We were going to California during the middle of my $35 per week grocery goal and I wanted to see how I could possibly make it work while on vacation. This is what I was planning to do but understandably, Benjamin didn't feel the need to be that cheap :)
Friday-(leave for airport at 1pm)
Breakfast at home, cereal or oatmeal
Lunch at home, sandwiches or Totinos pizza
Dinner: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, carrot sticks, popcorn (pre-popped, obviously), clementines, and an empty water bottle (the airport will allow you to bring food but only empty bottles that you may fill up after security checks you in).
Bracken: 4 frozen baby food cubes with 3 tablespoons baby cereal (will thaw by the time we're on the plane for dinner).
All of that is on hand, no associated cost.
Saturday-
Breakfast: cereal (packed box of cereal, bowls, spoons, dish soap, sponge), buy 1 quart of milk when awake.
Cost: $2
Lunch: peanut butter and honey sandwiches, apples, 1 pop tart (packed peanut butter, honey, loaf of bread, apples, and pop tarts).
Cost: assume didn't have apples originally (4 small) or bread (1/3 of a loaf) all bought at home because taxes are 4% less= $1.75ish
Dinner: Super Ultra Delicious Special Gorgeous Yummy Still-Dreaming-About-It Grandma Birthday Dinner made by Super Ultra Gorgeous Talented Cousin (you know who you are )!
See, we were still able to eat real food.
Total Cost: $3.75ish
Sunday-
Breakfast: same as Saturday (we didn't even manage this, we were in such a rush to get to church and were amazed to find we were the first ones there from the family! AMAZING,
it never happens.) Instead we snuck goldfish and animal crackers during Sacrament meeting (packed from home.)
Cost: would've cost $2, actual cost $0
Lunch: leftovers from dinner the night before
Dinner: eat more leftovers and cake from party
Total cost: would've cost $2, actual cost $0
Monday-
Breakfast: Same as Saturday
Cost: $2
Lunch: Zot's -there was no way I was going all the way to California and not eating the best hot dog in the world (We didn't make it. Darn it.) Other Grandma bought doughnuts and Dad provided milk.
Cost: if Aunty was there $7-8, if Uncle was there $14 :)
Dinner: La Comida- there was no way I was going all the way to California and not eating at a childhood favorite restaurant. (We did make it and it cost more than I expected.)
Cost: expected $12ish, actual $21
Total cost: w/auntie and expected $22, w/uncle and expected $28, actual spent $23
Tuesday-
Breakfast: haul to the airport, after settled on plane eat apples, animal crackers, goldfish, any packed snacks.
Cost: $1.35ish (apples)
Lunch: prepacked lunches- PB&honey sandwiches, snacks, airplane pretzels and in flight sodas.
Cost: $0.45 (part of bread loaf)
Dinner: not quite home yet, see if we can make it on stashed airplane snacks, sodas, and home brought snacks and any leftover bread. When home eat Totinos pizza, again. Wednesday we'd have a real meal again!
Cost: $0.15 (part of bread loaf)
Total cost: $1.95
I forgot to mention Bracken's food. I found stage 2 foods 2 pack for $1.34 with $1 off coupon for 2 boxes attached to each box. So, I bought 4 boxes, a total of 8 containers, enough for one container for lunch and one for dinner everyday at a total of $3.36, bringing each meal to $0.42. Seems like a bit especially when I make mine at home for $0.10 a meal, maybe, but the cheapest I am able to find for a single container is $0.60, therefore yeah to me! Most the time, however, he just ate what I ate. He only ate about 3 containers.
Complete and Total Cost estimated: $33.06
Complete and Total Cost actual w/estimate: $29.96
(being that we weren't being cheap and so we ate out instead of eating packed bread and cereal)
Actual Cost (since we ate out): about $128
We ate out a LOT, probably 8 times. Oh well.
We had a blast though and didn't have to worry about anything.
Yea!
-Taryn
