Week 2 Shopping Trip on a Food Stamp Budget

Because of my overspending the day before (see here) what was once a $120 grocery budget for the week got whittled down to $85. Now, $80 last week was a novelty. I knew that I had food in the cupboards to back me up and I had no idea what that amount of money would get me so it was a fun kind of challenge.

This week I knew what $80 would get me. I knew the kids were on the verge of a civil war in this house pitting themselves against me if I came home with hay and straw again. (Which in their eyes is what the equivalent of what I was buying.) 

I had my list all prepared and then off I went. I did alright at Walmart. I spent only $35 and got several items that I needed such as organic unbleached white flour (which is $2.00 cheaper than the organic flour at Natural Grocers), lemons, cold brew iced tea, organic spinach, organic corn, distilled white vinegar (for cleaning and laundry), yeast, 4 cans of organic diced tomatoes, 5 lb bag of organic carrots, and 4 other items that I cannot remember. 

It was when I got to Natural Grocers that I had a problem. When I shop I always add up the total amount that I am spending in my head and I always round up each item so that I can easily keep track of what I am spending and then get to the check out counter and know that I have spent less than the total in my head. I knew that I had expensive items on my list such as butter, milk, chicken, and cheese. I was sweating it a bit because I knew that I would not be able to afford all of these items, but I also knew that my family needed to eat. 

I ended up putting back several items such as kale, a kiwi, and a grapefruit (which I was craving BIG time). I traded the gallon of milk for the 1/2 gallon. The 1lb of butter for the 1/2 lb. I only bought enough cheese for 1 dinner instead of two. I ended up paying $42 for my groceries, but walked out of the store feeling defeated because I knew that there was no way that I could get the rest of the items on my list for the week and still be able to buy the quality of foods that I want to feed my family. 

Here is what set me back this month - I started this adventure last week on July 3rd. In the two days prior I had already wasted around $40ish on food. That coupled with my crash and burn grocery run to Walmart with the kids two days ago added another $26 in wasteful spending. When you are trying to spend only $522 for the whole month for a family of 6 that $66 is a huge deal. 

For the month of July I have spent: $264. 90 out of $522. I have $257.10 left to spend to stay within budget and 19 days (including today) left in the month. 

This is where I am struggling: I know that I am going to spend more this month than the $522 because I am not willing to sacrifice the quality of food I buy. I feel guilt because a lot of this project was (and is) about trying to live on what a family on food stamps would have to live with. They don't have the extra money that I do to spend on food items when they go over budget. They just have to live with those consequences. And in reality I could still stay within that budget if I wanted to sacrifice the quality of food I buy, but I don't want to. Pure and simple. I don't want to and I don't have to and therefore I won't. I feel terrible about that. 

So my challenge has changed a bit this month. I am going to try to stay at close to the $522 that I can. Even if I spend $600 that is $600-$800 less than I spent last month on food. Which is a huge deal! Plus, $600 is a lot closer to my goal of $522 than I was spending in prior months as well. I think I can get to that amount if I really try hard. I just need to learn a few things first. After years of gluttonous spending I am not going to be perfect right off of the bat, but I sure am going to try and try again until I get to that amount. 

Stay tuned....