1 Down... Three to go!
I have accepted a challenge from my loving husband to purchase groceries, this month only, for no more than $300. He wanted me to put my basic knowledge and experience to the test and see how simple this would be. My first reaction was ,"Yeah! Right!!". However, after doing a lot of research and planning I have begun my endeavor.
And so, I would like to challenge the rest of you as well. Prices are climbing. Unhealthy foods are cheaper. Whole foods are pricey. However, it is still possible to make healthy homemade meals on a smaller budget. (At least that is what I am going to hopefully find the conclusion on at the end of this month.) Who has inspired me??? (Go ahead... Click it!!)
This woman has many pages with information about cooking whole foods... cooking whole foods on a budget, etc. I printed out the $70 weekly budget/menu plan and redid some things (I will not cook with Ramen noodles, sorry. However, I admit they have their tendency to calm a cold very nicely.) to satisfy my family's needs/tastes.
Today was the first day. With an additional bottle of hair conditioner, a loufa and a box of frozen Chinese food for my little lunch splurge, I spent a whopping $76!! That is for the week. I have made a deal with my sweet hubby that I will be able to use my staples (wheat, oats, sugar, etc.) and be able to stick to the budget since this particular budget plan was published before these incredible price hikes.
So, one week down... three to go. We shall see how well this goes!
(PS~ I was able to tweak it enough that I could purchase our weekly supply of apples and bananas.... we cannot survive right now without fresh fruit!!)
9 comments:
I hear ya! We are on a 300.00 budget for food and sundries as well, and we only have 4! I don't think we could do it without the food co-op that we belong to. We chip in $15.00 every two weeks and give it to the driver of the week. The driver strolls on down to the local produce market (these are the guys that usually supply the super markets with their produce), and comes back with a bunch of stuff. Then they divide it and we usually have a laundry basket full of fresh produce. One week there weren't enough participants and we had to fend for ourselves, we had to spend nearly twice as much to get the same amount.
My best food shopping find is to buy 1 day old bread at the bakery down the street from our house on Fridays you can get 3 loaves for a $1. The best part is that it is great for you, no preseratives, whole grains, and super yum. It is hard to buy healthy food for cheap. Good luck with your challenge, you are such a great bargin hunter I am sure you will accomplish everything you set out to do.
if you dont mind, share what you bought & prices :P
I need to work on getting back to our grocery budget now that prices are not what they were a few years ago (even a year ago).
I try to buy ahead when there is a sale going on (especially meat) & I used to freeze milk (it does work & taste normal after defrosting & shaking it up) but pretty much the kids are the only milk drinkers in the house.
anyways good luck!
I love this challenge! Back in the day when things were REALLY tight (they're still tight, just not quite so much) I would make deals like that with myself just to see how much money I couldn't spend at the grocery store. Pretty please, can you at least list your meals for the week? I need some low-cost healthy options.
I second Jen!!
Lannee~ I would love it if there were a produce co-op here!! Maybe I should look into that. We love fresh fruit.
Liz~ I wish I had the ambition to go out and hunt for bargains. I have developed a simple strategy of doing a grocery survey once every few years and picking one store to do my (usual) monthly shopping, and then doing my weekly dairy and produce upkeep at the local grocery store that has the best quality for price. I miss the day-old bread store we went to in Utah!
Jen~ If I had more room int he freezer I would definitely do the milk and meat thing. Unfortuantely my freezer barely fits what I buy monthly. I am still trying to convince my sweet hubby to get me a freezer chest!
Jen~ I was already thinking about putting up the info that I changed. So, later I will post it.
Lisa~ Ditto. I will get it up ASAP!
Sadly, I remember before we had kids of course, spending $40 a week on groceries. With the rising cost of milk and produce, I can't get out of the store for less than $110. THOUGH-- I found a great farmers market in our area that sells produce for CHEAP! I can get strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and balackberries for $1.25 a clamshell. AWESOME! The other day I got oranges, 4 lbs for $1.
Okay. During some really lean times for engineers a couple of years ago we were on a $200 a month budget for all food, groceries, household supplies, clothes four our family of 5. Let's just say we didn't buy clothes. :) But had the need arose, that's where in the budget they would have had to come from. You learn really fast how to make do with less! You also learn that no crumb of food can ever be wasted. Make sure your leftovers are eaten, not too much toothpastes lands on the counter when your kids put it on their brush, etc. We invested in soap dispensers from Amazon.com for the shower walls that house the shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and bubble bath. We limited the kids (and ourselves) to two or three squirts depending on the product and the person. I buy at least 1/2 as much of these products as before we got dispensers 2 years ago. They have easily paid for themselves! And we never use a paper product that we don't have to, such as paper towels and plates. The garden has been a source of fresh foods when we couldn't afford fresh, too. And I belong to a food co-op and also buy my fruits in bulk from a major importer (bought 40 lbs of strawberries last week and nearly 400 pounds of peaches last year).
Trish
You are amazing! I'm gonna have to give this a try, but don't tell Nate, I'd be a total basketcase forever if he got in his head that we could do this!
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