Pantry Challenge / Freezer Challenge Failure #1
Ooopsy. Well, guys...we're only 3 days into the month & I already goofed.
It's nothing big. It's nothing irreversible, yet it was an avoidable mistake and a good lesson learned.
During our pantry/freezer challenge we are aiming to spend only $20 + tax on perishables each week. My first grocery haul totaled $5.99 before tax which is great. We got fresh foods that will brighten up our frozen and pantry items.
However...I didn't get the best bang for my buck. Here's what we got:
See those 2 tiny containers of blueberries at the top? They were an awesome price. They were only 98 cents per container which is usually my "stock-up-like-a-maniac" price! However, I should've passed on them this month. Why? Because they lack volume. They won't fill us up. We could easily each gobble up a whole container as a snack.
Instead, I should have opted for a bulkier fruit like the apples and pears that were 98 cents/lb or the bananas that were 44 cents/lb. They would have filled our bellies much better than these tiny berries will.
But that's OK! This is by no means a catastrophic failure. It's just a reminder of HOW I need to start shopping. Just because something is a good deal, doesn't mean it's the BEST deal.
In addition to focusing on price, I need to be aware of an item's volume, nutritional value, and versatility!
Our next haul was $10.18 pre tax and contained:
-- hot dog and hamburger buns (we're having friends over for lunch this weekend and will serve burgers and dogs and potato salad...hopefully they won't be able to tell we're feeding them on such a tight budget...but if they can, they won't mind. They're used to our weirdness and love us anyway!)
-- 8 lbs of navel oranges
-- 2 half gallons of organic almond milk
We will be keeping plenty of fresh fruit on-hand to keep morale in-tact for my hubby and kids. The almond milk will help us blow through the random boxes of cereal that I have found on clearance over the past few months. It'll also serve as my coffee creamer and will be used in recipes because we don't buy the sweetened or flavored kind.
So far, so good!
Happy Saving, y'all!
It's nothing big. It's nothing irreversible, yet it was an avoidable mistake and a good lesson learned.
During our pantry/freezer challenge we are aiming to spend only $20 + tax on perishables each week. My first grocery haul totaled $5.99 before tax which is great. We got fresh foods that will brighten up our frozen and pantry items.
However...I didn't get the best bang for my buck. Here's what we got:
Instead, I should have opted for a bulkier fruit like the apples and pears that were 98 cents/lb or the bananas that were 44 cents/lb. They would have filled our bellies much better than these tiny berries will.
But that's OK! This is by no means a catastrophic failure. It's just a reminder of HOW I need to start shopping. Just because something is a good deal, doesn't mean it's the BEST deal.
In addition to focusing on price, I need to be aware of an item's volume, nutritional value, and versatility!
Our next haul was $10.18 pre tax and contained:
-- hot dog and hamburger buns (we're having friends over for lunch this weekend and will serve burgers and dogs and potato salad...hopefully they won't be able to tell we're feeding them on such a tight budget...but if they can, they won't mind. They're used to our weirdness and love us anyway!)
-- 8 lbs of navel oranges
-- 2 half gallons of organic almond milk
We will be keeping plenty of fresh fruit on-hand to keep morale in-tact for my hubby and kids. The almond milk will help us blow through the random boxes of cereal that I have found on clearance over the past few months. It'll also serve as my coffee creamer and will be used in recipes because we don't buy the sweetened or flavored kind.
So far, so good!
Happy Saving, y'all!
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