Can it be done? $25 a week for groceries for an adult?

March 23, 2014

I am a Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman fan.  I've been working on getting out of debt for quite some time. I was just about there... and my 18 year old car gave up the ghost, and suddenly, I found myself $22,000 in vehicle loan debt... a place I didn't want to be.  I realize for most of America, a vehicle loan payment is part of life.  However, I am bound and determined to be debt free... and that includes car payments, and eventually my house.

Like everyone else, I don't have an unlimited bank account.  The minimum monthly payment on my used RAV4 (my dream vehicle, actually) stretches my budget far enough, and over the past year, I have not enjoyed sending off that monthly payment.  But after crunching the numbers, if I work REALLY diligently, I can pay this puppy off early.  Very early.

Prior to number crunching, I budgeted $75 a week for one adult for groceries, and was able to manage well on that, eating a lot of organics, etc.  However, the lure of saving an extra $200 every 4 weeks to pay ahead on my car by cutting my food budget to $25 a week is almost an irresistible challenge.

From a dietary standpoint, a few things have to happen.  I need to stick to the $25 a week on average.  My diet needs to be varied and healthy.  It needs to include a minimum of 5 fruit/veggie servings a day, and it can't depend on $1 a pack nitrate laden hot dogs.  I am going to have to temporarily forego the mainly organic stance, but I do have a few qualifications here as well.  The majority of my dairy sources need to be rBST free, and I will try to avoid things on the dirty dozen list, and use those on the clean 15 when I can't get organic.  Locally grown is better, and free range eggs are a must.