An Ongoing Stockpile Challenge

After doing our stockpile challenge in February I made a decision that for the rest of this year I was going to not only change the way I shop week to week, but I am going to plan another 5 months where we do the stockpile challenge.

So in March we cut back to the new target of $50 a week and then in April are back to the challenge.  Although because of Easter and our computer dramas I am a bit late blogging about it.


We still have a huge stockpile including meat (we have a freezer full of beef and chicken) so we will be doing a stockpile challenge in April, June, August and October.

If you think you spend too much on food or want to join me in April or any of the other months to work through your stockpile then just leave a comment below and post about your progress.  I will be posting each Monday about the challenge and what I am cooking up and getting creative with in the kitchen.

As far as rules go I think it is important that each person sets their own limit based on their own family dynamics.  For example there is just the 2 of us and we do not have to buy any meat or eggs so our budget of $15 per week is plenty.  For us this includes all food items including milk and bread but if you have a tribe of children maybe you will exclude milk and bread from the challenge or just increase you weekly allowance.

The main thing is to try not to buy pantry foods, to plan your meals and to be thinking about how little you actually need to buy.  Do you actually only need 4 potatoes for the week not a kilo?  Do you need to buy tomatoes this week, are they in your meal plans?  Can you make a loaf of bread instead of buying it?  Can you do what I did and substitute one ingredient for another?

It is also a good idea to have a good look a what you have in your pantry, fridge or freezer.
Look for things that:

You might have had for a while,
You might have brought on a whim and not used
Things that you have a lot of (like my frozen bananas)
Things that are close to their expiry date or at risk of being thrown out

So are you up for the challenge?