the 200 challenge

I, and a few of my friends, and joining up with Sarah at Clay in His Hands for The 200 Challenge. The goal here is to spend less than $200 per month for the entire year of 2010. I am so excited! I am always looking for new ways to live the frugal life. Right now I am 6 days past my Meals for a Month Challenge...which has also included not going to the grocery store! I can honestly say I am so proud of the fact that I haven't been to the grocery store since January 1st, and we have eaten every meal at home. (Minus a few generous friends/family that treated us!) I am aiming for stretching this out to February 15th so that we can enjoy a nice meal out for Valentines Day, which was the original inspiration for this challenge. I think we will make it!

Typically I spend less than $200 on groceries per month, but that doesn't always include toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, etc. I also want to incorporate personal care products into that category as well like shampoo, make-up, deodorant, etc. I also do 1 month grocery shopping, where I buy everything we need for the month, and I only go back once for milk, fresh veggies and fruits, and bread or eggs. My "big" trip will be on the 15th, so I will post then about what I bought and how I saved!