THE CHALLENGE

Why?  What?  WHY? 

Those are the words most spoken by people when I tell them about my dollar a day challenge.  They immediately think about going out and buying me some McD's Egg Mcmuffins.  They think I'm going to starve. 

NOT!

I think I'm going to be eating healthier than ever.  I'm not 100% positive I can do this for a whole month.  After all, when I'm dieting I can't stop eating chocolate for more than a day.  However, that's why this is a challenge.  And believe it or not, I'm really looking forward to it.

So why am I doing this?  Well I guess I've always been interested in budgeting, but I've really gotten away from it these days.  I mean, going out to lunch, even fast food and bringing home take out dinners everyday is really expensive.  Duh.  Yes, it's a lot cheaper than eating out at restaurants, but it still is really expensive.

When I got married 30 years ago, we budgeted $50 a week to cover food, clothing, entertainment, household supplies, and even cat food.  And, there was money left over.  Okay, so I'm not going to that extreme ever again, but it was a necessity then and a challenge now.

And I guess I want to make a point...that you can eat healthy on a limited budget.  People in third world countries are doing it everyday.  Our country has so much waste so we have no excuse.  There is a lot of food getting wasted in the fields because they are not harvested because they are not "pretty" enough to sell commercially. 

I have a small vegetable garden.  It's almost self sustaining at this point.  What I mean is that I don't have to invest much money in it.  A lot of the seeds are ones that came from previous years.  The ground is being fertilized mostly by homemade compost, and the mulch is free from a nearby source.  Since I live in a condo and don't have a yard to grow in, I use a community garden plot that costs me $48 a year.  What a deal.  I'm not factoring the cost of the garden into my costs for this challenge.

Other things I'm not factoring into the cost is the cost of electricity or gas to prepare the food.  Or the cost of gasoline to go buy the food.   

So mostly, the money I spend will go to buy protein, and what I plan to buy is chicken, tofu, beans, eggs and peanut butter.  I need to get the best nutrition for the dollar and I am free to buy in bulk and use coupons to get the best price on items, just like I did 30 years ago.   Also, I'm free to glean food from friend's and family's fruit trees.  Luckily, my mom has avocados and oranges.  Score.  I can eat anything that is given away as a free sample.  Thank you TJ's for a sip of coffee and the local farmer's market for tidbits of fruit.  They will just be treats per say. 

I believe I will benefit several ways from this challenge:  First, I could use to lose some weight.  Second, I've been eating a lot of junk food lately so my diet will be much better.  And lastly, I'll be saving a lot of money on food.

I did all the math, and I know I need about 45 grams of protein a day and at least 1250 calories for my size.  Less than 900 and I'll go into starvation mode.  It's hard to get that many calories for $1, so that's why I need the garden veggies and gleaned fruits to boost up calories.

Okay, so here are MY rules.  Yes, these are the rules I've decided to use.  I know people are going to say I should be doing this or that, but listen people, this is my challenge so I get to make up the rules. Feel free to do your own challenge under your own rules.

1. Cost of food for the month cannot exceed $30.  This means that I can eat $1.25 one day and 75 cents another day.
2. I am free to eat anything I grow in my vegetable garden or glean from friends and family trees and gardens.
3. I can buy in bulk and calculate the cost per serving.
4. Can shop for weekly sales, mark downs and use coupons to get the best prices.
5. Cost does not include cost of garden (about $4 a month), cost of electricity and gas for food preparation or transportation costs to buy food. 
6. I cannot accept food from others that they purchased. 
7. I am allowed to eat food that is given away as samples and is available to the public.

Will my husband be participating?  Absolutely not.  So yes, that means I will be preparing his meals separately. 

No, I will not accept free food from people unless it was grown by you.  Don't tempt me!

When does this challenge start?  June 1, 2012 and ends June 30, 2012. 

Any questions?  Ask away!