Well I survived the first week on a food budget of just $29! Rather nicely actually as I do have a decent amount leftover. This surplus will roll over into next week as I purchase another $29 worth of food.
First, what I ate on day 7.
BRUNCH – DAY 7 - $1.10
I didn't end up eating until 11am but it was a great meal! TWO egg and bacon sandwiches with strawberries and a banana.
DINNER - $0.75
I made a bacon carbonara (minus parmesan cheese) for the first time ever!
Having limited ingredients really gets you thinking of different ways to use what you have. A carbonara is when you mix in eggs after the pasta is cooked and drained. You mix the eggs and then dump them into the pasta on the cooker and continuously toss it so the eggs don't cook. This was pretty creamy so I consider it a success!
WHAT REMAINS
This is all the food leftover from week 1. It will really be useful during week 2, allowing me to expand my list of possible meals.
Adding the total cost of meals from day 7 to my running total, it comes out to $13.34.
I ate the entire week for just $13.34! Incredible.
To put this into perspective, today a guy at work spent $13 on lunch. In ONE MEAL he spent as much as I did all week!
If you can eat like this by choice, instead of necessity, could really be an accelerator towards saving loads of money.
Ya know, if you can eat simply without sacrificing your happiness.
PURCHASES WEEK 2
As you can see, I went over the $29 dollar per week limit but I only spent $28.16 last week. That 84 cents rolls over. Subtracting the 27 cent overage, I still have a surplus of 57 cents.
CONCLUSION
After the stumble out of the gate with having problems cooking the beans, the week actually turned out great! I'm excited to have so much leftover to add to the new ingredients I have now.
Stick around to see what I do with it all!
Unbelievable! You are really doing great with this and the lefvers are incredible.
Start spouting those beans now and you will thank me later. Find someone's post with how to do it - so easy :) Only sprout like 1/2 a cup the first time to see how it goes.
Yeah! I am thinking of a couple of different ways I can use the beans now - all of them not so basic as just beans and rice. I can do an egg/cheese/bean/rice breakfast burrito with the tortillas. I can do a chorizo and bean chili.
Choices are great! :D
I'm excited to see what you make of all this and how your beans come out this time. French toast maybe :)
True, I lack cinnamon though! You always give me new ideas, thanks @fitinfun :)
Now you can start your list for next week! I know they have spices at the dollar store.
This is a cool series. You should keep this going @getonthetrain. It's insightful and helpful and your food looks delicious and healthy. Keep up these posts. 😍
Much appreciated @themessup - I am doing this challenge for three weeks. I think I will do updates every two days to keep everyone informed. So check back in every so often to see what I am making with my limited budget. :D
I love saving money on food, and I love to eat! Sometimes I think you eat better on a smaller budget due to the increased challenge.
I think that may be true - I am seeing some changes in my food thinking. I might have a permanently reduced food budget from here on out. Time will tell.
Nice job this week! Lots of good stuff in there for under 30 bucks
Thanks, Matt. As an additional challenge I can only shop from the 99 Cents Only store, which is not a full grocer.
Some things are overpriced, like the eggs, but others are great deals. I guess it all kinda balances out in the end.
What the hell, I would have not thought that you would have so much left. I am totally gonna eat Carbonarra today.
Give it a shot - I never did it before but it turned out great. :)
Your doing so well and I am like that guy I spent more than $13 today at lunch alone. This makes me want to try and eat for cheaper more often.
Did you know it only takes $10 invested per day to become a millionaire in 40 years? If you can spend that much less without sacrificing much, is becoming a millionaire worth it?
I know I don't want to wait 40 years, so I find ways to cut everywhere. Then I find ways to earn more everywhere. Somewhere these two things will meet before those 40 years are up!
Congratulations! You did a great job.
Good luck with the next week!
Much appreciated @anca3drandom! I was amazed that all my meals only came out to so little.
@getonthetrain I spent $9.00 at Chipotle tonight for dinner. I will try not to feel to guilty.
Wow, amazing goal. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks JamJam. ;p
yhmmmm great
Fantastic post!