Apr 2017 Food Expense Report – $80.39

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In order to keep track of my food expenses, I have started a monthly food expense report series. A few things to note:

— I currently do not live together with Mr. FAF and Baby FAF (only temporarily). My food expenses below are therefore counted as a single-person budget.

— Sometimes I buy food that will last for a couple of weeks or months (i.e. rice, salt, oil). But I will just count the purchase towards the month when I buy it.

— You might see great variation from week to week. The expenses might be really high for one week but extremely low for another. It’s because I don’t meal plan and just buy what I need. If it’s something I will eat at some point in the future (i.e. sesame rice balls, dumplings, sesame pancake), it’s usually frozen or packaged for a long shell life.

— Mr. FAF and I have gotten our grocery shopping to (almost) a science where we know exactly what we usually use for our cooking, so the food rarely goes to waste.

— If you want to know more about my diet, you can check it here and here. 

Food Expenses – Apr 2017: $80.39

GROCERIES

Week 2 ($47.84)

This will last me for at least 2 weeks. 

Grocery

Canned black beans (2): $1.5 ($0.75/can) – I will use use it with boiled eggs & rice for work lunch.

Canned garbanzo beans (2): $1.5 ($0.75/can) – I will use use it with boiled eggs & rice for work lunch.

Quaker life cereal (2): $4 ($2 each) – It was on sale for $2 each (originally $3.19). I usually eat it with soy milk for breakfast.

Produce

10 lb Russet potato (1): $5.49 – I will use it for soup or make some french fries in the oven.

Cucumber (4): $2.76 ($0.69 each) – I usually eat it raw as a salad.

Cabbage (1): $2.85 ($0.69/lb) – I will either stir-fry it or put it in soup.

Strawberries (2): $4.99 (buy 1 get 1 free) – For dessert.

Bananas: $2.41 ($0.49/lb) – For dessert.

Bakery

French bread (1): $1.79 – I like French bread. I love the smell of it. I’ll just eat it by itself or with canned tuna.

Apple pie (1): $4.99 – I think this second apple pie will put an end to my craving, and I’ll be off apple pie for months.

Deli

Rossetti chicken (1): $4.99 – I love the drumsticks and the wings. It’s so juicy and flavorful. I’ll just shred the rest and eat it with rice for dinner for the whole week.

Dairy

30 large eggs: $4.95 – I usually boil 10 eggs each week and eat 2 for lunch every day.

Vanila yogurt tubs (2): $4.78 ($2.39 each) – I love yogurt. I’ll eat it by itself or with strawberries/bananas.

Week 3 ($6.87)

Bananas (6): $1.34 ($0.49/lb) – I eat one banana with lunch and sometimes dinner.

Cucumber (3): $2.37 ($0.79/each) – I usually eat raw cucumber with lunch and sometimes dinner.

Honey dew melon: $2.99 – For lunch and/or dinner.

I’m trying to eat up all the food in the freezer and pantry before Mr. FAF comes back to visit early May.

Week 4 ($3.58)

This is not really a grocery item, and I feel a bit guilty about it. I went to the mall yesterday to see if they had any big summer sales. It was 92 F degrees in DC yesterday. I took a 30 minute walk to the mall. By the time I got there, I just couldn’t stop thinking about ice-cream. I craved it so much I didn’t really want to look at clothes anymore.

I had 3 options:

1. Try to forget about the ice-cream and move on going, which I couldn’t do because I hadn’t had any ice-cream for at least 3-4 months and couldn’t resist the craving (frugal fail!).

2. Buy Haagen-Dazs from the food court, which I didn’t want to do because a small ice-cream cone there was about $5.

3. Get ice-cream from a nearby grocery store for cheaper.

I chose option #3 since there’s a Target near the mall.

EATING OUT

Week 3 ($13.13)

I went to explore King Street – Old Town in DC and came across a Vietnamese restaurant. Although I was planning to go home and eat dinner. I decided to live a little and enjoyed this delicious banh my and taro bubble tea. I hadn’t eaten out in a month, so I felt pretty good about this decision.

Grilled pork sandwich: $6

Taro bubble tea: $4.5

I know for a fact that I can get them for half the price in another city, but I guess that’s what I have to pay in DC. I’m sure the restaurant has to pay a ridiculous amount for rent in King Street-Old Town.

You can read more about this trip here. It was an enjoyable weekend with beautiful weather, great scenery, and delicious food.

Week 4 ($8.97)

A colleague invited me to a ceremony with her after work. She suggested having dinner together before we went to the event. We decided to go to Chipotle. I got a steak burrito for $8.97. The chicken burrito was about $1 cheaper, but it usually doesn’t sit well in my stomach for some reason.

Conclusion

It was another month of low food expenses. I ate out twice in April compared to once in March, but the total’s $7.12 less than last month, so I’m happy about that.

Related:

3 Reasons Why I Love Instant Noodles

Eating out v. Home-cooked Meals – The Dilemma

What To Bring To A Potluck

Food Expense Reports

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