What is the 25 Buckaroo Challenge?

I'm in over my head. I haven't been taking care of the finances like I should be and now I'm overwhelmed. I have bills that are behind, credit cards that are at their limit, and income that just BARELY stretches across minimum payments.

One area I know I can cut the budget DRASTICALLY is with groceries. Over the summer I spent with a voracious appetite and now I am choking on the consequences.

The 25 Buckaroo Challenge is my personal challenge to spend only 25 dollars per week to feed myself and my 8-year-old daughter (who has a very BIG appetite!). This will include health and beauty items.

I plan to include pictures of just how far 25 dollars can stretch when you are super careful, utilize sales with coupons, and shop for freebies at places like CVS and Walgreen's.

I am starting with a moderately stocked pantry. I have an abundance of cereal, thanks to the recent Kellogg's rebate + coupons + sales (FREE cereal!), but otherwise, we only have about 1 week's worth of supplies.

Here's what I have on hand (my challenge starts THIS Friday, the 5th!) :

2 boxes Mac N Cheese
4 cans of soup
1 box pasta
2 lbs of rice
Beans and lentils
Lots of salad dressing
6 oz shrimp
Lots of powdered drink mix (Crystal Lite, Propel, SF Koolaid)
Tea bags
Flour
Sugar
A couple of cake mixes
Chocolate chips
Baking powder
1 box Ranch n bacon Pasta salad
2 Jars spaghetti sauce
3 frozen dinners
1 whole chicken
2 boxes seasoned rice
3 cans of fruit
6 small bags Goldfish crackers
2 4-packs pudding
16 bottles of water
8 bottles of Fuze flavored water

So as you can see, I dont' have a freezer-full of meat or meals on hand, but I'm not starting from scratch either.

The stores I generally shop at are:

Meijer
Kroger
Aldi
Save-A-Lot
Oakwood Food Center (local)
Walmart
Kmart (once in a blue moon)
CVS
Walgreen

When the sales are not looking so great for the week, I do the bulk of my shopping at Save-A-Lot. All of these stores are within a 2-mile radius and I just do a loop to several stores at once, generally Friday.

This week I don't have any plans set, but I do plan on using my FREE KRAFT PRODUCT coupons I got from Walmart's All You magazine from last month.

When you buy 3 Koolaid packets (on sale for 20 for 2 dollars at Meijer this week) you can get a free Kraft salad dressing, Wheat Thins, Crystal Lite, Beef Hot Dogs, and Kraft Cheese. (3 packets per free item) So for about $1.50, I can get ALL of the above! (Now I just have to find the coupons. Sigh)

I should also mention that I am TERRIBLY unorganized! I try very hard to file coupons, but they always end up all over the place and I miss out on deals, steals, and freebies. (Just last week I let 20 dollars worth of Walgreen's register rewards expire! I also threw away the much-needed UPC label for a rebate!) So you see, I have work to do here if I am really going to do this and succeed!

I found baseball card organizers on clearance for 59 cents per 5-pack. I also found a Day Planner in a red, zip-around leather "like" case on clearance for $1.60! So I am getting organized on the cheap.


So here are my rules:

1. Write down EVERY PENNY I spend on food, health and beauty items.

2. Keep track of how much I save in coupons, rebates, and store savings.

3. Take pictures of what I buy every week for 25 dollars.

4. Make a (mostly) healthy menu plan each week.

5. Share any good deals and steals that I find.

6. Start a household budget and STICK TO IT.

7. NO FAST FOOD - this includes all restaurants.

8. Admit it if I go over.

9. Actually send in rebates on time!

10. Organize and use all of my coupons with sale items.

Well, that is my plan. I pray that I will be able to get my debt paid down!

God bless anyone who reads this!

Sherry