
- medical expenses (excluding dentist)
- H&B
- cleaning supplies
- small household items (e.g. a new broomstick, but not new furniture)

We have major difficulties sticking to it. I guess it would help me to monitor it more closely, instead of summing up only at the end of the month :) I am a bit limited in what I can still do. We mostly buy at Aldi-style supermarkets, eat loads of pasta, potatoes, etc., buy no-name ONLY, etc.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I'm in for $450.00 this month.
I think this is my third attempt at the grocery challenge and normally I budget $600.00, but I've *really* been watching every penny I spend at the grocery store the past few weeks and I think this amount can be doable for me.

This will include everything:
Food
Adding to the stockpile
Pet food
HBA

For a family of four: 2 adults & 2 active teenagers who eat more than we do.
*How* do they put it away like that?

(Since we've cut waaay back on our eating out expensese, we go about every two to three weeks or so, my amount will not include this)

I just realized that October is a looong month, but I'm convinced I can do this.

Good luck everyone!!!:hugz:
 
#21 ·
I'm in again. I'm bumping up my budget a lot. I have gone over the past few months. We don't have any stores that double coupon and the sales have been pitiful. I'm shooting for $750. That is for 2 adults and 7 kidlets, plus the extras that seem to find their way to my house after school and on weekends. Plus I'm tired of hearing "there's nothing to eat" even if it is the truth. :laugh:
 
#22 ·
I'm in again for $320 for everything (including out to eat), except for what we spend while out of town this weekend. That will all come out of our vacation fund.

Feeding 2 adults, 2 dogs, 1 cat, some fish, and most expensively 2 bottomless pits.
 
#23 ·
I haven't been in the grocery challenge in a while. I'm in this month. I am going to set my goal at $500. I am also going to be stocking up on all my holiday foods. I usually decide what I will make in September and start buying a few of the items each week so I don't have to make a huge purchase at one time.
 
G
#25 ·
First of October is over, and I feel as if I had already busted my budget for this month :) But the pantry is well-stocked now, my tiny freezer is filled up to the brim, and there's a tiny little bit of money left for the rest of the month :D

We were nearly out of shampoo, so I got 7 bottles of shampoo and two giant bottles of bath essence for 7,45 € (I also got a pouch of grape juice because I wasn't sure whether I could get back home alive without some calories - but that's luxury spending and coming from my 'pin money', not from the grocery budget).
Then I went to my favorite Belgium supermarket (the big advantage of living in a border region - if shops try to 'go international', they are likely to try their strategy here first) and stumbled over a big pile of my husband's favorite veggie foods marked down by 30%. I got a BIG pile of them (one was turned into my lunch, the rest went into the freezer). I also bought some canned rice pudding (We use them as rations when traveling) (57 ct each), baked beans (32 ct each), and Dutch breakfast cakes (also as travel rations)(1,19 € each). A big shopping bag and then some more for 26,93€.

The fun part: I had done some clothes shopping before doing groceries, and had now the pleasure to transport ALL THIS STUFF home. On a bike. Uphill. UGH! (At least it had stopped raining by then.) How come that things always look lighter when on the shelves at the supermarket then when balancing them on my bike? (Of course one of the bags raptured halfway, doesn't it always?)

My husband did basic groceries (cheese, bread, catfood, some stockpile items) this morning, so I don't know the totals yet:
33.84€+X spend and 30 more days to go :D
 
#26 ·
:) I finally have found a few minutes to get online......

Let's see..........
I am going to make our grocery budget this month....$600. I need to restock the freezer and the pantry. That includes everything that I buy...hba, foods, cleaning, all of it.
 
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