The Planning Phase

You may be older than me Wendi, but I'm bigger and stronger now. You can't beat me by tying me to a chair with your hair ribbons (this time).

I am also preparing for this contest this weekend - researching where I can get the most bang for my buck on food. Some research will be done on the spot this weekend when I hit the grocery store for the week's staples, but I'm pretty sure I'll be adhering to these basic principles.

1) Buy ingredients and make your own food instead of paying someone else to prepare the food (or paying for fancy packaging).
2) Buy in bulk instead of a la carte.
3) Pay attention to calories/nutrition provided per dollar.
4) Don't drink your money.

The first principle is where Wendi is going to have her most solid advantage. I won a potholder in an office contest last week, and when asked why I was giving it away, my response was "You don't need potholders for Taco Bell." Honestly, if I didn't use a French press to make my coffee in the morning (something I may have to forego for the upcoming week - see rule 4), I likely wouldn't even know if my stovetop was operational. Same goes for heating up leftover pizza and my oven. But I might have to break down and get my fingers greasy with a chicken or two next week. Restaurants and fast food joints will be, for the most part, off limits next week.

Rule 2 is something that is obvious to see while standing in the aisle of the grocery store - buying twice as much almost always saves 5-10% off the unit price.

Rule 3 is where I believe this contest will be won or lost. I'll be doing some serious comparison shopping to determine which meals are cost-effective and which will burn through some crucial coin without filling me up.

Rule 4 is decidedly advantage: Aaron. With the exception of coffee, I'm mostly a water drinker anyway. And I also know that Wendi has a weakness for the carbonation. Wendi: water as Slug: potato chip. (SAT advantage: Aaron - hey Wendi, you brought it up first!) Beer/wine also won't be a problem this week as I don't drink during February anyway (topic for a whole 'nother blog). Point is, drinks normally do little to fill you up. And nutrition-barren Cokes are a waste when you're trying to eat on a restricted budget. I'm saving my cash for food that sticks to the belly.

Of course, I have plenty other strategies, but I'll probably wait until Wendi has violated them to share...