Food Spending Last Week
I am not counting groceries in this figure, but from Monday to Saturday last week, I spent about $70 on food. Since I decided to start writing stuff down again and getting back into calorie intake monitoring, it’s been pretty easy to figure out where the money goes. (The calories not so much though. But I digress.)
Since I had a free dinner last week, I think I spent very little overall. I suckered my boyfriend into buying drinks on Saturday night at Mate in Georgetown because I knew I had just enough cash in my pocket to buy dinner at Harmony Cafe. ($24 for two with tip, VERY CHEAP for a sit-down meal in Georgetown.) I didn’t think we’d stay long at Mate, but we ended up drinking longer than expected.(Please try the “French” martini, delicious!) The folks we were meeting turned out to be more fun than expected. (Co-worker’s 30th birthday and I didn’t know his friends.) I feel slightly guilty about the bar tab being high, but I made it up to boyfriend the next day by doing all of his laundry before a business trip.
I also bought some groceries for the office for breakfast and snacking. Instead of tossing a dollar into the coffee kitty, I bought coffee and sugar cubes. (Someone prefers cubes and they were running low.) It’s very informal and I’d say I spent about $11, but this means unlimited coffee and I don’t always have to make it myself. I also have a big bag of chips to eat with sandwiches I buy at a the local delis. Small things. Very small things add up. 99 cent bags of chips are either money you can save, or calories you don’t have to eat. I compromise by eating a small handful of chips from the big bag doled out into a dish so I can see them all at once and not over eat. A large bag should last me in the office till they go stale.
I may also go down the path of bread, peanut butter and jelly on my office shelf. There is nothing like protein to make you feel full. It’s a cheap and tasty snack. Way better than silly energy bars of dubious flavors and odd additives. I also miss juice. It’s time to start buying bottles of juice to drink at work. I find a 64 oz Ocean Spray bottle is fine to leave on the shelf at work for a week. Sure refrigeration after opening is recommended, but it’s so acidic, I think it’s safe to leave it. I get ice from the ice maker and that waters it down nicely for me.
What are you doing lately to spend less on food?
Revanche wrote:
Have actually failed on saving money on food this week, but usually I do my best to plan and buy staples in enough bulk that we can swing a collaborative lunch or two at work. Constant purchases: bags of salad, and eggs at TJ. One for lunches, supplementary or main course when I add some protein, and the other for breakfasts and an ingredient in dinners.
For a while the grocery list included loaf of bread and cheese every week for toast, and the beginnings of sandwiches and salads for lunches but I’ve gotten really lazy with all the traveling.
Posted on 18-Sep-08 at 12:06 pm | Permalink
Leyonie wrote:
I realised that my budget was being derailed by eating out and buying lunches at work. I live in the Caribbean so lunch runs about 10-12 and that usually includes, 1 salad, 1 meat, 1 or 2 starches ie rice, macaronie pie,scalloped potatoes,sweet potato pie, you know soul food, lol. Anyways I did the math 10×5=50×4=$200 of food I did not budget for. I figure I could spend half of that on groceries and make the same lunches that I’m buying.I’m making the effort to not be lazy, and cook when I get home from work,that way I can ensure I stay within budget and I have healthy meals and lots of leftovers. Your idea for taking snacks to work is also good, for mid morning munchies, I usually end up running out to the pastry van, so I’ll consider getting some granola bars or other healthy snacks to keep at work.
Posted on 18-Sep-08 at 5:07 pm | Permalink
FruGal wrote:
My aim was to bring my lunch to work with me every day for two weeks. Today is the last day, and I actually succeeded! I also go grocery shopping with a list after planning my meals for the week. This results in a lower grocery bill and less wasted food. It all helps.
Posted on 19-Sep-08 at 4:30 am | Permalink