Back to the basics. That’s my theme for this year. So with that in mind…
I only have one hundred dollars a month for food this January.
What?
This month I’m going to show you how to feed yourself for $100 dollars a month. Yes, you heard me right, I’m going back to the root of this blog and I’m going to show you how to feed yourself for one hundred dollars a month.
No gimmicks, no bartering, no freebies, no apps, no walking into the store with a bunch of coupons. Just me, going into an ordinary grocery store, buying groceries and showing you how I’d spend $100 a month to eat basic, wholesome meals.
I asked my husband if he wanted to join me in this challenge and he politely declined.
Fine. No big deal, I told him. And I also told him he was on his own this month in the meals department. {He didn’t seem to mind}.
To make a long story short, my husband thinks that after the last few years of me and my globetrotting, living it up, pastry/cheese/salad eating ways that I’d have a tough time feeding myself for one hundred dollars a month.
I pointed out that HE was the one who didn’t want to try and feed himself for $100 a month.
And then I reminded him how much I like a good challenge. 🙂
I’m not worried one bit. In fact, I bet I can feed myself for less than one hundred dollars a month.
While I know that the days of extreme couponing and being able to get hundreds of dollars worth of groceries for pennies on the dollar are over, I truly believe that filling your belly with basic food doesn’t have to cost a fortune.
I also believe you don’t have to sell your soul to the marketing app God’s or run all over town to 5 different stores {or spending your valuable time and money on gas} to buy food.
Maybe this seems like a really easy challenge to you, or maybe it doesn’t. Maybe this is your reality {that your funds are limited and you only have $100 a month for groceries}.
I want to show you that if I only had one hundred dollars to last me an entire month for food, and did my shopping at an ordinary grocery store, how I’d spend it and what those meals would look like.
I Only Have One Hundred Dollars A Month For Food
The Ground Rules:
- Start with absolutely nothing in the pantry. {Not even salt and pepper}.
- All my meals {and beverages too!} will be at the studio this month.
- No cheat days, free meals etc. If it’s going in my mouth, I’ll report it.
What’s In My Kitchen
- Hot plate, frying pan, saucepan & basic utensils
- Toaster
- Crockpot
- Rice cooker
- Microwave
The Plan Is Simple.
- Start with $100
- Buy food
- Show you what meals I made/ate
Sounds easy enough, right?
Because the start of 2026 fell towards the end of the week this year, I’ve decided that for the month of January, I’ll be sharing the groceries I purchased and what meals I’ve made on Fridays.
I’ve already been to the grocery store. I spent $38.89. That means I’ve got $61.11 to last me for the rest of the month.
To make things simple, I’ve decided to only shop at one store this month; Market Basket. They don’t offer a shopper card, but their prices are generally good and they put out a sales flyer each week.
This week’s flyer however was no bueno. There wasn’t a single “sale” item I was interested in buying. And to be completely honest, I didn’t even really have a plan when I walked into the grocery store.
Maybe that’s because I’m lazy. Or maybe it’s because I don’t think grocery shopping is rocket science. But what do I know?
I don’t think most things in life are complicated.
I just think we, as a society, are so worried about what everybody else is doing {or too busy comparing ourselves to other people} that it clouds our judgement sometimes.
*Stepping off my soap box now.
Market Basket $38.89
I think I have enough groceries to last a week. I even made sure to purchase some “investment food items”.
What’s an investment food item you ask?
An investment food item is something you will conceivably still have {a portion of} in the cupboard when it’s time to head to the grocery store again. My investment items this week are rice, beans, oats, yogurt, salt and pepper.
Chances are pretty high that I won’t eat all of those items in one week.
Instead of buying 1 pound of rice {at a higher per ounce cost} I decided to buy a month’s supply {at a lower per ounce cost}.
Instead of buying 1 can of black beans for $0.89, I bought a pound of dried black beans for $1.50. A pound of dried black beans equals roughly 6 cans of beans. All you have to do is cook the dried beans.
See what I mean? Investment items. 🙂
I’ll be sharing more of the ins and outs of why I purchased the items I did next Friday when I share all the meals I made with my first week’s purchase of groceries.
Hello January! And hello to new challenges.
This year I’m getting back to the basics. And it starts now!
~Mavis
Shari Harniss says
I’m excited!! I embrace this challenge!
Let’s go!
andrea d says
Looks like a fun challenge!
Anna H says
I am very excited too! This shall be fun.
Christa H. says
This will be interesting especially with the prices of food these days. I think your Market Basket is similar to Aldi in our area. Excited to see what you end up doing!
Alice says
I know you can do this. I think I might join you but one of my rules is that I can use what is in my pantry and I’ll just calculate the cost. Same for anything in my freezer. If it has a label with a price, I’ll add it in. My husband will join me and he doesn’t even know he’s participating because he will eat what I provide! My son will join us for one meal and he will take enough home for our daughter (she rents a room from him, she’s a teacher and can’t get here after school due to the longer drive) and that is also going to be counted.
Stacy in Texas says
This is what I’m thinking. Plus I have oven.
Karen A. says
I’m so excited for this. A while back I did a week long experiment of eating as if I was on wartime rations in Britain–it was very eye opening!
Jenell says
Perfect,I am so excited about this. The reason I started reading this blog. I love it.:)
Wendy C says
Sounds interesting. I’m excited to see how it turns out.
Sandra says
Good luck, Mavis. You have set yourself up for a real challenge. This comes out to a little over $3.00 a day! Wow! With a well stocked pantry and freezer I could do this and often do, but with nothing to back me up I know that I would be severely handicapped. I, along with your many readers, am looking forward to seeing what you cook each week.
Lynne says
This sounds interesting and I hope you share recipes along the way. Good luck!
J in OH-IO says
Yes, so excited about this challenge and looking forward to what you come up with for meals! Thank you!!!
Elizabeth M says
I am really looking forward to this!
Sue says
Maybe you should track your weight to see if this challenge has any affect on that?
Mavis Butterfield says
I am. 🙂
Deb from Ohio says
That will be a challenge, but I’m also excited to see what you come up with! It’s so funny bc the other day I was thinking about the name of your blog, and I thought There’s no way anyone could do that now. But I know you can!
I was working on the ‘26 budget, but decided to keep the grocery budget the same as last year. There are some good lentil/rice casserole recipes that are pretty cheap, and not bad if you like lentils, & a little cheese on top def helps
suzanne says
Lentil tacos with shredded carrots are the bomb. This would possibly be the time to buy a cheap pack of seasoning over scratch since the challenge isn’t that long. Spices can be crazy expensive at my market in WA.
Deb from Ohio says
I’ve not heard of lentil tacos with carrots, but just found a recipe to try, thanks!
Anne Fletcher says
I was thinking the very same thing, like these days the blog would have to be called “$200 a month”! I swear, the exact same purchases at the exact same stores as 5 years ago are 50% – 100% more.
Robyn says
Looking forward to this!
Also- do you not drink coffee? I feel like coffee would blow my budget every month despite getting my beans whole, at a good price.
Mavis Butterfield says
I don’t drink coffee but I drink tea. 🙂
suzanne says
Ok. I really don’t feel like this is going to be a big challenge for you. Other than restocking the pantry (investment food) and lack of spices or variety. I mean you’re a great scratch cook. You don’t overeat and you seem happy enough eating rice and beans as long as you can pull it from the freezer on a busy day. I can see you maybe having to stretch your milk and sweets. This is going to be fun for all of us. Thanks for bringing us along.
Mrs. C. says
I had decided to do this myself as a challenge, so it was fun to see your post. We need to eat down our freezer and some canned goods (like your original canned salsa recipe, which is our favorite), so I budgeted $100 for fruits/veggies/a date night. Some YouTubers do an annual pantry challenge where they do the same – I think it’s called the Three Rivers Homestead Pantry challenge. Let the games begin!
Sue in SoCal says
I didn’t see any tea or cookies in that shopping trip.
Mavis Butterfield says
There is a box of tea and a chocolate bar. The chocolate bar is my “luxury” item of the week. 🙂 I had a pear in the cart but I put it back so I could have the chocolate.
Annette says
Did you see the pears at Trader Joes right before Christmas? They were Harry & David. Gift boxed for 9.99. So delicious!
Jamie says
Excited to see how this goes!
Carla says
Love this!! I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
Linda M says
Looking forward to following your journey and learning from you. Also cheering you on!
Chris says
I hope you update us on how the HH is navigating on his own. How will your dates factor in? You always pick good diners for breakfasts. This is a great challenge for the year!
Mary G says
I admire your plan. Seriously, I think your recipes and the amount of meals you can make with this budget will be really helpful to many people who are struggling to stretch their grocery dollars these days.
Muchele says
Sadly, the store sale items are mostly for prepared foods full of junk. Buying basic ingredients and cooking from scratch is key. My costs have gone up this year bc of several food sensitivities from autoimmune diseases, but I’m adjusting. Bought a boneless ham on sale for less than $9 and it will go a long way. I have no doubt you’ll sail through this!
Michele says
Michele not Muchele! Lol
Julie says
Haha! I was puzzling over how to say that as I scrolled and saw your reply
Katy @ Practical Walk says
Oh!! I’m so excited about reading these updates! Great challenge!
Catherine says
How are you going to survive without your Costco Salad? I was glad to see the necessities in your shopping haul i.e. chocolate. Good luck I look forward to seeing how you do.
Susan says
I LOVE these challenges! One o my goals this year (and every year) is no food waste!
And finding interesting ways to use every bit of something
I pulled a 2 1/2 b pork roast from the freezer that i paid .99 lb for in April Looking to use the older meat or the month of January
Night 1 Roast pork with potatoes and carrots
Night 2 Sweet and sour pork on rice
Night 3 Chop the rest fry it up add the rest off the gravy that was made with the drippings) on toast
Safeway has fuji and ambrosia apples this week or .49 lb!! Also navel oranges and cara caras for .49 lb NO LIMIT!
I bought 10 lb of apples will make either apple butter or applesauce tomorrow
We will eat the oranges and I will make candied orange peel from the rinds
Another goal this year is to do at least 1 canning project every month
Safeway has boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs or $1.49 lb Limit 5 lb
Bought some of each I will make chicken salad from some o the breast and cut the rest into tenders Ill pound down the thighs put some apple and cheddar in the middle roll, tie and freeze
This will be easy or you, Mavis! You have the skills 🙂
Beth says
I love this challenge. I am starting year 3 of $100/month for food/household items for my family of three. I use all the rebate apps, loyalty perks, points, and digital coupons. My town didn’t have a grocery store until recently, so I would have to go to the next town over to shop and all the stores are pretty much next to each other, so I do hit five stores to get all the best prices. Just today, I did a haul that included cooking spray, coffee, protein bars, hand soap, sweetener, facial tissues and vitamins and I am going to come out $3 ahead!
Ellen C. says
I love this challenge and will be following with interest. Too bad your hubby wouldn’t participate – that means he can’t be coming over to your studio and mooching! This is the kind of thing that should get you national attention – there are too many media stories of people complaining about the cost of groceries and not enough on how to properly spend on food and cook food.
Susan says
This will be so good for so many! Back to basics!
JulieP says
Brilliant, food costs are ridiculous and no one would mind if the farmers got that money but sadly the supermarkets are the ones making record profits here in the U.K. We are on a pantry challenge as hopefully heading south at the end of the month. Very interested to see what you come up with. Well done, great challenge, absolutely sure you can do it!
Linda Sand says
Have you heard of the 654321 method of grocery shopping? You buy 6 vegetables, 5 fruits, 4 proteins, 3 starches, 2 sauces/spreads, and 1 treat. Apparently, you can make a wide variety of healthy meals from that. I think that assumes you already have your sugar, salt, pepper, etc. And I don’t see any milk on there for your tea. I guess you could count milk in your proteins?
I think your $100 a month is doable given your willingness to eat beans. Beans and rice together make a whole protein after all.
Kirsty says
Buying wonky carrots for $1.80 for 1.5 kilos. Soaking dried chickpeas overnight and cooking in slow cooker. Just two things this week to stretch the grocery $ that bit further. My DH eats what he is given, so no issues there.
Marcy says
I LOVE it! I originally started reading your blog when you were doing this and love the tips and ideas! Looking forward to reading!
Lisa says
Hi Mavis,
I’m looking forward to learning your method of this $100 a month on groceries. Love the new theme of getting back to the basics.
Emma B says
I love this!! I have been following you since you were on another blog as a guest blogger doing the 100 dollars a month!
Joanna says
Thanks for the inspiration ! I will be joining you. I hope I can be as good as you.
Kelly RIGGS says
Good luck with the challenge – you’ve got this! Loads better than MREs.
Who makes the cute boots in your picture? They look European.
Mavis Butterfield says
Duck Feet.
Jules says
Looking forward to going back to the beginning so to speak; it was the reason I started following you way back in ’09!. And I’m going to share this with a young moms group as we were just talking about how to budget and save on groceries with a family these days.
Lindsey says
Thank you so much for doing this inspirational experiment! I think prices are higher but if you look at some history, in 1900, people spent 42.5% of income on food. In 1950 it was 25 to 30%. The last figures available are from 2023 and it was 32.6%. Yet somehow all of us, myself included, feel like the amount for food is extremely high when it is not. I wonder what else is entering into our brains when we evaluate food costs…maybe you have some thoughts on this.
Karen says
Great idea! Can’t wait to see what you eat
Suggest Chondroitin/Glucosamine supplement for joints.
Michelle says
Interested to see. I noticed your prices are a bit different from my local grocers, but I don’t think too terribly. The challenge is variety in my home. And snacks. Modern concerns for sure. My husband has to have meat, starch, and veg for every dinner. It adds up fast when it’s 8 people eating. I used to spend $125/mo per person, but now it has snuck up to almost $200/mo per person. Ouch! I could totally eat oats, beans, lentils and be fine, but the family demands more. Tough on a budget to please everyone. Oh and the ASD kiddo will just refuse to eat for days unless it’s foods she is in the mood for so we have to keep a supply of those items. I am looking forward to your ideas.