I blogged earlier this week about needing to decrease my grocery bill again; as I've fallen out of the habit of tracking every single penny, my expenses have slowly inched skyward. I hope to begin anew after the first of the year. In the meantime, I find myself buying fast food (well, Burgerville---which I argue isn't really all that bad because they use, for the most part, local suppliers) as well as 'convenience food', which is much more expensive than just buying the ingredients myself and cooking up, say, a lasagna.
Recently, I learned to my horror that my favorite 'bad' treat, frosted circus animal cookies by Mother's Cookies, have gone the way of the dodo bird. Yes. Extinct! I was devastated by this, until I learned, through a blog called The Naked Loon, that there are a couple of alternatives. So, I've been happily purchasing $3 bags of Franz frosted circus animals---not great for my budget or my waistline!
As I contemplate getting back to a more healthy, raw (and hopefully cheaper) diet, heavy on the fruits, vegetables and grains, I've learned of a couple who had as their goal to live---EAT---for just $1 a day! The two high school teachers decided to voluntarily challenge themselves---as many in the world are forced to do---to survive on less than most of us pay for a cup of coffee each day. While the experiment was 'non-political', it does force one to think of the way we live in the United States, our perceived "needs" versus "wants", and how most of the rest of the world lives.
The results were interesting; the couple blogged about losing weight (and energy), describing their daily meals, and the story was picked up by news outlets across the country. There are links to articles in the New York Times as well as links to Fox News snippets about the challenge. I've not had time to go through each article or video, the but stories and the blog are interesting, especially if you have any interest in consumerism, waste, living closer to the earth, or other issues that affect us on a local and global level.
I will certainly consider the challenge as I'm trying to get below $100 for my food budget again, beginning on January 1. Even a low $100 food budget is three times more than this couple---and many all over the world---have to spend on food.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
A Super Frugal couple. . . .
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4 comments:
Good luck getting back on track with the groceries. My usual advice is still the same - grow a small garden! At the moment, I have brussel sprouts, peas, swiss chard, celery, herbs, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, rutabagas, and salad greens happily still growing :) Which reminds me, even tho it's 6 am, I need to go harvest the peas before the wind storm today blows them all away!
You know, this is a really good idea! I'm just not familiar enough with fall/winter gardening, and I need to become more familiar! I would love to have 'fresh', organic potatoes, carrots and celery (not a fan of brussels sprouts!) right outside my back door. Over the holiday break I may do some reading about this. . . thanks for the tip!
For us, it is all about WinCo. My fiance and I drop about $130 a month there and always bring home more than enough food to keep us fed and happy until the next month's shopping trip--and we're big meat eaters. Because you're more into veggies and grains you could easily spend about half of what we do and probably take home even more food--especially since you could buy most of your spices and pastas from the bulk bins for quite a bit less than you'd spend on pre-packaged stuff. :)
Oh yes, Winco is a lifesaver! Luckily, there are two huge ones within a three mile radius of my house. I also tend to rely on the Grocery Outlet, although not for perishables. . . . Sometimes, though, I find that Winco is actually CHEAPER than the Grocery Outlet! It definitely pays to bring along a price list when shopping. . .
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