Making Budget Through Misfits

Is it bad that the highlight of my week is Wednesday when the Misfits box arrives? 
Since moving back to New York City, my husband and I are on constant lookout for ways to save money, especially considering we are two people living on a single income while trying to maintain a Manhattanite lifestyle.  We actively and painstakingly try to maintain a budget, but even limiting going out to eat (one of my favorite past times) and making home cooked meals remains expensive due to grocery stores that suddenly equate cherry tomatoes to gold.  We found that just making a conscientious effort to cut back on eating out wasn’t enough.  We desperately needed to sort out lowering the grocery bill and found that coupon cutting wasn’t the only way to reduce our spending.
Misfits Market caught my eye due to their heavy social media promotions, and it intrigued me: get a box of local, all organic produce for about half the cost of getting it at Fairway or Whole Foods and have it delivered straight to your door.  Sounded a bit too good to be true, and why the lower price?  Because Misfits sends us the fruits and vegetables that don’t make the Top 10 in the grocery store pageant.  Possibly misshapen, maybe some extra nicks and bruises, and overstock foods were some of what we would find in our box.  You also can’t choose what you get!  You are at the disposal of the whims of the Misfits box bundlers.
The first box we received was the moment of truth:

After this initial box we decided to continue with our subscription and have been really happy with our boxes (also worth noting we have not had a potato overload again).  Getting a surprise every week is fun (I understand some people may have a different interpretation of “fun”), and it’s also forced us to become more adventurous eaters.  When shopping at the store you naturally get into a rut and pick out only what you know you like and know how to cook.  I’ve suddenly learned so many new recipes and ways of cooking unusual and unique produce since our first trial in January. 
 I’ll be sharing with you some of the wins (and epic fails) thanks to the boxes in coming weeks.   I’d love to know if anyone else has tried out Misfits, or other tips and tricks for staying on budget in the city! ​