A few days ago in our local newspaper, there was an article about a woman who had done the $21 a week challenge. In case you are unfamiliar with the concept:
In general a single person who qualifies for food stamps receives $21 worth of stamps a week. Many congressmen, as well as others, feel that this amount is outrageously low and that it is simply not possible to eat a healthy, well-rounded diet on only $21 a week. In order to "prove" this point many of them have undertaken the $21 a week challenge. The restrictions of this challenge are that you may not spend more than $21 a week on food.
The author of the article I read came across as a clueless, pretentious snob. She talked about how she felt like she was starving all the time and how she was not able to get enough protein in her diet. She also ate things like canned ravioli while on the diet, which a smart shopper will know is not a very cost-efficient choice.
I would like to rebut her article. However, currently my family spends more than the allotted amount on food. In part this is because we have a weakness for dining out. However, if I can convince my beloved husband, I intend to show that it is entirely possible to feed a family of 5 on less than $100 per week. It shouldn't be too big of a leap. And since one week does not seem like a good representative sample. I plan to continue until we have proven that it is not unreasonable, or until we are convinced that it is.
Would anyone care to join us in the challenge?
I plan to keep an update of any food purchases we make (to give dollar amounts, not to list exact foods), as well as good suggestions for eating on the cheap. All of this will be posted on the baking blog. So if you're curious hop on over there.
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The more people you're feeding and the smaller those people are, the lower the per capita expenditure, but I bet I could pull off $21 a week per person for two adults. It would be nutritious, but I think that spending more would still be healthier. Can't get much fresh produce for that price.
However, in my new passion to pay off debt, I can see the value in cutting down the grocery bills. I'll consider it.
Of course you are right that the more people you are feeding it is easier. And the smaller those people are (as long they are not on formula or anything like that -- I wouldn't even have attempted this if Sammy was still on his special stuff like he was until a couple months ago).
I also tend to think that the optimal diet would be more expensive that the $21 price tag allows. However, I am also convinced that I can provide my children a more nutritious diet than they were previously receiving and still be in this limit.
I plan to incorporate a lot more beans into our diet, which I think the children will be thrilled about.
I could totally do it. And I wouldn't be crying in my oatmeal about it either like that lady in the article. I think I might try it next week. David will probably do it with me. I've lived off of almost nothing but granola bars for months. Now that I've said this, I'll probably fail.
In related news, Last week I read an article about a family of seven that lives debt free on 35,000 a year.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=3432477
The first two years of grad school, I kept pretty close track of my expenditures, and spent about $60/month on groceries - without trying (I wasn't trying to reduce my spending - just track it). That doesn't include eating out, but I only do that rarely.
So sure, I'll take the $21/week challenge and may even turn it into the $15/week challenge to offset some of my advantages (not liking to eat meat and a relatively small appetite?) - and because I'm pretty sure I can!
Question: should this truly be a $21/week challenge, or can it be an $84/month challenge? (My grocery bills tend to oscillate wildly from week to week, although the monthly average is pretty consistent).
Since I have exact data on every penny I've spent over the past 6 years, I ran a quick report out of curiosity. The findings: During all of last year (52 weeks of 2006) I averaged $29.37 on groceries and vending machines per week. This doesn't include eating out, but I don't honestly think that had much to do with my grocery bill. (And I buy almost all organic when there is a choice and fresh veggies/fruits are included). So over the next 13 weeks till I leave for Europe count me in. And I'll run some more numbers and keep you in the know on previous years when I was fresh out of college and trying to save.
Later!
Scott
I am glad to see so much support for this idea.
Jess, I see no reason that you can't make it the $84 a month challenge. Actually I was doing a little more research and it looks like the people on food stamps actually receive there allotment once a month and the amount is $86.
I plan to post on the baking blog later today all about my first grocery shopping trip since starting the challenge. So keep your eyes peeled.
Did you happen to have a link to the article you read? Just curious.
I wish I did have a link. Unfortunately, I read the article in my parents newspaper several days ago. I will try to find the link though.
In the meantime, you can read some really interesting articles if you google "The $21 a week challenge"
Alright, Monica and I are in. I will mourn the days of steak, exotic fruits and vegetables, but it all fits into our debt elimination plan.
These are my initial thoughts on what to buy (on my wheat, corn, soy, and dairy-free regimen).
Potatoes
Rice
Hamburger
Oatmeal
Bananas
Apples (too expensive?)
Sweet potatoes (too expensive?)
Tuna
Beans
Out of time, about to be kicked off...
So, not including eating out, I ran some more numbers. As a fairly large, very active adult male living in suburban Chicago, using the average of the last 300 weeks I spent $34.05 per week on groceries. There were several stretches (3 or 4 months each) where I tried to save money on groceries and spent less than $20 per week on groceries sometimes less than $15. So my conclusion is that if I can do it comfortably and eat between 3000 and 5000 calories a day with Chicago prices, then it is actually a pretty reasonable amount of money if you are frugal.
"I am glad to see so much support for this idea."
I mentioned this to some people at work - and I may have a couple of them on the bandwagon, too!
Agreed, eating on 21$ a week isn't a challenge.
Buying healthy groceries without a car or a ride to share - that's where the fun starts.
I am sure that I can do it as well. I just have to cut out the eating at lunch with the co-workers (even when I brought my lunch) and the deciding that I need to grab dinner on my way back from the gym instead of eating something that is already at the apartment.
I am not sure how long I will commit to it because right now there might not be a good representative because I have a good supply already in my apartment. But I will focus on it for at least a month :-)
Dave,
Your suggestions on what to buy seem like good ones. I would add to that
eggs
peanut butter (even the all-natural stuff isn't very expensive per unit of protein)
apples shouldn't be too expensive right now. I bought mine for $.75 a pound yesterday. They usually come down close to $.30 a pound by early October. But some types are still pretty expensive. Sweet potatoes are a little steep still at the moment $.99 a pound. But they should be dropping in price very soon. However, they certainly would be a reasonable occasional splurge.
Acorn and Spaghetti squash are both pretty cheap right now.
Canned tomatoes are cheap and can be mixed into a lot of other foods.
Hamburger can be stretched by adding filler.
Onions are useful to keep you from getting sick of your other food.
And also, keep your eye on other meats. They sometimes can go on sale, and if mixed in with other foods, they can be stretched pretty far.
You, with all of your dietary restrictions probably have it the worst of all of us.
Thanks for the tips, Shaelin. Fall probably is the best time to start with all the harvest time lower prices. Monica and I have even decided to start at $18 a week because we will be using things that we already have, like olive oil, canned tomatoes, brown rice and oatmeal, and won't need to replace them for a few weeks--though that rice may go a lot faster now. I am excited to try this. We're going to live like Spartans for the next couple of years (if we can stand it), and be out of debt! In order to avoid going crazy, we are each allotted $10 a week for personal things like new clothes, lunches out, coffee or bottled water on the road, etc.
Mr. Fit, you amaze me with your thoroughness and shopping discipline. 5000 calories on $20 bucks a week is pretty impressive.
We spend approximately 20-25 per week per person. Once I complete my Quicken files for the past 2 years (about 90% complete), I will have as accurate a number as Mr. Fit. ;) In any case, I was taught VERY young the value of money and how to be frugal; it's an ingrained habit at this point. One big bill I was shocked about was when I bought snack food (chips, crackers, salsa) for the SuperBowl weekend visit.
In any case, I will make a special effort to watch what we are spending to meet the challenge. ^_^ This actually fits in very well with our new budgeting goals. A friend recommended a book series by Dave Ramsey about financial management that I have now read and we are implementing the ideas we had not already been using (gratefully, we were well on track, just not living as frugally as possible).
And, Dave, out of curiosity have you been reading Ramsey or a similar author?
I've been listening to Ramsey on my commutes to work. I won't buy his book now because I don't want to spend the money, but if I see any of them in the library I will become an avid reader as well as listener.
Dave,
Andrew has Ramsey's books. Stop by sometime when you are in town and you can borrow them!
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