I think the main thing Iām realizing this year is that I want to feel ok about spending more on food now than I have in the past? I feel like thatās the opposite of what Iām supposed to decide in Snackuary, and I know Iām so, so fortunate to be in a situation where I can afford to do that. That has definitely not always been the case, and for years being able to cook for a week with a small budget was a big source of pride for me. Iām always preparing myself to be ready to go back to that scarcity situation, but for now Iām so lucky things arenāt scarce so I want to really enjoy my food, especially groceries.
Meal planning has been going fantastically. We tried a new recipe this week that my husband loved, but I didnāt care for. But still a good thing to try! Iāve got another new recipe ready for next week and lots of simple plans for other meals. Iām also away at a conference for a chunk of next week so Iām planning to buy some things to bring along so I donāt have to eat out every meal while Iām on the other side of the country.
Groceries: $236/300 (Iām going to move money around to increase this to $350)
Eating out: $262/400
My conference meals out will hopefully be covered by my job (weāll see) so I donāt think the word trip will push me over the edge?
Week 3 check-in!
Total groceries week 3: 65,18$
Total so far: 256,11$
My averaged weekly costs are less than my budgeted 100$/week, which Iām pretty pleased with.
Iām eating down the freezer, so last week I was in Soup mode with vegan grilled cheese. I think Iāll have to throw out the last slice of vegan cheese It was in my fridge for a while, and my last grilled cheese tasted funny, I couldnāt finish it. My soup is delicious though! Itās an improvised leftovers soup so I didnāt follow a recipe.
down to two prepared meals in the freezers. Still have plenty of food though. Iām going to have to start cooking again.
total spent on groceries so far this month = ~ $115 CAD.
I was doing well reducing carbs, but we both like sweets entirely too much. I blew it and purchased 2 slices of prepared New York cheesecake (pistachio and wild berry) yesterday. Hubby bought 2 pieces too. We ate cheesecake for snack and supper! Totally uncalled for. Sugar addiction is realā¦
Updated my food spending tracker just now. (Sitting at $322 spent so far, with $127 left in the budget. Feeling ok about it.) I misplaced my paper planner while cleaning earlier this week, so Iāll need to find and update that before the weekend ends.
Behind on my category tracking but Iāve managed to write down all my cash transactions at least Monday was also a no food spend day
No surprise tea discoveries this week. Iāve been tracking what I drink, used up one baggie of loose leaf tea last Tuesday
Didnāt commit to tracking this but just want to note I got food delivery 2x this month (should compare to last yearās trends) and kind of want to track days with no takeout/restaurant spend. Iāve noticed a slight decrease in cold drink orders and coffee shop hangouts
Finally spent a good chunk of time food prepping over the weekend! And then we had plans/went out to eat both Friday and Saturday so none of it has been eaten yet whoops
Most of this was made with the plan of putting together burrito bowls for a few meals this week;
Soaked and cooked black beans
Roasted and shredded chicken
Cooked rice
Made pico de gallo with what I thought were tomatillos when I bought them but are actually cape gooseberries? That one was an experiment
Roasted sweet potatoes
Made salad with a bunch of cucumbers leftover from hosting last weekend
Still on track for the eating out goal
failed on the 2nd one, had a bag of chips and a danish last week
Good on the third one, used up the other half of the shrimps. Some pork is simmering in a stew while I am writing. Will be dinner today and two portions for the freezer.
Doing well on the pantry eat down challenge but honestly we really have an awful lot of stuff in the pantry so it hasnāt been too much of a hardship since we can still buy fresh foods. Biggest adjustment is eating flour toritllas instead of corn for breakfast tacos.
We do need to figure out how to eat down the various grains we have. We need to start making more quinoa instead of rice.
This month Iāve spent $27.48 on groceries, all fresh foods.
I think I need to slightly shift my focus from eating down the freezer & pantry (which I think has been mostly going well) to using up the condiments. So decide on the condiment, then figure out what from the freezer or pantry can be used in conjunction with it.
We got turnips and parsnips in the produce box, and I made a root veg mash as part of yesterdayās dinner, so I think for tomorrow I can make a bubble and squeak fritter thing and use up the last of the sweet chili sauce.
Iāve consolidated the triple crunch mustard with the maple mustard dressing, and that is almost complete.
$100 spent - hoping this is my last big shop of the month. Will need to get more eggs and half and half before January is out but hopefully thatās it.
Lots of pantry cooking this week. Used up broth and a bag of dumplings from the freezer. Still need to sort through the fridge!
Weekly shopāeggs, cheese, tortillas (the last time I tried to make tortillas myself the āabout 10ā recipe gave me 30 mangled things, and at this point I accept spending ~$3 for a bag of 8" tortillas of actual tortilla formation and consistency), plus a couple apples and scratch-and-dent citrus fruits for a total of $19.97. Also used up some Uber cash to pick up a pizza from <fancy place> since itās only a block from the grocery store, so $5 actual cash for the tip.
Non-breakfast meals this week will be chili since itās negative degrees out and Iāve got plenty of dried/canned beans on hand to do a five-bean mix, and I think Iāll do saffron risotto for cooking club this week, although Iāll have to swing by the other grocery store at some point before then and see if theyāve got some decent-looking vegetables to go with as a side. For some reason the only green vegetables left at the store today were zucchinis, and they didnāt look great.
We might have to continue the pantry challenge past January at this rate. Spending only $27 on groceries half way through the month is nice, although the Ramit Sethi voice in my head is saying we have enough money to not worry about how much we spend on groceries.
Cook dinner 3x/week: Accomplished, although one of these nights was an incident involving rancid rice so the dinner was not eaten.
Donāt buy booze for the home: Accomplished.
Always stick to the list: Did OK on this, better than last week.
Overall spending: honestly Iām a little overwhelmed with figuring this out. Read if youāre bored.
Summary
There are several variables at play.
There was a kidās birthday so I spent more at the grocery store buying party stuff, and I didnāt want to count those in the overal total, but now looking back I forget which transactions those were.
My husband has done some spontaneous shopping on my behalf (doing well sticking to the list, too). But for whatever reason itās just been more trips. AND those trips arenāt logged in my YNAB so I have to see the receipt and keep those numbers handy when I add it up. I donāt have access to his credit card transactions so it still feels very much like thereās his spending and my spending.
Iām also feeling like I STILL donāt know what is a reasonable amount to expect our family to spend on groceries. On the one hand, I want to be frugal, and I want to have a picture of the lower end of what we can spend. But a one-month picture is not always accurate, because of things like Costco diapers (which we donāt buy every month), and special occasions, and on and on. Iām actually very stressed about it and on my Costco trip this month, I found myself not wanting to buy stuff that we always use (chicken stock, etc) because it would be a big one-time expense and ruin my Snackuary predictions. I donāt think Snackuary was intended to make me freak out about this stuff. The point is, I really am watching what I spend, and I really am making an effort, and weāre living paycheck to paycheck but weāre not so broke that I canāt make the logical purchases that I KNOW we will use. Not buying Costco diapers, and then having to buy more expensive diapers at the smaller store later, doesnāt do me favors.
Oh, and it doesnāt help that I feel like Iām the only one in my household thinking about thisā¦ I can be nicer to myself tho
Total spent at grocery stores this month so far, including all factors mentioned above: $467.87. This is almost at my limit of $475 for the month. This will be breached soon. Maybe I should give myself an extra $100 allowance for birthday reasons.
I think the birthday party is a totally separate mental budget and if you canāt track it down, round it to $100 and increase total budget.
FWIW, i track things like household goods and party foods separate than groceries - just because I hate that kinda of stressor. But also some months are absolutely higher than others - the goal isnāt to stick to X amount per month/week but an average overall. The goal in budgeting, IMO, is not to waste money but not to stress over arbitrary goals but introduce less stress overall to my life
Thanks for the validation! It would have helped to split those expenses so all those non-grocery items donāt pop up under grocery. And thatās a good reminder re: stress. Lots of recovering perfectionist tendencies (āam I doing it right,ā etc)
Currently ignoring my eating out total. Yeah. Itās been a very stressful month and Iām just trying to make it through.
My groceries so far: $99. And that includes $30 for dog food and $20 for olive oil. Daisy June Dagger Paws encouraged me to save money by just feeding her from the freezer, but I chose to buy some dog food to make sure she was getting a balanced diet. This is her in my bed. With a jar of PB.
It was in my fridge for a while, and my last grilled cheese tasted funny, I couldnāt finish it. My soup is delicious though! Itās an improvised leftovers soup so I didnāt follow a recipe.
Monday was also a no food spend day
