Conclusion of the 30 Day Social Experiment

I cannot believe it has been 30 days since we embarked upon this experiment. I really wanted to spend $0 but we quickly learned that there really are certain staples that must be around in order for us to be healthy. Fruits, vegetables, and yogurt are things that we must have on a regular basis. On the other hand, I was really happy to see that buying healthy meat doesn't really impact our budget as much as I thought it would. We have made the switch to free range, hormone/antibiotic-free meat when eating at home and we feel like we are better stewards of the earth and our bodies because of it. Yes, there were times when one of us was like, "Darn, I really want a Vietnamese sandwich!" or "doesn't Japanese ramen sound really good right now?" but we sucked it up and ate at home instead.

Anyway...I tracked our daily expenses on a handy dandy spreadsheet. The first column ("Total Cost") tracked how much we actually spent this month where as the second column ("Est. Cost/2pp") tracked how much our meals cost per day.



As you can see, we spent $353.49 in total last month. That figure includes the $130.00 we spent to take hubby's family out to dinner to celebrate hubby's promotion. The $66.76 also includes the 3 locally raised organic free-range, corn-free, hormone & anti-biotic free chickens that we purchased from the farmer's market. We haven't touched the chickens yet because I still have other previously processed chicken in the freezer. Eventually, I will process these whole chickens into smaller pieces too. That should keep us happy in the meat department for next month!

As for the actual cost of the food we consumed...that figure is much lower. We consumed an estimated $238.63 last month. That figure includes the $130.00 family dinner so a more accurate number is $108.63, give or take some.

Either way...I feel like this experiment really opened our eyes to what healthy and affordable meals really are. Often, I hear people say that eating organically or healthily is too cost-prohibitive but now I know that this isn't really true. This month (October) will be a financially difficult month for us due to more car woes and traveling. I'm glad we are used to living more frugally now because it'll make getting through October much easier. We are going to keep going with this "social experiment" because now, it is more like a lifestyle change.

So...new month...new day.

Day 1 of October

Lunch: Husband spent $15.00 on lunch (BBQ Bacon cheeseburger + tip) with his co-worker and former boss. This former boss has been hubster's career mentor so of course he had to go. I spent $0 on food because I had leftovers but I spent $4 on parking because I could not find free parking near work today.

Dinner: We went out for the first time in a month because my sister was in town. We were lucky to have made it in time for late-night happy hour. Hubby and I spent $20 after tip for 1 cranberry juice, 1 beer, a chicken pot-pie, and a beef shepherd's pie. Not bad...in the past, that would have been our "frugal" option. Now, however, I can't help but think..Dayam! $20! I could buy a whole week's worth of groceries with that!

Total Spent Today: $15+$4+20= $39.