A Month of No Groceries!

Yes, you read that title right. We are currently in a month of buying no groceries. We did this in November of 2015 and you can read about it here. This time, there are a couple of reasons why we are doing this. The first of course is to try and save some money in an overly tight January budget. The second reason however is more exciting. Our steers are going to be butchered in a week and we need all the freezer space we can get!

When we did this in the past, we had done it on a whim, and during November. I really didn't think it through, knowing that we would end up having to buy somethings for Thanksgiving, but we plunged forward and made it through.  Yes, we still bought a few groceries, but not nearly as many as we would have during a regular month.

This time around is going to be a little different. We really are under than gun to clean out some freezer space for the beef that we will soon have. Also January is always a tight month for us. There is Christmas that we just spent money on, taxes that we just paid, plus this year our Christmas present to ourselves was a little pricey...a fireplace. A gas log fireplace. It is something that we built ourselves and are so proud of. It is not quite finished yet, but when it does, I will post pictures and how we built it. We are hoping that since it is gas, it will save us money on our electric bill. So in the end, it will end up paying for itself!

So back to the month of no groceries, I really do mean what I say. We are not going to be spending money on groceries during the month of January. Each week on Monday, I will update you all on how we did with the groceries and what I cooked using food out of our pantry and freezer.

So for week one's update: yes we bought a few grocery items. We bought two cartons of almond milk (as soon as I get a decent blender, I will be making it myself!) and some cheese.  We spent all of around $7 for the three items, but it should get us through the rest of the month.

So what did I cook? Well our meals looked a little like this:

Homemade lasagna...take that Stouffer's!

Monday: Salad and Chicken Wings (left over from New Years Eve)
Tuesday: Vegetable Soup and Stuffing Muffins (left over from Thanksgiving that I had frozen)
Wednesday: Smothered Pork Chops (slow cooked with potatoes and onions)
Thursday: French Dip Sandwiches (used left-over pork chops and the juice to make these)
Friday: Pizza (this was at my mom and dad's house and was not planned)
Saturday: Lasagna and Beer Bread (I didn't have ricotta or cottage cheese, so instead I used cream cheese which I did have, and it was amazing!)
Sunday: Left-Over Night (Or clean out the fridge, as I like to call it)

My yummy beer bread! A quick and easy way to make bread.

So you can see that everything that I made was something that I had in my freezer or pantry, but mainly freezer. While I was cooking the hamburger for the lasagna I decided to cook some extra and I will be using that for a Mexican meal this evening.

I love that I was able to take my left-overs from Wednesday and turn them into a whole new meal for Thursday. Doing this challenge really helps me plan out what I am going to cook, and how I can use the left-overs for other meals. The best part is that I am using food that I already have, I am not wasting anything, and I am saving money that we need for other things this month.

Have you ever done this challenge?  Want to join me? Let me know in the comments below!

Leave a Comment budget, groceries, meal planning, meals, no spend

A No Spend January Update and an Organization Project

It is hard to believe that it is already February.  I had intended on giving you an update on how my No Spend January went, but I ran out of time before I even realized it.  So a quick update on how the month went.

At the beginning of January, I really didn't take the no spend challenge seriously.  Now that's not to say I spent lavishly on things we didn't need, but I also did little to reel my spending in.  That was not the case for the second half of the month.  I looked at our budget and our bills and realized that the spending had to be shut down for the rest of the month in order to get the bills paid.  January is always a difficult month for us with it being right after Christmas and taxes.  There was absolutely NO spending for the last two weeks of the month.  I started making things from scratch.  We started eating out of our freezers and pantry and made do with what we had.  We made it through the end of the month and we were able to pay all of our bills.

As for February, I plan on keeping my spending down and I also plan on buying as little groceries as possible.  Our freezers are packed to the brim with food and so is our pantry so I really don't think that we will starve.  I need new tires and I have to get them this month, so our extra money will be going to that purchase.

The other project that we started in January was to clean, organize, and declutter.  We started off great, but it soon got derailed as we decided (during a no spend month, mind you), to enlarge our master closet.  We are still in the process of working on it drywall soon to come, so I started cleaning out cabinets to keep up with our decluttering process.

If you remember we had cleaned our entry closet and our pantry.  Well, I have a corner cabinet in my kitchen that needed major decluttering, so I decided to tackle that this weekend.

My "baking" cabinet

It may not look like it, but I did take items out and throw out old stuff.  This is my go to cabinet when I cook.  With this cabinet I now know what I have, and where it is.  No more rummaging around looking for things.  It feels so much better to be able to have this organized and will help to cut down on my cooking time.  I do have a separate spice cabinet on the other side of my stove that is just spices.  That cabinet will be next.  I know I have some spices that are outdated that need to be thrown away.  It feels so good to get these little things done.

As for February, I will continue to curb my spending and I will be sharing with you some of our favorite meals that like to make.  I look forward to sharing a Cheeseburger Salad recipe with you on Thursday!

2 comments budget, cleaning, house repairs, January, no spend, organization, simple living

A No Spend January Challege

For the past three years we have participated in a no spend January. If you have never done that before it basically means that you pay your bills and buy only the necessities.  You spend as little as possible on gas and groceries.  And if you don't need it, you don't buy it!

The first year we participated in this went great. We didn't spend any extra money and I'll never forget that we spent a total of $75.00 on food that month. In fact I strive to do the same every month, but have never been able to duplicate that month's food budget.  

The next year went ok. We had to buy tires for Steve's car but we had money saved and was able to use that. When we did go shopping I made sure what we got was what we needed, not what we wanted. That meant that I put several items back on the shelf after having them in my cart.  As I walked around the store, I asked myself, is this something my family can live without?

Last year (our third year) just seemed to fall apart from the beginning.  Drew needed new glasses and insurance didn't cover them. We had several repairs that came up and it seemed we were shelling out money for the kids for this activity or that. 

I really had not planned on doing a no spend January this year, but after looking at our finances and knowing we needed a way to recover from Christmas and taxes, and everything else that cost money in December, I thought it would be good if we went ahead and did a no spend month.

I know that this year, we are not going to have a true no spend January.  My car needs tires and really that is a necessity.  We will also be getting new glasses, but this time the insurance should cover the cost.  I plan on using up what I have in my pantry and freezers.  Flashback to November. ;-)

We will also be going through our house and purging anything that we do not need or use.  We have already tackled the hall closet (post coming soon) and I have gone through Carly's clothes.  It had been over a year since I have went through her clothes and gotten rid of the ones that don't fit. Needless to say I have two trash bags full of girl's clothes.

I hope that you will join me in this challenge.  I have started a Facebook group as a support to help each other out.  You can find it by going here.  

Let me know in the comments below if you have ever participated in a no spend month, and please join us on Facebook!

Leave a Comment budget, cleaning, January, no spend, simple living, sustainable living

A Month of No Groceries: My November Food Challenge Week 4

Well the November food challenge of no groceries for a month is officially over.  This really has been an eye opener for me and my spending habits when it comes to food.  Here is how I did this last week of the challenge.

I did have to buy groceries this past week, but let me tell you why.  I put the turkey that my mom had purchased for our Thanksgiving feast in my fridge to thaw on Sunday of last week.  On Tuesday I went to put it in a brine and realized that the turkey had been thawing and dripping blood into my crisper drawers.  My veggies that I was going to use for the dressing had been marinating in turkey blood for at least a day.  Yuck!  I wasn't about to take any chances, so those veggies were thrown out, my fridge got a good cleaning, my turkey ended up in the brine, and I had to go and buy onions, carrots, and oranges that I used for our Thanksgiving meal.  I also ended up buying two loaves of bread for the dressing.  I had made bread, but I ran out of time and I got really nervous about having enough.  My mom had extra celery so she gave me hers and I didn't have to buy that.  I ended up spending less than $10.00 for what I had to replace.

Our meals this week were sporadic and consisted of quite a few sandwiches, ham and pbj, until the day of the feast.  Since then we have been eating leftovers.

I was really hoping that I could have made it through the month and tell you that I spent nothing on groceries. What I can tell you is that I spent less than $100.00 on groceries this month and for that I am extremely proud!  For groceries, we generally spend anywhere from $300.00 (on a slim month) to $500.00.  Our freezer also looks much better.  In fact I plan on taking inventory of what we have left and organizing it so I can access food better.  Our pantry has less food in it, but it is still a mess.  I do need to organize my pantry, but that will be a job for a cold snowy day.

I did learn some things while going through this process.  And I thought I would share what I learned with you.

Take Inventory
At the beginning of the month, take an inventory of what you have in your pantry and freezer.  Be sure and write down what you have on hand.  You might be surprised to find that you have multiples of an item.  My favorite inventory worksheets can be found HERE. Just scroll down till you see Cleaning & Organizing and you will find both the pantry inventory and the freezer inventory worksheets that are free!

Plan Meals
Once you have your inventory of your foods, then start planning your meals for the month.  This is a great time to sit down with the family and let them help plan the meals.  I know my kids have favorite meals that they always want me to make.  As I write down the meals I make notes of what I have on hand and what I will need.  I also make notes if it can be a slow cooker meal, or if it will take additional time to make (making it the perfect weekend meal).

Cook From Scratch
Cooking from scratch is a great way to save money, use up your stockpile of groceries AND eat healthy.  I love to cook from scratch, but unfortunately I'm not always home to be able to.  Some of my favorite things  to cook (or bake) are bread, cookies, and soups.  What I have found is that it doesn't take much extra time to make, you can control the ingredients that goes into the food, and it tastes so much better!

It's Okay to Make Mistakes
It is okay if you make a mistake.  It is okay if you have to go and buy groceries, when you didn't plan on it.  I experienced some stress because I wanted to be really successful in this challenge.  At first I thought that if I bought groceries, then I had failed.  That is not the case at all.  The savings my family experienced is enough for me to call this challenge a success. Plus I have the bonus of using food that might have ended up being thrown out instead of eaten.  So now I have learned not to be so hard on myself.  We all experience setbacks and we can always turn those setbacks into something positive.

So how did you guys do?  Did you make it through the month?  If any of you tried this challenge let me know in the comments below how your month ended. 

Leave a Comment budget, groceries, no spend, simple living

A Month of No Groceries: My November Food Challenge Week 3

Well, week 3 didn't go as planned.  I'll tell you more about that later.  The good news is that the meals we had were much better than week 2.  I was actually able to plan ahead and cook more!  Here is what we had.

Monday: Leftovers from take out we got on Sunday
Tuesday: Taco Soup (Recipe to come later)
Wednesday: Loaded Baked Potatoes
Thursday: Beans & Ham and Mac & Cheese
Friday: Beef and Bean Enchiladas
Saturday: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Peas, and Homemade Bread
Sunday: Clean out the Fridge Night!

I'm happy to report that the beef and bean enchiladas used the most leftovers of any of the meals.  I had leftover tortilla shells, leftover homemade enchilada sauce in the freezer, and leftover beans from the night before.

Beef and Bean Enchiladas. Yummy goodness inside!

And then you can see our Sunday evening meal was a clean out the fridge night.  I wanted to make sure that all the leftovers from the meals we had this week were eaten and not taking up valuable space in the fridge since in just a couple of days it will be Thanksgiving!  Already the turkey (that my mom so graciously gave me) is in the fridge thawing and getting ready to be roasted on Thursday morning.

Our Wednesday night meal

Now for the bad news.  I did buy groceries this week.  I broke down and got some things that we really needed for meals and for Thanksgiving.  Here is a run down of what I ended up buying:

• milk - $2.87
• celery - $0.49
• 2 lbs. carrots - $0.99
• 10 lbs. potatoes - $1.49
• corn - $2.00 (4 cans)
• sharp cheddar cheese - $1.79 (block)
• sliced ham - $3.29 (all natural)
• cream cheese - $0.89
• coffee creamer - $1.69
• Cranberries - $0.99
• mandarin oranges (I gave in to the cryings of my children, they love these!) - $3.56 (4 cans)
• 3 lbs. sweet potatoes - $0.99
• pumpkin - $1.78 (2 cans)

So for under $25.00 I was able to get a few groceries that helped supplement our meals, and will help make the recipes that I plan to serve for Thanksgiving.  While I was really hoping that I could get by without buying any groceries at all this month, I think this is pretty good.  Remember I did spend some the first week, and while I didn't give you a total on what I had spent that week, I will tell you now.  It was $18.00 for 4 items.  Those 4 items were purchased at Wal-Mart.  The items above I purchased at Aldi.  It makes a big difference.  So while I'm not happy that I bought groceries, at least I did save money on them.

Tuesday's meal, taco soup, yummy!

This week is going to be tricky with making meals.  I don't want to make big meals that we will have lots of leftovers due to Thanksgiving coming up.  I don't want to take up space in my fridge now that it is cleaned out, but I do want to continue to cook our meals.  I guess you will have to wait and see how we do this week, and see what kinds of meals I can come up with for my family, and hopefully resist the urge to buy any more!

So tell me, how did you guys do this week?

2 comments budget, cooking, food, groceries, no spend, sustainable living, tips

A Month of No Groceries: My November Food Challenge Week 2

We have just finished week 2 of no groceries and I can tell you that it is getting harder.  I can also tell you that life is getting busier as you can probably tell since this post is late.

The good news is we did NOT buy any groceries this week. The bad news is that we did eat out a couple of times. The reason we got take-out  is because this weekend we were working hard on putting siding on our house. Since it was just Steve and I putting on the siding, I wasn't able to take the time off to make meals. Plus by the time we called it a day from putting up siding, we were both exhausted!

This picture was too cute not to share, plus you can see the mess behind them from the siding project

What bothers me about the meals we bought, was the money we spent.  We could have used the money spent to purchase enough groceries for at least 1 week probably longer. :-/  What I should have done was plan ahead and had something in the crock pot, or fixed a meal ahead that would have been easy to reheat.  However the way last week went, that just didn't happen.

My lack of planning was the real issue this weekend.  I now realize that I need to plan ahead.  I have always been horrible at meal planning.  Even if I do plan ahead, I don't stick with it.  

As for meals this week, it has been interesting to say the least.  This week was probably one of the most stressful weeks I have had in a long time.  Not due to the no groceries, but to other things that were going on.

Monday: Kids ate at my sister's house; Steve and I ate pbj

Tuesday: I honestly don't even remember

Wednesday: Crock pot chicken (big fail) turned chicken tacos

Thursday: Goulash (family recipe coming soon)

Friday: scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, sausage, gravy, & biscuits (honestly the best meal this week)

As you can see we had some issues this week with the meals.  On Monday, the kids ate at my sister's house. Actually I had a couple of bites (alright more than a couple!) of her chicken and dumplings.  They were delish!  I definitely need to get her recipe.

Tuesday I honestly cannot remember what we had.  Wednesday I took one of my freezer chicken meals and put it in the crock pot.  It did not turn out well.  This is the second time I have fixed it and the second time that it was horrible.  I will not be making brown sugar chicken again!  I ended up shredding the chicken and used some tortilla shells we had to make chicken tacos.

Goulash - our family's recipe

 
Thursday I made my family's recipe for goulash.  The kids had been asking for this one.  They love it!  I will be sharing that recipe with you very soon.  And Friday it was breakfast for supper.  Really it was my favorite meal.  I love breakfast!

Our yummy breakfast for supper!

My goals for this week are meal planning and making some meals ahead so that they will be easy to heat up. Even though we do not have activities this week we do have siding to finish installing so long as the weather cooperates.  Hopefully this week will be a little easier and I can do more cooking!

So for those of you doing this challenge, how did you do?  Let me know in the comments below.

4 comments budget, food, groceries, no spend, sustainable living