Wannabefree "is it really that hard" journal

[Wannabefree]

So I need to try this too, but with a twist. I want to post what we eat and break down the cost per meal instead of sticking to $35 a week per person. I can't keep up or figure it that way. I get a TON of free stuff, trade with neighbors, barter, etc. and have no clue how to figure it all in as to how much I spent each week per meal. so I am going to make an attempt to figure real pricing and apply it to what we eat. I cook BIG meals so I can skip cooking some days altogether too. Maybe it'll work I dunno...don't let me confuse anyone with my backwards way of doing it though

Tonight I made (4)14 inch pizzas, sent one to the neighbors. Cost of the pizzas:
$5 cheese (neighbor bought it to keep her in pizzas )
$3 ingredients to make homemade crusts
$2 pepperoni
$2 home canned pizza sauce (tomatoes were free so it didn't really cost me that much)
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$12 total divided by 4 pizzas= $3.00 per meal sometimes we have leftovers from one.

Last nights dinner was a homegrown chicken I cut up, homemade biscuits, and a can of greens. leftovers were todays lunch.
Cost of dinner/lunch
$6? chicken..I think that's about what they go for whole around here anyway. Has been a LONG time since I bought a whole chicken That's about what I had in it so I'll go with $6 and if anyone wants to correct me about local price(Pinky) please help So......

$6 chicken
$.25 breading and spices
$.75 greens
$.50 pan of homemade biscuits from scratch
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$7.5 total divided by 2 full meals $3.75 per meal

breakfast was homemade bread with homemade jam

bread is about $.75 a loaf, we ate a half loaf..
$.37 bread
$.25 worth of jam(neighbor bought the strawberries, Sure Jell, and sugar, so again I didn't pay for it really, I just made it but regular jam is about $2 a jar)
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$.62 for breakfast

Total for DAY ONE $7.37 real cost (MY true cost, closer to $5.00 by my guesstimation)

ETA: Adding in the cost of drinks for the three of us...average $2 daily so Day ONE would actually be closer to $9.37 real cost, or $7 true cost. Still, not too bad, but I can't believe I forgot that

 

[Denim Deb]

For 3 people? That's pretty good.

 

[Wannabefree]

yes for 3 of us....4 if you count DD's appetite as two being she's a teen

 

[BarredBuff]

For 3 people? That's pretty good.

I agree with DD. Very good!

 

[hwillm1977]

I think I'm going to keep my 'is it really that hard' journal this way too... not that we get nearly as much free stuff, this just seems like an easier way to do it and I'm stuck on how I can get started.

You did fabulously for 3 people!

 

[moolie]

Pizza is my go-to food when we get the urge to go out for a meal--so easy, so inexpensive, and it gets the kids in the kitchen and then I don't have to make dinner

I'm glad you decided to play along, even though you get so much free stuff

 

[Wannabefree]

Thanks ya'll I like to keep up with that sort of thing anyway from time to time to make sure i stay on track and am not letting the food bill get out of hand. I'm a numbers nerd, finance is my FAVORITE thing, besides farming , and groceries are a HUGE part of personal finance considering most folks spend almost as much on food as they do housing, and in some instances more. I have found ways to cut to the bare minimum and have practiced my kitchen frugality for years. I love it. I will try to keep up with true cost of freebies, but certain things I will struggle with figuring the realistic equivalent price because it has been so long since I have actually had to shell out cash for it. I sure wish I could share the freebies with everyone and watch everyones food bill go down! That'd be SO cool! I have gotten great ideas from everyone else's threads on the subject, and thought maybe I could give someone else an idea or two by sharing

 

[moolie]

I have gotten great ideas from everyone else's threads on the subject, and thought maybe I could give someone else an idea or two by sharing

I think this right here is the goal of the project as regards posting our experiences, or at least it is for me--to be inspired, and hopefully to inspire others

 

[ORChick]

Thanks ya'll I like to keep up with that sort of thing anyway from time to time to make sure i stay on track and am not letting the food bill get out of hand. I'm a numbers nerd, finance is my FAVORITE thing, besides farming , and groceries are a HUGE part of personal finance considering most folks spend almost as much on food as they do housing, and in some instances more. I have found ways to cut to the bare minimum and have practiced my kitchen frugality for years. I love it. I will try to keep up with true cost of freebies, but certain things I will struggle with figuring the realistic equivalent price because it has been so long since I have actually had to shell out cash for it. I sure wish I could share the freebies with everyone and watch everyones food bill go down! That'd be SO cool! I have gotten great ideas from everyone else's threads on the subject, and thought maybe I could give someone else an idea or two by sharing

Wannabefree - I know that you actually have a real life, and that other more important things take up your time (I know; strange how that happens, isn't it?) but it is very illuminating to occasionally go through a grocery store, and look at all those things that you no longer buy. I know that I was in a state of awe as I went through the supermarket last week collecting prices for my challenge. One) Wow, that is expensive! Two) Do people actually buy this junk? Three) Where do I find what it is that I am looking for amid all this other stuff? And Four) Amazing, this store does actually have much more than I ever expected of things that I would actually buy.
For several years I haven't paid all that much attention to price, being more concerned with what the label says (cancer in the family will do that ), so actually walking the aisles was very interesting.

 

[Denim Deb]

Another thing you can try for getting prices is to look on-line and see if the grocery stores in your area have their circulars on-line. That can give you an idea of prices.

I know one thing I'll have to add in mine when I get started is the price of bottled water. Our water has so many minerals in it that I don't use if for coffee or tea. It would really mess up the coffee maker as well as my tea kettle. Plus, if it's sat in the pipes for a long time, it can taste like fish. So, I normally don't use it for drinking. I will use it for cooking, though.