Power Savings Month

Every once in a while I find it cathartic for my wallet, mind, and kitchen to do a Power Savings Month.  Essentially that means depleting the supplies in my home by getting extremely creative in order to purchase as little as possible.  This method only saves money if you do not overspend during the months before and the months after.  If your budget is $300 a month and you spend $150 on a Power Savings Month then spend $500 the following month, you have not actually saved anything.  That means you may have to sacrifice some items for a couple of months until you build your pantry back up slowly.

My goal this month is to throw $200 in my savings can.  Our monthly budget for groceries is around $360 though I regularly shoot for $250-$300.  This month, I am shooting for $160.  Below is a copy of my dinner menu for this month.  You will notice several meals involve leftovers.  This is because I intend to make large quantities to use up some of my excess bulk foods.  Please note, while I intend to sacrifice some variety this month, I in no way am willing to sacrifice nutrition.  It is not worth the money-savings to jeopardize your health, even for a month.  (You will notice some days say "pork" along with a second meal.  This is because my daughter is pork intolerant so those nights I have to make a second option.)


When I went grocery shopping on the 1st of the month, I spent $140.  Here is a copy of my grocery list.  You will notice that I always include the price of the items on my list.  This ensures that I know how much I am spending before I even leave for the store.
This only leaves me $20 until the end of the month in order to reach my goal.  My mid-month shopping will take a little bit of creativity, but I am determined to make this Power Savings Month a success.  We have a lot of rice, beans, flour, frozen vegetables and eggs so hopefully I will only need to buy some milk and fresh fruit to make it until June.

I will update you after my mid-month shopping as well as let you know how I did at the end of the month.  I encourage you to try a Power Savings Month for yourself.  Try just buying the bear necessities and see how much money you bank away!