Back to the $8/day Challenge!

Wasteful.  That is how I have been feeling lately.  I feel as though we have been wasting food, money, gas, and time.   I am grumpy, my little angels are acting like demons, and nothing seems to be changing.  After much thought and consideration I have decided we need to do one thing and one thing only, SIMPLIFY.  People have a real nifty way of making the uncomplicated complicated.....unfortunately, I am one of those people.  A few months ago when we were living off of $8 a day, life seemed easier.  I know that may seem bizarre to some, but getting rid of all the "fluff" helped us see what was really important in life.  So let the challenge begin,  wish us luck :)

DAY 1:
I spent most of the morning getting stuff in order.  I paid bills, organized my mountain of mail, and returned some phone calls.  One of my calls to make was to Comcast.  Let me preface this with letting you all know how much I despise dealing with customer service people.  I rarely have great experiences and usually end the call upset.  Our 2 year contract was up and the folks at comcast thought that raising our bill $25/month was ok.  Since we are on a strict budget, I kindly asked to cancel my service.  After 5 minutes speaking with Judy, we now have the same package for $5 less.  VICTORY!
SAVED $5/month by placing a call!

After my success with comcast I thought it would be a good idea to clean out my fridge and pantry to see what exactly I will be working with this next week.  Part of the reason my family is able to live off of $8/day is because we USE WHAT WE HAVE.  I am a firm believer in planning our meals around what we have in the kitchen and what is on sale at the store.  I do have a substantial stock pile of food items thanks to couponing, and also freeze meals ahead of time.  After taking inventory, I planned my family's meals for the week.

BREAKFAST
Waffles and Fruit X 2
Brunch at the park with friends
Egg in the bread
Sausage and pancakes with applesauce
Raisin toast with apples and peanut butter X 2


LUNCH
Grilled Ham and cheese sandwiches w/melon
Dino nuggets with carrots and dip
Veggie soup (my kids love soup even when its 90 degrees out!)
leftovers X 2
PB&J and fruit
Chicken and pepper Quesadillas w/ green beans

DINNER
Annies mac and cheese with carrots (daddy's at work :) )
Stir fry (veggies from my dads garden!)
Mostoccoli with green salad
Hamburgers/hot dogs with red potatoes and esparagus
Dinner out with my little men (dad's at work)
Angel hair with Italian sausage, veggies
Pizza night

Most of the menu items revolve around what I have in my house.  I will need to get some fruit and other little items!

After my day of planning and organizing, I was feeling ready to take this challenge on full force.  I told the boys if they ate all their dinner we would go to 7-11 for a FREE slurpee in honor of  7-11 day.  They were SO excited!!!  Unfortunately, when we pulled up, there was a huge sign on the door that read "ALL FREE SLURPEES GONE".  I was upset (total understatement!).  Since I promised my boys and we hadn't touched our $8, I thought it only fair to get them their treat.
TOTAL FOR 2 SMALL SLURPEES:  $2.28 and a brief argument with the ignorant cashier.....


TOTAL SPENT DAY 1: $2.28 (total rollover $5.72)

On a side note, we did start our challenge out with FULL tanks of gas in our vehicles. Also, just like last challenge, our monthly bills are NOT factored into the $8/day ;)