Day 1

So today is officially the first day of our challenge and so far, so good! Armed with our prepared list, I went to the grocery store yesterday and was able to make it through relatively unscathed, although it is safe to say that it was the longest grocery store trip I have ever taken.

Since cost was such a major factor, there wasn't a single item I bought where I didn't spend a few minutes looking for a cheaper alternative. And, in many cases, I was able to find them. The end result was not only that it took much longer than anticipated, but also that we spent around $70;  $5 less than our allotted budget. So our plan of having a $25 cushion for the weekend and/or in case our purchases don't last as long as we hope, is still in effect.

I had to call some audibles though (sorry for the football reference Ravens fans). We had initially wanted to buy a family pack of chicken thighs, but they weren't on sale, so we ended up getting chicken quarters. And they didn't have the extra large eggs I was hoping to get, so I ended up going with smaller eggs which were the only other ones on sale.

There were also some items we considered essential that were more expensive than we had budgeted for. Specifically, the bananas (which we ended up buying at Safeway; not Trader Joe's) were slightly more than anticipated while the sweet potatoes were about double the price (although this only added $1 to the overall cost).

These were some of the other items on our list:

Mac & Cheese - 4 boxes of generic brand at $1 per box

Tuna - 4 cans also at $1 per can

Two loaves of multi-grain bread for $5 - it was buy one; get one free

Whole milk for Hailey which was $3.79. Not cheap, but definitely less expensive than the organic whole milk we usually buy

Ground Turkey - This was $5.49 for 1.3 pounds, but Stacie used it to make meatloaf which, between all three of us, should be good for 2-3 meals.

Soup - I was able to get 4 cans of Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup for $1 each.

Peanut Butter - Was going to get the generic brand, but Safeway had a sale on Jif peanut butter which ended up being the same price, so I went with the better (and slightly healthier option)

Plain Yogurt - This was $3, but Hailey eats yogurt every day at daycare, so Stacie and I both felt that we should allow her to continue doing so as long as it fell within our budget, which it did.

String Cheese - Again, this was relatively expensive at $5, but Hailey loves them and it went a long way towards ensuring that her meal requirements were met for the week.

I also have a confession to make. In addition to all the essential items purchased, I did buy myself a bottle of soda as well. I have a minor (at least I think it's minor!) caffeine addiction. In the morning, I need either a cup of coffee or a soda. Once I have that, I'm pretty much set for the day, but if I don't, I really notice it including getting occasional headaches. Since I'm going to be working the entire week, I considered it less than ideal to be dealing with these headaches.  Obviously I couldn't afford or justify buying Coke or Pepsi products, so I bought one 2 liter bottle of Safeway's generic brand for 69 cents. I'm keeping it at work, so I can have my usual soda drink in the morning and that should last the entire week. And even if it doesn't, I have resolved that I will not be buying any more. Not sure if it was the right thing to do or not. We'll have to see how our budget is looking by the end of the week.

I'm genuinely curious to see how this all works out. I think the most difficult part is that, since both Stacie and I try to exercise on a regular basis, we are also both accustomed to small snacks between meals to try and replenish our energy. This is obviously not easy to do when you are on a limited budget and, when we made our list, we didn't really account for these snacks so it looks like we're going to need to go without them. Again, this is another benefit to having the "cushion" funds in that if either of us finds that it is not working, we have some wiggle-room. I also anticipate that both of us will have a lighter work out schedule this week than would normally be the case.

So I am one meal into the challenge already. Breakfast this morning was two pieces of toast with peanut butter. For lunch, I have some meatloaf and then I believe the plan for dinner tonight is to make the chicken. We also bought shake 'n bake so we won't have to eat the chicken plain and I think we should be able to add a side to the chicken like sweet potato or peas. Good times.

Will check in again tomorrow. Thanks again for all the support and encouragement.

Neil, Stacie and Hailey