Our Food Money Fast

A week ago we completed our two month “food money fast”. We fasted from spending any money at all on food items. We only told people if it meant we would have to lie to them if we were asked about buying something. 

 At first we were going to stock up for the venture. We determined that would be cheating. So we just proclaimed a certain day “the day” and whatever we had on hand was it. In the two months we ate from our pantry, freezer and garden. 

 I can’t even count the blessings that trickled in from unsuspecting friends and family. I always attribute that to them “listening” to God. I was out of eggs and my sister-in-law just happened to show up with excess. The latest incident that put a grin on me was the “creamer” thing. Now that is definitely not a necessity for life but it was a little treat I like in my tea and coffee. But I just figured I would rethink it when the time came to go off the fast. A friend walked in one day with boxes of it. He had an excess and thought of us. There is so much that could be told here but the main lessons and “food” for thought we came out with were:
  • If we were caught in a national disaster that cut supplies off suddenly would we be ready? Would we have the staples to sustain us for a couple months? We passed that test. How ‘bout we go for 6? That is a consideration. But we aren’t telling.
  • It made us rethink the term “necessity”. We were content with what we had and just made due.
  • “Deliberate eating” takes planning and creativity.
  • Rationing comes into play.
  • Little luxuries and treats can be made from scratch as long as the supplies hold out. And this causes evaluation again.
  • What happens if we had to do this without a garden?
  • Relationships are invaluable. We thank all the unsuspecting people for “listening”.
  • Enjoy feeding friends and family even when things are low.
  • You are much more alert to what you can harvest and forage for.
  • I’m thankful for what I do know about making do.
  • We learned that we really did survive without certain things and that we want to be cautious about wasting our money on unnecessary food items.
  • After this fast we have determined to make a list of only staples we plan to purchase.
  • While I walked through the grocery store at different times with people I took a mental note of the things I would have grabbed in the past that we did fine without and because they weren’t really good for you anyway just leached our money away.
  • This is a good weight loss plan. tee hee
  • It was a good experiment. Now to get the nerve up to do it in winter.

Comments

  1. Love this idea. Might be difficult with all of our allergy issues, but in principle, we buy so much stuff we don't really need. Thanks Mary!

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