Wednesday 30 July 2014

How Little Can You Spend?

I am setting myself a challenge and I would like you to join me.

For the month of August I am going to see how little I can spend on groceries.  For me this includes everything that I would normally buy at the butcher, green grocer and supermarket.  This means almost all of the shopping I do.  As we buy our dog food and chicken food in bulk I know that we have enough to get us through the month.

I thought that following on from plastic free July it would be a good time to do this challenge as it means that because I have avoiding single use plastic in July I was not adding to my stock pile.  This means that going into this challenge I am relying on what I have on hand.
This is also a good time to give the pantry a good spring clean by using up the odds and ends that are floating around and the ingredients that I purchased on a whim for a special project/meal.
I know that I am going to have to get creative and we may be eating some interesting meals over the month, but I already have a good system going for menu planning which you can read about here, which should make it easier.


I do not expect that I will be able to go the entire month without shopping but I am hoping to keep it really limited.
The things I expect I will have to buy are: milk, some fruit, some veg, and a small amount of meat since our cow is still not in the freezer.
I find that it is really easy to get into the habit of shopping for things you like to eat instead of using up the things you already have on hand.  We do not have a lot ready for harvest in the veggie garden or orchard but if all I have to buy are a small amount of these items I will be very pleased.
Over the entire month of August I would like to spend less than $50 and hopefully less than $30.  But that is just for the two of us so your target amount might be bigger than mine.

I have left this post until right at the end of July because if you are going to join in you will not have time to stock up in advance as that is not what this is about.

So is anyone else up for the challenge?  
How little can you spend this month?  What will your target budget be?

2 comments:

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  2. hmmm will have to see if Pete is keen, this is something we should do though, have the butcher booked, so its time to empty the freezer!

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