So the final December reckoning: $547 groceries, $398 household, and $67 takeout. Groceries would have been better had I not discovered a much-more-awesome ALDI on 12/31. :-). Household was atrocious, largely attributable to moth destruction and prevention (bug-proof food containers + cleaning supplies/oils they supposedly don’t like), with some last-minute running out of wrapping paper/tape and such. The real plus this year has been on the takeout: that is something that had become mindless, and I had no idea how quickly that was adding up.
I had not been tracking before, but I have to estimate I was spending at least $1200/mo on groceries/household, without even counting the Amazon deliveries. So even in the bad months, I have cut that by several hundred dollars, just by paying attention.
I am very glad I did the challenge, not in spite of my failings, but because of them. I learned that I am not as naturally frugal as I used to be 20 years ago, and I have identified a number of weak spots that I didn’t know were there. I have also learned more about what the family is willing to do without, and for how long (e.g., I need to provide upscale meats/cheeses at least every 2-3 weeks or face revolt, i.e., DH going to the store unsupervised).
And I’ve learned more about my own limits, too. For ex, it turns out that I like a pleasant shopping experience — that second ALDI was bright and open and clean and had so much more stuff, and I was practically frolicking in the aisles. It reminded me that providing food for my family brings me 3x joy: one when I am planning a menu they will like, one when I am shopping for it, and one when I am cooking/eating it. The other ALDI was miserable and knocked out the second part of that fun, and this one brought it back. Of course, that also meant my grocery spend was $160 instead of the under-$100 I had been managing at the local ALDI. :-) But if it makes me happy and keeps me from losing it and dropping $300 at Wegman’s, it’s still an overall win (plus I trust that the newness will wear off and I won’t need to buy All The Things every week).
I also discovered that my desire for frugality does not outweigh my desire to treat my family to meals that they like, even if they are not the cheapest options. Part of the reason this week’s bill was so big was because the new ALDI had a great selection of meats, so I stocked up on the maple sausage my kids like that the local store hadn’t had for a month or two, and I added in a London Broil to the chicken I had planned for the week because I knew it would make DH happy.
So, basically, the lesson is balance. Balance the fun of shopping with the cost; balance low-cost everyday stuff with more expensive treats. Focus on “enough” and “sometimes” instead of “everything all the time,” or “nothing” and “never.”
I think the challenge for 2018 is to keep the groceries balanced — maybe $600-700/mo — and focus in on the household stuff and the takeout, both of which were significantly larger than I had realized.