The challenge ended. Now what?

In June we challenged ourselves to use only $200 for groceries. We did it no problem and saved at least $220. I really wish we did it months ago. Going forward we're going to continue the $200 grocery budget and reduce it further if possible.
The next step, what we're focusing on this month is efficiency and managing our time more wisely. We always have a to-do list but we rarely ever complete all the tasks. A lot of our time is wasted thinking about what to do next, procrastinating and doing things. I've been reading things from Ramit Sethi and Tim Ferris and I intend to implement them right away.
I'll get into those things later in the month as they are tested, let's get back to the groceries for a minute. Below is a short list of steps we used to achieve our goal. We will have a blog post for each topic coming up.

How we saved $200+ on groceries last month

1. Meal plan
2. Shopping list
3. Smaller portions
4. Track spending

30 Day Challenge - Day 24

First thing this morning we sold the outgrown baby bathtub for $15. A couple days ago we sold the outgrown bouncer, along with the luggage sold earlier in the week we now have $85 extra income this week. Getting rid of these large occasional use items is great in itself. This money will be saved for our grocery budget next month.

Speaking of grocery budget, it's all gone. We spent the last of it today. We have just enough to get another carton of cream. $196.04 spent total. Last week I thought we'd have more than enough, and now we may have to cheat.

Groceries:

1 can White Beans $0.99
1 small zucchini $0.25
3 lemons $1.00
1 pack Chinese noodles
Ground beef $2.17
Chicken legs $2.37
Wild Salmon $3.42
Eye Of Round Steak $2.05
Oyster Sauce $2.29
Cooking wine $1.49
Sesame Oil $2.79
1 can Tomato paste $0.79
1 can Diced tomatoes $1.49
1 can tomato sauce $1.49
fresh Green beans $2.97
Broccoli crowns $2.91
Russet  Potatoes $1.19
1 package Linguine (500g) $0.99
454g block Mozzarella Cheese $5.49
Cooking Onion $0.24

Total = $38.07


Dinner was Minestrone and buttermilk biscuits.
The Minestrone recipe was adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod
The biscuits were from Momtastic. These turned out awesome, you should try it.

I did some late-night googling and figured out why Holly was having so much trouble with the sewing machine. 1 simple thing, the way the bobbin was loaded, made all the difference. She's been fighting with it for over a month. Tonight she made a pair of sleep shorts for Alice and a lady bug fridge magnet, without any cursing or screaming. Big improvement. Hopefully more projects will be done tomorrow.

Meal plan for the rest of the month: