Living on $40 per week (grocery budget) - Week 1

Every year when lent arrives I always contemplate on what to give up. This year, I decided to give up alcohol, which is really not a big deal but I also decided to try and feed our family on $40/week. My husband thought I was crazy when I told him about the idea but I thought it would help me budget better when I went to the store. On Tuesday before lent started, I decided to stock up on a few things just in case we had friends over!  I didn't want them to go hungry. When Ash Wednesday arrived last week, it was time to put this budget into high gear.

Shopping at Hy-Vee

I usually do my grocery shopping on the weekends, so Sunday little-C and I headed to Hy-Vee. Knowing I was only on a $40 budget, I only took my license so I could drive to the store and $40 cash - I left everything else at home. I received the cash idea from my friend Laura. She has a great post on her blog about the "envelope system"- check it out! 

Once we arrived at Hy-Vee, little-C grabbed a min-cart and off we went. We picked up some pears, apples, squash, bananas, sweet potatoes, frozen blueberries and frozen cherries. As we approached the checkout line, I had a bit of a panic attack because I thought...what if I don't have enough money to purchase the groceries in the mini-cart. I asked myself, could there really be over $40 in the mini-cart?

Baby food for the week

As the cashier rang up the items, I closely watched the subtotal.  Whew, the items I purchased were less than $21. Once we got home, I was busy making R-man's food for the week. This week he is eating - pears/cherries, apples/cherries, green beans/squash and squash with cinnamon. I didn't use the frozen blueberries or sweet potatoes so that will help my budget for this upcoming week.

Things I learned about being on a $40 per week grocery budget:

1. Making baby food on a $40 budget is difficult.
2. Always use a mini-cart or basket when shopping because it fits less items.
3. Don't take any other forms of payment, except cash when shopping on a budget but add up the items as you go. (I would have been really embarrassed if I would have said I couldn't afford a few of the items.)  
4. Make things you already have in your cupboards - it will help make the $40 go further.
5. Consider purchasing store brands. (I tend to purchase brand labels.)  

This upcoming weekend, I'll begin with $40 and the other $19 I didn't use this week will be split among the kids! Gosh, they may be rich by the end of lent. My goal is to spend less than my budgeted amount each week, if I can.

I received this grocery budget idea from Katie Olthoff.  She tried it on $25/week but I knew with making R-man's food, I couldn't do that.