Living Frugal, Not Cheap

This is my 7th week for the $25 per person grocery challenge, and I'm not sure how much longer I can do this. It was fun at first but lately I find myself thinking more and more about about the money. Should I get the 88 cent cream cheese from store A or buy the brand name at store B for 99 cents? Should I get the $1.99 tortillas I usually buy, or the 99 cent store brand which is smaller? Does it matter? Is ten cents worth laying awake at night? I'm making this harder than it needs to be.

So I think that after this week I am going to give up the Challenge. It's not that I can't do it. I've been doing this for over a month now. But the emotional and mental energy I am putting into it is making me feel bad. I'm still going to stick to a lower food budget while DH is out of work, but I'm going to loosen up a bit and not be so strict. I'm going to work with what seems reasonable instead of obsessing about the $25 limit.

This week's groceries:

flour 1.58
mayo 2.88
mayo 2.88
sugar 1.68
milk 4.24
egg nog 1.77
egg nog 1.77
spinach 1.50
garlic .36
spanish rice 1.39
black beans 1.08
cereal 3.37
tortillas .98
crackers 2.50
cream cheese .99
1 lb carrots .97
cauliflower 2.50
lettuce (3 heads) 2.50
leeks 2.15
oranges 1.80
zucchini 1.13
mushrooms 2.00
bread 2.79
fish sticks (bag of 10) 4.19
queso fresco 2.99

Total: 52.39 Almost everything was bought on sale and/or with a coupon.


Menu plan:

breakfasts: tea, toast, jam, oatmeal, eggs, bacon

lunch: dinner leftovers, frozen burritos, egg sandwiches, grilled cheese

snacks: chips, cheese and crackers, oranges, apples, homemade cookies

dinners:

-- kielbasa (stockpile), rice, vegetable
-- corned beef hash (freezer), potatoes, veg
-- chicken quesadillas, tortilla soup, salad (stockpile chicken, cheese and veg bought today)
-- homemade pizza (flour, sauce, sausage in stockpile, veg bought today)
-- leek/potato soup, egg salad sandwiches (potatoes and eggs on hand)
-- fish sticks and veg
-- black bean soup with bacon (from stockpile)

Those last two are subject to change if I don't feel like making it this week. DH has asked for lemon chicken, and I have the lemon I bought last week and did not use.

So that leaves me at $149/$200 for the month.