When I first blogged about the challenge I said that I'd be aiming for spending only $25 each week. I'm going to change my mind on that one, because I think it is important for us to continue buying our produce at the farmer's market this month. That is not cheap, but it is healthy for us and better for the world we live in. So the new goal, taking into account the farmer's market, is $50 each week (plus about $20 for the family dinner, as mentioned.)
And you know, we're still going to come in wildly under budget for the competition. :)
Last week we did not go to the market, and we did not go out to dinner, so our total spending was $20.71. Sometimes having a busy week is the best thing for your budget - if you don't go out and you don't shop, you don't spend much!
We ate hamburgers from our freezer, tomatoes, peas, and a few beans from our garden, and peanut butter, rice and beans from our pantry. Fruits and veggies were leftover from the previous week's market trip (all gone now - I'm definitely ready for more tomorrow!) and we bought lots of milk. Seriously, milk is one of my biggest expenses right now with the two boys drinking so much of it!
I'm enjoying the opportunity to re-asses my stockpile, use some of it up, and make sure that I know what is all the way at the bottom of my freezer. :) After all, stockpiling is only frugal when it truly allows you to NOT spend so much money. I find that it is easy to get caught up in the mad search for deals, only to find that you over-spent in their pursuit. Taking a break for a month and using up what we have is a good discipline.
Is anyone else participating? How did you do this week?
1 comment:
I'm not participating, BUT, I am so excited you are shopping at the farmer's market!
This month Nate and I are doing an "eating out" fast, and I am trying to be a better meal planner. With the crazyness that was my firstborn's first three months of life, we were eating out a LOT, buying whatever looked good at the grocery store, and throwing a lot of food away when we forgot to cook it.
So, this month we have reduced our spending (thus far) by 65%! And... we are eating better! And we have had a couple of dinner parties!
And there is the gluten-free diet, which really complicates things. Gluten-free stuff is pretty pricy - a loaf of GF bread is half the size of a regular loaf of bread, and it costs $6. And it tastes awful. I was eating a lot of dairy, but James has a dairy allergy... so now I am eating a lot of meat. And vegetables. And somehow, it's still cheaper! Huh.
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