January Budget

I have decided to go ahead now, sit down, and write up my budget for January.  It will be somewhat easier, as I have a good deal of stockpile to go with for the first month.

As some of you know, I have stated I would like to set a budget of 600.00 a YEAR for groceries. Which averages out to 50.00 a month. This does not include pet food, pet litter, HBA (health and beauty items like paper towels or toilet paper) but just food. And I have had some people tell me that it can NOT be done. So , being the challenge taker I am, I am going to prove them wrong.

Keep in mind, that right now there are just 2 of us. Humans that is. And I am on a healthy lifestyle journey as well. So, to be fair I do drink protein shakes a lot as my meals. They also do not count in this budget. Mainly because my mom buys them for me right now, until I can afford to do so. But that money will be set aside separately from the grocery budget. I just want to get all the facts straight before I set out on this journey.

My goal is to become debt free by December of 2014, minus the house and any loans we, as a family, might have from school etc. This includes all credit card, store card, and personal debt. Which is not a huge amount compared to others, but for us, its substantial. I will be adding bits and pieces of that in this journey as well as we go along.

So my budget for January is 50.00.
I have 31 days to fill.
I am only including dinners. Lunch we eat leftovers mainly, or I drink my shakes. So this is just dinner menu's.

Shopping List (guesstimate)
Milk- between 2 and 4 gallons. We usually go through a gallon a week/week and a half. We dont drink a lot of milk , but I use it in my recipes.
Salad- 4 bags
Tomatoes canned
Carrots
Celery
Bananas for one week
Potatoes bagged
Frozen Veggies - 3 bags mixed
Shredded Cheese - 2 bags for pizzas
Bottled water- yes I know i can just use the refillable cups. I have one, but i drink a lot of water and cant afford a new filter for my fridge just yet so it goes on the list. 2 cases
Bagels
English Muffins
Lunch meat 2
Yogurt 8 
Coffee creamer ( one thing i just cant live without )
Peanut butter

That should be right about 50.00 w/sales and commissary shopping.
You see I do not have bread or meats on there. I am all stocked up on these items. I bought a lot of chicken, fish and hamburgers and they are in my deep freezer. Breads I am working now to perfect the art of making loaves of bread. And almost have it down. Therefor, I will be making my own breads , rolls, hot pockets etc.

Just to add to this- I do not need toilet paper as I purchased 96 rolls back in May and i have enough to last me at least through February or March at the rate we use it. Best purchase ever and will do it again. Same with paper towels. I finally am down to my last 2 rolls since May. I bought some to supplement them, but i only use those in extreme cases. I use regular kitchen towels and wash them. Much cheaper. I also buy 50 lbs of dog food at a time for my one dog and that lasts her months. I have 5 cats and go through about 2 large bags of cat food a month. I am not including it in this because its not something i can really have any wiggle room with. They are my furbabies :)

Menu for January

I dont have a set menu yet. I like to go with the flow usually. But we will be having soups, burgers, fish, chicken, spaghetti, mexican foods, homemade chicken pot pie, homemade pizza and more. I have a lot of things already stockpiled. And as you can see, I love to make things. I do not ever go out with the intention of buying something just to make a dish. I did buy honey to make a sauce but knew id use it for more than just that. I like to be resourceful. So just because I am not spending a ton of $$$ on food, doesnt mean we wont eat well, have treats, etc. I encourage you to follow this blog and me.

xoxo Steph