Day 3… and a reciept

Salvador:

• $.68 (lunch veggies)
• $.06 (crackers)
• $1.25 (coffee before class, GRRRRR… I send him coffee in the morning before work but on Thursdays he goes to class after work and “needed” coffee. 
• $.06 (peanut butter sandwich, snack before class)

Justine and Caroline:

• $.20 (.5 banana each)
• $.09 (1 egg in the black bean burgers)
• $.34 (2 potatoes made into fries)

$2.68 Total (1.43 without his coffee, did I say GRRRR!!!)

Now for my receipt.  I said a few days ago, that I was going to run my shopping a bit like the SNAP program, with money “deposited” at the beginning of the month. On Monday, we went to Save a Lot and spent 38.30 on food.  My October total is 279 (3*3*31days) so after shopping and coffee we now have 239.45

Here is how it was spent:

Bananas	$1.40
Butter	$2.49
Cabbage	$1.18
Carrots	$1.69
Celery	$2.78
Chicken Ramen	$0.99
Collard greens	$3.69
Corn Husks	$3.49
Eggs	$2.69
peanut butter	$3.99
potatoes	$2.49
pretzels sticks	$0.99
pumpkin	$0.99
rice	$1.59
saltines	$1.98
spaghetti	$0.89
WW Bread	$2.99
Sharp Cheddar	$1.99

 

 

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Day 2… and mussings

Working through our stockpile is making it hard to tell exactly how well we are doing.  I think these first few weeks are going to be more about changing our mindset, and less about being exact with our daily limit.

Day 2:

For dinner Salvador and Caroline had eggs and pancakes, $.63 (from the eggs) and they ate $.17 worth of cheese

I had an omelet $.27 (eggs) and $.17 (cheese) and hash browns $.17 (potatoes)

Edited to add: I forgot the 1 banana DD and I shared yesterday morning. $.20

All the rest of our food yesterday came from stockpile so our total for the day was $1.41 Edited total 1.61 after banana

I feel like that is pretty good for a meal almost completely calculated.  I did have some peppers and onions in my omelet, which were from stockpile.

Mussing…

Typing up our meals, and being intentional about what we are eating is making me realize a few things.  First, we don’t eat enough vegetables.  This has nothing to do with our adventure, and everything to do with my DH not loving them.  I need to be more intentional about getting veggies into my DD and myself at least.

Second, This adventure is going to take some stretching on my part, and I am not talking about the money.  I am so used to planning meals around a starch and a meat.  Is it chicken and noodles or beef? Should we have rice or noodles with that?  But I am thinking I need to totally rethink how I am looking at meal planning.  Money Saving Mom posted 52 Meatless Meals yesterday, and I am going to spend some time learning to make them for lunch, and to replace the meat for DD and myself during some meals.  I wont force my DH to go meatless, but 2 out of 3 ought so save some money. 🙂

The game plan:

The point of this adventure is to see if we can live well on a low food budget.  In the past, we have gone through times of plenty and times of want, and in each of those seasons, we have found that we have enough to live well.  This may be a season of want for our family, but that does not mean we are relegated to boxed mac and cheese and hot dogs.

I have been thinking about the plan and how best to implement the process, and I have decided that it will be a bit like a SNAP program.  We will “receive” our money at the beginning of the month, and when it is gone, it is gone.

I will blog, about what we are eating, and how much it is costing, and maybe even post some Frugalicious recipes from time to time.

In the beginning, things around here are going to be slow.  We are eating through the stock of food we already have, I have no readers, and I don’t really know how to blog.  I am hoping as those things improve, this blog will become a fun place to be.

 

Day 1

Today is the first day of our challenge.  I am planning on following this challenge, at least until the end of the year, maybe longer.

Salvador:

Breakfast:

• 1c Cheerios (stockpile)
• 2c Milk (stockpile)
• 5 tsp coffee grounds (stockpile)
• 2 tsp sugar (stockpile)

Lunch:

• Homemade Chicken Rice Soup (stockpile)
• Carrots and celery (.65)
• Trail Mix (last of stockpile)

Caroline and I

Breakfast:

• Oatmeal (stockpile)
• Milk (stockpile)
• OJ for Caroline (stockpile)
• Tea for me (stockpile)

Lunch:

• Bean soup made from pintos and spices (stockpile)

Dinner for all

• Spaghetti with homemade sauce (stockpile)
• 2 potatoes (.17 each) (me trying to lower gluten)

Totals for the day:

• Salvador: $ .68
• Justine $.34
• Caroline $.00

Rules…

 

Every good adventure starts with a plan.  Here is ours…

1.  We are going to eat on $3 per person, per day.

2.  We are not going to use coupons or processed food (for the most part.)

3.  The food that we have in the house is already paid for, and will not count towards our total (we don’t have much stockpiled)  This will mean in the beginning it will be much easier, but not for very long.

4.  Everything we eat must come from this budget, UNLESS someone else is buying it (Thanks MOM!)

5.  I must report everything here, the GOOD, the BAD, and the VERY UGLY!