So for those of you who took the grocery challenge this year, here are my updated numbers:
2011 Grocery Budget Goal: $3600 ($300 a month)
Year to Date spent: $2357.12
Remaining budget: $1242.88
I know it looks like I am way over budget--but it will even out by the end of the year. First, $200 of this was party expenses--which I budgeted for separately, so technically I could deduct that amount, but I wanted to leave it in for now to just to show the numbers (plus we had a nice amount of leftovers which has already provided us several meals this week).
Secondly, my freezer is well stocked in meat--a while back I was able to pick up boneless, skinless chicken breast for $1.60 a lb, so I bought 60 lbs which went into freezer meals, marinades and extra chicken.
Third, I just paid for a bulk grain order which was close to $400. That includes about a years supply of wheat berries, dried beans, salt, and honey plus the storage containers. With my garden started and my neighbor who runs a little farm stand in his front yard, my fresh fruit and veggie cost over the next few months will be very small. My freezer is fairly well stocked and I have plenty of baking supplies, so it is likely that my monthly expenditures through the fall will be around $100 a month--although I will keep you updated. I also plan on doing a lot of canning and preserving this summer/fall to help cut down on our expenses going into the winter.
Because we buy in bulk--we have always built some flexibility into our budget--so we have the extra on months when we need to pay for big orders or buy bulk meat. I know that is not always possible for everyone, especially when you are first working on cutting your budget--just set aside a little extra when you can (even $5 at a time will add up) for months when there are good sales or to make the bulk purchases. I can remember one year we even had a yard sale and used the money to buy a side of beef that lasted us a full year.
Over the next few months I will share some more of my bulk storage area and tips and also cover the basics on canning and dehydrating recipes.
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Showing posts with label grocery challenge update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grocery challenge update. Show all posts
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Grocery Budget Update
So for those of you who took the grocery challenge this year, here are my updated numbers:
2011 Grocery Budget Goal: $3600 ($300 a month)
Year to Date spent: $2357.12
Remaining budget: $1242.88
I know it looks like I am way over budget--but it will even out by the end of the year. First, $200 of this was party expenses--which I budgeted for separately, so technically I could deduct that amount, but I wanted to leave it in for now to just to show the numbers (plus we had a nice amount of leftovers which has already provided us several meals this week).
Secondly, my freezer is well stocked in meat--a while back I was able to pick up boneless, skinless chicken breast for $1.60 a lb, so I bought 60 lbs which went into freezer meals, marinades and extra chicken.
Third, I just paid for a bulk grain order which was close to $400. That includes about a years supply of wheat berries, dried beans, salt, and honey plus the storage containers. With my garden started and my neighbor who runs a little farm stand in his front yard, my fresh fruit and veggie cost over the next few months will be very small. My freezer is fairly well stocked and I have plenty of baking supplies, so it is likely that my monthly expenditures through the fall will be around $100 a month--although I will keep you updated. I also plan on doing a lot of canning and preserving this summer/fall to help cut down on our expenses going into the winter.
Because we buy in bulk--we have always built some flexibility into our budget--so we have the extra on months when we need to pay for big orders or buy bulk meat. I know that is not always possible for everyone, especially when you are first working on cutting your budget--just set aside a little extra when you can (even $5 at a time will add up) for months when there are good sales or to make the bulk purchases. I can remember one year we even had a yard sale and used the money to buy a side of beef that lasted us a full year.
Over the next few months I will share some more of my bulk storage area and tips and also cover the basics on canning and dehydrating recipes.
2011 Grocery Budget Goal: $3600 ($300 a month)
Year to Date spent: $2357.12
Remaining budget: $1242.88
I know it looks like I am way over budget--but it will even out by the end of the year. First, $200 of this was party expenses--which I budgeted for separately, so technically I could deduct that amount, but I wanted to leave it in for now to just to show the numbers (plus we had a nice amount of leftovers which has already provided us several meals this week).
Secondly, my freezer is well stocked in meat--a while back I was able to pick up boneless, skinless chicken breast for $1.60 a lb, so I bought 60 lbs which went into freezer meals, marinades and extra chicken.
Third, I just paid for a bulk grain order which was close to $400. That includes about a years supply of wheat berries, dried beans, salt, and honey plus the storage containers. With my garden started and my neighbor who runs a little farm stand in his front yard, my fresh fruit and veggie cost over the next few months will be very small. My freezer is fairly well stocked and I have plenty of baking supplies, so it is likely that my monthly expenditures through the fall will be around $100 a month--although I will keep you updated. I also plan on doing a lot of canning and preserving this summer/fall to help cut down on our expenses going into the winter.
Because we buy in bulk--we have always built some flexibility into our budget--so we have the extra on months when we need to pay for big orders or buy bulk meat. I know that is not always possible for everyone, especially when you are first working on cutting your budget--just set aside a little extra when you can (even $5 at a time will add up) for months when there are good sales or to make the bulk purchases. I can remember one year we even had a yard sale and used the money to buy a side of beef that lasted us a full year.
Over the next few months I will share some more of my bulk storage area and tips and also cover the basics on canning and dehydrating recipes.
Grocery Budget Update
So for those of you who took the grocery challenge this year, here are my updated numbers:
2011 Grocery Budget Goal: $3600 ($300 a month)
Year to Date spent: $2357.12
Remaining budget: $1242.88
I know it looks like I am way over budget--but it will even out by the end of the year. First, $200 of this was party expenses--which I budgeted for separately, so technically I could deduct that amount, but I wanted to leave it in for now to just to show the numbers (plus we had a nice amount of leftovers which has already provided us several meals this week).
Secondly, my freezer is well stocked in meat--a while back I was able to pick up boneless, skinless chicken breast for $1.60 a lb, so I bought 60 lbs which went into freezer meals, marinades and extra chicken.
Third, I just paid for a bulk grain order which was close to $400. That includes about a years supply of wheat berries, dried beans, salt, and honey plus the storage containers. With my garden started and my neighbor who runs a little farm stand in his front yard, my fresh fruit and veggie cost over the next few months will be very small. My freezer is fairly well stocked and I have plenty of baking supplies, so it is likely that my monthly expenditures through the fall will be around $100 a month--although I will keep you updated. I also plan on doing a lot of canning and preserving this summer/fall to help cut down on our expenses going into the winter.
Because we buy in bulk--we have always built some flexibility into our budget--so we have the extra on months when we need to pay for big orders or buy bulk meat. I know that is not always possible for everyone, especially when you are first working on cutting your budget--just set aside a little extra when you can (even $5 at a time will add up) for months when there are good sales or to make the bulk purchases. I can remember one year we even had a yard sale and used the money to buy a side of beef that lasted us a full year.
Over the next few months I will share some more of my bulk storage area and tips and also cover the basics on canning and dehydrating recipes.
2011 Grocery Budget Goal: $3600 ($300 a month)
Year to Date spent: $2357.12
Remaining budget: $1242.88
I know it looks like I am way over budget--but it will even out by the end of the year. First, $200 of this was party expenses--which I budgeted for separately, so technically I could deduct that amount, but I wanted to leave it in for now to just to show the numbers (plus we had a nice amount of leftovers which has already provided us several meals this week).
Secondly, my freezer is well stocked in meat--a while back I was able to pick up boneless, skinless chicken breast for $1.60 a lb, so I bought 60 lbs which went into freezer meals, marinades and extra chicken.
Third, I just paid for a bulk grain order which was close to $400. That includes about a years supply of wheat berries, dried beans, salt, and honey plus the storage containers. With my garden started and my neighbor who runs a little farm stand in his front yard, my fresh fruit and veggie cost over the next few months will be very small. My freezer is fairly well stocked and I have plenty of baking supplies, so it is likely that my monthly expenditures through the fall will be around $100 a month--although I will keep you updated. I also plan on doing a lot of canning and preserving this summer/fall to help cut down on our expenses going into the winter.
Because we buy in bulk--we have always built some flexibility into our budget--so we have the extra on months when we need to pay for big orders or buy bulk meat. I know that is not always possible for everyone, especially when you are first working on cutting your budget--just set aside a little extra when you can (even $5 at a time will add up) for months when there are good sales or to make the bulk purchases. I can remember one year we even had a yard sale and used the money to buy a side of beef that lasted us a full year.
Over the next few months I will share some more of my bulk storage area and tips and also cover the basics on canning and dehydrating recipes.
Grocery Budget Update
So for those of you who took the grocery challenge this year, here are my updated numbers:
2011 Grocery Budget Goal: $3600 ($300 a month)
Year to Date spent: $2357.12
Remaining budget: $1242.88
I know it looks like I am way over budget--but it will even out by the end of the year. First, $200 of this was party expenses--which I budgeted for separately, so technically I could deduct that amount, but I wanted to leave it in for now to just to show the numbers (plus we had a nice amount of leftovers which has already provided us several meals this week).
Secondly, my freezer is well stocked in meat--a while back I was able to pick up boneless, skinless chicken breast for $1.60 a lb, so I bought 60 lbs which went into freezer meals, marinades and extra chicken.
Third, I just paid for a bulk grain order which was close to $400. That includes about a years supply of wheat berries, dried beans, salt, and honey plus the storage containers. With my garden started and my neighbor who runs a little farm stand in his front yard, my fresh fruit and veggie cost over the next few months will be very small. My freezer is fairly well stocked and I have plenty of baking supplies, so it is likely that my monthly expenditures through the fall will be around $100 a month--although I will keep you updated. I also plan on doing a lot of canning and preserving this summer/fall to help cut down on our expenses going into the winter.
Because we buy in bulk--we have always built some flexibility into our budget--so we have the extra on months when we need to pay for big orders or buy bulk meat. I know that is not always possible for everyone, especially when you are first working on cutting your budget--just set aside a little extra when you can (even $5 at a time will add up) for months when there are good sales or to make the bulk purchases. I can remember one year we even had a yard sale and used the money to buy a side of beef that lasted us a full year.
Over the next few months I will share some more of my bulk storage area and tips and also cover the basics on canning and dehydrating recipes.
2011 Grocery Budget Goal: $3600 ($300 a month)
Year to Date spent: $2357.12
Remaining budget: $1242.88
I know it looks like I am way over budget--but it will even out by the end of the year. First, $200 of this was party expenses--which I budgeted for separately, so technically I could deduct that amount, but I wanted to leave it in for now to just to show the numbers (plus we had a nice amount of leftovers which has already provided us several meals this week).
Secondly, my freezer is well stocked in meat--a while back I was able to pick up boneless, skinless chicken breast for $1.60 a lb, so I bought 60 lbs which went into freezer meals, marinades and extra chicken.
Third, I just paid for a bulk grain order which was close to $400. That includes about a years supply of wheat berries, dried beans, salt, and honey plus the storage containers. With my garden started and my neighbor who runs a little farm stand in his front yard, my fresh fruit and veggie cost over the next few months will be very small. My freezer is fairly well stocked and I have plenty of baking supplies, so it is likely that my monthly expenditures through the fall will be around $100 a month--although I will keep you updated. I also plan on doing a lot of canning and preserving this summer/fall to help cut down on our expenses going into the winter.
Because we buy in bulk--we have always built some flexibility into our budget--so we have the extra on months when we need to pay for big orders or buy bulk meat. I know that is not always possible for everyone, especially when you are first working on cutting your budget--just set aside a little extra when you can (even $5 at a time will add up) for months when there are good sales or to make the bulk purchases. I can remember one year we even had a yard sale and used the money to buy a side of beef that lasted us a full year.
Over the next few months I will share some more of my bulk storage area and tips and also cover the basics on canning and dehydrating recipes.
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