I have been surprised that now that this challenge is coming to an end, it is more difficult to choose what to purchase with my remaining money. Should I continue to buy basic foods in addition to what is on sale, or since I have enough food to last this last week, should I spend it to splurge a little on the things that I miss? I also have to make the decision of whether I am going to continue the challenge past the one month I decided to try it with that decision having a big influence on how I spend the remaining money. It has been an unexpected dilemma which I hadn't expected.

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This is part of a month long challenge to eat well while spending an average of only $1 a day on food. You can find the beginning and the rules of this challenge here

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Breakfast

I started off my morning with my usual instant oatmeal flavored with a bit of the 100% grape / peach juice. It is pretty good now that I have perfected the amount of juice / water mix to put in it.

For my larger breakfast, I had a bowl of Corn Flakes with banana on top, and a piece of whole wheat toast with an egg on top. I also got to use my salt and pepper for the first time (it's amazing how little things like that can make you so happy when eating on a limited budget). I also had a glass of half water / half grape & peach juice which tastes perfectly fine that way — not watered tasting at all.

day 25 breakfast

The main problem I have is that I now only have one egg (I also used a couple of eggs at dinner) and one package of instant oatmeal left which isn't enough to last me until the end of this challenge. I could probably get by without buying either and indulging myself a bit, but still not sure if that is a good idea. There are decent prices on eggs this coming shopping week, but no real sales on oatmeal…

Lunch

Lunch was pretty typical with me using the main items I had and finishing up leftovers. I had peanut butter on whole wheat toast, a full apple, the last of the tuna pasta salad and carrot slices with cream cheese:

day 25 lunch

Dinner

I decided to boil up the last of my brown long grained rise and I used the last of my spicy V8 juice to flavor it. I then took two eggs and scrambled them into half of the rice. I then took an handful of the salad lettuce mix I had, chopped it up and added it in as well with a bit of salt and pepper. Lastly I added a large spoonful of sour cream on the side:

day 25 dinner

Since Wednesday is the beginning of the new shopping week, I decided not to purchase anything new (besides, I was busy purchasing pantiliners) and hope that some promising sales pan out.

This is the current list of what I have purchased:

Money Spent $21.44
Money left to spend: 9.56 ($2 must be spent at CVS)
Retail Value of everything bought: $542.81

1 package of veggie spiral pasta
1 salt and pepper shaker combo
1 bag of salad
1 package of macaroni and cheese
3 sample packs of Maxwell House Vanilla Carmel Latte
4 sample packages of Wheat Thins Sundried Tomato & Basil
3 packages (small) Fig Newtons
1 jar Miracle Whip
1 potato
1 mystery purchase
1/3 lb ground beef
6 tomatoes
2 broccoli crowns
2 loaves of bread
2 jars of Classico pasta sauce
2 Safeway brand pasta (spaghetti and rotini)
1 celery stalk
2 bags tortilla chips
5 cans tuna
1 bottle Welch's grape & peach 100% juice
1 bottle V8 Fusion fruit / vegetable drink
1 bottle V8 spicy vegetable drink
2 boxes of Caprisun fruit drinks (10 packs)
1 jar of salsa
1 bag of black beans
3 half gallons of milk
36 boxes of cereal
2 dozen eggs
2 avocados
17 bananas
2 boxes of Quaker Instant oatmeal
55 packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Minis
1 package of Knudsen Light sour cream
20 apples
2 lbs of carrots
8 boxes (small) of Wheat Thins
2 jars of Skippy All Natural peanut butter
2 cans of pork and beans
1 bag of long grain brown rice
2 packages of Mission 100% whole wheat tortillas (10 count each)

Donated Food / other items to Food Bank that was purchased with my $1 a day

2 Gillette body wash
3 sample packs of Maxwell House Vanilla Carmel Latte
1 Stayfree pantiliner package
1 Kotex U tampon package
5 Bayer children's aspirin
2 sticks of deodorant
4 bottles Windex multi-surface cleaner
1 can of Pork & Beans
32 boxes of cereal
50 packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Minis
4 boxes (small) of Wheat Thins
2 Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean bathroom cleaner
2 Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean bathroom cleaner refill

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The Beginning ::: Day 26: Turkey Franks

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