Mr. BFS and I have been trying to cut back our expenses to build up some padding for after we close on our new house. That said, we canceled our big summer vacation, are trying to avoid any major expenses until after September, and we started attacking our food expenses.
Background of Our Challenge
We were spending way too much on food. The $727 bill from March–April 2012 scared us. So we were aiming for $600 or less total for April-May 2012, $550 for May-June 2012, and $500 for June-July 2012 and on…we have been doing really well! Yay!
That said, for August 13 - September 12, 2012, we were aiming for $500 or less again.
In order to track our spending without logging into our credit card account every day, we keep a running tally on a sheet of paper stuck to our refrigerator. Between the two of us (and by double checking ourselves by logging in to our credit cards), we write down every food expense diligently throughout the month. It’s not the prettiest method ever, but it works great to keep our eyes on the prize.
Let’s see how we did in our fifth month of the challenge…
Food Expenditures from August 13 – September 12, 2012
It was a surprising month, yay! We did a grocery run right at the end of last month that lasted us a couple of weeks. I did splurge on eating out while I was at the Financial Blogger Conference, but we did really well overall. Our grocery bills are going to pick up again after we move, but we are trying to eat anything we can in the house right now so we won’t have to move it.
Eating Out – $343.87
Groceries – $136.81
That comes to $480.68 total.
WOOT!!! WE DID IT AGAIN!!! We ate out more than we did last month, but that is going to happen while we move and skip on lots of grocery shopping…
What We’ve Been Eating
Mr. BFS and I have started adding some healthier options to our diet and did okay this month:
- Chicken tortilla soup
- Sandwiches
- Total Raisin Bran
- Value Menu Items
- Harvest Supreme Freschetta frozen pizza
- Bananas
- Subway sandwiches
- Sausage
- Burger King icecream cones…bad but so good…
- Chinese
- Mexican
- Chicken breasts
- Green beans
- Steak
- Roasted potatoes
Overall, yay! Since we are most likely moving within this next September-October period, I am just hoping we can stay close at all…
Did you hit any specific goals lately? How is your food budget coming along?
We try keeping the eating out to once per week… so far we have managed this nicely! I find that by being creative in the kitchen, it stops us getting bored so quickly
PS you should totally try Haggis. It will change your life
We’ve been doing much better, but there’s still definitely room for improvement!
Great job! Reminds me I have to post our August ‘challenge’ – we actually did well and I think will still do well this month! Maybe. Hubby needed protein powder this last time we went to Target, which adds up.
@Helen: Your husband might want to check out the NOW 100% Pure Whey Protein Isolate – Natural Unflavored through All Star Health. It is the purest protein I could find — ingredients are just 100% Microfiltered Whey Protein Isolate and soy lecithin, no other additives — and right now you can get a 10lb bag for $83.99. It sounds expensive, but it’s a huge bag. Have him compare it to the stuff he’s getting at Target and most likely it’s going to be cheaper per ounce, plus it’s better stuff.
BTW, I don’t work for NOW or All Star Health. I work out on a regular basis and went through all sorts of protein powders until I found this one. I just thought I would throw out an option that might save you some money.
I am amazed that you ate out so much but still stayed within your budget. I guess it shows that you were still making smart choices!
I want to do the same thing, since we are trying to eat really healthy now.
When did you add your picture to the website? I don’t remember seeing it before now.
You guys did a good job! Food is definitely our hardest category to stay within budget. We both work out of the home, so lunch ends up costing a small fortune. I’ve been trying to bring a lunch everyday and that has helped, but since my husband may need to travel during the day for his job, he’s always grabbing something on the road. $5-$10/day adds up quick!
Congrats! I see I was just a bit early in inquiring about the update. Glad things are working well for you guys!
Congrats! I’m hoping my food budget will improve with some beef this fall. And I scored a free deep freezer. Maybe my electricity bill might suffer…
Our grocery bills have been wonderful this summer. Hubby and I are both dieting, so we grab fresh stuff at $40 a pop each week and one $100 run for non-staple items once a month. We also aren’t eating out much. I think that’s a major score in our food bill department!
This is our first month where we’re actually buying grocery together. I think we’re spending a bit much on grocery, not including hubby’s lunches he buys a few days a week. This is the first month of marriage, so we’re trying to get our finances combined and trying to budget at the same time. It should be smooth sailing over the next few months.
Congrats on your budget, looks like it’s working out for you guys. I spend about $100 a month on groceries and roughly $50 on eating out. It’s really cool you keep a list of all your food spending. Looking at those numbers I’m a little jealous of how cheap everything is down there. In Canada, we pay at least 10% more on fast food and groceries.
What a great idea! Our grocery bill seems to always be on the increase.
Also, rather than using a piece of paper to track your expenses, have you though about downloading one of the many expense tracker applications on your smart phone?
How long did the soup last after we left?