It is amazing how fast this year is going by! March is here! Wow! Well, Feburary was the first month of The 200 Challenge and it went really well! It was lots of fun and very motivating! My goal is $190.00 a month. Ready for the grand total? We spent $138.45! It sounds impressive, even to me, until I think about the fact that the other folks in this challenge are using this budget to buy paper towels, dish soap, diapers, wipes, shampoo, etc.!!! So when I look at it that way I don't think we did that great considering out grocery budget it just food. We are still proud and happy about our savings though. Before this challenge we were spending roughly $225.00 on groceries a month. I feel like we were being so frivolous before! I also feel like we took A LOT for granted. This challenge has really opened my eyes to how wasteful and ungrateful we were.
I hope to do just as well with the challenge this month. We have already done our first two week trip and came in under budget, so it is looking good so far! We are learning how to make things last, and how to be creative with our meals (and not so picky!). I think this is a great thing for Charlie and myself. Plus, it is a good example for us to set as parents.
Our Menu
1: Baked Potato Soup with rolls (didn't get to make it last week)
2: Chicken fingers, mac-n-cheese, veggie
3: Left overs
4: Hot dogs with curly fries
5: Tacos
6: Shepard's pie, veggie
7: Salmon, rice, veggie
8: Left overs
9: Alfredo, garlic bread
10: Homemade pizza
11: Brinner (pancakes with sausage)
12: BBQ Chicken, mashed potatoes, veggie
13: Lasagna, garlic bread, veggie
14: Garlic breaded chicken, cornbread casserole, veggie
15: Left overs
16: Pigs in a blanket, curly fries, fruit
17: Cheesy chicken and rice, veggie
18: Chicken salad sandwiches, baked potatoes
19: Left overs
20: Burritos, chips and salsa
21: Brinner (French toast with bacon)
22: Chili with cornbread muffins
23: Herb rubbed chicken, mac-n-cheese, veggie
24: Left overs
25: Shepard's pie, veggie
26: Cube steak, rice and gravy, veggie
27: Homemade pizza pockets
28: Left overs
29: Brinner (biscuits and gravy)
30: Shrimp and pasta salad
31: Out To Eat :-)
Not the most creative menu this month, but it is all stuff we really enjoy. We are having a few things twice, but that's ok. We may not want those things next month, but I am sure we will be fine for now :-) I hope everyone else enjoyed the challenge as much as I did! It has inspired me to cut others areas of our budget too! I will post more on that later :-) Good luck to all of you in March!
Previous Months: Feburary
1: Baked Potato Soup with rolls (didn't get to make it last week)
2: Chicken fingers, mac-n-cheese, veggie
3: Left overs
4: Hot dogs with curly fries
5: Tacos
6: Shepard's pie, veggie
7: Salmon, rice, veggie
8: Left overs
9: Alfredo, garlic bread
10: Homemade pizza
11: Brinner (pancakes with sausage)
12: BBQ Chicken, mashed potatoes, veggie
13: Lasagna, garlic bread, veggie
14: Garlic breaded chicken, cornbread casserole, veggie
15: Left overs
16: Pigs in a blanket, curly fries, fruit
17: Cheesy chicken and rice, veggie
18: Chicken salad sandwiches, baked potatoes
19: Left overs
20: Burritos, chips and salsa
21: Brinner (French toast with bacon)
22: Chili with cornbread muffins
23: Herb rubbed chicken, mac-n-cheese, veggie
24: Left overs
25: Shepard's pie, veggie
26: Cube steak, rice and gravy, veggie
27: Homemade pizza pockets
28: Left overs
29: Brinner (biscuits and gravy)
30: Shrimp and pasta salad
31: Out To Eat :-)
Not the most creative menu this month, but it is all stuff we really enjoy. We are having a few things twice, but that's ok. We may not want those things next month, but I am sure we will be fine for now :-) I hope everyone else enjoyed the challenge as much as I did! It has inspired me to cut others areas of our budget too! I will post more on that later :-) Good luck to all of you in March!
Previous Months: Feburary
3 comments:
Wow Amy! You did an amazing job with your budget...huge progress from what you were spending before! Doesn't it feel great to be good stewards of the money that our husbands work so hard to earn? :-)
I don't know that I can do $200 a month---there are 8 of us (incl. 2 adults/2 teens/1 preteen who eats like a teen/and 3 younger) but you have inspired me to try to cut my spending more! I usually spend $100 to $150 a week but I'll bet I could shave that down to under $100 a week.
Sarah, with Charlie working so hard for our income I feel like I need to work just as hard to make it stretch! It is what God wants us to do, and I try so hard (and I know you do too)! Thanks for your encouragement with this!
Andrea, thanks for stopping by my blog :-) You have a much larger family than I do, so I would imagine $200 would be quite tight for you! It is great that you at least want to make a change! That is what this challenge is all about! Make this challenge work for you and your family! Keep coming back for encouragement as well! We would love to have you join this challenge! If you click on "The 200 Challenge" link in my post it will take you to Clay In His Hands, she is the host of this challenge!
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