Okay, here’s my first challenge. Normally I budget $400 – $450 each month for groceries. This includes food items as well as other necessities (paper products, health and bath essentials) and some baby items. I generally try to keep the baby stuff separate and monitor that spending in it’s own budget category but sometimes if I’m buying groceries and pick up some extra jars of baby food I just roll it into the regular grocery budget because I’m not that meticulous of a detail keeper.
This afternoon, I got home from work and reorganized the pantry. HOLY COW! I’ve got more creamed corn than we can eat in a month. I’ve got every kind of canned vegetable, boxed dinner, and side dish known to man! I fault myself because sometimes I don’t plan my grocery list very well. I’ll get to the store and not know if I’m missing a basic staple (like creamed corn, for instance) so I’ll grab one or two just in case. While at home I actually have one or two or five cans collecting dust in the back of the pantry.
So, anyway, now I know what is in the back of the pantry (and the back of the fridge and the back of the freezer…)
We leave for the beach two weeks from tomorrow for 5 days.
My challenge to myself is this:
Until we get back from the beach I will buy NOTHING that goes in the pantry.
I will also try not to buy any MEATS until then either. But that may not be possible. But I should be able to go at least a week without buying any meat.
Of course, over the next two weeks I will have to buy perishables, milk, eggs, fresh veggies, etc.
But for the most part over the next two weeks I will PLAN meals around what is already in my pantry. If I can get us by until we get back from the beach without buying groceries I could possibly cut our grocery bill by $200 this month!
I will update on my progress!
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