I was going over my budget for the next month and discovered that I am spending way more than I am taking in. This can be attributed to several factors including unexpected car troubles, technology investments, website and server costs, among other things. As I roamed the spending reports, I discovered that no single waste of money could compare to the amount I was spending on food each month. I have been spending an average of three to four hundred US dollars each month on eating alone. This is where the idea for this year’s Frugal Geek Challenge came about.

I did a survey of twenty of my coworkers and close friends to determine what they believed a reasonable budget would be for a bachelor that gave up fast food and scrimped on just about everything while maintaining a somewhat healthy diet. Eighteen of the twenty said $150.00 was the target amount. The other two said $140.00 and $50.00. I decided to go with the $150.00 estimate and step it down to $125.00 with a goal in mind of coming in under this.

The rules are as follows:
1. There must be three full meals consumed per day with optional snacks.
2. At the end of the day, all recommended nutritional requirements must be met. (Difficult)
3. The monthly budget must not exceed $125.00.
4. No fast food is permitted.
5. Every single purchase including vending products must be recorded and added to the total.
6. If nutritional demands are not met for the day, $5.00 is taken off of the total.
7. This must last three months.
8. Roll-over is permitted if geek is under budget.
9. No Ramen shall make up more than half of the calories for the entire meal.

The challenge starts tomorrow at 00:01 and will continue until three months are up. If anyone reading would like to share their tips, recipes, or suggestions please leave comments. This challenge is obviously over budget for “survival”, however it is important to acknowledge that the goal is not only to save money, but to maintain a balanced diet in the process. For us geeks that have lived the fat life on the fast food track for so long, this will be a real exorcise in resourcefulness. The real trick is, the money that you have left over after the contest is over can be considered your personal reward for taking the time to budget and concentrate on nutrition at the same time.

If you can accomplish this at 75.00/month or even less, imagine the prize you have earned yourself with the excess funding from your contest budget. You could get an iPod, or something more personally rewarding. I intend to use this blog to document my progress as this challenge gets under way.