I had a realization Friday that my house has a lot of food in it. I went down to the freezer to put a few things in it and saw that it was bursting at the seams. It almost didn't shut. This is the first time in eleven years that I have had no more room for food in there. The fridge's freezer is the same, completely full of food. So I've decided I'm going to have a pantry challenge.
The rules for myself are simple. The weekly budget for the next five weeks will be $50. I am trying to be realistic here by giving myself that much. The price of groceries is increasing rapidly and it's outrageous how much some things cost now. That $50 will cover fresh fruits, vegetables and other staples like milk and bread. My goal is that I will reinforce this by reporting here on the blog what I spend, making me accountable to all of you. (The one thing I'm not including in the weekly total is my Costco membership which will be coming up for renewal the next time I go there. If I post my receipts then that will show up.)
When it comes to eating out I plan on using the variety of restaurant coupons that I have from the various daily deal sites, Restaurant.com and the birthday coupons I've started getting in my email. I hope to only eat out once a week for dinner and not spend more than $15 for what remains of the bill after the discount.
I'm also going to meal plan weekly. One of my awesome friends has shared the meal plan sheet she made for herself with me and I'm going to try really hard to stick to planning and following through on my menus.
The goal is to see how far I can go until October 1st with this plan. Right now it seems so easy but I know as the freezer and my stockpile start getting lower it's going to get harder to do.
Meal Plan Week of 8/28
Sunday - chicken wings, baked potato and green beans
Monday - grilled cheese with tomato soup and green beans
Tuesday - pasta and sauce with fruit and salad
Wednesday - fish sticks, with veg and fruit
Thursday - teriyaki chicken, rice and veg
Friday - leftovers
Saturday - pizza for the kids, birthday dinner out for dh and I
- B
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