How to Have a Pantry Challenge and Save $500

A No Spend Pantry Challenge can save your family $500 this month.  Keep reading to find out why you should have a pantry challenge, and what might be difficult about it. You can also see a review of each week on our month-long no spend pantry challenge. See a list of the meals we had, which might help in your meal planning, too.

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Why Should You Have a Pantry Challenge?

For most of us, our pantries and fridges are full of food.  Food that has been shoved to the back and forgotten about.  I’m famous for this.  I just plain forget that I picked up things like sweet potato noodles for a specific Korean dish that I’ve completely put off making.  So they just sit there.

If we don’t use these things in a reasonable amount of time, they will actually go bad.  Maybe not the sweet potato noodles, but I’ve had to throw out random sauces, cans of beets that expired in 2015, and open packages of almonds that got shoved to the back.

I bet you have some similar items.

Following this pantry challenge will allow you to clear those shelves and use up the things you’ve been putting off.

What are the Benefits of a Pantry Challenge?

There are a lot of benefits to having a pantry challenge.  While my main purpose with this month’s challenge is to save enough money to pay for my kids’ summer camp registration, I also want to clear out all the food that we haven’t been eating.  For our family of 6, our monthly food budget is over $600.  If we stick with our plan and only spend $100, we will have $500 in savings.

The average family of 4 spends about $200 per week if they’re frugal.  Most families spend well over that and also spend money eating meals out.  What if you could save all that money in one month?

It doesn’t matter whether you’re trying to save a specific amount or not, having a pantry challenge is a great way to keep your money in the bank and clean out your kitchen at the same time.

One of my favorite benefits is a reset on our perspective.  Pretty early into our challenge, we ran out of milk and bread.  With the amount of whining I heard, you’d have thought my kids were starving.  I know a little better than to believe that. 

I’ve been challenging the kids to eat the things that aren’t easy or their favorites.  My kids are making oatmeal now for breakfast even though they have refused to do so for 5 months.  They are eating leftovers for lunch and making things from the freezer.

Knowing how to make-do and be content are skills that all our kids need.  Skills that will help them for the rest of their lives.  It’ll help them see that when they’re older and struggling to figure out their budgets, they can eat foods that aren’t easy or their favorites.

Read: 15 Amazing Frugal Pantry Staples

How to Have a Pantry Challenge

1. The first thing you need to do is set a timeframe.  You may decide on a whole month, like me.  Or, you may decide that skipping groceries for just 2 weeks is plenty.  It really depends on what you’re after and how much food you have on hand.
2. Decide if you want a limited grocery budget.  Since I’m going for a month, I knew that we would need some fresh produce, milk, and bread at some point.  So, we set a budget of $25 per week for these items.  I am still trying to go as long as possible without spending it.
3. If you decide on a weekly budget, put that cash in an envelope and pay cash for your groceries.
4. Fill out a Pantry Inventory so you know what is available to cook with.
5. Create a list of Meal Ideas so you’re not constantly standing at the pantry door wondering what in the world to eat.
6. Plan your week. Without a plan, you may find yourself out and about with no food or getting home right when everyone is hungry.  Just remember to think ahead.
7. Start using your food.
8. Don’t sabotage your success by going out to eat.

Tips for Success

• Get Your Family On Board — let them in on the purpose of this challenge
• Stay out of the Grocery Store as Much as Possible — when you do go shopping, stick to a strict list
• Post Snack and Meal Ideas for Others to See
• Do Not Give in to Whining — I can’t even tell you the number of times I got asked for fast food just in the first week.
• Think Unconventionally — eat leftovers for breakfast, serve pancakes for lunch, serve spaghetti sauce on rice

Related: Stock Your Pantry for Quick Meals

Pantry Challenge — Week 1 Review

#1.  We Saved $200 this week alone!  That’s a huge win for us.  We saved this because we didn’t eat out at all – we would typically spend at least $50-$100 eating out and we would have spent $150 at the grocery store.

#2.  I made the mistake of not filling in my family on this brilliant idea ahead of time.  Because I made my decision to do a Pantry Challenge on the night before starting, my family had no time to prepare. I even forgot to fill in my husband. He actually didn’t even find out until he got the Treasured Mom email. Yes, that was bad on my part. Oh, well, I do most of the shopping and meal planning, anyway. LOL

#3.  The first week was a little rough on the kids. They ran out of milk for cereal, then the almond milk was gone, and then the bread was gone. They had forgotten how to have breakfast that wasn’t cold cereal or toast. I held firm, though, and gave them plenty of ideas. They did figure it out and have adjusted. They will be happier when I buy milk and bread, but they’re doing just fine.

#4.  We have a lot of food on hand, so finding something to eat has not been that hard. Keep in mind that we homeschool, so the kids are home for all 3 meals plus snacks. Here is a list of our meals for the first week:

Breakfasts:

• Cereal
• Oatmeal
• Leftover Sausages
• Eggs
• Frozen Meatballs

Lunches:

• Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
• Hot Dogs
• Chili Mac
• Chicken Salad
• Chicken Tenders
• Leftovers
• Peanut Butter Tortilla Roll-Up

Dinners:

• Homemade Lunchables at a Softball Game
• Burritos/Taco Salad
• Frozen Pizza/Keto Pizza
• Buffalo Burgers
• Potluck Dinner with Friends — We served Brats and Kielbasa
• Chorizo Cauliflower Skillet w/Refried Beans and Crackers
• Cheese, Salami, Crackers, Cucumbers, Applesauce at a Softball Game

Related:  43 Pantry Meals so You Can Stop Eating Out

Difficulties We Had Week 1

Poor Planning  —  First off, we are in the middle of my daughter’s softball season and that means that we are out in the evenings during dinner time.  On the night of her first game, we had kids going 2 different places and I forgot to start dinner early.  I had to quickly throw together some crackers, cheese, and salami to feed the kids going with me.  This worked out but applied some last-minute pressure.  Her next game was in the afternoon and I didn’t take any snacks with me.  The kids were begging for food, though.

Kids’ Sleepover — My girls had a sleepover (which is common) and I had to tell everyone that they had to make their own cookies and eat frozen pizza since I wouldn’t be shopping.  Usually, we make special purchases for sleepovers like chocolate, chips, and other junk food. I also like taking them out for late-night ice cream.  I felt a little bad about this — they were totally fine with it, though.

Get the Pantry Inventory Printable in my Weekly Meal Planner

Pantry Challenge — Week 2 Review

#1.  We Saved $169 this week!  That’s a huge win for us. We would typically spend at least $50-$100 eating out and we would have spent $150 at the grocery store. We only spent $31 at the grocery store and my husband paid for our Mother’s Day dinner from a gift card.

#2.  I finally got to go grocery shopping on the 11th of the month.  That’s not too shabby. First, I took a good look at what meals we wanted to eat that wouldn’t require too many groceries, then I created a grocery list with some price estimates on it.  

#3.  I deviated just a bit from that list because the celery was no good and cucumbers were a great price.  I got a couple extra and I grabbed some bulk sunflower seeds because it’s softball season! {The amazing thing is that I didn’t keep track with a calculator, but still came up less than $.40 off.}

#4.  The kids were so excited to have milk and bread again.  I’ll be trying to make it another 10 days between shopping trips. I’m pretty confident that we’ll be able to make it through the month.  I can tell that things are going to start getting pretty lean, though.

This Week’s Meals

Breakfasts

• Oatmeal
• Toast
• Cold Cereal
• Smoothies

Lunches

• Chicken Tenders, Fries, Fruit
• Cheddar Brats, Watermelon, Ruffles
• Leftover Rice
• Mac ‘n’ Cheese
• Sandwiches, PB&J, Lunchmeat
• Tuna w/Crackers

Dinners

• Hamburgers with Wilted Spinach Salad
• Egg Roll in a Bowl, Rice, Seaweed
• Frozen Pizza, Salad
• Creamy Lemon Chicken, Sauteed Zucchini, Salad, Pesto Gnocchi
• Mother’s Day Dinner Out
• Chicken Fajitas, Refried Beans, Doritos
• Pork Belly, Asian Salad, Watermelon

Difficulties We Had Week 2

Mother’s Day — Mother’s Day fell in the middle of this week so we tried to stick with no spend eating but ultimately decided that it was OK to have a dinner out.  We made sure to eat lunch at home, then went for a hike in the beautiful Forest Park in Portland. It was a glorious day!

Afterward, everyone was pretty hungry and we headed to a Vietnamese restaurant.  I shared a dish with my son and my two daughters shared a meal. This always helps us stretch our restaurant budget. We then went home and relaxed a bit before hopping into the hot tub for some deep relaxation!

Pantry Challenge — Week 3 Review

#1. Of our $100 Grocery Budget, I ended up spending $$53.68.  It was more than I was hoping to spend, but my mother was coming to stay with us and I didn’t want to be completely out of staples.  The kids were also wanting some snack food and we needed produce.  I actually got a lot, including 5 lbs. of ground beef and a bottle of wine.

#2.  We bought Frostys from Wendy’s for a total of $3.00.

#3. I went shopping on the 20th, which was 9 days since the last trip.  This tells me that I should be able to shop just 3 times per month and do fine.

#4. I only have $2.00 and change left for the month, so we’ll have to make do with what we have.  I do think I’ll buy some eggs since Tom and I eat a lot of those for breakfast.

#5.  My pantry is really clearing out and we’ve done a great job going through all the packages of things that have been in there a long time.  We will continue this next week with using everything up.

Meals This Week

Breakfasts

• Oatmeal
• Toast
• Cold Cereal
• Smoothie

Lunches

• Chicken Tenders, Fries, Fruit
• Lunch out thanks to Tom’s work
• Lunchables – thanks to Grandma’s visit
• Mac ‘n’ Cheese
• Tuna Patties w/Salad
• Sandwiches, PB&J, Lunchmeat

Dinners

• Leftovers from Friend’s Mother’s Cooking – she came to visit and cooked way too much food.  It totally blessed us to bring home Filipino food for the night.
• Dinner at a friend’s home – we were invited over for an evening to help prepare for their kitchen remodel.  She served us dinner as thanks.
• Sausage Gravy, Toast, Eggs
• Beef Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Salad
• Sushi – thanks to Tom’s work, we took my mom out to dinner
• Spaghetti Sauce, gnocchi, green beans

Difficulties We Had Week 3

Mom’s Visit — It was a little bit of a struggle dealing with my mom’s visit.  She understood the pantry challenge we were doing, but I still wanted to buy treats while she was here.  I used to have ice cream around during her visits because it’s one of her favorites.  My sister had bought us a fancy Banana Cake, so we had that to nibble on.

Pantry Challenge – Week 4 Review

This week I’m listing a little more than a week so I can go through the end of the month. We had a few get-togethers with friends and of course, more softball nights.  Since we spent most of our grocery budget last week, we had to really get scrappy with what was left in the house.

Meals This Week

Breakfasts

• Oatmeal
• Toast
• Pancakes
• Yogurt

Lunches

• Beans & Rice
• Mini Pizzas
• Sandwiches
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Pizza Rolls

Dinners

• Beef Enchiladas
• Swedish Meatballs
• Leftovers
• Chicken Legs – Dinner with friends (potluck style)
• Brats, Salmon – Dinner with friends (potluck style)
• Pretzels, cheese, cucumbers, leftovers (on softball field)
• London Broil, Salad
• Pancakes, Sausage

Difficulties This Week

We had 2 gatherings with friends, but fortunately, we always make it a potluck so that gives us a lot of flexibility. We could make one dish and share with everyone else. They provided the side dishes. 

My biggest downfall this week was on the very last day of the month. The 31st even! 

I had to provide a homeschool meal for 7 kids and 2 adults. I just couldn’t come up with something that would work with what I had left in the house – and I couldn’t serve leftovers so I had to get something from the grocery store. I ended up buying 2 bagged salads, pizza rolls, and ranch dressing all for $9.50. That wasn’t too bad considering we had gone 30 whole days, feeding 6 people from my pantry with only $100 to spend on fresh food (milk, eggs, produce).

Overall Learning Points

1. Quit Buying Unusual Things.  I love trying out new food, but when I buy odd things, I’m not confident about cooking them so they just sit on the shelf.  I will have to make some sort of rule, like, If I Buy Something New, It Must Be Used The Current Week.
2. Don’t Buy Everything Just Because It’s On Sale
3. Work Your Meal Plan – I don’t always stick to my meal plan so I end up buying new before using the old.
4. Use Cash for Groceries – This has been the best ever!  I’ve heard it over and over, but it’s taken this challenge to force me into trying it.  It has worked so well in keeping me on budget and it’s forced me to make wise decisions.  I will leave the debit card at home when I shop now and only use cash.

Now you can use the tips and ideas here to help you on your next no spend pantry challenge.  I hope you have the confidence to use this spending freeze to help you save money and clear out your pantry at the same time.  You can do this and will love the benefits your family will see.  Good Luck!