Final update:
Eating down the cupboard and freezer: This was my best week yet. I used 1 can of tuna, half a bag of frozen peas, and 3/4 box of pasta for pasta salad, and 3 cans of beans for soup. And now I have plenty of leftovers for this week.
$40.01/$40 spent on groceries. I’m ok with going over 1 cent because it went towards the tip for grocery pickup.
5/5 takeout/delivery meals. There is definitely a correlation between me not wanting to do dishes and the amount of takeout I get. This is why I decided to make my habit for the Habituary challenge to do my dishes every day and not let any sit overnight.
I’m going to continue eating down the freezer/cupboard in February, as well as aim for 5 takeout/delivery meals.
we have decided we will track for another few months to get a longer trend line, but we’ll record at the end of the month instead of putting them into the spreadsheet after each purchase.
I learned this month that fruit, treats, and meat are expensive. Shocking!
Also I am very, very far from being able to make all of our bread-like food. I make bread, bagels, biscuits, English muffins, muffins, and cupcakes… but we also eat pasta, rice cakes, crackers, other bread, and probably a dozen things I’m forgetting.
I think it would be interesting to estimate what percentage of our actual diets are each item and compare the percentage of spending. For example, I’m certain that treats and probably meat/cheese are expensive out of proportion to our actual consumption, but I doubt that’s the case for fruit and premade grain. But… that sounds hard so I’m not gonna do it.
It forced me to look at grocery expenses for all of last year, and I’m happier with it than I thought I’d be.
Also it kept me reminded to eat down that chest freezer, which has been a 100% win. I may even add back some 2-liter water bottles in the bottom to improve efficiency (and make the food easier to reach).
I guess I learned a lot about my staples and what I usually eat LOL.
I also noticed that with the pain point of groceries and decisions out of the way, the reason I’m primarily eating out is emotional or related to exhaustion. But that happens less than when the meal question was always hanging over my head.
Huge success in my book! Gave me something to focus on. Tried new meatless recipes that will be in permanent rotation, became very aware of food waste, which helped me start to cut it down a lot. I think I’m going to make a mental goal to focus on cutting down groceries for the first quarter, then choose another category to start to focus on if I feel ready.
My conclusion is we spend most of our money on animal products and probably need to eat more vegetables. Also reminded me that the most expensive homemade meal is usually cheaper than the cheapest takeout we’re inclined to get. Also also spices are amazing.
I loved it! We learned(well reinforced) that we absolutely do not need to go to the grocery store as much as we had been. We do not need to give into the cravings.
I learned that I spend less by eating almost every meal at home than using the really good cafeteria / restaurant at the office even if I buy 75% organic.
And I buy to much cake from the good small bakery. Most of the spent in the bakery category is creamy delicious pieces of cream pie
Final check in $145.50 on groceries (plus maybe another $100 or so on the gift card that is now used up). Eating out kept at $100, so that’s good. Plastic usage probably stayed the same, I replenished our supplies for a possible lockdown then we went into lockdown again so my prep was justified and I think I’ll just live with the same plastic usage for now.
Week 4:
Groceries:198.53/200
Takeaway: 6/5 One on a gift card and one with cash.
End of month reflections: I stayed within my grocery budget goals (barely) and ate down some of my stored supply. I ended up getting takeaway once more than I’d hoped, but most orders were using gift cards and all orders were from local spots, so I won’t feel guilty over this.
A fairly high-price pickup today ($165.00 of food for humans), so I wonder if I just pushed some expenses out to February. But I don’t expect another this month unless maybe beer? And there is some significant stocking up in this order, enough hamburger and ground turkey for 3-4 months, for example.
Groceries have gone up a lot in the past 2 years and even more so the past year with the pandemic. For 2 of us our budget was 300 and the past year it’s been 500. We are now divorced and I will be moving out some time this month. My target is 150 including my sparkling water I drink daily but not eating out. It will be interesting to see how this works out.
