Project: Food Budget (Week #4)

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Hey, food budget fans! Week 3 was a tough one. In my last post, I was at $120 for the week, and I was at a loss as to what we would eat over the weekend. We went out to dinner at a little fish place on Friday. We were a bit surprised to leave $50 lighter. Ouch. I was determined to not head back to the grocery store, so I opened the cupboard and turned on the creativity. On Saturday, we did a breakfast supper. I made these pancakes using ingredients we had in the house and a big batch of scrambled eggs. We had only a drip of maple syrup on hand, so I defrosted some frozen blueberries and made an impromptu compote. The boys thought this was the greatest supper ever! On Sunday, I made spaghetti with items we already had. So $170 for the week. Not great, but I was really proud of us for not going out to eat for two full weeks (ignoring the quickie drive-through run last Wednesday).

This week I spent $108 on groceries. I will have to return for some drinks to take to a pot luck on Friday night. My $108 includes two splurges: real maple syrup ($4.99) and Breyers ice cream ($5.99 BOGO). Here is our menu for the week:

Monday: Chicken stir-fry with brown rice

Tuesday: Egg salad on yummy bakery rolls, cantaloupe, and homemade oven fries

Wednesday: Dinner at church ($8)

Thursday: Roast beef subs and white bean salad

Friday: {Pot luck}, bringing beverages

Saturday: Baked ziti

Sunday: Fried fish, mixed veggies, and brown rice

Week 1 ($168) + Week 2 ($90) + Week 3 ($170) + Week 4 ($108 + $8) = $544

After a month of being mindful of my food budget, I came in $56 under budget. I’m pleased, but my goal is $400 per month. I’m $144 over. I’ve got 48 weeks left to accomplish my goal.

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3 thoughts on “Project: Food Budget (Week #4)”

Good for you Erica. For the past month I have had to work some of my own magic too with food budget along with coupons…had to strech little $ into something. I focused on the boys and got what they needed and myself ate cheap japenese noodles and cabbage ( I have made many a meal with cabbage and some other ingredient I found….rice or beans or leftover meat etc…..for greg lots of chef boyardee, tuna sandwhiches. Or his favorite homeade past fajoli (very cheap but I wont touch it. yuck lol) When the budget allowes we make chicken fajitas… we make a batch that lasts 3 days. yum, I am big fan of chickpeas great sorce of protein when we cant afford a meat meal.

October 27, 2011 at 11:25 am Reply

You will get there! I think the first month is the hardest because you really start to understand where your funds are going. But, improvision is key, and for what it’s worth, I love breakfast for dinner too!

October 27, 2011 at 11:30 am Reply