$50 grocery challenge

so i have new feature on my weird little blog here, the $50 a week grocery challenge. in the past, our household budget has been primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive, meaning that basically we've used it to see and track our spending rather than to actually control our spending. which has been fine. but we've had some changes in our financial situation, not to mention our goals and philosophies, so i took a fresh look at our budget with the aim of minimizing expenses. a usual weekly grocery trip would ring up to, say, $80 or so, and i thought hmmm, how much could i cut this without sacrificing quality or enjoyment? the number $50 came to mind as a nice round number and a good goal.

potential obstacles: we live in an area with a high cost of living. and we prepare & eat most meals at home (we brown-bag lunch or snacks). but on the plus side, there are only 2 of us in this household (plus zoe, but her expenses are a separate budget item), and we eat lots of veggies and just a little meat. also working in my favor is a freezer still half full of beef (local grass-fed meat from a cow pool we did early last year) and a few jars of stuff i canned from our CSA bounty last year. plus i already made a good-size costco run and a grocery trip to start the year.

anyway, i figured that by 1) actually paying attention to prices at the store, 2) planning a weekly menu and sticking to it and 3) allowing some flexibility, i stand a decent chance of success!

so each week i will post my menu and grocery bill, as well as recipes/links if they seem worthwhile.

disclaimer: our budget has a separate item for drugstore stuff, so some things like toiletries, paper goods & cleaning supplies may or may not count against my weekly $50. similarly, adult beverages, grabbing lunch or coffee at the deli, etc do not count here. not trying to get too crazy.

also, i have no desire to become a crazy coupon person or a crazy stockpile person, though i reserve the right to use coupons now & again or to buy extras of stuff i know we eat a lot.

*void in some states and localities. your mileage may vary. professional driver on a closed course.

M minus 1... 0... oh no, wait a minute...

so. when last we left our protagonist (me), she was two weeks away from the marathon she'd been training for. let's take a look at what happened next:

M minus 1:
monday - rest
tuesday - rest (cheater)
wednesday - 5mi (treadmill)
thursday - 6mi (treadmill)
friday - rest
saturday - 3mi
sunday - 10mi

on sunday i ran the last 10 miles of the marathon course with my friend & teammate penny -- great idea. felt confident that on race day, i would remember that i had done this before & could do it again, and would know what was coming up (as in, yes, the uphill is going to suck, but it IS going to end so just keep on moving).

mileage this week = 24
mileage this cycle = 552

M minus 0:
so close now! with hurricane sandy taking aim at NYC, some nervous days this week.
monday - rest
tuesday - rest
wednesday - 4mi
thursday - 3mi
frid----- *record scratch*

marathon: CANCELLED. womp-womp. sad face. family had already arrived for the weekend to support me, pre-marathon meals were planned, how can this be? disappointment. tears. sulking. cursing. more tears. all this training, wasted? all that time, wasted? all that work, wasted? despair. sleep.

saturday - 4mi

maybe it isn't all wasted. maybe i can find another marathon? googling. pondering. registering for richmond in exactly one week.

sunday - 6.5mi

mom generously offers to pick up my richmond race materials. plans are made. fingers are crossed.

mileage this week = 17.5
mileage this cycle = 569.5

M plus 1:
so what do i do now? my training plan didn't cover this delay. more googling. anxiety. find advice online. decide i can't possibly lose that much fitness in one week. resolve to quit whining and run richmond.

monday - rest
tuesday - rest
wednesday - 5mi (treadmill)
thursday - rest
friday - 2mi (treadmill)

drive to VA. get butterflies. hug family. get excited. get nervous. dad maps out driving route to race start & spectator cheer zones. try to sleep.

saturday - 26.2mi -- HOORAY!

finish first marathon. rejoice. eat. nap. eat more. hug family. sleep.

sunday - rest

drive home.

mileage this week = 33.2
mileage this cycle = 602.7

M minus 2 weeks

D-day or M-day inches ever closer. starting to feel a bit wiggy but trying to keep myself under control. at least i have plenty of distractions. :) i was in new orleans this week so i switched a couple workouts but nothing major.

monday - rest
tuesday - 5mi (treadmill)
wednesday - 5mi (treadmil)
thursday - 6mi
friday - rest
saturday - 4mi
sunday - 12mi

mileage this week = 32
mileage this cycle = 528

M minus 3 weeks

my last 20-miler this week. eeeeeeeeeeep! this is getting scary. i decided to go 21, because i didn't want to have a mental block about that big 2-0 sign during the marathon. let's hope it helps!

3 weeks to go, all taper. let the madness begin!

monday - rest
tuesday - 5mi (treadmill)
wednesday - 8mi (treadmill)
thursday - 5mi (treadmill)
friday - rest
saturday - 5mi
sunday - 21

mileage this week = 44
mileage this cycle = 496

M minus 4 weeks

something of a rest week, but with travel and a cold, it was more challenging than expected. only one month til the marathon, YIPES!

monday - rest
tuesday - 5mi (treadmill)
wednesday - 5mi (treadmill)
thursday - 5mi (treadmill)
friday - 12mi (moved from sunday)
saturday - 8mi
sunday - rest

mileage this week = 35
mileage this cycle = 452