Breakfast -- Oatmeal (Bob's Red Mill scottish oats)
Lunch -- Leftover night-befores
Dinner -- OK, I broke down. I gave in. I yielded. I took DS out for our not-quite-usual payday meal. (He read the blog, got right in my face--he does this, literally, carries on his most intense conversations nose to nose--and said "A year off? A year?")
"It's not like there was a prize or anything," I said. "It was an exercise in self-discipline. It was an adventure in local food. The only benefit of doing it at the same time as anyone else is just to have someone to share the fun with."
"Fun?" he asked. "Fun?"
And then, "El Charritos."
I agreed.
Total for the week (not counting the meal out): $101.40, after I had adjusted all the estimated weights at the end).
Total INCLUDING the meal out $123.40.
Now, DS did NOT eat at home on from Friday night to Sunday afternoon, and I didn't count his school lunches, or the hypothetical expense of the free food I had (including a whole meal Saturday). This is our situation every other week; a normal part of our budget.
But it is clear that the budget goal is do-able. Since the "average family" has endured a year of inflation since the actual date of the challenge, I could have had an even bigger "average" budget to work in. Unfortunately, the average family had not had a year of salary increased keeping pace, so like everyone else, I need to cut expenses.
I would like to reduce the number of exceptions I made...but for most of those exceptions, replacing items with distant sources with local items should not result in an increased cost. I am trying to grow as much as I can this summer....
Next up:
Why bother?
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