- Getting started on a tight budget isn't the most fun thing in the world and you may feel the temptation to buy premade frozen meals, because you can get a bigger variety for about the same money, but it quickly pays off to buy the ingredients.
- Our first week was pretty slim, my kids were not pleased that I wouldn't allow them to go pick whatever food they wanted from our food storage because they were less than thrilled by their options.
- By the second week, I was able to afford a bag of pretzels for them and whole wheat flour to make a more filing bread, so we didn't plow through all of the jam again.
- The third week was a comfortable week. I was able to budget over $20 towards meat even though a power outage at Aldi forced me to do all of my shopping at Kroger.
- Week 4 could have been a completely typical week for my family had I not purchased so much for a Thanksgiving feast.
- Food storage is incredibly important. On shopping day for week 3, we had a snow day and a closed grocery store.
- Normally on a snow day, I would have just stayed home and waited to go to the grocery, but the terms of the experiment required that I go to the store or make dinner using only leftover ingredients from weeks 1 and 2.
- Technically I could have figured something out, but we were pretty much looking at bread and pasta with chili tomatoes.
- Pulling up to the deserted Aldi parking lot was a reminder that just because we have money and want to buy something doesn't mean we can have the opportunity. Had Kroger been closed, the experiment would have dictated that I go home empty handed. Not everyone has several grocery stores nearby to choose from.
- Planning ahead is key. I already mentioned it in week 3, but sometimes the only way to fit a big celebration into the budget is to think ahead.
- I kept each week at or under $75, so when the fourth week which was also Thanksgiving rolled around, I had an over $10 leftover to add to that week's $75.
- I gradually stocked up on butter when I found it at a good price, because I knew I'd need a lot for Thanksgiving. Had I really been thinking ahead, I would have purchased some of the shelf-stable holiday items earlier on, but no one's perfect, right?
- I budgeted for the turkey in week 3 to give it enough time to thaw, had I waited until week of it may have been harder to get the size I wanted or to have it thawed in time.
Could your family eat for 4 weeks on just $300?
Awesome! That is more than a relief. At the very least, what that could do is to encourage thriftiness some more, by making such a prospect within the realm of possibility. Budget pegs can be quite daunting, but a lot of that has to do with stigma, given what is expected of us sometimes, as far as spending is concerned. However, I believe everything can be demystified by getting through the nuts and bolts of building the budget in the first place. Thanks for sharing that! All the best!
ReplyDeleteHerman Thompson @ AccountAbility Plus