update to the post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal/comments/1mg7tro/challenge_how_long_can_you_go_without_buying/
I didn't expect to go this long, as I started without really planning of preparing for it. I have to end the streak soon, likely tomorrow, because I'm out of "real" food, with almost nothing remaining apart from a tub of protein powder and random condiments. All I have left in terms of vegetables are pickles, olives, and ketchup. But it was fun, and I'm proud that I managed use up all the misc stuff in my pantry so that everything ran out at about the same time. It was motivating finding ways to be creative with the ingredients I already had and it's interesting how just the concept of doing a challenge changed my perspective. There are certain ingredients that I usually don't like cooking with because they are tedious and require more prep like dry lentils or flour, but in the perspective of a challenge, the trove of possibilities that they provide made it exciting. you can make basic things like couscous and rice taste really nice with just oil and seasonings. as I grew prouder of my streak, the idea to end it to get something inessential like an energy drink became ridiculous.
next step is planning out what is the least amount I have to buy to get a solid streak going again. Items I am planning on getting:
- Frozen vegetables of all kinds
- Rice
- Pasta
- Couscous
- Flour
- Oil
- Peanut butter
- Meats, whatever is on sale
- Tuna, sardines, mackerels, oysters, etc., canned
- TEA (I didn't plan for it so I ran out almost immediately so that was a bummer because I wanted chilled tea to be my replacement for energy drinks. instant coffee it was)
share your own streaks and tips 😁
zero spending challenge two weeks update
byu/EXTRAVAGANT_COMMENT inFrugal
Posted by EXTRAVAGANT_COMMENT
2 Comments
Most people don’t count basic food as spending, for a spending fast. We got to eat! I still challenge myself to try and only shop for food once a week. Generally, spending fast are about being content with the basics of life.
One of my favourite streaks was when I set myself a $10/week grocery challenge.
Now, I want to emphasize that $10 did NOT COVER ALL MY FOOD. This was intended to be a “shop from the freezer and pantry” challenge. So I started out pretty well stocked, and I wanted to focus on using up the food I already had, and supplement it a few fresh items on sale, carefully chosen from grocery store flyers.
I managed to sustain it for two months! So, for eight weeks I only spent $80 at the grocery store.