Debt Dumpers 2026

[Tygerlilly]

How much is that relying on a stocked pantry vs only eating what you buy? I can't imagine how that works without a stocked pantry.

Interesting. I guess it's possible if your freezer and pantry are both well stocked going into the month. If not, and you have to buy groceries all month, seems too hard to do. You can't buy 2-3 days worth of groceries for that amount, lol.

Oh I'm sure she is stocked. The main takeaway from her post I got was that buying things that would stretch to several meals vs buying what you "feel" like is a massive savings.

We actually just did a big clean the freezer/pantry month so I no longer have a decent stock. However, I can still attempt to do an extreme low buy month just buy shopping smartly and planning off weekly sales and clearance finds.

 

[barkley]

How much is that relying on a stocked pantry vs only eating what you buy? I can't imagine how that works without a stocked pantry.

me thinks the same. I invantoried everything in my fridge, freezers and pantries at the end of December with the goal of buying as little as possible in coming months. I managed to reduce spending for groceries in january by about 40%. I just did an invantory for February and am working on my grocery list for the month. my goal is that anything that I am under in spending for groceries in a given month will roll over into the next month (I have a designated 'household goods' little bank account my budgeted amount goes into each month cuz it's easier for me to track spending vs. in my checking)-that way if there's a greater need in one month or a great sale I have those extra funds sitting there.

keep us posted on your progress tygerlilly-you are a VERY creative and resourceful person so I look forward to hearing how this goes for you

 

[Bellex917]

Oh I'm sure she is stocked. The main takeaway from her post I got was that buying things that would stretch to several meals vs buying what you "feel" like is a massive savings.

We actually just did a big clean the freezer/pantry month so I no longer have a decent stock. However, I can still attempt to do an extreme low buy month just buy shopping smartly and planning off weekly sales and clearance finds.

So I challenged myself to only spend $400 in January and I ended the month at about $430. I have four people at my house, 2 adults, a teenager, and a child with a very specific diet for medical reasons where I can't NOT have the food they eat bc it's the only food they can eat.

We have a stocked pantry and we had no trouble. I might try to go to $300 in February, which will def take more effort, but I think I can do it. That is def not the $29 or whatever your person spent, but we do value fresh produce and dairy, so it is what it is. I'll report back on if I can keep Feb super low!

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

So I challenged myself to only spend $400 in January and I ended the month at about $430. I have four people at my house, 2 adults, a teenager, and a child with a very specific diet for medical reasons where I can't NOT have the food they eat bc it's the only food they can eat.

We have a stocked pantry and we had no trouble. I might try to go to $300 in February, which will def take more effort, but I think I can do it. That is def not the $29 or whatever your person spent, but we do value fresh produce and dairy, so it is what it is. I'll report back on if I can keep Feb super low!

We budget $500/month for just the 2 of us. But that includes all toiletries, all paper products, all laundry detergents, etc. So it's kind of skewed. Also, we only buy what we need for the week. We dont buy in advance and free stuff. We don't freeze anything meats, cooked or raw. And DW doesn't eat veggies, either. We're also trying to cut down on processed foods.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

that's fantastic! we had a constant stream of new-hires, mostly younger so someone was constantly pregnant and then around the time I left it seemed like 'grandma showers' were becoming a thing

We had one of those and it was for a doctor and it was after we didn't have grandma showers for 3 techs. I excused myself from it because the doctors can throw each other showers too. Why is it on us? If we're going to do it for everyone that's fine but it felt strange. We love this particular doctor; she's kind of like a mom to everyone in our area but I felt it should either be all or none.

Newer trends in showers just feel so odd. Like sprinkles for people who have a 2 year old and have all the baby stuff they need.
wt_.