I am a SNAP recipient who receives $193.00 per month in benefits. To augment that, I am able to budget an additional $32.00 per month for food. Altogether, that leaves me with a budget of just over $50.00 per week. Join me as I share what I do to make it work.
Welcome to Week Fourteen
I had a lot of trouble coming up for meal ideas for this week, so I had to postpone my usual Thursday shopping trip. I meant to go on Friday instead. Well, I didn’t. I told myself I’d definitely go on Saturday. Guess what? Yeah. I finally forced myself to go Sunday morning.
I’m definitely in a rut here. I was content for nearly three months. This has been the first time in my whole life that I’ve had complete autonomy. I was my own woman, and everything was on my time and done in my own way. I especially enjoyed cooking what I wanted without having to take someone else’s tastes into account. I was loving it…until I wasn’t. Perhaps it’s the changing seasons. Perhaps it was too much of a good thing. Maybe both. I don’t know. What I do know is that I need a bit of excitement in my life. That and I am really starting to miss Sam.
Sam will be back in town three weeks from today. Even though I will no longer have complete freedom, I’m ready for her to be home. I still don’t know how she and I will handle dinners, but at this point, I don’t even know how to handle dinners for myself. I just don’t even want to think about it.
I need to get my act together because my apathy towards meal planning really cost me this week. I’m not in a financial position to be apathetic. With that said, let’s have a look at what happens when I’m mentally struggling.
Meals
Hummus & Greek Pita (1 night)
Because I had originally planned on making this last week but didn’t, I already had all of the necessary ingredients.
I use this recipe for hummus. I also use a couple of tips from this recipe: I cook the canned chickpeas for 20 minutes with a half teaspoon of baking soda added to the water, then rinse them under cold water for 30 seconds. I don’t bother removing the skins. I have in the past, and while it makes the hummus extra smooth and creamy, for me it’s just not worth the extra effort. I also add the minced garlic to the lemon juice and let it hang out for a while. This allows the garlic to mellow out.
I absolutely love this recipe for my Greek pita. Since it’s just me, I’ve been cutting the recipe in half. Please note that Greek pita is not pocket pita; it is soft, thick, and does not have a pocket.
Both of the above recipes are published on food bogs, and so I need to get something off my chest! Well, okay, it’s not just food blogs—more like blogs in general. They are often so bogged down with ads that it’s nearly impossible to navigate their webpages. I get that they are (rightfully) generating ad revenue but geesh!
When I encounter a food blog webpage that’s like this, I look for the “print recipe” option, which opens up just the recipe in a new tab/window/whatever. Then, if it’s a recipe that I plan on making again, I will publish it on my private recipe blog. Another nice thing about doing this is that I am also able to record my adaptations to a recipe.
Sub Sandwich (1 night)
Well, here we are. It was Friday, and I was just not up to shopping. The day prior Grub Hub had sent me an offer for 35% off an order off $15.00+, and I jumped on it. I bought a huge ass sub from a local gem called Babe’s Corner. I got the Edna, which is essentially an Italian sub. This sub could have easily provided two dinners, but it didn’t last that long. Easy come, easy go.
Big Mac Meal (1 night)
Since I couldn’t bring myself to grocery shop on Saturday, I resorted to takeout for the second night in a row. This time I opted for a trip through the McDonald’s drive thru. By using their mobile app, I was able to get 25% off my Big Mac meal. That kept my meal under 10 bucks, which helped assuage my guilt.
Steak & Onion Sandwiches (2 nights)
Several months ago, I was perusing Meijer’s beef selection and noticed they sell shaved beef. I kept that in mind for future steak & onion subs. Also, while waiting at the deli counter one morning, I had spied some nice looking French rolls that looked perfect for my future subs.
While struggling with meal ideas for this week, I finally decided to make the steak & onion sandwiches. I had been putting them off because of the price. Between the beef and the rolls, I spent more than I was comfortable with spending. However, the steak was enough for four sandwiches, which meant I could freeze half of it for a future meal once Sam was home. I also planned to make BLTs next week to use up the extra rolls. Waste not, want not and all that jazz.
The steak was perfect! I cooked it along with diced onions in a bit of butter and seasoned it with Adobo seasoning. As it cooked, I used to fork to kind of shred it.
As for the rolls, the brand name was “Perfection 1901 Deli.” Perfection? WRONG! Despite them looking good and being nice & soft, I did not like the taste of these rolls. And that created a problem.
I had planned on doing the steak & onion subs for two dinners. However, there was no way I was going to eat another one of those rolls. I inevitably decided to freeze the meat and ended up making half a box of Kraft mac & cheese the second night. Unfortunately, the rolls went into the trash—four bucks down the drain.
Homemade Pizza (2 nights)
Pizza is always good, so it was an easy choice when I was at a loss for meal ideas. Plus, two pizzas were enough for four dinners—two this week and two next week. Although I’m not very excited to eat the same thing four nights in a row, I’m not complaining about four meals for under 7 bucks, especially after blowing nearly $30.00 on takeout this week.
Total Spent on Meals: $47.61
Baking/Dessert Project
I got a hankering for carrot cake* one day several years back, but, unfortunately, I didn’t have any carrots. However, I did have a sweet potato and figured that was close enough. I have been using sweet potatoes ever since.
I haven’t made a “carrot” cake in years, but I recently had a craving for it and decided I’d make it. I googled to find out how much sweet potato I would need. Every site I went to said that one pound yields three cups of grated sweet potato. Perfect! The recipe calls for three cups of grated carrots. So, when I went to the store, I bought just over two pounds of sweet potatoes in order to make two cakes: one for now and one when Sam came home. I decided to grate all of the sweet potatoes at once, planning to freeze half of it for Sam’s cake.
Once I had grated all of the sweet potatoes, however, It was plain to see that there was definitely more than six cups worth. There was, in fact, nine cups total—enough for three cakes!
*I omit the pecans.
Total Spent for Dessert: $2.13
Stock Up
On Saturday, I got a notification from Meijer that strawberries were on sale for 99¢ through May 4th. Yes! Just in time for my shopping trip the next day! I bought six 1-pound containers, all of which I hulled, washed, and froze for smoothies. For my effort, I was left with 5.5 pounds of strawberries. On top of this incredible sale, I saved 60¢ because Meijer gives SNAP recipients a 10% discount on fresh produce. So for $5.34, I got 5.5 pounds of frozen berries. You will not find a bag of frozen fruit anywhere for that price.
Total Spent to Stock Up: $20.58
Miscellaneous
Smoothies
Not much to say except that I am still enjoying a smoothie each morning.
Total Spent on Miscellaneous: $6.39
The Final Tally
If I had paid regular price for this week’s food, the total would have been $107.96; however, I was able to save $31.25 on everything including the takeout for a grand total of $76.71. I went $26.71 over budget because I was in a funk. Such is life. Luckily, I had nearly $60.00 left in my household budget for the month of April, and that is how I covered both nights of takeout.
I’m going to stray a bit off topic here and touch on budgeting and the budgeting program I use. My “household” budget encompasses the month’s non-food purchases with the exception of prescription/over-the-counter medications/dietary supplements, cat food & litter for Sassafras, and coffee for which I have separate budget categories. I use the You Need a Budget (YNAB) app for budgeting.
While a YNAB subscription costs $98.99 + tax per year, I gladly pay for it. This app has been a game changer for me, and I have saved so much money since I began using it in 2018. Prior to YNAB, I was mindlessly blowing through my money each month without regard for the future. Since I began using YNAB, not only do I budget for monthly expenses, I also budget for future expenses. For instance, I set aside money each month for car insurance. That way I am able to pay for my premium in full when my policy renews every six months, which equates to a discount.
I love knowing that I’m going to have the means to cover, not only my fixed monthly expenses, but also intermittent expenses that come up. These include expenses such as the aforementioned car insurance, renters insurance, our Sam’s Club membership, and my YNAB subscription. I also set aside a bit of money each month for car repairs and trips to the dentist.
Thanks to YNAB, I have managed to accrue a few thousand dollars in my checking account, which is amazing considering I live under the Federal Poverty Level. YNAB also allows users to create multiple budgets, so I am able to share my subscription with Bree. I am happy to report that YNAB had also been life-changing for Bree as well! This is just one more reason I don’t mind paying for my subscription.
I just wanted to give YNAB a shoutout because it has helped so many people. While it is pricy, I would not have that few thousand dollars in my checking account without having made the investment (I also have a modest savings account). Plus, after paying upfront for that first year, I began setting aside money each month to renew my subscription. These days, I set aside $8.74 each month. Honestly, that’s money I don’t even miss.
Grand Total Spent on Food This Week: $76.71
In Conclusion
Week Fourteen served as a reminder that even the most routine tasks can become challenging when faced with mental fatigue. As I navigated through a lack of motivation and meal planning struggles, I realized the importance of self-compassion and perseverance. While I may have strayed from my budget, I’m reassured by the bit of financial stability afforded by tools like YNAB.
Looking ahead, I’m eager to embrace the return of routine with Sam, and perhaps we can rediscover the joy of cooking together. Despite the ups and downs, each week of this challenge brings new insights and opportunities for growth.
