Gotta love short weeks, especially when they start out flying by. 
Mid-morning I snacked on a serving of mixed nuts.
Lunch consisted of the other half of my Orange-Cranbery Turkey Sandwich from yesterday.
and fresh baked okra fries & ketchup.
All I was missing was a pickle. 
Thanksgiving Challenge Update…
So…. ummm yeah…. about that Thanksgiving Challenge…
As you can probably tell from my recaps this weekend was not the best for this particular money saving challenge. I think I would do AWESOME at this challenge if I picked a month where I didn’t travel at all, but sadly (happily?) those do not exist.
Derek was great and paid for the food the majority of the weekend, but I felt really guilty about that fact and I am pretty sure the point of the challenge is not to just let other people pay for you instead of spending your own money.
Technically I could have approached this weekend a little more prepared and packed my own meals for part of it, but knowing I was going to be in Tallahassee – something that only happens once or twice a year – and being surrounded by all of my favorite places to eat, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
It was an awesome weekend and definitely one worth going over the challenge budget.
With all that being said my official total thus far of all food spent in the month of November (sans San Francisco) comes to: $149.96
Yikes!
And there is still a week to go! I guess the point now is to not let that number climb any higher? We shall see…
Remember you can track my spending habits by clicking here. *Please note the pattern of spending nothing during the week and then completely over doing it on the weekends.
On another note…. Keep the votes coming!!
27 comments
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November 23, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Chrysta
Thats a great idea for a challenge. Its something i need to start watching more of. I tend to really spend too much on food. I do love it though=) those Okra fries and sandwich look fantastic too! Have a great day!
November 23, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Runeatrepeat
You did better than me on the challenge
I totally blew it.
November 23, 2009 at 3:50 pm
megan
Food is my big spending weakness as well. I love to cook and bake so much, and I always want to make something new for the blog
we don’t really spend money eating out because I always want to cook dinner 
November 23, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Kat
Ha. I totally understand. I spend waaay more on the weekends!
November 23, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Erin
You did better than a lot of people, surely — I had a roommate in college who regularly spent $100+ a week on food and booze. Better to live a little too … you can’t take it with you!
November 23, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Celine
$100 per week in college isn’t that much money considering that $15 per day on food is very reasonable (even on the low side). That would rack up a total of $105 without the booze.
November 23, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Allison
I think the point is not to be perfectly on budget, but rather to be mindful of your spending. If the challenge helped make you more aware of your spending habits and how you could live more frugally, then I think it’s a success!
Think of how much you’ve saved by at least trying to be frugal this month!
November 23, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Jenna
whit had mcallister’s today for lunch as well! haha.
jenna
November 23, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Shannon (The Daily Balance)
awesome looking lunch! And you didn’t do TOO bad on the challenge, go a lil easy on yourself, girl! It is the holidays, after all
November 23, 2009 at 4:15 pm
anne
I agree with Allison’s comment. The important thing is being mindful of our spending. Plus, you tracked everything so you can look back and evaluate where each dollar went.
November 23, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Jessie (Vegan-minded)
It is SO hard not to spend all my money on food! It seems like you are doing a pretty good job to me. You may have gone over your budget, but I’m sure you enjoyed every bite of it!
November 23, 2009 at 4:42 pm
marge
Meghann–You’ve also been training for a marathon….you are going to need more fuel, which costs more money!
November 23, 2009 at 4:44 pm
marge
Meghann–You can also think of it in a practical economic terms. You’ve been training for a marathon, which requires more fuel for your body, and it is certainly more costly!
November 23, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Evan Thomas
I think the thing I take from The Thanksgiving Challenge is having a general awareness of how much we spend and to be thankful we can afford to have those little indulgences and it’s not a challenge to restrict us to an unnecessary point.
November 23, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Elina
I couldn’t do this challenge even on a regular week, let alone while traveling. Like you said, these getaways don’t happen that often, so you have to live it up a bit
November 23, 2009 at 4:54 pm
jocelynsteiber
I live in NYC and I think it would be virtually impossible to spend that little on food! I have been trying to be good lately though- only eat out 1 a week, don’t spend money on Starbucks (this one’s a killer!!), and no taxis!
Good luck!
xo
Jocelyn
November 23, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Kara
You have already done 1000x better than I would have! I am an insane food spender.
November 23, 2009 at 5:14 pm
One Healthy Apple
I would have a hard time with this challenge, but it’s worth trying out! You’re doing a great job of it!
November 23, 2009 at 5:23 pm
RhodeyGirlTests
Did you have a specific monetary goal for the challenge? Or just to spend as little as possible?
November 23, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Matt
Haha you spent less than I did on food!
November 23, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Amanda
I just wanted to let you know that I have been voting 3 times a day and I just got my mother and grandmother on board, so they SHOULD be voting every day!
November 23, 2009 at 7:25 pm
lauradishes
I don’t think that your month has been that bad! The important thing (in my opinion) is being aware of your spending, and honestly, it’s not completely controllable when traveling is involved.
Not that you’re telling us b/c you feel bad about it, but think of how much more you enjoyed yourself b/c you got to eat at your favorite places instead of pulling out soggy sandwiches all weekend!
November 23, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Amanda @ Cakes and Ale
i have a difficult time spending less on food as well. The problem is, if you love good food and also want to support organic / all-natural products, you’re going to pay more.
Rather than focusing on blowing the challenge, just think about the good times you experienced because of that money / food!
November 23, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Karla
I was trying to do this too but totally lost it!
I spend a ton on food! But I think mostly it’s because I bake a lot and give it away! Maybe I should stop giving food away so much haha (but it’s so fun!)
November 23, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Kasondra
I can’t believe how well you have done!! that is admirable!
November 23, 2009 at 8:01 pm
sisrocks1996
Making an effort is half the battle. You still did AMAZING! Being out of town and busy makes it much more difficult. You made clear choices that were made with thought not random spending so I still say it was a success
November 23, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Emily
We are having a hard time too! We definitly ‘cheated’ a few times this month. For me the idea is more to think about how fortunate I am that I CAN go over. Right now we have about $20 for the rest of the month.
This weekend we were stuck at the mall for two hours and starving! Cheesecake Factory sounded like heaven but I just couldn’t do it. I’m the one who made a big fuss about reviving the challenge and I was just too embarassed to post that we went to CF!
http://eatventures.wordpress.com