Inspired by our $50 a day success, we're implementing a $20 a day food budget!
Recently, I posted about our success in keeping our food expenditures in Orlando under $50 per day. Bolstered by the success of that little project, we have embarked on a $20 a day food budget for the two of us.
When you think about it, $600 per month for food for two people should be very easy. And most days, we'll be well under the twenty bucks. But the idea is to accumulate the excess, so that when there's an occasion to go out, or we just feel like it, we can go for it. This way we will never feel bad about going out, but will also never allow food to overwhelm our budget.
We started it yesterday, March 1. So far, in a day and a half, we have spent about six bucks. I love it!
I love the idea. I'm going to have to talk with my fiancee about trying this ourselves. As I've mentioned in my blog, we eat out a lot - we love food and the social aspect of sharing it with others. So this will be tough for us and we probably can't realistically target $20 a day. But it's clear that we need to start using some restraint.
Please keep us posted on your progress!
Posted by: Wes | March 03, 2007 at 06:39 AM
Sorry- $20/day is not a challenge. $10/day is very possible, and my family does it all the time. Needless to say, you won't be spending much (or any) time in restaurants. Get used to the grocery store. Watch for specials. Cook for yourself.
Posted by: Chris J | March 03, 2007 at 09:28 AM
Well Chris J, I figured I would get comments such as this. As you can see by Wes' comment above, we all have different perspective on this. I think we could go lower, but my Fiancee wanted to do $25. We compromised at $20, and if we stay under for several months, maybe I can renegotiate with her to go down to $15.
$10 is very impressive. I'm not so sure if we can do that. We like to go out once in a while. Not often, but once in a while. Life's no fun if it's all restraint, no going out.
Posted by: lamoneyguy | March 03, 2007 at 09:55 AM
We're DINKs who eat out and cook easily $600/month. $400 would be doable if we didn't eat out, and I looked at our cooking budget I know we can do it for $200/month. NOT fun and not easy.
What do you normally spend? I consider $600/month normal for us, and we used to live in LA where we could get by even cheaper compared to now. Now we live in an area without cheap ethnic take out or restaurants.
Posted by: LivingAlmostLarge | March 04, 2007 at 01:20 PM
LA, you are one lucky individual to have a lady that will actually go for that plan. Believe me, many (most?) will not.
Posted by: Bronco | March 04, 2007 at 02:00 PM
I'd love to hear about how you're actually managing to track the over/under on your spending. Keeping a spreadsheet? Sticking twenties in a dedicated envelope? Using only one particular credit card? Talk to me about logistics.
God knows, I could "commit" to a goal like this - but it's funny how that $4 latte never makes it into the math.
Posted by: Portland Money Guy | March 04, 2007 at 03:55 PM
Bronco, I am indeed a lucky man.
PMG, we are using paper. We keep monthly budgets on spreadsheets, but for day to day stuff, nothing beats the ease of paper. My Fiancee keeps a small notepad, and everything goes there. Like any budget, diligence in record keeping is key. There is some amount of honor system to it, but what the heck is the point if we're going to cheat. And if you knew my Fiancee (wait, do you?), you would know how meticulous she is.
The reason that I like breaking down the food budget down to the day, rather than simply a monthly number, is that it helps to identify those $4 lattes of which you speak. $4 out of a $20 budget is a big chunk. I'll remember that. $4 out of a $600 monthly budget is much easier to forget.
Posted by: lamoneyguy | March 05, 2007 at 07:34 AM
Do you find that this strategy really forces you to clean out the pantry? Maybe not my grandma's fruitcake, but I can definately see some positive changes from your plan.
Posted by: Katie | March 06, 2007 at 03:47 PM
I'm going to have to agree with Chris J on this one. If you analyze this for one person at $10/day:
Breakfast (if you have time): $5/week - cereal
Lunch&Dinner: $9.28/day
At this price you could have half a steak for both lunch and dinner with a side of potatoes/salad/soup/bread. If you cut out the steak for something more reasonable and account for more bulk purchases (if multiplied for more than one person), you can see that $20/day for two people isn't too challenging. The bar tab is what really does me in... but that's a different story.
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