February starts Monday and it is a nice neat tidy four week month with no lingering days since not leap a year. I decided this was a good month for a very bold Household and Grocery (H&G) budget challenge-aiming for under $350. I'm further challenging myself by deducting $22 for the cost of two pizza's I ordered and were delivered yesterday, from my great nieces for their dance booster club. These are 26 ounce pizzas so more than enough even with DH's pizza appetite, for a meal each. If you are not familiar with this brand, they started as a company that sold to bars and pubs, quick food items where no kitchen was needed and baked in pizza ovens I remember before they were available in stores, people would specifically plan a night out to include a stop at a bar that carried Heggie's.
Right from the get go then, I am probably aiming towards a grocery spend of $260, or on average $65 per week, for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for two people, and I'd like to add pantry items back to my stores as well. I don't want to deplete the freezer or pantry, even though I could be even lower if I do not restock. But I want to do both-low spend and restock. Take out meals will be separate, towards the combined entertainment and meals out budget. Regardless, I hope to whittle $250 from my on paper February budget.
- Meal planning
- Maximizing leftovers
- Increase plant based meals
- Stretch meat (I firmly believe American meat portions sizes are too large)
- Bake snacks-but don't over do this (I'm telling myself)
- Limit junk food/snacks (for my health goals as much as the budget)
- Portion control (for me-DH can eat as he wants)
- Add variety with new recipes/twists on the same old
What I don't plan is overdoing starchy meals and skimping on fruit and vegetables. I'm also not going to run to multiple stores to chase loss leaders either-likely this will be one large Aldi shop, and supplement only for fresh food, quick in and out. DH will want good football foods for the Super Bowl on February 7th and one of the pizza's will do for that, but will keep an eye to other affordable pub substitutes like haloumi grilled cheese (still have two blocks I'm rationing and they have fall best by dates), and homemade buffalo chicken strips. The Super Bowl is an event to put on the calendars in the dreary month of February and I'm taking advantage of it! I'm debating putting beer and seltzer on the H&G budget as we have neither in the house right now, or putting in the entertainment budget. We have plenty of other liquor though, several bottles of wine, prosecco, vodka, whiskey, and rum, so nobody fear I won't have my occasional indulgence. I'll figure out the alcohol rule as we go along.
Your thoughts? Is this more than enough or do you have visions of DH and I eating beans and rice every day or eating every crumb from the pantry? For reference, I converted the $65 to Canadian, UK, and Euro conversion rates as of 1/29/2021. I have a lovely smattering of readers in other places so would love to her your conversation and if you feel this is an adequate budget.
- Canada-Dollar 83.02
- UK-Pound 47.40
- Euro 53.55
With a well stocked pantry, I think you can do it. I agree with you about the meat. We have always had one or two meatless dinners a week but I'm trying to find new ideas to maybe stretch that to three or four. Or at least more dinners where the meat is a small ingredient.
ReplyDeleteWith the number of already prepared meals in the freezer and last month both doing a large ground beef and chicken buy, I think I will be close. Fruit and veg might be the biggest factor. Hello carrots!
DeleteGood luck with your challenge. As far as the euro shopping goes, you can at least double that €53 for two people for a week. I'm hitting about €120/week for me and my son and while I could bring it down a little I doubt it would go under €100!
ReplyDeleteOh, that is a lot, but I do recall France seeming more expensive than here, or what I recall in the UK. If I were a steak or seafood eater, or indulged D more often (I cook I choose0, we
Deleted spend a lot more.
As Lori says, the key is a well stocked pantry. I've just managed on £5.52 food for January and have eaten like a prince but everything came from the freezer! February will be amazingly higher.
ReplyDeleteI would say I am moderately stocked. I worry that I'll deplete it too far and do not want to do that.
DeleteSounds good Sam and I definitely think you can do it! I have been doing at least one meatless meal a week, and usually a second night of leftovers as well. Cutting starches is definitely a good idea as far as your health goals go and of course lots of fresh fruits and veggies are always so healthy and delicious. I'll be working on my menu plan later today planning around what I still have on hand. I'm hoping to make it through the first week of the month before having to go grocery shopping again.
ReplyDeleteFruits and veg will be the wild cards-I am not opposed to frozen though of either if the fresh are just too much. We may be etig a lot of carrots
DeleteI think you can depending in your pantry. I'll post tomorrow or Monday and review the meals.my goal is very similar bit it's often as chesp.to cook for two or three as it is for one. Unfortunately I tend do be a regular fail on the meat cutting side.
ReplyDeleteI made two chicken thighs stretch to three fajitas-and it was plenty to fill us both up-he had two and I one. Adding mushrooms and the grated carrots to my bolognese stretched that out to a whole extra meal, so I will relay on those tricks to add more veg and less meat.
DeleteIf your pantry is stocked, I think that is more than enough. I can manage to feed all of us on $65/week (4 teenagers) on that. Again, it really depends on the state of your pantry/freezers, though, so I'm not sure if my saying I can do it on $65/week is accurate, as my larders are quite full--some weeks I might spend 3 times that because of amazing sales on, say, beef, other weeks, I don't step foot in a store, (particularly now that I don't drive past the stores on the way home from the school drop off.) I am doing a hard pantry challenge in February month--nothing other than eggs are to be purchased unless it is a HUGE sale, that is to say, something like $3.99/lb. New York strip steaks. So, I won't be heading to the stores for an odd item, or even to chase a less than once-a-year-stellar sale.
ReplyDeleteJust like last month, I won't pass on great prices like buying twice as much gerund beef and chicken as I needed. It does make a difference not starting from bare shelves.
DeleteSounds tight, but like a fun challenge!
ReplyDeleteIt will be-especially cutting back on starches, whihc is hard as I love my potatoes, pasta, and rice, and veg and fruit will be more. I'll still have those things in every meal likely, but not relaying on just them as fillers, but more ingredients and hope veg is souble portions.
DeleteI think beans/rice would get tiresome after awhile unless they are fancied-up
ReplyDeleteI do as well-so far just have beans planned as a side for one day, but have a few days of rice-fancied up.
DeleteAfter my Costco run tomorrow I should be well enough stocked to better plan and set a reasonable monthly goal. But I think you can do it!
ReplyDeleteI do as well-but it is a self imposed challenge and I have the luxury of failing.
DeleteI am thinking of doing a pantry challenge next month as I have some hefty bills due. I wish we had an Aldi here I would not have to chase loss leaders.
ReplyDeleteIt's just not safe in my part of the country to be entering and exiting a lot of stores, even with lower capacity. I can get in and out of Aldi in 30 minutes for a big shop.
DeleteIt sounds like you have all contingencies covered. I don't like to be bound by rules that are so strict i cannot use a good sale to stock up. I spend ~$200 each month for the two of us. If we drank or fed animals, I am sure t would be more.
ReplyDeleteYes, my rules so nothing strict about them.
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