If you are following my Food Budget Challenge, thank you! If not, I won't blame you if you just keep moving on by. This post may be the most boring material you've ever read. For me, it has been eye opening and created a lot of thought about what I'm buying for groceries. It has also forced me to get creative.
With today's trip to the store and my hubby's surprise trip yesterday (he didn't know I was doing this challenge), we are near going over budget this month and we're only halfway there. This doesn't mean I'm not going to keep trying to keep my spending down. It means I will be doing another round in October, armed with knowledge about myself and my spending habits.
POWER UP WITH PROTIEN: Today, I took photos of the nut butter choices at my local store. I wanted to compare the value of Almond Butter vs. Peanut Butter. You should know I chose to buy the peanut butter based solely on the cost. The fresh ground nut butter is something I've learned to really love in my morning oatmeal. I feel like after looking at the nutritional value of each nut butter, the peanut butter is a great buy! The amount I purchased for .53 cents will be enough breakfast protein to last our entire work week if I use it that way.
GOOD BUYS: Next, I decided to snap a pic of the bell pepper choices. I love me some colorful peppers but when I'm eating one a day, .30 cents difference is something I pay attention to, especially if I am on a budget. However, I also look at quality when I'm buying peppers. Sometimes the store schleps off old, wimpy peppers and I won't go for that. Today I found some nice red ones for the win. Additionally, I bought a 5 lb. bag of potatoes for $1.28.
WHAT KILLED IT: My hubs killed the budget this week. He bought two bricks of Tillamook cheese which I will admit is a very good buy at 5.98 each. We just didn't need two. We don't even need one. We're both better off medically if we keep cheese off our plate but I suspect he went to the store hungry. He also purchased a package of pork loin chops that he'll be eating by himself for $6.45. That's okay. The man has to eat and I'm not the vegetarian police.
THE BOTTOM LINE: So, I'm at $190.56 and it's only mid-month. EEEKS!
MY SCHPEEL: We have a neighbor who often comes over and borrows $20 near the end of the month because he can't quite stretch his money/food stamps to the end of the month. In the summer, he doesn't borrow money because he mows our lawn in exchange for the $20 but in the winter it is always a perpetual borrow. He always pays it back at the beginning of the month when he gets his disability check. Really a sweet guy.
When I was a young, newly married person, we lived paycheck to paycheck. I haven't had to live that way in a long time but a lot of people do. This challenge has really brought that home to me. It's not easy making a buck stretch. I don't feel the burn from it because I know I don't have to do this. I can't begin to imagine what it's like to squeeze blood out of a turnip for a lot of people who are on fixed incomes.
Well, there you have it. Do you have a grocery budget? Do you think about what you are putting in your basket? What would happen if you spent all your budget and you had no money left for groceries ... would you have enough in your cupboards to make it to the end of the month? Leave me a comment. I'd love to hear from you!
love, susan
I'm game for doing another challenge in October, but I think we'll want to revise your goals in light of the data that you collected this month. When I first started tracking our spending, I was shocked with how much we spend in different categories. Only in the last few months have we even been willing to think about how to start spending less money in some areas. But knowing is at least half of the battle.
ReplyDeleteYes, I will definitely revise my goal before I begin October. mom
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