.: bistan.net :.

March is over and we didn’t eat out, except for the two exceptions noted in the original goal post: one trip to Chick-fil-A (because of the monthly calendar coupon), and free food at work.  Although I can’t quantify any health benefits of the hiatus, I can certainly quantify the financial aspects.

The difference in food expenses from 2009 to 2010: $549.78

Below is a screenshot from my (now obsolete) Microsoft Money report, comparing this March with last March.  You can clearly see, that in the Fast Food category, my expenditures dropped from $206.86 last year to only $19.30, which was the aforementioned Chick-fil-A transaction.  My Dining Out category, which is generally any restaurant food other than fast food went from $375.15 to Zero!

I didn’t have School Lunch expenses last year, because Tristan wasn’t yet in Kindergarten.  His food was built into day-care expenses for 2009.  As for the Misc for the month, that $7.00 went to a snack for Mackenzie at the ballpark and purchasing a bag of boiled peanuts to support a non-profit.

It is worth noting that for three days last March, we were at Walt Disney World, so the Dining Out expenses for 2009 may be a little higher than the typical month.  Even if I scratched out $50.00 due to the high cost of food at Disney, I still saved right at $500.00.  Imagine if we did that every month.  That would be an extra $6,000.00 in our pockets!

One thing that amazed me looking at the report was the negligible increase in Grocery expenses: only a $10.00 increase.  I guess I have been the coupon king lately, but I didn’t realize that it was paying off that much!  We haven’t been eating any differently.  On Sunday I grilled some steaks.  We’ve had fish several times this month and red meat about twice a week.  I’m not sure how the Grocery costs remained the same even though we ate many more meals at home.

In a previous post, I talked about our restaurant addiction and how we are giving it up for March.

I’m happy to report that today is day #27 and we are sticking with it.  We did use our Chic-fil-A mulligan on March 6 and I have been extremely creative at finding free food at work.

I failed at the no-Coke goal.  I have had three so far this month: one with the Chic-fil-A meal and one after each 12K that I ran.  I am happy to report that the last two didn’t even taste good.

(On a separately related goal, I have not posted a Facebook status update since February 28! That one was easy!)

I have tried to talk Kimberlie into calling this silly goal quits.  It’s not like we’re doing it for lent or anything worthwhile.  This morning we were at the Cherry Blossom Festival surrounded by fair-food.  It was horribly tempting.  Same story two weeks ago at the Forsythia Festival.  But, I think the hardest times though have been the nights where Tristan has games right after work and we don’t get home until 9pm.  Stopping at Zaxby’s would be so much more convenient.

This goal really was pretty silly.  We are not eating healthier.  We are still pressed for time when it comes to preparing meals, so unhealthy frozen foods have become a staple. Maybe that’s better than restaurant food, but probably not.

On a positive note, we have saved tons of money this month.  I was more than thrilled at my credit card statement.  We only have four more days.  I can’t possibly screw it up this late in the game.  The hardest decision . . . is where to go eat on April 1.

Our lives have been incredibly busy lately: work, school, t-ball, races, and lots more.  With all of those obligations competing for our time, it is so easy to just zip through the drive-thru instead of preparing a meal at home.  In the last week or so, we have been eating out several times a day.  On Saturday: chicken biscuits after the 5K. On Sunday: McDonalds after church, O’Charleys for dinner. We have been eating out literally every day. That puts a strain on our wallet — and our health.  So for the month of March, we have decided to abstain from eating out.

I have also tried to limit my soda consumption in the past.  Unfortunately, in our combo-centric world, it hasn’t been possible to do so while continuing to dine out.  Who is really going to buy the chicken sandwich combo and fill the cup up with water?  So to take the health thing one step further, I have personally chosen to not drink coke during March.

Here are the terms of the restrictions:

• When there are events at work that have food, it doesn’t count as “eating out” — even if the food is pizza, etc.
• There is one exception: we can eat at Chic-fil-A once (because we have the calendars with the monthly free item).
• I am not allowed to drink any coke, even at the events above. This does not apply to other family members.

Today is day four and it has been tough.  Really tough.  I can’t remember the last time I went four days without a french fry and I never noticed just how many fast food commercials there are on the radio.  Also, social activities in the south are centered around food, so pledging not to eat at restaurants are starting to affect social aspects of my life as well.  The lack of coke has affected my motivation and energy.  It makes running a lot tougher when you take away a primary energy source. I am glad, however, that the symptoms of caffiene withdrawal have passed.

Can I successfully make it through the next 27 days? Tune in and see.

Once again this year, I’m not making “resolutions”.  I do have several goals for the new year.

Fitness Related:

Run a half-marathon in less than 2 hours. (Let’s hope this happens on January 9!)

Reduce my 5K PR to 22 minutes.

Run 1000 miles in 2010.

Restart and actually complete hundredpushups.com.

Commit to and begin training to run (not run/walk) an entire marathon.

Drop my weight down to 160.

Eat out no more than once per week.

Finance Related:

Eat out no more than once per week (this falls under both).

Be completely debt free by 2011.

Work/School Related:

Take two masters degree classes each semester and stay on top of them.

Stop passing up greener pastures.

Home Related:

Spend more time teaching my kids things.

Get rid of more junk.

Computer Related:

Tweet more.

Blog more.

Facebook less.

I think that’s enough for now. I’ll try to revisit this post every few months to see how I’m doing.