$100 a month challenge?

How did I do? Well, I went 50 cents over on my groceries. Keep in mind, this didn't count formula and baby food items (canned chicken, canned veggies, oatmeal) or household cleaning products. What we didn't do so well on was NOT eating out. We did great the first two weeks and then after that we didn't stick to our budget. We did go to happy hour and used coupons when we did. We also went out of town this past weekend so we had to eat out. Good thing our hotel had complimentary breakfast (which was actually pretty good).

I learned that I am not a coupon clipper and we mostly ate from our pantry. It also works if I plan ahead, something I didn't do that last week. We will start over on April 1 with a more strict budget and I will give my husband cash so I don't see debits from the liquor store. I'm thinking $100 total for eating out (not counting our coast trip) and $50 fun money (lunch, coffee, etc).

I think this is a learning process to see what works and doesn't work. I think I'm not into coupons because I shop alot at Trader Joes and don't buy processed foods.

So, that is the report. I'm making my grocery list and dinner list tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Recycling

Since the beginning of the year, we've been making more of an effort to recycle. This has resulted in throwing away almost half as much as we did before and now our commingle bin is full when we take it to the curb. Yay for us, I guess.

I also and happy to report that I have only spent $40 on food this week. That means I have $60 for the rest of the month. Will I make it? We'll see. Might be eating alot of PB&J sandwiches by the end of the month.

$100 grcoery challenge

So Brian and I are going to TRY to spend only $100 this month on groceries. We took inventory of our freezer and cupboards and said what the heck! The rules are as follows -- we can only spend $100 this month on groceries. We are excluding diapers, baby food (which we hardly buy), baby items, household cleaning products and beauty items like shampoo and deodorant. We are reserving $100 ($50 a piece) in a jar for fun items. Tonight, I bought a $4 box of Thin Mints so now I have $46 left. My guess is my husband will spend all of his money on beer since that does count against our groceries. Each Saturday, I will take inventory of the cupboards, freezer and make a meal list and then shop for what I need.

This week's list is:
Cheese & Vegetable Pizza
Veggie Burgers
Tacos
Olive, tomato pasta
Spinach Ravioli

Now that I type this, I notice we only have one meat item. My frig is FULL of meat too so my guess is the second will we'll be diving into meat!

I also want to thank everyone for their tips. A co-worker told me that I should check out the Dollar Tree for items. I never knew they food! Grocery Outlet is an awesome place for deals as well. I did sign up for The Grocery Game's free trial as well so I will report on my findings there. If you sign up, please let them know I referred you (my email is shanleeatgmail.com). I'll post some of the tips I've received in weeks to come as well.

If you read this blog and are on Twitter, you can follow me more closely by adding me as a friend as well.

Wish me luck!