The OFFICIAL February NO-SPEND & PANTRY Challenges!!! Anyone can join, come on in! - Page 2

[lmonter]

Originally Posted by rosie_plus_one

lmonter - Huge help!! But can I do that stuff with smoked salmon? Salmon loaf sounds awesome....

The recipes I've seen for salmon loaf (just look on allrecipes.com or recipezaar.com or whatever) and stuff used the canned stuff. I don't really see how your smoked salmon would be all that different, it'll all get mushed and mixed together. Yours would probably be yummier because of the whole smoked thing though.

[cjr]

I'm in for both. We are in the middle of reno's and materials have jumped in price since we commited to these prodjects last year. Money is declining. I participate in a food coop every two months and stock up on so much, but I'm still spending hundreds each month. My goal is to spend $100/week on food max. I'm sure we could live for months and months with what's in our freezer and pantry.

I'm also a big impulse buyer. I have spent the last month decluttering and giving away everything we don't need or use on freecycle. We rented a dumpster two weeks before the actual demolition just to have a place to throw all the broken, not salvagable items. Amazing what we collect and hold on to.

Today I updated my SPUD delivery to include only three organic fruits we love and can't get accross the street, plus organic chocolate chips that were on for cheaper than the coop price (so I bought 6 bags as the kids will eat anything that even has one chocolate chip in it), organic milk/cream cheese/1 block of cheddar, and 1 carton of organic eggs. This came to $61.43. That leaves me with $40 for the rest of this week. Not a lot of food. The deliver is free and I don't buy their expensive items, but it saves me from driving the 30min to the hfs to geth these items. I also spent $26 on a pair of school shoes for dd (her other school shoes will be put up for dd#2), and $63 for two pairs of runners for me (one for the gym as my gym shoes have holes in the toes, and one for home).

[Attila the Honey]

I need ideas to use up potatoes. I have 50lbs of them! : They were only 3.99 at the store, who can pass that up? lol

Problem is, I need healthful recipes. Not mashed potatoes, for example! (darn) We've been eating baked potatoes with leftovers on them 1-2x a week (leftover chili or sloppy joe sauce or whatever we have that is 'saucey'). I don't want to make potato soup because it's not as healthy or filling as bean soups and I try to always have a bean soup on hand for lunches. Also, when I get sick of a particular bean soup I can freeze it, but in my experience potato soup doesn't freeze as well.

I can't say I've been no-spend, but I've done well at sticking to my grocery budget and not eating take out. I wanted to order a pizza SO BADLY last week, pmsing, but I didn't. I still don't know how I managed not to, the next morning I was so proud of myself!

I've been raiding the pantry alot but I have a weird complex... does anyone else get nervous when the cupboard seems too bare? (and in my case 'too bare' means not stuffed to the gills!!) In the past we've been in really wretched financial shape, as in flat broke and worried about how we'd eat, and I think I am always scared of that happening even though we are on better ground financially and have a savings etc. It's a mental thing, I am not yet comfortable or OK with not stockpiling food.

Dh jokes that I like to collect food.

Anyone else?

[wurzelkind]

I am as well -for the Pantry Challenge, that is- and that's all I can type at the moment as DD woke up from her nap.

I'll be back later

[Matt's Mom in MT]

I'm joining the no spend challenge. I get nauseous just thinking about it! (I love to shop) We just found out we are pregnant and I would love to be able to save money so we can replace everything we sold at a garage sale a year ago.

[love2all]

I am in for the pantry challenge- i have been clearing it out for a few weeks now and only buying the supplemental fresh food.

[kittynurse]

I'm totally in. I did the January pantry challenge and we did really well.

My DH and I have both commented how empty our fridge looks. The funny thing is we actually are way better off as far as meals go than ever. We have less food, but way more useful food. Also, I have been feeding the freezer like crazy so things that would have previously sat around going to waste are now part of a meal that will get eaten eventually.

I have also started having two grocery lists. One is for immediate needs like milk, butter etc. and the other is for items that we need but not necessarily right away like chocolate chips, pizza sauce etc. These items can be purchased when we have extra money or when they go on sale.

We are not doing the no spend challenge so I have been allowing myself to stock up on some stuff. Our grocery store had a huge sale on pantry items that we use regularly (diced tomatoes, pasta, baked beans etc.) so we bought a tonne. So our pantry is actually more full than before but it is all stuff that will get used and we had significant savings on it.

My goal is to eventually, as much as possible, only buy pantry items when they are on sale and stock up. We have been doing this with sliced bread for a little while. Our brand goes on sale regularly so we buy 4 loaves and stick them in the freezer.

Although we weren't doing the no spend challenge, we actually ended up spending very little other than groceries. I hope to keep that up for February.

[sweetfeet]

I have also started having two grocery lists. One is for immediate needs like milk, butter etc. and the other is for items that we need but not necessarily right away like chocolate chips, pizza sauce etc. These items can be purchased when we have extra money or when they go on sale.

I love this idea! I just wanted to quote it so I dont lose it when this thread gets to 12 pages.

[kittynurse]

Originally Posted by sweetfeet

I love this idea! I just wanted to quote it so I dont lose it when this thread gets to 12 pages.

Thanks - I'm glad you like it! It actually happened quite by accident when we were a bit short one week but it worked out so well I kept it!

[HelloKitty]

I'm definetly in for the no spending challenge this month! I'm alloting myself a $5 per week allowance though because I need my latte once a week.

I can't really do the pantry challenge this month because I did my own sort of pantry challenge last month and now my pantry is kind of bare! I did a big grocery store trip on Sunday though so I'm going to try to keep spending for the rest of the month down to $75 per week.

[camotyka]

This is going to be tough but its more than needed... I'm in for both!

[lmonter]

Originally Posted by kittynurse

I have also started having two grocery lists. One is for immediate needs like milk, butter etc. and the other is for items that we need but not necessarily right away like chocolate chips, pizza sauce etc. These items can be purchased when we have extra money or when they go on sale.

Especially for when they go on sale. I typically put something on the 'eventual' list as we open the last one from the pantry, and I'll typically be able to find it on sale in the future. If not, I only buy one.

Originally Posted by Attila the Honey

I need ideas to use up potatoes. I have 50lbs of them! They were only 3.99 at the store, who can pass that up? lol

Problem is, I need healthful recipes. Not mashed potatoes, for example! (darn) We've been eating baked potatoes with leftovers on them 1-2x a week (leftover chili or sloppy joe sauce or whatever we have that is 'saucey'). I don't want to make potato soup because it's not as healthy or filling as bean soups and I try to always have a bean soup on hand for lunches. Also, when I get sick of a particular bean soup I can freeze it, but in my experience potato soup doesn't freeze as well.

Hmmm... not even a clam chowder or potato chowder or corn chowder (with potatoes)? Roasted potatoes? Really fresh hash browns? If you do do hash browns, you could throw those on many a casserole...

Originally Posted by Attila the Honey

I've been raiding the pantry alot but I have a weird complex... does anyone else get nervous when the cupboard seems too bare? (and in my case 'too bare' means not stuffed to the gills!!) In the past we've been in really wretched financial shape, as in flat broke and worried about how we'd eat, and I think I am always scared of that happening even though we are on better ground financially and have a savings etc. It's a mental thing, I am not yet comfortable or OK with not stockpiling food.
Anyone else?

Yes. I inherited it from my depression-experiencing grandmothers. One had 4 boys, a 1/3 acre garden, a dedicated fruit/canning room, 2 regular fridge/freezers, 2 upright freezers and a giant chest freezer almost the size of their car. Other one had 5 boys 1 girl, had 3 fridge/freezers, and 3 or 4 upright freezers. I figure I'm doing good with my little brood and my 4 cubic foot chest freezer and 10x10ish pantry downstairs (pantry has food, cleaning supplies, canning supplies, paper products, some boxes for certain appliances that we wanted to save, extra pots/pans, etc.) I always remind dh it could be worse. And it's constantly a struggle because I always want to have more on hand or want a bigger freezer (which we might do as the boys get older, but only get a 7-11 cubic foot freezer, not a 25-footer).

[katebleu]

I fell off the wagon by the end of last month. I got discouraged because I hadn't taken into account everything we would need each week, so we spent more than I wanted. We ended up eating out a lot last week. I also bought yarn to finish an afghan and fabric to a dress for me. The yarn and the fabric only totaled $45 which is nothing compared to what I could have done. I didn't buy an unnecessary pair of jeans, for instance. I also keep my pantry pretty low so I kept needing things. Right now I need to restock rice and something else, I can't remember.

We made an offer on a townhouse though so we have to get on track. Here's my break down: $20 at Fred Meyer, $10 at Traders Joe's. Those are easy. The hard part is keeping up with the things DP forgot to tell me he needed. Argh! (We have major spending differences.) I would like to keep him to $60 for the next 4 weeks. We'll see how that goes. That's $45 a week, including fruit and veggies, fish once a week and things like ibuprofin for Lucie's teething gums and laundry soup.

Keeping the spending to cash is helping though. So we can go out to eat once a week if we have cash for it.

I did, however, skip my obligatory Monday trip to Fred Meyer because there was nothing great on sale and I didn't need anything if I organized my meals for the week in the right order. Then I was crushed when my soup for dinner was hardly touched. I think though it was because I had cooked all afternoon and wasn't hungry so I didn't eat. I don't think DP believed it was good if I wasn't eating it. Lucie and I will eat it for lunch all week so it's not a loss, just disappointing.

I'm also in the no-spend. Gas is ok. DP needs to upgrade the new computer his parents sent us. Since the $1300 computer was free I'll buy Office and Vista. DP needed a new computer so that's definitely a win.

Also I paid off a credit card yesterday. Three are gone. Gone! The other two I use. Old Navy fills out Lucie's hand-me-downs, and we can't afford to pay off the last bank card. It has the lowest interest rate so it's ok.

We're also looking into changing internet and cable providers. There's a really good bundled internet, cable and phone package in our area. It's even offered by a company I can almost respect. That would save us $120 a month, even if we kept out cell phones (on a lesser plan).

But I'm in again. Keep me motivated.

[cristeen]

I'm thinking about joining. I really need to sit down and analyze our expenditures first, though. I really need to figure out where our money is going.

Originally Posted by katebleu

DP needs to upgrade the new computer his parents sent us. Since the $1300 computer was free I'll buy Office and Vista. DP needed a new computer so that's definitely a win.

This caught my eye, being the computer nerd that I am. Unless there is a pressing reason to buy MS Office, most people can use Open Office just fine for a home computer. The bonus is it's free. It has virtually all the same functionality as MS Office, but a much nicer price tag.

As for Vista, I would highly recommend waiting a little while before buying it. DH has been testing on it at work, and with all the problems it's having, again unless there's a pressing reason, waiting is probably a better option.

[AngelBee]

I really don't understand how to set up a pricebook

How do you find out the prices at all of the stores?

[katebleu]

Originally Posted by cristeen

I'm thinking about joining. I really need to sit down and analyze our expenditures first, though. I really need to figure out where our money is going.

This caught my eye, being the computer nerd that I am. Unless there is a pressing reason to buy MS Office, most people can use Open Office just fine for a home computer. The bonus is it's free. It has virtually all the same functionality as MS Office, but a much nicer price tag.

As for Vista, I would highly recommend waiting a little while before buying it. DH has been testing on it at work, and with all the problems it's having, again unless there's a pressing reason, waiting is probably a better option.

DP uses Office for work, and he works at Microsoft so if he has a Vista problem he has a tech just down the hall.

I have a suggestion for your first paragraph. I wrote down everything we spent last month. It wasn't near as time consuming as I though. It was like, $20 groceries, $10 coffee, $6 dvd rental. Cash spending in red. Debit card use in black. (Although those two should switch.) So know that we're really spending at least $40 at the grocery store, in stead of the $20 that I was going for.

[bec]

Well, I had to buy saline solution, today. But, I went to CVS and am trying their house brand which was almost half the cost of the name brand I usually use. I also need to buy garbage bags (we have 2 left, and the kitchen garbage is over flowing! I don't feel bad about buying those things because they are things we need and use. Oh, and I had to buy valentines cards for the kids to pass out to their classes (no, I'm not making nearly 60 valentines between now and then! ). So, I spent $4 on valentines and $10 on saline solution. I'm embarassed to say that I really don't know how much garbage bags cost.

We're also going to need toilet paper soon (I'd never get DH to sign on to cloth TP ), but I think we can wait till next week.

We're out of napkins, but I have so many cloth napkins (handed down from my MIL. She's a little obsessive about table linens ), I think I'm going to go that route. I'm doing laundry every day, anyway, the napkins will fit right in! And the kids will think we're being all fancy, so will love it.

The baby broke my only pair of sunglasses, but I'm going to hold off buying a new pair for this month. Maybe I'll buy them as a treat if I do well at the end of the month!

Oh, and I have my oldest's 6th birthday at the beginning of March that I need to plan for, but I'm going to start checking out the dollar stores in the area. I usually have great luck for party supplies/favors, etc. I'll make my own invitations and I'm going to bake her a chocolate cake instead of buying one. Maybe we'll make our own ice cream or something, too.

So far, so good with not eating out, though!

[katebleu]

bec, your mention of table linens made me think of a great 6th birthday idea. A tea party. Goodwill has tea cups for like $.50, I think that last time I was there. Coordinated party favor that you use at the party. Pull out nice linens that are good an washable. If you use special things you already have you won't have to buy streamers, etc. but your house will look different. Make punch in the punch bowl if you have one. Use the tea service, you don't know why you have. Put the cake on a fancy tray your daughter likes. Make ice cream as an activity at the party!

kate

[cjr]

I just went through my freezer and pantry and made a list of what's in there so I can menu plan for next week. We are renovating so we have no kitchen right now, but we are not eating out. I bought lots of salad greens and splurged on Amy's frozen entree's (broccoli pot pie, veggie pockets, rice bowls, burrito's). We have been eating those with a big side of salad every night for dinner. Much cheaper and healthier than eating out every night. I have my griddle, microwave and toaster oven...so we are good.

Anyway, I'm sure we could survive six months on the stock of food I have. I love my food coop. I need to utilize the goods though and shop at home. I tend to find a new recipie and of course have nothing on hand for it, so I shop. No more!!!

[Jennisee]

Originally Posted by AngelBee

I really don't understand how to set up a pricebook

How do you find out the prices at all of the stores?

I refer to my "pricebook low" because it's the easiest way to explain it to people, especially here at MDC where the The Tightwad Gazette is popular, but I actually keep track in my head. Maybe it's the way my brain works, but I just remember that $5/100 oz is the cheapest my laundry detergent ever goes and that Trader Joe's has the cheapest granola my DH will eat at $2/lb. There are plenty of things that I don't memorize the exact prices, but I do know which stores consistently carry them the cheapest. Also, I actually do a lot of my shopping at places that don't run sales, like local farmers, Trader Joe's, or the Amish health food store, so I mostly only have to watch sale prices at one store, Kroger.

That probably doesn't help much, huh? I think most people just get a notebook and write in the 10 or 20 items they buy the most, get out their receipts, write down what they have recently paid for the item, and then start watching for sales to write down the sale price. I would definitely recommend getting The Complete Tightwad Gazette from your library. The author goes into pricebooks in some detail.