Food Budget Challenge 2018

 

 

I recently read my darling daughter-in-law's blog  about becoming FI (millennial lingo for financially independent). She talks about budgets and has a sophisticated method for transparently writing about their monthly spending habits. It includes a pie chart with percentages. I don't have a formal budget written out but I do have a mental one. Of the things I spend money on, food is the one line item that I'm pretty steady-eddy on and know what my grocery bill is going to be every week. Where my dollars leak out are the impromptu dinners out. If anyone even mentions tacos or double date, we don't resist. This can put a big dent in the food budget. It is an area that I would like to tighten up. So I've challenged her to see how our budgets are looking comparatively in the month of September.  I commit to coming back here at the end of September with some hard numbers, ideas, what worked, and what didn't. In the meantime, I'll be writing some posts about grocery shopping and things I buy and my deep thoughts on it. There are some old ideas from growing up that I have been unable to shake. I'll try to explore those in the next couple of weeks.

 

Here are some things you should know about me going into this venture.

• I don't buy meat. I am vegetarian. My husband is a mostly vegetarian and if he wants meat, he has to go buy it for himself. I'll ask him for receipts so I can accurately account for that.
• I think I can feed the hubs and I for $200 a month (not including eating out) but this challenge will shine a light on my thinking. The spotlight for breaking my budget is inevitably going to be on dining out.
• I love to photograph my food.
• I love to figure out ways to use up leftovers as I hate throwing food away. Think Chopped.
• I will include dog food in this budget.
• I tend to be on the obsessed side of things so you can expect details.
• I shop at 6:00am every Sunday morning, so updates will be on Sundays.
• I play the guessing game at the register, trying to come within a few dollars of what I think I should spend. (My mental budget is $50/week)

Today, my food bill was $53.21.  The large jar of peanut butter I buy strictly for my dogs was my largest expense at $6.93, followed closely by the large bag of sugar snap peas which was $4.98.  I think $5 for a bag of peas is outrageous but I really love them and it's an expense I'm willing to overlook. I want good value for my hard-earned bucks when it comes to food. The one and only item in my basket  this week that was a total frill was the 1/2 dozen donuts I bought for $3.48. We have a guy coming over to look at the hubby's record collection and I felt like I needed to have something to offer with coffee. Splurge.

 

I'd love to hear from you. Do you have a food budget? As always, thanks for stopping by and reading. My comments don't always work properly. If you have ideas that you would share with me and you can't get them in the comments, send me at email at freezerburned@hotmail.com  

 

love, susan