How My Goal to Spend Less than $3,000 on Food Last Year Actually Turned Out — The Financial Diet

Welcome to a column from The Financial Diet, one of our very favorite sites, dedicated to money and everything it touches. One of the best ways to take charge of your financial life is through food and cooking. A version of this post originally appeared on The Financial Diet.

In 2017, I'd originally planned to spend about $217 a month on groceries and $33 a month on restaurants, coffee, and alcohol so that my food spending for the year would come out to just under $3,000. My chief concern was making sure my restaurant spending stayed under control.

Let's cut right to the chase: Technically, I failed. I'd like to think my failure came down to a single store run for snacks. I had an introvert's New Year's Eve planned: me, a video game, and food. In theory, it was a cheap way to spend the night, but I decided to go to a specialty grocery store and buy all of the small packages of savory and sugary treats my heart desired. I knew I was close to my goal of spending under $3,000 on food, but when the total rang up and pushed me over the line, I was stubborn and decided not to put anything back. I had a lovely New Year's Eve, even though that snack run made me fail my goal.

Well, kind of.

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