Wow, so February starts in just a few hours, 2016 is already 1/12th over! How are you all doing with those new years resolutions? Been to the gym every day, stuck to a calorie goal, finances in ship-shape, in fact taxes have already been filed? Yeah, me too.
Just kidding!
I don’t really do the resolution thing, because it is far too easy to set yourself up to fail. I am more a believer in long-term goals with short-term goals break down. By taking a big life goal, solidifying your reason for desiring it, and then breaking it down into smaller, easily achievable goals, you set yourself up for continual personal improvement. Plus you have the ability to look back and see what worked and what didn’t, and tweak or change your goals if your lifestyle and desires have changed.
This is the final post in a series of a challenge I set for myself Jan 1st, to cook out of my pantry/freezer and only spend $20 per week on fresh groceries. Below are the first three week’s summaries:
Week 1 Recap
Week 2 Recap
Week 3 Recap
This final week, I was surprised at how quickly this month had flown by. When I did my one grocery stop, it felt like more than enough. I think I have adjusted to fewer grocery store trips, which is likely a very good thing. Looking back at the past few weeks’ lists, I realized I still had 3 out of 4 kiwis in the refrigerator. I also had to throw out half the cucumber because it went to mush before I could slice & eat it. Other than that, I have done quite well with not buying too much or wasting produce.
| Fruit/Veg | $11.96 | Meats | $3.29 |
| Celery 1lb | $2.49 | 2/3 lb ham | $3.29 |
| Ginger root | $0.30 | Dairy | $5.35 |
| 3lb oranges | $3.77 | White cheese | $1.48 |
| Bananas (8) | $1.35 | Organic yogurt | $3.87 |
| Avocados (2) | $2.00 | ||
| Collard greens | $2.05 | Total | $20.60 |
This week I got brave and bought a head of collards, because I know they are chock full of chlorophyll and good stuff. I chopped up a few leaves to toss into salads, some of the leaves got blended into a sauce for the gnocchi, leaves were added to soup, and one day for lunch I used the leaf as a wrap for tuna salad. I also ended up getting a small pack of ham and some white cheese to make sandwiches for my fiancee for lunch.
Jan 23 – Pork ribs & baked potato soup
Jan 24 – Leftover stuffed shells for lunch, pork chops, Spanish rice & salad
Jan 25 – Buffalo chicken sandwiches
Jan 26 – Butternut squash gnocchi
Jan 27 – Sausage, white bean, & collard greens soup
Jan 28 – Lasagna with spinach
Jan 29 – Leftover lasagna
Jan 30 – Leftover pizza, buffalo chicken on salad
AS for the budgeting part of the challenge, not counting the couple of times we had meals outside the home, the total I went over is: $3.30 + $2.34 + $1.08 + $0.60 = $7.32
Which means a total of $87.32 for all the “fresh” groceries the entire month of January. Not bad at all. I don’t think realistically I can keep that up for many more months beyond this, but it is a good illustration of how much having a stocked pantry can help, especially in case of a natural or financial emergency. Now I know that if something catastrophic were to happen, or the fiancee and/or I were to lose a job and we had to really tighten our belts, the pantry I normally keep can indeed see us through.
How about you, any resolutions or goals you are keeping, or struggling with? Feel free to share!