Well, the month is over.
I spent just under $95. cdn. With an average exchange rate of 84 cents for the month, that's $76 us. That's compared to my usual spending of $200, including dog food and cleaning supplies and toilet paper.
I had good meals all month. I did find it a little too lean, but there is a lot I would continue to do:
I had more vegetarian meals.
I had many fewer snacks, especially in the evening. The snacks I did have tended to be fruit more often.
I had less expensive fruit in the house - e.g., bananas.
It was great having a roast in the freezer. I am going to keep an eye out for pork roasts and whole chickens on sale, since it gives a lot of quality food that goes a long way. (I'm not keen on turkey white meat and beef is through the roof at the moment.)
I made more variety of packed lunches.
I bought medium eggs instead of large. It made no difference to anything I did with them and saved 60 cents a carton.
I did less picking up something special for supper on my way home from work -- I ate what was in the house. (I often eat what is in the house, but this month I almost always did.)
What I'd do differently:
This needs more planning. Not meal plans, since I tend to not want the meals I've planned when I get to them, but planning to have a few more ingredient choices on hand to choose from. (If I had a family, I would do plenty of meal planning.)
I need some dairy and I didn't think to stock up on that.
Since I cut most sugar out of my die, I started to eat fish for breakfast.I couldn't afford that.
I'd like to pre-cook beans and rice to freeze and pre-make more meals for the freezer, so that some weekday evening meals and lunches are easier to make.
A couple of times, I walked past really good sales on nutritious food that I would use, and didn't buy it because I wouldn't keep to the budget. In real time, I would have bought the items.
I'm going to aim for $125 a month on an ongoing basis, given how well this went. That reduces how much I spend per month by $75, which is great, especially when my contract runs out. The savings this month, along with the savings on gas, are paying the difference in the exchange rate on my holiday at the beginning of March.