The other day I was eating out at Jose Pepper’s, a wonderful border grill and cantina here in Kansas City. Anyway, as I was paying for it, I realized something. Just on one meal, I spent about $12. Now, I have eaten out at Jose Pepper’s many times and done so without even thinking about it, but as I sat there waiting for my debit card to be processed, I just had to ask myself- “Why?”
And as i was asking myself that question, I began to think about how many times I end up eating out because it’s easier than making something at home or because other people want to go or just because I’m ‘in the mood’ for something like that. And I’m not saying any of those things are wrong. But as I began to take stock of the cost of all this, it got to be pretty disturbing. Here I was, spending all this money on myself, in a seemingly needless manner.
So that got me thinking- “How much could I get by on for a week?” The price of one meal at Jose Pepper’s? Maybe. How about a month?
Anyway, that’s the point of this blog. For the month of May, I am only going to spend $30 on food, because I think it can be done. No eating out. No soda. No tea. (be still my heart…) Hopefully enough to get me through the next 30 days.
Now you might be asking yourself- “Why? What are you trying to prove?” Well, nothing really. It’s more of an experiment, and hopefully a way to tear myself away from materialism’s grip a little bit more. I might be the only one who knows about it. It’s no publicity stunt or anything like that. I’m just tired of so much consumption and wasting so much money on food that I don’t need. And you get to read about it. Lucky you.
Since deprivation of something is usually worthless unless it is accompanied by a positive addition, in the interest of full disclosure I am going to be donating saved food costs to World Vision. I won’t tell you how much, but I will tell you that you should give them some money as well.
Alright- enough of an intro- here are the rules:
1. I can only spend $30 on food for the entire month.
2. No cheating- no invites to dinner, free meals at work, etc.
3. No eating food I already have in my house.
4. Any non-water drinks are included in the $30. (I already pay for my water with my rent.)
I hope to keep this blog updated daily with what I have eaten each day. Last night I went and purchased most of what I will be eating this month. Here’s what $29.67 at Price Chopper bought me:
1 box of oatmeal
4 lbs of Jonathan apples (about 10)
2 boxes of rice
a box of pancake mix
2 packages of Turkey
3 loaves of wheat bread
2 bags of veggies for stir fry.
1 dozen eggs
Enough for the intro- the month of May starts in 30 minutes!
30dayson30dollars.wordpress.com 