My One Hundred Dollar A Month Grocery Budget – Week 4

Hello friends,

Welcome to my one hundred dollar a month grocery budget week #4 show and tell. 

Before I show you the groceries I bought and the meals I ate this past week, I wanted to remind you of the ground rules I set for myself for this challenge.

The Ground Rules

• Start with absolutely nothing in the pantry.
• 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 {no oven!} 
• Toaster
• Crockpot
• Rice cooker
• Microwave

The Plan Is Simple

• Start with $100
• Buy food
• Show you what meals I made/ate

Week 1 Shopping Trip

On my first shopping trip I spent $38.89. {What you see above.} I wrote about the meals I made HERE.

Week 2 Shopping Trip

On my second shopping trip I spent $38.58. I wrote about the meals I made in week #2 HERE.

Week 3 Shopping Trip 

On my third shopping trip I spent $20.41. I wrote about the meals I made in week #3 HERE.

Week 4 Shopping Trip  

I only had $2.12 left for food. So I didn’t even go to the store. I figured I had enough food to get me through the week. 

Below Are The Meals I Ate This Past Week 

Day 22 

Breakfast – Steel cut oats and banana
Linner – Quesadilla
Dinner – Ham fried rice

Beverages – Tea with milk and sugar, water

Day 23

Brunch – 3 eggs, potatoes, peppers and ham

Snack – Apple

Dinner – Split pea soup

Beverages – Tea with milk and sugar, water 

Day 24

Breakfast – Steel cut oats, banana

Snack – Warm applesauce, spoonful of peanut butter {no bread} 🙁 

Dinner – Ham, applesauce cheesy smashed potato

Beverages – Apple peel tea with milk and sugar, water

Day 25

Breakfast – 2 fried eggs

Snack – Fruit smoothie, spoonful of peanut butter 

Dinner – Chicken soup with extra rice

Beverages – Tea, water

Day 26

Breakfast – Smoothie

Lunch – Ham fried rice

Dinner – Scrambled eggs with potatoes

Beverages – Apple peel tea, water

Day 27

Brunch – Eggs, ham, fried potatoes and cheese

Dinner – Split Pea soup, half of a cheese quesadilla 

Beverages – Apple peel tea, water

Day 28 

Breakfast – Steel cut oats with fruit puree

Lunch – Darn quesadilla

Dinner – Chicken soup with extra rice, applesauce cup

Beverages – Water

Day 29

Breakfast – Breakfast burrito with egg, ham and cheese

Snack – Hummus, carrots, ½ apple, hard boiled egg

Dinner – Chicken, rice and carrots

Beverages – Apple peel tea, water

There are two days to go in January! 

And since I don’t blog on the weekends anymore, I did meal prep for today and tomorrow’s meals and snapped a picture before I put them in the fridge.

And here are the meals I plan on eating today and tomorrow:

Day 30

Breakfast – Ham, eggs, peppers, potato and cheese

Snack – Carrots, hummus and my last hard boiled egg!

Dinner – Chicken, rice and applesauce

Beverages – Water {no more apple peels} 

Day 31

Breakfast – Steel cut oats and fruit puree

Snack – Apple and peanut butter {there are about 3 tablespoons in there}

Dinner – The last of my split pea soup

Beverages – Water {no more apple peels}

All in all it was another great week in the meals department. 

Call me crazy, but I think I ROCKED THIS!

Here’s The Food I Still Have Left 

I feel like I barely made it. But I DID! I really had to be careful towards the end so I didn’t end up eating just rice. 

And in hindsight there are a few things I would have done differently. 

For one, I would have bought the small $0.95 8 ounce bag of sugar rather than the 4 pound bag. If I had done that, I would have saved $2. 

Secondly, I would have bought another loaf of bread. Peanut butter sandwiches {or even toast} are quick and filling and super cheap! I got lucky in the second week scoring a loaf of bread for only $0.50. 

I would have also bought another 1 pound bag of beans.

I could have bought a bunch of ramen, or cans of cheap chili, or pasta or even a sack of pancake mix instead of fresh fruit and vegetables to help stretch my budget. 

But I don’t eat those types of things on a regular/monthly basis. 

Instead, I tried to choose foods that I normally buy at the grocery store. Rotisserie chickens, avocados, bananas, eggs, oats etc. 

With the exception of big salads, bacon and fancy cheese, I think I came pretty close. 

Did I lose weight? 

Yes! Half a pound. Which I attribute to no afternoon cookie {or any sweet treat for the last 2 weeks}. 

The smoothies have been nice and sweet, but man oh man, a nice chocolate chip cookie or even a donut would have been better.

Did I miss my favorite chocolate, buying pastries, good quality cheese and eating out with my husband {something we do at least once a month}? 

YES I DID!!! 

Could I have come up with a million different ways to score some free food? 

Absolutely. Because HELLO, I’m a pretty resourceful girl. 😉 

But I promised you 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. 

And I think I did that. 

Thanks for following along with my one hundred dollar a month grocery budget series. This was a good learning experience and I plan on doing it again real soon. 

~Mavis