So I wasn't sure if I was going to do some grocery spending goal for 2010. But I decided to keep it going.
This coming year, I am going to try to stick to $5,000 again. However, I impulsly joined Weight Watchers. So I'm going to try to corrolate light weight loss & healthy cooking with a budget. I want to see if someone can stick to a program like Weight Watchers and have a relatively low grocery budget. So this year, I'm going to try to concentrate on finding great deals on healthy foods at Shaw's & BJ's. I probably won't use as many coupons as I did in the past. I'll probably buy more chicken and figure out things to make with it, as I'm not the biggest fan of chicken. And I'll be honest - I like junky food. I love Hamburger Helper. I love potato chips & french fries. I love breakfast sausage. At parties, I gravitate to the fattiest, meatiest dip available to me. The carrot sticks usually just kiss my butt. So this will be pretty challenging for me.
I'm starting off this New Year weighing 162 pounds. I'm 5'7" so I really should be in the 140s. In the past 10 years, my weight has ranged from anywhere from 131 to 167 not being pregnant. With both pregnancies, I hit 185. So I'm not trying to go all Kate Moss on myself, since that would be kind of gross, but I should lose a little of this junk in my trunk. 145 should be a good point - give or take a few pounds.
I'm not taking into account my Weight Watchers fee in my grocery budget. I think of that as more of an entertainment expense! If I really want to stick to something like this, I need the weekly meetings to be accountable and all that other nonsense. I'm not good at doing things without others motivating me. Sad, but true.
So there you have it. Hopefully next year, I'll be letting you know that I was able to stick to a grocery budget of $5,000 while being 15 pounds lighter. Only time shall tell....
5 comments:
Good luck! If only they had more coupons for healthy foods...
We eat pretty healthily. We spent just over $7000 last year on groceries, but I wasn't separating food from laundry detergent, diapers, and other household items. We may have actually come close to your goal after cutting out those items. I bet you can work out a way to do meet your goal and I look forward to reading about your quest :)
I think trying to eat more healthy and being fit instead of focusing on the scale is a good goal. If you eat more fruits and veggies and lean meat and drink more water you will lose weight. Good luck becoming more healthy : )
I also think that produce really isn't more expensive than convenience foods. Things that I stock up on when they are on sale because they last for one to two weeks are apples, carrots, brocolli, cauliflower, lettuce (if stored properly) and if kept in a green type bag, strawberries. Don't forget also that frozen veggies have just as if not more nutriants as fresh and can be stored longer and usually have coupons to match up with sales. You can also blanch and freeze fresh veggies if you find you won't use them before they are going to go bad and you can freeze overipe bananas and use them for shakes or banana bread. I'm amazed how we will drop $10 on candy in my house but make excuses not to pay the same amount for strawberries which we love and are more healthy.
Please let us know how it goes and good for you for trying to be more healthy : )
One more tip. If you like raw veggies and ranch dressing make sure you always have cut up veggies or make up a big bowl of salad the day you buy the veggies. My Bigy usually sells the heads of romaine and green leaf lettuce for $0.99! I can get two big bowls of of salad out of one head of lettuce which gives me 6 servings total. I find that I hate preparing food sometimes and that makes me eat more junk but if I have something healthy that is ready to eat I will choose the healthy option.
My $5K included junk like diapers, laundry detergent and cat litter. Hoping to drop diapers though sometimes this year.
It will be interesting to see on a personal level if I drop more loot trying to be all healthy. It will be hard to not get the crap when it goes for virtually free. In theory, I should eat a little less so I shouldn't spend as much! ;)
I think I'm on the exact same page as you Becky. When I read your blog I feel like it's me talking. We are going to try to eat healthier as well and hopefully not have the need to use as many coupons. It will be a challenge in itself to try to avoid those darn catalinas. I hope you will be able to keep up with the weight watchers recipe idea. I will be tuning in each week to see what you bring to the table (haha). Good luck with all your 2010 goals.
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