I’ve been thinking about doing this for years. Pretty much ever since I started blogging, I’ve wanted to really focus and do a month long grocery challenge. I’d been thinking about doing it again, and this time I was getting closer to actually doing it. I was going back and forth until this last week. I have a few online communities that I am a part of, and in pretty much every single one, this last week, there have been numerous cries from people who are trying to feed their families with less money. And I mean numerous cries. Some people want to eat healthier while on a budget, some people want the cheapest meals out there, some people want a nice balance of the two.
But one thing is constant, Grocery prices have been rising steadily these last two years, and I know we’re not the only ones trying to make do with less. I clearly remember when Abigail was an infant, existing solely on formula and baby cereal that I could grocery shop for Andy and I for an entire week with $40. I can’t even imagine being able to do that today- and that was only ten years ago. These days, every time I try to keep my grocery shopping under a certain amount, I fail miserably. Unless I do one simple thing- I only take to the grocery store what I intend to spend. Meaning, no checkbook, no debit card, no extra cash just in case. If I mean to make a trip to the store and only spend $30, I only take $30. It’s amazing how you suddenly find the willpower to put something back, or to reach for that coupon someone left behind.
In a perfect world, I really wanted to do a grocery challenge that took into account that many families out there rely solely on food stamps and WIC to feed their families. The trouble with that is that the amounts people receive for both varies greatly. It depends on income, family size, what state you’re in, whether someone is a student, etc, and I have no experience with WIC whatsoever, so I couldn’t even speculate how to work that in. That’s how I’ve envisioned doing this challenge all these years, but I think I’ve found a bit of a compromise.
After doing a bit of research, according to the state of Wisconsin, the average food stamp benefit to a two-adult home is $384 per month. Now, I know that goes drastically up and down, with the smallest benefit being just $16 a month. But $384 seemed workable to me in my head. For a family of four that works out to $96 per person for the month, or just $3.10 per day, per person for a month like January where there are 31 days. For one family of four then, we have just $12.38 for one day’s worth of food. Multiplying one more time for four people over a seven day week, we come up with the grand total of $86.70.
For the month of January, I am going to be doing something completely different. Taking inspiration from a few bloggers I follow, I’m going to combine a few challenges into one. First off, my grocery dollar limit for one week for my family is going to be just $82. When I do my grocery shopping, I will set out all the groceries and snap a photo- which I will share on the blog. Of course, planning to grocery shop with that amount, I’ll have to be doing some serious menu planning- and I’ll be sharing that as well. The eighty-two dollars will be just for food only. It doesn’t include any paper products, household goods or dining out.
One of the things that inspired me to give this a try was a website called Hillbilly Housewife. Once upon a time they had shared an emergency menu that added up to just $45 for a family for a week. Over the years, prices have inflated, and I think the most recent version is up to $70 for one week.( It would be interesting to see how the prices are now, a few more years later) The thing about that menu though, is that many of the suggestions on it just weren’t realistic for my family. There were menu items like creamed tuna and peas on toast. Inexpensive, yes, tasty, no. Suggested beverages were reconstituted powdered milk and iced tea for the whole family. For one thing, powdered milk in my neck of the woods is not inexpensive. I needed to buy some for Andy’s morning oatmeal and I was surprised how pricey it was. There aren’t any savings to be had here by skipping the fresh milk.
Here is a link to their $45 Emergency Menu.
And here is a link to the $70 Emergency Menu.
So what is the point of all this rambling, and why am I crunching our grocery budget so? The point is that I do it all the time. I can go weeks without stepping foot in a grocery store. I can take $25 to the grocery store and buy what I need to turn what I already have in the pantry into substantial meals for my family. But there are plenty of people who don’t know how to do anything different than what they’ve always done. Obviously, doing it my way requires a lot (and I mean a lot!) of scratch cooking. As much as possible, I’m going to link my weekly menus to recipes, and where I don’t have recipes, I’m going to try to take the time to get them down on paper.
There are no real rules to this challenge, other than sticking to the $82 per week amount. And that’s $82 without extreme couponing. I admire people who have the time and inclination to do such a thing. I don’t. Now, I may find myself using a coupon or two, but I’m not going to go all extreme. The point here is to make it do-able for the average person. I’m going to try and get my grocery shopping done on Mondays, as that is the day I have the most time in the afternoon. My weekly menus will list specific dinners, and then one or two lunch options for the week, and one or two breakfast options for the week. Maybe three if I feel so inclined. There may be the occasional “forbidden” food on the menu, like this week we have packaged chicken nuggets floating around. They make an appearance just once or twice a year, and almost always at lunch time. I will only grocery shop at regular grocery stores. No discount stores like Aldi, or dollar stores. I won’t be grocery shopping at Wal-Mart, but only because I don’t grocery shop there anyway. For many people, that may very well be the best option for them. For me, I live in a lovely grocery store area with several to choose from- and that’s where I will do all of my shopping.
My $82 will not take into account what I already have on hand, which actually isn’t a whole lot compared to years past. Our freezer has very little meat or frozen fruit in it, but I was quite successful with canning this year, and have plenty of salsas, jams, and other preserves to brighten up a meal with. My spice cabinet is loaded, but I do foresee needing to pick up a few things over the month, as well as adding to the condiments I have on hand too. Fortunately, being the end of the holiday season, we have plenty of cookies and sweets floating around that any kind of baking in that regard won’t really be happening, so my grocery dollar will go much further than if I’d tried this challenge in December, or even November. In an instance where I count on something I already have preserved or on hand (like a jar of pickles, or frozen pumpkin puree) I’m going to try and put a note with my menu/shopping report how much that item would have cost had I needed to purchase it.
It will be fun to be challenged, it will definitely be interesting, but most importantly, I hope it’s at least a little inspiring. There are so many people in our country alone who are struggling to feed their families. To some people, $82 would be like a fortune for them in the grocery store. It’s nothing for me to spend double the $82 for one week of groceries for my family. That’s the normal, actually. So to try and keep it at a minimum, keep it delicious, and healthful all at the same time… well, this is going to be interesting.
Looking forward to it!