Day 2

That lovely can of cream of asparagus soup and that oh-so-delicious can of corned beef hash have been staring me down for years. Yikes!!!!!

I am pondering how many similarly forgotten items we have in our pantry and freezer because today was day 2 of our experiment in cheapness. So far it hasn't been hard not to spend, but I can tell that feeding our family without spending anything will be the most difficult part. The plan is that I will eat at home every day and Bryan will be taking his lunch to work every day unless they have a free luncheon (which happens all the time in big law firm world). Too bad I am not still working at the capitol because there were opportunities for free food every day if I didn't mind listening to a lobbyist's spiel! I already cook most nights since Daphne goes to bed so early (between 5:30-6), so eating dinner at home every night won't be much of a change.

The plan is that we have to go through every bit of food in our house before we can buy anything besides fresh fruit and milk. You know the weird/gross things that somehow appear in your pantry and freezer and you have no idea how they got there? We will finally be eating those lovely items this month- even the cream of asparagus soup and corned beef hash. The hardest part will be figuring out how to make meals out of the weird things left by the end of the month. So if I invite any of you over for dinner towards the end of October, make sure to have an excuse ready so you won't have to eat anything bizarre.

So far my only temptation to spend was today when I went to meet a friend to walk at Ladybird Lake. I decided on the way there that I should have brought some water, so I wanted to stop and get some at a convenience store. Because of our experiment I had to fore go that fancy bottled water and drink from the free coolers of water and Gatorade at the trail head- which is really much simpler and smarter anyway, right? I know if I had been able to stop and buy water, I would have also bought candy because, let's face it, I have candy issues. I can never walk away from a lonely pack of Sugar Babies and I am drawn to candy corn like a moth to a flame this time of year.

So, by not stopping to buy the water I really averted two unneccessary purchases. I am really looking forward to what we will learn about our spending habits this month.