Pantry Challenge Week #4

As a couponer, I get many things for free or well under retail prices. My pantry is stocked and my weekly grocery budget is low.

Is there a way to make my budget even lower? Yes! Stop grocery shopping all together and see how long I can make good, basic meals using just the food in my pantry.

Obviously, I will have to still buy the basics, but the goal is to make my list as minimal as possible.

Week #4

Welcome to the last week of my pantry challenge. These past four weeks have been a great learning experience for me. I have always been a meal planner, so that came easy. I always choose to base our family meals from food in my pantry, so that was easy too. I have always watched my budget, shopped from a list, and scrutinized over prices.

Slowly, it has become harder and harder for me to resist a great stock up price. That has been my real challenge this month. It wasn't difficult to see if I can really live off of the food in our pantry, but to have GREAT sale prices staring me right in the face and not being able to take advantage of the offer. The fact that I knew that I could get frozen veggies for less than .50, and not buying a single one because I already have a freezer full. Passing up deals on cereal, pasta, crackers, and pop.

Then, I opened up my cabinet this morning and discovered that I only had 3 bottles of juice. To an average shopper, 3 bottles of juice is great. But for an extreme couponer and stockpiler, it was the fear that I may run out before I could find that ultimate low price again.

The challenge here is finding balance! A balance between what is considered excessive, and what is considered smart stockpiling. It's knowing that a sale will come back around, another coupon will be out within a few week's time, and you will be able to find a great deal. It's knowing that you do not have to take advantage of every offer out there, just because the price seems too good to be true. Finding a balance in couponing is crucial. Especially when you get so many things for cheap or free.

It's still the beginning of the week, but I feel like I don't need the week to end to see my accomplishments. The amount of money I have spent on groceries this past month for my family of 4 is amazing. The funny part is that I still have a decent amount of food left in my freezer and pantry to continue on for another few weeks if I wanted to. It's no where near hoarder status, and I know for a fact that I was never there to begin with. It's pretty astonishing what a little bit of planning, hard work, and simple changes can do to your grocery budget.

Here's a round up of my most recent shopping trips this week.

Total Spent: 19.68

Items Bought:


Whole Milk
Eggs
8 lbs Oranges
2 lbs Bananas
3 lbs Apples
4 yogurt
2 lunch meat
(5) 100% whole wheat bread