Every once in a while, Yahoo! Finance has an article that spurs me to action. Take a look at 8-Last-Minute-Ways-to-Save-for-Your-Vacation. While most of the article contains advice we hear regulary, the third item is unusual and something Sarah would do without hesitation:

Build cash with a ‘Pantry Week’ - For one week each month, from now until your trip, stay out of the grocery store and eat only what you have in your house. Mary Hunt, founder and editor of Debtproofliving.com and author of “Live Your Life for Half the Price,” calls this quick money-raising challenge the “Pantry Week.”

Make it fun by pretending you’re on a deserted island and can only eat what you have in the pantry. What unusual meals can the kids suggest? “Most families have more staples in their cupboards than they realize,” says Hunt. And guess what? It’s actually OK to eat peanut butter and jelly for dinner one night.

It’s a good idea, especially if your cupboards are full of food. And, even if you have a Mother Hubbard pantry, it’s a short-term way to save some cash. While Sarah will be motivated by the saving money aspect of this exercise, I’m much more likely to participate if I feel I’m doing more than just saving money. Here’s my motivation — if you’re a dedicated home chef, you’ll become a better cook by scrounging the pantry with Bittman in one hand and exercising your creativity. I won’t be surprised if Sarah eventually talks me into a Pantry Week, but I’ll balk if we only eat this and this.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 6th, 2008 at 3:45 pm and is filed under Food, Saving Cash-Money. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.