Check-in 3:
No defrosting or further inventorying happened as I worked this weekend for a big deadline at work coming up this week.
We did use up several bits an bobs from the freezer like some spinach and frozen cheese in a lasagna and some ground lamb meat in stuffed bell peppers.
I also pressure cooked a pound of dry chickpeas to make hummus and a stew with chorizo, chickpeas and lentils this week. There will also be some kind of Ramen situation to use up miso and bonito flakes.
Apart from that, I also have a stash of mung beans and fava beans, that need to be used some time in the future, so I’m paying close attention to @plainjane’s updates
Have I checked in yet? Cant remember. Still on track, likely to tip over slightly both takeaway & groceries but it will be so far beyond almost any month of 2023 and has been such a good reset this year.
Eating Out: $52 / $250 - we are still meeting the goal of not repeating any restaurants in the month, but slipped a bit on not eating out more than once in a week. We had subway for lunch on Friday and then on Saturday I made homemade pho for lunch and it wasn’t up to the girls’ standards and they were very disappointed about the “trick” I played on them so I got takeout pho for dinner on Saturday night I didn’t include the cost of that in the total though because I paid with cash from my wallet so it is “bonus” money outside of YNAB.
I just pulled a container of mung bean curry from the freezer for this week’s lunches. So even though I’m finished with the dried ones as per this month’s challenge, I am still not actually finished. Mung beans are better when I also have tamarind chutney from the market.
Thank you for reminding me of the seaweed. That was going to be in the goals for this month and I forgot because it’s a small container. I should use some with the laksa. Perhaps I will buy a couple of shrimp at the fish monger and be fancy. (or just do ramen and eat down the freezer a bit more)
Oh my goodness, everything is a mess! Week 3 check in, I guess, but also idk anymore???
Last week I was on a trip and it was like, flight hell, weird things while there, the worst sleeping/shower situation I’ve had since I was a crusty punk in my early 20’s and just…idk man. I’m wrecked and I feel so silly for it. But here is my update and my sort of plan for this week!
Even with most of my spending coming from travel, food still went up this week because of groceries. We did a couple stock ups and are now at $278. I might move some money from my “fuel” budget into groceries if I need to since I’m way, way under on that this month.
Eating out with friends is at $174 because we did a sushi night and I treated a friend who is having a hard time. Solo treats like Starbucks breakfasts are at $69 (nice) so doing great there at least. =)
Meal Plan for next week
Chicken Parm (I am so excited, my brother is making this tonight)
Kimchi stew and fruit
Fish tacos with avocado
Avocado toast and fried eggs
Pasta and steamed broccoli
Leftover night
Roasted potatoes and onions
Still working on my price book! Apparently Babybel cheese is now a household staple and I bet it is cheaper at Costco. (Sixty-six cents for a tiny little cheese wheel!)
I am supposed to be eating down the freezer so I can defrost it but the problem is that a lot of what is in my freezer is INGREDIENTS, which when I cook become FOOD which goes back in the freezer in a different form. Example: a chicken carcass. Or even, IKEA meatballs. I served half the meatballs but made mashed potatoes. Now I have half a bag of meatballs but also mashed potatoes and gravy, so gotta try again next week. So it’s a bit of a recursive process.
@anomalily, I haven’t gotten my stickers for the yearly budget challenge or for Budgetober . Do you have any more? Maybe you could try again to toss some in with my Snackuary stickers if I finish all my check ins? I am so jealous of other people’s!
Week 3 check in has also gone awry, we are travelling and didn’t het to eat down the fridge as much as i would have liked so think there will be some food waste to chuck when we’re back in just over a week.
Late check-in for week 3 but my partner & I finally sat down to balance out grocery costs yesterday. We’re at a total of $357.25 for the whole month so far. That number feels big, but I’m used to just looking at my half of the expenses, so we’re on track. Meal planning is still mostly soup, but my partner has an appointment for more dental work tomorrow so we might be able to move out of the soup realm a bit for next week.
Early update this week since my plan for the weekend involves flinging myself down mountains (on skiis)…I’ll catch any buys this weekend in a final update next week, but as of now:
$40: Groceries, a couple fresh things to go into lunches for next week + supplies for easy to make/eat snacks for this weekend (peanut butter/bagels/bananas, tortillas/turkey/cheese) where leftovers can just carry over
$0: All other food, not a very interesting week this week
Sunday night: 1) some turkey sausage and 2) 3-4 partial baggies of peppers and onions (some storebought, some homegrown) used in enchiladas.
For the big meal for the week, I used 3) some frozen chicken, but I just bought it Saturday, so not much of a clean-out there. Chicken stew with root veggies, all fresh/long keepers. I did use up 4) all of a small container of bread yeast making bread to go with the stew and decanted some of my main store of yeast that lives low down in the deep freezer in a quart Mason jar into the little container (which also lives in the freezer but is disturbed much more often).
Then suddenly I had to pack up Wednesday night and drive to neighboring state right after work Thursday to help with a relative who’s now in hospice. I’m guessing husband has eaten food of some sort, and I’ve been subsisting on vending machines and hospital food.
less than $5 in tax. it’s a shorthand for me as to how I’m doing with purchasing ingredients, but I was surprised in checking what things don’t include tax (like my cheap coffee). one of the things which was taxed were the fattoush pita chips I’ve purchased to help me with the fava beans.
produce reflects that we haven’t been doubling down on mystery bags of produce. something about the crappy weather reducing my interest in walking 45 minutes each way to get fruits and veg that need to be addressed immediately.
we will be taking advantage of a sale on canned coconut milk this week. currently undecided on what category it goes into. I guess arguably condiment? or dairy? it isn’t a beverage really. shadowy one suggested produce.
I am shocked at the beverage costs. 10% of our grocery budget spent on caffeinated things.
We’re at $2,300 for the month. I’m happy with it, it was a good month with everyone home and I balanced take aways VS some new experiences and tired spending
Totally rocked this. Pantry is a lovely place right now. We added to it by putting up a new shelf above the fridge today so the whole kitchen is feeling very fresh and fancy.
I looked over my old stock spreadsheet today. I’ll print it tomorrow and consider this complete!
Overall very happy with how the month went and I’m feeling confident we can get spending lower or keep stable for the next few months.
This week we spent about $101. Ugh. So our total is about $472 for the month. Hopefully we can avoid going to the store again before February hits.
I did cook a few times, but strangely I am having a hard time remembering what I cooked, besides a chickpea dish. I think it was a rough week for meal planning. I did plan for the following week (and wrote it down) so hopefully it will be a more memorable one!
. Do you have any more? Maybe you could try again to toss some in with my Snackuary stickers if I finish all my check ins? I am so jealous of other people’s!