Money And Investing  -

Pantry Challenge- March 2006

31 03 06 17 25

-------- End of Month Results

Earlier this month I mentioned we where on a plan to live out of our pantry – as much as we could – during the month of March 2006. This was our Pantry Challenge experiment. Even Imelda said they may take the challenge.

Frugal for Life, who is the host of the Festival of Frugality this week writes that on her household they spend less than $70 per person on food each month. We live in shameful excess if we compare to the way an expert frugalogist makes the budget go a long way. In my household we do not breakdown food vs. toiletries vs. cleaning supplies vs. wine, etc. I do know that it is common to spend $400 in supermarket each month for the two of us and the occasional guest – we do not eat organic, and we do favor special prices, but we do buy some expensive food items (sometimes unnecessarily). She wins us on frugality!

We did the experiment for several reasons:

• To reduce waste – Food that is not consumed before the expiration date may become waste. Wasted food is a waste of money and waste of world resources that could have been used for greater good.
• To save money – Some extra money was a good idea – to offset the heating bills, for example.
• To explore new recipes – It is a challenge to use just what is on the pantry!

While I can't qualify the experiment as total frugalness, I can say we did learned a lot about meal planning, and new recipes. I can also say we did reduced waste: consuming a lot of stuff that was soon to become waste if it hadn't been for the experiment.

You should try it at some point. See how far you can live out of your pantry (buying only the few things that are needed to complement it).

Other people who took on the Pantry Challenge:

• Jonathan of My Money Blog

• Hillbilly HouseWife 40 dollar/week menu
• Original Pantry Challenge Entry
• March's results of the Pantry Challenge