Swamp Thing

Is it raining where you are? It rained all weekend here but the rain keeps holding out on school days which is certainly a blessing because indoor recess is miserable!

I don’t have a ton of time since I have a paper due today and a long list of tasks and would like to get to bed at a decent hour since I’m babysitting tomorrow night and need to rest up for our cowboys party… my boots are ready to go!

I did go to the grocery store after work and took a little dip into my grocery fund for my challenge.

Some lovely squash.  I don’t plan to eat this all this week but it was on sale and I didn’t want to pass it up… I never learn do I 🙂

Then some greenery- Granny Smith (my fave), a cucumber and a green pepper.  I hate those bags don’t you?

Also, the essential- bananas! The top set isn’t very ripe while the bottom two are which should work out just fine for the week.  Whenever I have leftovers (which is rare) I just peel and chop then throw it into a waiting ziplock in the freezer for smoothies.

Total Spent: $15.14
Total Left: $84.86

Okay, off to write about the domestic situation in Manchester England in 1830 and study encryption… I really should decide what it is I’m going to do with these varying majors/minors shouldn’t I?

 

Eating Through the Pantry Challenge

I have a confession to make.

I’m a bargain shopper.

Oh yes, friends I clip coupons, watch sales and never pay full price (unless we’re talking bananas, they never go on sale :().

It can be a great thing to be frugal, and to get great deals.  At a certain point, it is too much.

BREAD, desserts, frozen veggies, etc

When you no longer have room in your freezer for an ice tray.

baking supplies, oats, couscous, brown rice, barley, bran, etc.

When you can’t even fit anything else into your cabinets.

Then you need to take a break from bargain shopping and start using up some of the food you have.

You see, I don’t need anything else and I could be happily, and healthily fed for the next few months with my bounty. I also realize that just because something is a steal doesn’t mean I should spend money on it.  Spending money on things you don’t need, no matter how cheap, is still a waste of money.

My plan for the rest of 2009 is to eat out my pantry.  I still *need* fresh fruits and vegetables so I’ll still be stocking up on that.  I even have a plan there though, I’m going to limit my food budget to $100.00 a month.  Cooking for one should make this easy especially since I spend about that much anyway.  What’s leftover at the end of each month will go into my graduation trip fund.

One caveat to that will be that if something is free after sales/coupons then I’ll still get it because I really don’t think I’m strong enough to walk away 😉

Anyone else have a well-stocked pantry they need to “eat down”? If not, want tips on how to get one on the cheap?