My friend, Precious, over at Frugal Makes Cents, has posted an amazing challenge: Watch.Every.Penny. Pop on over to her blog and really all the juicy details! I know, I know - most of us do that now, but she’s taking it to a whole new level. We’re talking about living large off the stockpile, re-examining what we do spend, setting limits on what we will pay for any given item.

Since I am fairly well stocked on what I need, this challenge couldn’t come at a better time. For my little household, there is a move in our future (by June 1st) and I would like to reduce the amount of stuff we have to haul from one house to another. Even after my sister’s visit, and sharing of the stockpile, we’re still very well supplied and it’s time to see how little I can spend. Period.

With summer coming, the deals are bound to pick up, and I’m making a pledge to myself to get better at snagging great freebies, seeking out high value coupons, and get better at adapting basic ingredients to more purposes (like Living Easy's idea for making taco sauce) and DH making homemade salsa.

To offset some of the costs of produce, which is eating more and more into my budget as I expand my list of acceptable veggies (I’m not truly opposed to vegetables, I’m just not overly fond of eating them), I’ll be planting a very small garden. Mostly tomatoes, bell peppers, fresh herbs, and some berries – but everything will have to be in pots (as we’re most likely moving to a townhouse).

So I don’t feel suffocated by this regime, I’ll even outline the few splurges I’ll allow myself along the way. Spices and extracts. I’m sorry, but I demand food with flavor – and will not settle for bland fare. Good spices are a worthwhile investment, and extracts – well, that’s another story! I have instituted a $20 date night with DH once a month, and now that will be increased to twice a month to help keep costs low. On the alternate weeks, DH & I will take advantage of outdoorsy stuff like long walks, picnics, and free festivals - and indoorsy stuff like free redbox rentals, free popcorn, game nights, not to mention the frequent BBQ.

While I have lived primarily off the stockpile, I haven’t really made it a point to do that since last spring. With that being said, Annie’s Market is well stocked with great deals – it’s probably in the best shape it’s ever seen as far as variety since I’ve started stockpiling. Though there are always a few small items needed, I’ll keep a running list of no more than 10 items each week that I’m low on and will post what I’ve paid for the item(s) when they get removed.