First Trip to the Grocery Store on the No-Spend Challenge

Food is our highest expense at the moment.  We invest in good health by eating well and buying good, fresh food.  And it doesn't help my budget that grocery stores and farmers markets are my happy place.  I was avoiding shopping for groceries because I can easily get carried away.

This trip was a success for the most part.  I spent half of the amount of money that I would have normally, and I mostly stuck to the items on my list.  It is so easy for me to overbuy fruits, vegetables, and baking goods.

In fact, I recently took a count of all of the different types of sweeteners I have.  Sweeteners - not sweets.  Nine.  The number is nine!

Photo Credit

I have 4 of the ones shown above and FIVE more.  This is not counting dates, raisins, or chocolate.  I even have Golden Syrup for the love of Pete. 

So needless to say I'm pretty well covered as far as shelf-stable foods go, but it was the fresh veggies that I was missing.  And tortillas.  And hot sauce.  And probiotic drink....  I'm not going to beat myself up for buying way to many bananas, tomatoes, and bell peppers.  There could be worse things to spend money on.  

Any tips for sticking to your grocery list without going crazy?





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