In the Coming Year...

I have been reading old food stamp challenge posts, thinking about an old website where this woman spent $800.00 a year buying groceries and household good for a family of 4 and pets.  The $800.00 a year included eating out.

The lady that was only spending $800.00 a year only counted money coming directly out of her pocket.  Any gift cards she earned and freebies did not count towards the total.

The food stamp challenge is $27.00-$36.00 per person depending on location.   That at the lower end would be over $2800.00 a year in just food costs.  That does not include household cleaning supplies.

So how can I combine the 2 to get a reasonable number?  It is me and an 8 yr old girl that is always hungry.  I work a part time job that only offers 20 hours a week most weeks.

I don't receive child support on a regular basis, but I am not looking for it.  I am not on food stamps, but my daughter does receive free breakfast and lunch in school.

I am thinking the number is going to be $1800.00 a year or $150 a month.  That number will include all purchases. This is including gasoline for the car, car tags, license renewals, clothing etc.  Basically if its not rent, insurance or utility (also my ISP and phone are counted as utilities as I need it for work) it gets counted towards the number.  I will list all free items, but it will not count towards the number.

Any food currently in the house will not count towards the number, but to be honest, I only have a week or 2 worth of food, 1 jumbo pack of toilet paper and 3 single rolls of paper towel, maybe 2 gallons of bleach and 1 spare container of laundry soap.

I will post meals and pictures to show if we are eating well during this time.

Any leftover money will roll over to the next month.

So join me in this journey on January 1st, 2017 to see of we can live on $150.00 a month for a family of 2.