Resolution Update: August

August was not my best month.  As you'll see it was a lot of produce thrown out, which is surprising because my kids would eat fruit and vegetables all day if we let them. 

Food We Tossed:

1 apple = $0.13
1 banana = $0.06
1 yogurt cup = $0.42
small potatoes = $0.96
full container of cottage cheese = $3.99 (this one irks me)
blueberries = $0.94
plums = $0.82
2 slices of deli ham = $0.12
1 mango = $1.99 (this is another one that irks me since I didn't buy it)
strawberries = $2
cantaloupe = $1.12 (another full item)
grapes = $0.17
Macaroni = $0.56
Spaghetti = $0.54
celery = $0.56 (the bane of my throwing out goal)
green beans = $1.99 (4th full item on this list)
1 pear = $0.17
1 corn on the cob = $0.50



Monthly Amount:

17.04

Higher than I would have liked.  There were a full factors that contributed to that amount; 1) there were no menu plans for the month of August, which meant a lot of impulse buying.  2) Every time we went our we bought fruit, not taking into account what we already had.  Many times we bought what we already had and thus we didn't eat it before it went bad.  3) The heat.  It was too uncomfortable to turn the oven on, so any baking I would have done to use the fruit didn't happen.  I really should have frozen berries instead. 

Year to Date:

$134.10

Average Monthly Total:

$16.76- I went up 4-cents.  Need to do better to bring it down to $15. 

Estimated Waste for a Year:

$201.15- To achieve being under $200 for the year I need to average $16.45 for the remaining 4 months. 

There is so much I've discovered about our family's eating habits over the last 8 months (like we never use as much celery as we buy).  I just need to implement ideas to help us do better in those areas. 

I need to remember during the warmer months to pre-plan meals better and to buy appropriate amounts of food. 

I am confident I can keep it below $200 for the year, which puts me in a good position to try this again next year.