Well … December’s over and we’re on to a new year!
We spent $10.10 this last week, bringing our December pantry challenge total to $68.80.
Toward the end of the month, it got a little tough–we ate ground beef about five nights in a row, squash every night and usually potatoes too.
I think that in the future, I might choose to do a pantry challenge when everything is less busy–work, family, holidays and an unexpected road trip added to the challenge of regular updates and posts.
I did, today, head to the store and spend $180 on groceries and supplements: I had a huge craving for wild-caught salmon. Still, I’m considering how valuable shopping out of the pantry has been over the course of December, and, truthfully, our pantry is still filled to sustain us much, much further.
On another note, I’ll be compiling posts from participants over the next few days so that we can poll readers and get those vintage cookbooks out and into your hands!
So, how did it all end for you?
I did good at the beginning of the month, but bombed at the end. I feel like I should have done MUCH better and there really were no excuses why I did, haha.
I spent a lot of extra money on baking supplies for the holidays. And some more spur of the moment meals because we were so busy.
Our total for the month, was a little under $400, including all our household items too. I would guess around $300 for food though. Not awful I guess, about 1/2 of what we normally spend.
I also did very poorly on updating. Was just too busy I guess. I’m sorry, I stink, haha! I’ll do better next time around
I’m gonna do this again this month, I think I’ll do much much better. Plus we should be getting a whole hog in about a week.
Erica´s last post: Goals For 2009.
Love your new look. We didn’t fair so well and ended up breaking down and grocery shopping in the middle of December. We needed to since we hadn’t prepared well enough to feed our family for 2 months.
Shannon´s last post: A few notes….
TOTALLY MOTIVATED. That’s how it ended for me. We spent around $75 (I don’t have the exact figure with me)and I am really surprised that it worked.
Having just stocked up for January, I must tell you that I had such a better handle on how to plan for the month, after the pantry challenge. I don’t know why, but other times I’ve tried planning and shopping for a month– it hasn’t worked. I’ve always had the hardest time staying within a budget. But this time I did it! At least much more closely than before. I spent $147 for two of us, and that will get us mostly through the month. To be honest, I’m not sure WHAT our typical grocery/eating out spending has been before now. Sure has been more than $147…
Thank you for challenging me in December, so that in the months to come, we’ll be in better control of our food planning and spending (rather then the other way around)!
Well…. I’ll just say it straight: I sucked at this!
I tried & had grand intentions of success, I think you’re right, about the Holidays being a bad time to try this, especially the first time. I knew it would be tough, and although I did not do as much baking this year as I usually do, it was still very difficult to not spend money on the ‘special’ foods everyone expects over the holidays…fresh Turkey, Ham, Apple Cider, etc…
I learned A LOT about myself & my habits in the process of trying though, and to me, at least, that counts for somethin’.
Now I have some clear goals for myself, my pantry, fridge & freezer in 2009!
So thank you for the idea, the challenge, the motivation & mostly for the encouragement! Stay tuned to my blog, as I plan to chronicle my progress in these areas.
erin´s last post: My Fridge.
Well, we did GREAT until two days before Christmas. We were at $56 for the month, then we got snowed in for a week (which means, we got a bit of snow and the city of Portland shut down). I would’ve been been okay, if I had been able to go pick up my online order at New Seasons (a local natural food store chain) myself. Our neighborhood was impassable, though, so I enlisted a neighbor with an SUV to drive me to pick up our provisions for Christmas Eve/Day, which totaled just under $80 and would have put us less than $20 over budget for the month. Well, my neighbor had never been in a natural food store before and I felt obliged to show her around…and spend another $100!! This is one of my #1 reasons for grocery shopping online, in bulk and avoiding that wonderful store. It’s a money pit for me.
So, now, I’ve placed my order at Azure for month, stocking up on a few big things like Rapadura and coconut oil, but I’m going to try again to stick with the $30/week budget for the rest of the month. I am glad we did the challenge, even if I totally blew it!