Monday June 2, 2008
First the preparation.
Seeing as my wife is out of town this week, I decided to set aside my starter pantry to avoid cheating. In the picture you can see my choices: Red Sauce, Pasta, Bottle of Juice (would have preferred Orange, but as that is perishable, I didn't think it should count), Sauerkraut and Canned Tomatoes for my Veggies, Baked Beans, Tuna, Cereal, Peanut Butter, Two Pasta Sides, Chocolate Bar for my snack, Kielbasa for Meat, Salt and Mayonnaise for my Condiments (I'd really have trouble giving those up, but I wish I could include pepper too), Eggs, and Butter.
When I agreed to do this challenge, I initially thought it would be a cakewalk. After all, I did go to college, where frugal living is a necessity! I even remembered back to when my wife and I first moved in together and I was absolutely shocked when she wanted to spend more than $20/week on groceries. So, this should be easy for me. Right???
Wrong. From just the first day, my smugness has already worn thin. It's amazing how little we forget, how routines set into our lives, and how much we condition ourselves to take for granted.
Sure, I can eat on three bucks a day. That's not too hard. But I will be either hungry, malnutritioned, miserable, or some awkward combination of all three. As of this writing, I am seriously jonesing for a glass of Diet Sunkist (I drink it like it is God’s own sweet nectar). I considered trying a cheaper brand, but I don’t even think that would fit in the budget…and I’m spoiled when it comes to brands.
That brings up another point. Take a close look at what I started with for my emergency pantry, and you’ll see that all the brands are premium…and they were all chosen by me. This is a luxury that people do not get when visiting a food pantry and, as unfair as it may be, I now recognize this as a significant means for me to complete this challenge.
I know I’m rambling now, but the concept of brand choices brought another thought into my minds eye: what about the rest of the stuff? You know, life’s necessities. Things like toilet paper, paper towels, detergent, bath soap, toothpaste, etc. This stuff isn’t cheap, and I know I have my own particular brands. I do consider myself to be on a semi-limited budget, but if I were really struggling the cost of these personal brand choices would severely limit me.
Okay, I’ve blathered enough, so I might as well get down to it. How did my first day go?
Tuesday June 3, 2008
Short answer: it has been quite easy, despite my desire for orange soda, and a desire for a small caffeine kick from my favorite chai tea.
Slightly longer answer: I was up all of last night working on a project for a client and didn’t go to bed until 8 AM, so I slept most of the day away. As it stands, the only thing I’ve consumed today is water (filtered, which probably shouldn’t count either), even though it is almost 6 PM my time.
Don’t get me wrong, because my stomach is growling like a bunch of angry bears…and I’ll need to address it soon.
I haven’t fully decided on what to have for dinner, but I want it to be good since it is likely to be my only meal today. I’ll definitely give specifics on my next entry, but I am currently thinking about the pre-made potato salad I bought over the weekend (it cost $2.69 for 16 ounces). It is within budget, but is it healthy to only eat potato salad for a day?
I’m sure my wife has an answer to that, but as I said, she’s out of town. So her vote doesn’t count.
Until next time…
Wednesday June 4, 2008
First the preparation.
Seeing as my wife is out of town this week, I decided to set aside my starter pantry to avoid cheating. In the picture you can see my choices: Red Sauce, Pasta, Bottle of Juice (would have preferred Orange, but as that is perishable, I didn't think it should count), Sauerkraut and Canned Tomatoes for my Veggies, Baked Beans, Tuna, Cereal, Peanut Butter, Two Pasta Sides, Chocolate Bar for my snack, Kielbasa for Meat, Salt and Mayonnaise for my Condiments (I'd really have trouble giving those up, but I wish I could include pepper too), Eggs, and Butter.
When I agreed to do this challenge, I initially thought it would be a cakewalk. After all, I did go to college, where frugal living is a necessity! I even remembered back to when my wife and I first moved in together and I was absolutely shocked when she wanted to spend more than $20/week on groceries. So, this should be easy for me. Right???
Wrong. From just the first day, my smugness has already worn thin. It's amazing how little we forget, how routines set into our lives, and how much we condition ourselves to take for granted.
Sure, I can eat on three bucks a day. That's not too hard. But I will be either hungry, malnutritioned, miserable, or some awkward combination of all three. As of this writing, I am seriously jonesing for a glass of Diet Sunkist (I drink it like it is God’s own sweet nectar). I considered trying a cheaper brand, but I don’t even think that would fit in the budget…and I’m spoiled when it comes to brands.
That brings up another point. Take a close look at what I started with for my emergency pantry, and you’ll see that all the brands are premium…and they were all chosen by me. This is a luxury that people do not get when visiting a food pantry and, as unfair as it may be, I now recognize this as a significant means for me to complete this challenge.
I know I’m rambling now, but the concept of brand choices brought another thought into my minds eye: what about the rest of the stuff? You know, life’s necessities. Things like toilet paper, paper towels, detergent, bath soap, toothpaste, etc. This stuff isn’t cheap, and I know I have my own particular brands. I do consider myself to be on a semi-limited budget, but if I were really struggling the cost of these personal brand choices would severely limit me.
Okay, I’ve blathered enough, so I might as well get down to it. How did my first day go?
Tuesday June 3, 2008
Short answer: it has been quite easy, despite my desire for orange soda, and a desire for a small caffeine kick from my favorite chai tea.
Slightly longer answer: I was up all of last night working on a project for a client and didn’t go to bed until 8 AM, so I slept most of the day away. As it stands, the only thing I’ve consumed today is water (filtered, which probably shouldn’t count either), even though it is almost 6 PM my time.
Don’t get me wrong, because my stomach is growling like a bunch of angry bears…and I’ll need to address it soon.
I haven’t fully decided on what to have for dinner, but I want it to be good since it is likely to be my only meal today. I’ll definitely give specifics on my next entry, but I am currently thinking about the pre-made potato salad I bought over the weekend (it cost $2.69 for 16 ounces). It is within budget, but is it healthy to only eat potato salad for a day?
I’m sure my wife has an answer to that, but as I said, she’s out of town. So her vote doesn’t count.
Until next time…
Wednesday June 4, 2008
Last night, I forwent the potato salad idea. Instead, for dinner I heated up a package of BBQ shredded chicken and made a sandwich out of about half of it. I got the chicken on sale this week for $3.99, but I only used half of the package (the other half will be dinner for tonight). So with the cheap roll I used, I spent $2.33 yesterday...well within budget, but I was very hungry this morning.
For today, I had an english muffin (21.5 cents) and butter and peanut butter for breakfast. I had a burrito for lunch (45 cents) and will be having the same dinner as last night. Grand total = $2.995...just barely making it, and I am currently quite hungry. In fact, my head is a bit swimmy, because I am hungry, and I'm actually having trouble writing this. I'm going to have to dip into my pantry supply and make some buttered egg noodles, otherwise I won't make it through the night. What is really killing me is that I'd love to go for some blue cheese or brie on crackers right now (that is one of my normal evening snacks that I have with my wife in the evenings). Unfortunately, even a small bloc of those cheeses on sale would be the budget for two days. Good thing I didn't buy any this week, or it would probably be to much temptation.
Best...
Thursday June 5, 2008
Yesterday was really rough. By the late afternoon, I had a pretty
serious low, had trouble concentrating, and was getting shaky. It was
so bad that, even after eating dinner, it took quite a while for it to
pass. I was no longer hungry, but still felt the effects of the sugar
low. I think part of the problem was that I wasn't really using the food
from my initial pantry. Somehow, a hoarding concept kicked in and I
was afraid to use it. This makes me realize how important these food
pantries are to people in need. I don't know how they survive without
them.
Yesterday was really rough. By the late afternoon, I had a pretty
serious low, had trouble concentrating, and was getting shaky. It was
so bad that, even after eating dinner, it took quite a while for it to
pass. I was no longer hungry, but still felt the effects of the sugar
low. I think part of the problem was that I wasn't really using the food
from my initial pantry. Somehow, a hoarding concept kicked in and I
was afraid to use it. This makes me realize how important these food
pantries are to people in need. I don't know how they survive without
them.
Today was/is much better. I'm actually barely spending any money on
food because I'm tapping into my initial supply.
For breakfast I had scrambled eggs on a buttered english muffin (21.5
cents). It was good, but I would have loved a piece of cheese with it
(God, I miss cheese! My normal motto is, "Praise Cheezus!") For
lunch, I had a burrito (45 cents) and a bit from my pantry snack (a
few pieces from a chocolate bar). Tonight, I plan on hitting the pantry again, since turkey kielbasa was my meat choice. I plan on having that for dinner with more buttered noodles and (probably) an ear of buttered corn, or some other fresh
vegetable. I should be well under budget, and fed, though I realize
I'm not eating all that healthy. I should have enough in my budget left over to splurge on a late-night
snack, if the mood strikes.
Glad this'll be over soon!
Best,
Friday June 6, 2008
food because I'm tapping into my initial supply.
For breakfast I had scrambled eggs on a buttered english muffin (21.5
cents). It was good, but I would have loved a piece of cheese with it
(God, I miss cheese! My normal motto is, "Praise Cheezus!") For
lunch, I had a burrito (45 cents) and a bit from my pantry snack (a
few pieces from a chocolate bar). Tonight, I plan on hitting the pantry again, since turkey kielbasa was my meat choice. I plan on having that for dinner with more buttered noodles and (probably) an ear of buttered corn, or some other fresh
vegetable. I should be well under budget, and fed, though I realize
I'm not eating all that healthy. I should have enough in my budget left over to splurge on a late-night
snack, if the mood strikes.
Glad this'll be over soon!
Best,
Friday June 6, 2008
Really quickly, because it is late.
I survived another day, but I'm getting really tired of this. I'm glad I have to stop this on Sunday (a client is flying in from California and I have to take him out to dinner).Anyways, today I had a can of clam chowder from my pantry for lunch, along with a leftover piece of kielbasa from last night's dinner. I also nibbled a bit on my snack from the pantry (the chocolate bar). For dinner, I had a piece of grilled chicken (~$2.00) on an english muffin (21.5 cents) and I split a pasta side dish from the pantry with my wife (mac&cheese). I'm probably cheating, since I grilled the chicken. I'm assuming many people in need wouldn't have access to an outdoor grill, or even the mesquite smoker (wood) chips we use for extra flavor.I'm full, but tired. I wonder if the lethargy I am feeling today is due to my poor eating this week?I'll try to give a fuller update in tomorrow's update.
Until then...
-P
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