If you only had 100$ a month to spend on food...

susannamarie

Well $100 a month = approx £67. My guess is that food in the US is a ****-load cheaper than it is here in the UK then because even if you decided to live on Veg alone there is no chance in hell you'd survive a month on £67.....let's put it this way, a lettuce I bought yesterday from the local supermarket was £1.20. That'd be over half the daily budget gone on a lettuce.

TBH $100 a month is £100 a month in purchasing terms. The US Federal minimum wages is about the same $ as ours is £.

Consumer expenditure surveys come up with numbers like "average weekly £44.20 grocery bill" or "Households spend an average £53.40 a week on food" so I agree that £100 a month is a stretch. While the households might have 2.4 people in them it isn't necessarily proportionally cheaper to buy for one person.

It's pretty tight. Frankly you can't buy fresh veg and even canned or frozen is a treat and not something you can eat a lot. Salad is horrendously inefficient as far as getting calories into you for a price, but for example I've been able to find frozen broccoli occasionally at 99c/lb and peas/carrots at 69c/lb. When I do find them, I stock up so I can get at least a little veg in. Occasionally the stores will have bargains/meat sales and I buy (for example hamburger is normally like $4/lb but they had some trays at 99c/lb then) and freeze them, and sometimes tuna cans go on sale, but usually it's eggs and beans.

FrenchMob

...or cut back on your internet & cable TV package, or anything else that's not a necessity. I'd rather either better than having a few more channels on tv.

Lucillexoxo

Oats, eggs, frozen fruit, canned beans, rice... And always look prices:)

HMVOL7409

Food on a budget can be done. I just made a Costco trip and this is what I got for $180. I think it can last the average person awhile.

16lbs of Chicken Breasts
12lbs of Tilapia
12lbs of Brown Rice
10lbs of Oatmeal
16lbs of Tuna
120 Eggs
20lbs of Veggies

kenna44cat

Food is a lot cheaper in the US than in Canada, judging from your lists. But the UK is much more expensive than either Canada or the US. Also, our Canadian dollar usually doesn't buy as much as the American dollar. But I suspect our wages might be higher.

SJVZEE

What would you buy? I'm not looking at anything that drastic, but I am looking to save on my food budget (I'm saving up for a down payment on a house). Money is tight for everyone, so I thought this would be a neat experiment.

During the summer months it would be easy for me, since I have an awesome local farmers market that has a couple of inexpensive vendors-check around and see if you have one around you

For me at the farmers market for a month:
6 dozen local, free range chicken eggs $15
bags and bags of fresh produce, mostly veggies, (kind depends on what's in season) $40 (seriously, I can fill a plastic bag for like $10!)
2 8 ounce chunks of local, grass fed cheese $10 (my splurge )
local honey $5

Then at the grocery store- 2 large tubs of plain, whole milk Greek yogurt $10
Clearance beef and pork for the rest of the $20, and then also some more produce from the clearance rack.

And if I had a few extra dollars I'd get some white rice and a couple whole chickens for around $15 and make a couple big batches of chicken 'fried' rice and then chicken salad (on a bed of lettuce). Oh, and a bottle of evoo from Aldi for around $4-one bottle lasts me several months


Also, unique to my situation-I can get local, grass fed beef free from my in-laws and also eggs and some produce. Really look into what options you have around you to get cheaper foods-farmers markets, friends and neighbors with gardens (you could pay them a bit, but it would still be cheaper than the store), road side produce stands, U Pick farms, Craigs List, and also check out Local Harvest-a huge directory of local food sources http://www.localharvest.org/

SJVZEE

MOAR tips to save on money OTHER than through your grocery bill:

Cut cable. No, seriously. We lived without cable until *just* recently...so we went 3 1/2 years with just the basic subscription to Netflix. Didn't even miss cable after awhile.

Cut home telephone...unless you have no cell phone. But why?

Cut internet to the minimum. Ask your internet provider about sweet deals. Threaten to leave and they'll do anything to keep you.

Talk to your cellphone provider about cheaper plans.

Invest in a window unit air conditioner/heat your home with space heaters.

Save on water. Wash up in your sink on days where you're really not that dirty/your hair looks ok. Hard for me to do that with naturally greasy, flat hair...but y'know. You can go no 'poo. I personally haven't, but it saves water money and product money from what I've heard.

Shop around for cheaper auto insurance. Try to find the niche ones that don't have fancy ads to pay for.

Just some thoughts.

ETA: Make homemade, natural cleaners. Pinterest has a WEALTH of these. Sounds gross, but I've been making my own laundry materials, dish cleaning materials, all purpose cleaner, floor cleaner and scouring materials for the last two years. Costs me PENNIES.

Going 'no poo' really isn't as scary as it sounds I've cut back to just using conditioner a couple of times a week and my hair is the nicest looking that it's ever been-even my stylist commented on how good it looked last time I saw her and she asked what I was using lol. Also, white vinegar diluted in water in a spray bottle is an amazing all purpose cleaner-I even use it on my toilet!

Baseballfan158

2 things of chicken breast about $10 to $15 each

About 5 things of canned chicken and 5 things of canned tuna about 50 cents each

1 thing of whole wheat bread and 2 things of whole wheat bagels along with 1 thing of whole wheat hamburger buns. For about $2.00 $3.00 each

1 bag of lemons $4.00 each and 2 bundles of bananas $1.50 each


3 cartons of eggs $3.00 each

3 bags of salad

And 1 bag of spinach

And 1 bag if baby carrots.

Along with lite ranch dressing.

And 3 packs of sugar free gum.

SJVZEE

I hope this is a purely hypothetical question because I can't see how you could spend so little unless you A) lived on a farm or ate crap.

I absolutely emphatically disagree.

Not everyone can live on organic, farm-raised "good for you" foods due to the cost. People live on "that little" and less EVERY SINGLE DAY. And guess what? They can actually eat a wealth of nutrient-rich foods without spending a fortune.

Please keep closed minded comments to yourself.

Yep-my real grocery budget for a family of five is $360 for the month ($90 a week). That includes everything from toilet paper, to my kid's school lunches that I pack every single day during the school year. We eat well rounded meals with lots of variety and lots of meat But, I've gotten creative in what I make/buy and I use resources that I have available-like trading help for free food from my in-laws (my kids weed their garden and we get free produce, we help them with their chickens and we get free eggs etc). I also spent a lot of time looking into local resources and found that we have several U Pick farms nearby-so far this year we've picked/flash froze strawberries and next week we're picking cherries. In a few weeks it will be blueberries. Even if you live in the city (like we do), you may have options within driving distance. Some cities also allow backyard chicken coops so having your own chickens/eggs may be a viable option for some as well.

MelissaL582

That's about my grocery budget a month nowadays. Lol! I shop at Aldi and make sure to plan out my meals. I no longer buy bottled water, instead I buy the water enhancers but don't add lots of it to my water- my tap taste nasty. I've come up with creative meals using zucchini, a couple frozen bags of chicken tenderloins, cold sandwiches are good as well. You have to get creative with the food you buy so it doesn't get boring. If you haven't checked our Pinterest, you should..gives you great ideas on a tight budget.

highervibes

All the ingredients for chili (ground beef, beens, tomato cans, peppers, onions)
Eggs
Frozen veggies
Beans
Rice

Joehenny

Tuna and noodles!

husker_gal

My husband and I already do this. We hunt and fish so all of our meat (pretty much) comes from that. The rest of the grocery money is spent on fresh veggies, fruits, and whole foods like beans and such. We usually have enough left over to buy some "junk treats" as we feel like it. Usually we'll buy a frozen pizza or two and some pasta too. It saves A LOT when your meat is already in the freezer. We shop when there are good sales going on and participate in bountiful baskets ( www.bountifulbaskets.org ) to get the best prices on fruits and veggies.

SniffTheSweat

Frozen Veg is great, loads and loads. Some of the cheapest meals around. I'd also get lots of Eggs, even on $100 a month u can get the ones direct from a farmer or local butcher. Can get 6 free range for £1 like that here. Left over cash goes into bacon and chicken breast to dice into the veg.

thinking_thinly

Wow, you guys are good My budget right now is about 200$ which doesn't need to be sacrificed at the moment, but I really would like to have a plan if/when the need arises. I am also only buying for one person, which makes 200$ stretch a bit further than if I was shopping for a family. Great suggestions!

aloranger7708

Deli turkey
Chicken breast
Eggs
Yogurt
Frozen veggies
Mozzarella cheese
Pita pockets or whole wheat wraps
Fruit
Brown rice
Steel cut oats
Cottage cheese
Coffee ()
Peanut butter
Dark chocolate

melindasuefritz

1. fruits and veggies
2, turkey burgers
3, ground turkey
4. turkey franks
5. eggs
6. boneless skinless chicken breasts
7. flavored rice cakes
8. tea bags
9. lemons
10. pretzel sticks
11. lettuce
12. low fat mayo with olive oil
13. pickles
14. mustard
15. turkey bacon

GormanGhaste

I'd buy a lot of dried beans and brown rice, to try to save as much money as possible for fresh fruits and veggies. Would like some peanut butter, whole wheat bread, cereal, and almond milk too.