$24 grocery trip
$8.50 concessions at open skate (a special occasion since Larva was trying out her new skates and that was dinner)
$47 grocery trip (and $11 for cat litter from cat budget)
$2 using up the last of the gas station gift card
(I was so proud getting this balance down to $0.01 and pitching the card for wallet space)
$2 for hot chocolate at a hockey game (Larvaās choice, and money out of her wallet)
$44 at a restaurant (using up some gift cards Iāve had since she was born 4 years ago, found during a declutter, and a nice treat we havenāt done in ages)
Week 4 check-in. Groceries this week were $97.81 and $52 of that was for gluten free substitutes of things that are cheaper with gluten.
Iām SUPER annoyed though, because there was a whole debacle involving an instacart shopper who argued with me and bought the wrong GF meatballs and I paid $12 more than I should have and got a full pound less than I should have, if he had just bought what I ordered, which was on super sale and I was trying to stock up on.
That was the last grocery shop for the month, so it brings the grocery total to $758.81 and the GF alternative total to $192.28
Woof the conference didnāt help with food spending! I canāt say my cost for sure because I wonāt know what my job will cover with per diem until they get back to me about receipts. Even if they donāt though, I was pretty careful to make lower cost choices. I did go over on eating out because I took a friend out for a really nice dinner as a thank you for letting me crash at his place.
Iām still under on groceries but I think we might need to do one more small run, so Iām guessing Iāll be a little over by the 31st.
Almost forgot for this week. Change of plans last week meant that I didnāt end up hosting cooking club* (friend ended up with some extra tickets to a dinner theatre so we did that instead), and since Iām leaving on vacation shortly I ended up throwing all of the vegetables I had into a roasting pan with some sausages as food before I go+to use up leftovers. Although there are still some onions and potatoes that Iāll tell the person checking on the house to grab if he wants. Technically spent $35 at the grocery store, but most of that was restocking band aids/blister pads/random travel medications just to be safe.
*cooking club is a group of us who all used to be single and would get together once a week at someoneās house for a shared meal that was fancier/different than weād usually make (mostly because we all did batch cooking and by day 4 it gets old). By now several people have gotten married and there are some kids in the mix so if everyone is involved itās a pretty big group, but when itās my place itās usually not everyone who plans to come justt because I just donāt have the room either in the kitchen or for eating.
I bought a donut while out, conveniently completely forgetting I am not eating dairy until the second I finished the donut. Because addictions are very clever.
Update. Iām going until the 31st, when Iāll post a final tally.
Eat out of Fridge/freezers - finished all the prepared meals. Cookies are gone! Still lots of food there, but thatās for the rest of this winter.
Stay under $75 CAD/week for 2 seniors for groceries. - So far weāve spent $151 CAD. We have eaten out a bit, with company surprising us with a visit, but Iām guessing it was under $100.
Eat more protein and fewer carbs. - I concentrated on including a protein in every B, L and S. What resulted was a decreased need to snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon. I wish I could say that resulted in me losing weight, but it didnāt. Too much food in general, with company here. Theyāve left now. Iām eating light the next two days. Iāll get on the weigh scale Wednesday morning. To get another baseline weight.
I realized that I should have also tracked āfood we used up that we often toss the last ofā - like I successfully used up the scraps of a bag of tortilla chips today, or the last potatoes of a 5lb bag before they grew too many eyes.
the last few potatoes is such a thing. congratulations
This morning I decided to use one of those little foil covered containers of jam that you get at diners. Apparently those arenāt air tight, and the jam can get very sticky & non spreadable. TIL.
Week 4 update: I accomplished my goal of eating more beans and new bean recipes!
I probably did not save actual money because the new recipes I chose both called for fresh herbs, but they sure were tasty and both were vegetarian. My children, of course, declined to try them.
Roasted a 3+ lb. chicken for supper. I accidentally put the wrong spice mix on itā¦and then topped it with the right one. It turned out great! Now if I could only remember what I put in the first mixture and what it was forā¦.
Weāll be eating chicken for days! Weāre happy. I wonāt have to cook much and Hubby liked it.
Final checkin since Iām about to get on a plane and leave the country for a bit, nothing additional bought and the remains in the fridge that wonāt survive until I get back are going to the house sitter.
Surprisingly easy month as far as low spending, partly because of pantry and partly because a couple times stuff would have cost money plans changed, so will probably continue the pantry/frozen food eat down through at least Feb.
Guess weāre buying mozzarella cheese to make Hawaiian pizza tonight. Unexpected company coming tonight. Hmmmā¦thinking we might finish the chicken tomorrow evening. Then make chicken stock for the freezer.
Freezers and pantry are looking leaner. Fridge is definitely looking emptier. Cupboards are about the same, but I was able to move all the dried herbs and food off the kitchen counters into those cupboards, so something was used up! That is good!
The cheese today will ring in at about $10 CAD. That will be about $160 for groceries for 2 seniors this past month. Dining out and take out food $150. We bought cheesecake twice for 4 people at $28 each time. Then a nice supper out for us for $50. And a fish ān chips take out dinner with our niece for $40.
Thatās a total of $310 CAD for food. Not bad. We do not take dining out and take out food from our grocery budget. It has its own category. Considering the company we had, this is really good. We normally budget $500/mth for food. Weāll see if we need to keep some in reserve for produce to can and to stock up on meat later this year.
My big bugbear was upping protein and lowering carbs. I tried to introduce protein into every meal. But I found it difficult and time consuming to figure out if I was getting a healthy protein or not. I cut back on carbs okay, but upped vegetablesā¦which are carbs. I think I still have a ways to go with this particular goal.
All in all, a successful Snackuary 2025! Thank-you for organizing it!
Final Check-in!
Total groceries for the week: 104,83$
For a grand total of: 440,06$
I went to the grocery store 3 times this week.
Iām under budget for the month so yay, but I aim for a ~300$ ish month eventually.
Conclusion: I really liked Snackuary! It made me realize that I treat grocery stores like convenient stores. Going multiple times per week is really what kills my budget. Also planning more meticulously will help too. I would cook and freeze meals then forget to buy snacks, then Iām hungry at snack time and then I have to go to the grocery store mid week and will buy snacks+ other stuff.
I will continue the challenge on my own for february since I really want to bring my food costs down! Will also do a Ā« Vegruary Ā« (veganuary in february lol)
still no inventory and I am officially giving up on getting this done. there is lots of food, there, thatās my inventory.
