Shelftember

Is Shelftember possible on $25 per week?

Maybe I was feeling empty nest syndrome when both girls went off to school in September. Maybe it was because I’ve always thought food & budget challenges were exciting - although I’ve never officially done one. But I started Shelftember with my typical stubborn attitude that if anyone could do it - I could do it better.

What is Shelftember? Well, some blogger decided to make a challenge out of using your ‘shelves’ to cook for a whole month, and only allowing yourself $25 per week for any other groceries you need. So basically what our grandmothers did their entire lives and didn’t call it anything. Well, actually they just called it September.

What do you spend per month on groceries? Some extreme bloggers say they only spend $200 per month for a family of 8. Some couples spend well over a thousand dollars. And obviously everything in between.

Week 1

I’ll be honest. I did start the month with quite a bit of food in the house. I had done a big shopping trip August 29, in preparation for Labor Day weekend. But then my brother Danny and my mom decided to come for the weekend. My mom is no hog, but Danny, well, is. For instance, before one meal, he raided the refrigerator of 2 leftover slices of pizza and a cheeseburger. I thought he just didn’t want what I was cooking. Turns out, he just wanted an appetizer.

My first weeks’ shopping trip was on the 5th. I was pleasantly surprised to make it until Thursday. I spent $20.21.

I bought mostly produce. I probably wouldn’t have gotten the blueberries if I realized they were $3.99 - when I glanced at the price I thought I saw 2/$5. I did use a coupon worth $1.25 for frozen chicken. I didn’t buy vanilla, which was on my list, because if you’ve ever bought vanilla you know you would basically need the whole $25 for an eye dropper sized container. I really wanted to buy some avocados. Or even just one - but I resisted. Did I mention I am stubborn?

The first week I made chicken cordon bleu casserole, Louisiana beans &rice, beef stew, grilled chicken salad, Ling Cod, leftovers & breakfast casserole.

  

Week 2

Week two was very similar to week one. I rarely go to Walmart - but I needed a variety of things, and, with both girls in school now it was nice to just wander around the store and take my time. I spent $20.16.

A few notes - Primarily I needed dairy & produce. I bought two Italian bread loafs - which were reduced to fifty cents. Italian bread from Walmart is one of our entire family’s go-to for nutritionless soft white bread. I threw one loaf in the freezer for later. The girls have been begging for fruit snacks for their school lunches. I really see no point in fruit snacks - it’s like it’s neither a treat or a food. It’s more like entertainment. But like all good parents, I gave in and bought them. I also bought a mega sized Goldfish cracker box and brought them to the school to donate. When the weekly budget is $25 it seemed awfully expensive at 5.98! I would also like to report….I GOT VANILLA! It’s $3.66 for pure vanilla at Walmart - in case you were wondering. 

I didn’t love the produce at walmart - so I stopped at Smith’s as well. I spent 5.51. I got 1 avocado - wow I’m on a roll here. I got 2 bags of oranges and a bag of plums for three dollars. I also had a coupon for a free yogurt, and bought 2 boxes of Gogurts - another fun food that has basically no nutritional value and a lot of sugar. 

Total for the week is 25.67. We ate meals of Lasagna, tacos, chicken & rice, enchiladas, chicken chile, waffles, etc.

Week 3

Right away on Monday I went to Smith’s and got bacon, a couple impulse snacks for the girls, and a free energy drink. ($5.65)

I made some breakfast sandwiches for Wayne. I also made some of those nut butter energy balls to have for snacks. 

We ate meals of roast beef, Thai chicken ramen, beef pot pie, tomato soup, baked chicken and sauerkraut and sausage.

On Friday I fell hard off the bandwagon. The things we NEEDED were basically produce and eggs. But there was a lot of meat on sale or clearance. And I was feeling bored. And I had only spent $50 all month and had stopped caring. So I went to Smith’s and bought produce, dairy, coffee, a few odds and ends, and a lot of meat. I’m guessing about 25 pounds worth - so it should last us a while. I used several coupons and my total was $139.19.

Produce:     ~$18

Meat:         ~$64

Other:         ~$58

Week 4 

We ate meals of roast beef, leftover pizza, sweet & sour chicken, and jambalaya. I didn’t need to go to the grocery store.

Is Shelftember possible? Of course it is. You could also do a 30 day fast and not spend a dime. But it was a lot easier than I expected. My total for the month was 190.72. 

I also expected to have bare cupboards at the end of the month. That was not the case at all. Although I started the month with plenty of pantry items, I felt like I ended the month with about the same. 

A few more variables...

Breakfast & Lunch: On average, I pack lunches 3-4 days a week for the kids and breakfast and lunch for my husband. So one day a week my husband might eat out for lunch and we pay for school lunch for the kids. (We are a family of 4)

Restaurants: We did eat out twice this month. 

Consumables: I did buy a few toiletry items this month but did not include them. I think it was like $5 at Walgreens. 

I think my biggest takeaway from this is that if you set a goal and are committed, you can pretty much do anything. But it certainly helps to be stubborn.