Only have $150 a month for food, help!
SaraLynnFiske
Posts: 38 Member
I only get $150 per month for myself to eat with. I don't know how to live off of $5 a day. I have tried watching videos online, and reading articles, but I'm having a hard time grasping at this and understanding what I can do. Does anyone have any really cheap recipes or meal plans??
I live in Western Massachusetts, and the stores nearby are Wal-Mart, Big Y, Dollar Tree and Stop&Shop
I live in Western Massachusetts, and the stores nearby are Wal-Mart, Big Y, Dollar Tree and Stop&Shop
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Replies
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If you share your location and what stores you generally have available, people may be able to provide more specific help. Stuff that works for someone in Baltimore may not help someone in Toronto and will be worthless for someone in Bermuda.1
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janejellyroll wrote: »If you share your location and what stores you generally have available, people may be able to provide more specific help. Stuff that works for someone in Baltimore may not help someone in Toronto and will be worthless for someone in Bermuda.
How do I do this? ☺ you mean posting it with my post? 0 -
You just say where you are located and what is available around you.... for example, I'm in Northern California, near San Francisco. I have everything from Grocery Outlet bargain stores to Whole Foods, Safeway and Molly Stones. I have easy access to a Farmer's Market and several dollar stores.3
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I guess the next question is can you grow anything?1
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Meal-prepping is an awesome way to save money and cut down on food waste.
All you need to do is choose recipes that reheat well, freeze well, and are focused around cheap ingredients.
www.budgetbytes.com is a great recipe website.
The gist is...
- Buy things on sale and in bulk when it's a great deal
- Focus meals around rice, beans, eggs, lentils, cheap cuts of meat, fresh/frozen produce (whatever is cheaper)
- Batch cook your meals and divide them into portions to freeze for later
So my normal process would be: check out the weekly grocery flyers to see what's on sale this week. Find a few key recipe components on sale (let's say ground beef and bell peppers are on sale). Check out budgetbytes.com for recipe ideas. Let's say I settle on burritos. I decide I'll make 12 burritos and freeze them for convenient lunches. I buy enough ingredients for those 12 burritos, bring them home, make them in a big batch, divide them then freeze. Voila!9 -
Well for starters, stay out of stop n shop. Is there a market basket out by you?3
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is it just you, or are you feeding more than 1?
i probably live on close to that a month - look for things that you can buy in bulk (i.e. I have 10lb bag of rice that cost me about $7) - barley/rice/pasta/lentils are cheap; look for sale items (ie frozen veggies); protein will be the large money suck7 -
When I was very poor - and I was *very* poor at times in my life... one of the main dishes I would cook up would be fried rice. I'd mix frozen veggies into it and beans. If I could find something like spam I'd add a bit of that to it for flavor and protein. I could often find eggs pretty cheap. I'd make huge batches and although it sometimes got boring it was filling. I also ate a lot of stuff like pork and beans and used bread as a filler. You can buy rice and dried beans in bulk. Spices to add flavor to your meal in bulk and they can last you a long time... I'd also eat Top Ramen quite a bit, but I'd add tons of veggies and cheap meats or eggs to it and a cup or so of cooked rice.12
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It's totally doable. I only budget $100 per month. I shop at Dollar Tree/Aldi's/Target mostly. Sometimes I go to my local grocery store.
Shoot me a message! I'd be glad to help you come up with some meal ideas, that isn't just rice and beans. Nothing wrong with rice and beans of course
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Have you ever applied for SNAP? If your income's low enough that that's all you can spend on groceries you might be eligible.2
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I do a lot of soup. Use the bulk or bagged dried beans & cutup vegetables. Any leftover meat can go in too. Avoid boring with seasoning - make it thai (ginger/coconut milk/curry sauce) or add salsa. Gardening takes about 4 - 6 months and will help you out long term. Just takes time & setup and maintenance.
It's the processed foods that are unhealthiest and pricey, along w/dairy and meats.
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SaraLynnFiske wrote: »I could but the ground around my home is mushy and wet so I feel it might over-water crops. What do you think? Maybe it would work!
I wasn't necessarily referring to crops as much as a few specific things to cut down on costs down the road. You can't afford to grow too much of your food and you would have to wait too long.
If the ground is not suitable you may need to get creative with finding or creating planters. Things that can be cut or lined. The only thing you can really afford here is a limited number of seed packets.
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SaraLynnFiske wrote: »I only get $150 per month for myself to eat with. I don't know how to live off of $5 a day. I have tried watching videos online, and reading articles, but I'm having a hard time grasping at this and understanding what I can do. Does anyone have any really cheap recipes or meal plans??
I live in Western Massachusetts, and the stores nearby are Wal-Mart, Big Y, Dollar Tree and Stop&Shop
The quintessential nutritious, eating on the cheap staple on this side of the world is rice & (dried) beans/lentils. If you have a fridge/freezer it can be done in large quantities and microwaved later. (Entire large swaths of the world pretty much live off of this day in-day out). Also potatoes. Add what frozen/canned/fresh veggies are available cheaply.
For more protein: take advantage of weekly meat specials. Chicken thighs are usually very cheap. Eggs (note: whole eggs do have almost as much fat as protein). More fat than protein, but peanut butter is cheap and does have some protein (albeit not a particularly great source for the calories).
I don't shop at any of those particular stores, so I can't make more specific recommendations. (where I am, I mainly shop at Aldi, PriceRite, Wegmans).3 -
and oats are cheap. I've done poached-ish eggs in the microwave and then poured in rolled oats into the hot water. not too bad. some peanut butter can go well with oats too (the basis of a lot of food bars).2
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happytree923 wrote: »Have you ever applied for SNAP? If your income's low enough that that's all you can spend on groceries you might be eligible.
My 150 budget is from SNAP thank you for the suggestion! 2 -
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Cook and prep time may also be a factor here:
-- Dried beans (usually one of the better cost/nutrition foods) can take a while to cook -- an electric pressure cooker or a slow cooker will be your friend... (I find that the White Northern / Navy beans and/or Pinto beans are most versatile for me); Walmart should have 2 @ 64ounce bags for like $6 == 1lb dry cooks to about 12 0.5cup servings; so $6 here will get you like 45+ servings ( 0.5 cup /130g ) - not terrible for ~90 cals and ~6-7g protein
-- Rice is a good way to kinda stretch a meal a little bit without breaking the bank (not the fancy quick-cook flavored stuff, just a big bag o'rice). Walmart has 10-lb bags at like $6 -- 10-lbs of cheap white rice is like ~100 0.75 cup (cooked) servings or so. 3g protein and 36g carbs
Nobody wants to live on beans and rice exclusively, adding affordable frozen veggies to both is a way to break up the monotony and change up the nutrition as well.
Eggs may be within reach (and can form a foundation for a different meal) Walmart 5-dozen packs should be in the ~$16-$18 range -- 70cals for 6g protein each -- at 2 eggs per day you're eating only $0.50 ...
Haunting the "nearly expired" meat and cheese discounts can add some more diversity into your diet as well
I've found that buying in bulk (and when possible cooking in bulk to freeze in usable portions) helps to stretch my budget a great deal.
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I don't think $150 a month is too bad. That's about what I spend on myself for food. It's definitely doable! I would recommend that you spend time meal planning what you want to eat. I just jot down general ideas of what I want for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Then I go back through the list and specify what exactly I need to buy to make that meal. It doesn't have to be extensive or include a lot. I often eat a lot of the same things throughout the week and that kind of helps me spend less. An example would be:
Day 1
Breakfast: Cereal
• Chocolate mini wheats
• Milk
Lunch: Grilled cheese
•Bread
•Cheddar
•Butter
Dinner: Tacos
•Ground beef
•Salsa
•Rice
•Tortillas
•Onion
•Taco Sauce
• Cheddar
I often cut out things that I like (such as sour cream/limes for tacos) for the sake of not spending as much. Especially if it's not on sale. It also helps if you buy food for multiple uses. Buy food that you're going to use more than once. Such as, don't buy tortillas if you're only going to use them for one meal. Limit yourself on bread items. I find that they expire faster than I can eat them and throwing food away would be a waste of your budget! Don't buy things you don't eat a lot of. If you know you don't eat a lot of salads, don't buy 20 dollars of ingredients for salads that may end up going to waste. It sounds simple, but it's easy to get caught up in if you go shopping unprepared. I buy zip lock bags to separate my meat into smaller portions. That way I don't have to defrost a 3 pack of chicken breasts and hope I eat it all. Or, forget about it in the fridge when I buy it and it ends up expiring. Just separate into bags, freeze, and take out what you want to eat the night before.
I personally go through a ton of rice, so it's a good investment for me. I use it for chicken and rice, chicken and veggie stir fry, to make tacos more filling, etc. There are a lot of frozen veggie options that you can keep on hand as add-ins. Fresh fruits and veggies expire quickly, so only get what you know you'll eat. I go shopping about twice a month and that's what I find works best for me. I find that it's not really about buying a bunch of specific foods that don't cost much (though that helps!) It's about being prepared and knowing what you came for. Good luck!8 -
i have a small budget too though i've been able to loosen up a bit on my budget
rice, beans, frozen veggies and fruit. or whatever is in season.
eggs
chicken thighs
spagetti
meal prepping saves me money including baking bread, cake, cookies.
it's doable but it can be hard2 -
If you buy root vegetables like potatoes or onions you are going to want some old socks and/or panty hose. In a dark and dry space you will want to hang each item individually so that they do not touch and stay perfectly dry. This will extend their "shelf" life. If you can't you will need to cook them a little sooner. Storing vegetables in the fridge means keeping moisture from staying in constant contact with the vegetables too.
I am sure there are plenty of videos with buying guides for fruits and vegetables to avoid over-ripe items that won't keep for long.3 -
In general, carbs and fat are relatively cheap, and protein is more expensive. Dried beans are cheap (and if you have a crock pot, it's pretty easy to cook them). They also freeze well. Eggs, tuna, peanut butter, and frozen chicken may also be affordable. Depending on what's available where you live, tofu may or may not be affordable.
Buy frozen veggies if fresh ones are too expensive or if you won't eat all the fresh produce before it spoils. There's nothing wrong with frozen vegetables.
If you have money for a few spices, they can help a lot with boredom. You can make essentially the same dish taste very different depending on what spices you put in it. Some spices can be expensive, but you can often find generic brands of basic spices.2 -
Hey, you can do this! I budget $200 a month for two adults currently, and at one time I budgeted almost half of that, when times were really tough.
One thing that helps a lot is if you aren't afraid of eating the same thing every day. For example I eat oatmeal (purchased in the big tub) with 2 Tablespoons of peanut butter, every single day for breakfast. Another example, I'll make a big pot of chili and eat it every night for a week. It sounds boring, but as you become better at planning you can learn to incorporate more variety and freeze leftovers.
Another thing that helps me budget is to go to the grocery store no more often than once a week. Yes, sometimes my meals are weird odds and ends, but I don't care.5 -
I've done it, but I'll admit it was hard - can't lie about that. I've lived on less, and that just sucked LOL.
Things I would invest in:
Rice - super cheap carb and goes a long ways, and you prepare it with lots of things in a variety of ways.
Pasta and sauce - $3 of sauce and pasta could easily be turned into 4+ meals with some protein on the side.
Meats - Find your store's clearance section. Bring it home and if you don't cook it right away, freeze it immediately so it doesn't spoil - I often could find screaming deals, but had to learn what days they filled the clearance section
-Also, buy bulk sales, divide into double baggies, and freeze. You can wash and reuse your baggies if you need to for your budget
Veggies - Again, sales, bulk, local produce stands, or just finding which stores have the best deals on veggies. When I was on a super tight budget this was the meal element I felt I had to cut back on the most compared to how much of it I *prefer* to eat. I can easily eat a full bag of frozen veggies in one meal - when I was on a strict budget I had to stretch that through several meals at least.
Finally, dig through your cupboards and freezer once every couple months. Make it a challenge to live on what you have stashed in there for a week! I actually got pretty creative and found some tasty things I would have never thought to throw together doing this.2 -
SaraLynnFiske wrote: »
My 150 budget is from SNAP thank you for the suggestion!
Depending on your area there might be a farmer's market that offers double your dollar, extra credits, etc. for spending SNAP dollars. Of course depending on prices this might not be cheaper than the grocery store, but for in-season produce it might be worth investigating!
ETA I used to use a website called Budget Bytes when my food budget was pretty close to what you have and it helped a lot. For me so much of the challenge in having a small budget was getting bored of eating the same things over and over and Budget Bytes is great for inspiration.2 -
Chopped cabbage (or cauliflower, but cabbage tends to be even cheaper), onions, vegetable oil and the cheapest ground meat can be combined with a variety of spices for different flavorings. While cabbage is cheap, if you need more calories, add rice or serve on the side.
Add ginger, soy sauce and maybe some sweetener for Chinese
Add tomato sauce, salt and pepper for cabbage rolls
Add salt, cumin and red pepper (or hot sauce) for Mexican, bonus if you have some raisins to throw in
Add salt, pepper, oregano and red pepper (or hot sauce) for New Orleans
Add salt, pepper and tumeric or curry powder for South East Asian
Corn tortillas are generally one of the cheapest foods that can hold other foods. Veggie quesadillas make a well rounded meal, serve with beans to make it even more filling. For breakfast, make an egg taco. Bake or fry the tortilla for a crunchy tostada if you need some texture variety.
Add veggies and scrambled eggs to ramen noodles.
Spices seem overwhelming? Buy them one at a time. Cooking for one, they will last and you will gradually add variety to your meals without necessarily changing up the main ingredients.
Go check out your local food pantry. My parents volunteer at one where most people won't try the new things that get donated: you can make out like a bandit by being curious!
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It’s a really great grocery store in MA. I think the furthest west they go is Athol and oxford, so not out by Springfield (if that’s where you are), but if you’re as far west as say....brimfield in the south or greenfield/Deerfield in the north, you could probably do it. You can literally save 20-25% there and the quality is just as good as a stop n shopSaraLynnFiske wrote: »
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Do you have WinCo Foods near you? Their produce section is great and their prices on almost everything are equivalent to Walmart. I often shop at Walmart and find their produce to be just fine most of the time. Buy store brands most of the time. Things like canned tomatoes, canned and dry beans, rice, oatmeal, frozen veggies and potatoes....all exactly the same quality in the store brand, sometimes even better than the big brand name. I've found very few things you need to stick with the brand name on. Another trick I use is to find things in the meat case that are marked down because they have to be sold that day. As long as the color looks okay, they're not leaking, and they smell okay, I take them home and either cook them that day or put them in the freezer. You can save 50% or more on meat this way.2
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a lot of churches, usually larger ones but not always, have certain days of the week or month that have food pantries. Go to that. See what you can get for FREE, then build around it. Start making some calls. If they dont have one, they will know who DOES.
A lot of time, they more or less coordinate with each other so that there is one every week or every two weeks (thats what the ones in my area did).
I had a friend who ran the one for her church (BIG church) and every week she would bring us a box just to be nice. didnt need it (budget wise), but they had more than enough and we certainly appreciated it. I often had fresh veggies and baked goods for the week. Sometimes a random birthday cake LOLOL
Again, see what local resources are out there, and work around that. Then, make what you can in bulk and freeze it and eat on it as you want it. Stew, soup, chili, casseroles.... all that can be made and frozen into smaller servings.
My son and I can eat on a roast chicken for $6 from the grocery store for several days, in various meals.1 -
I only buy non perishables on sale and stock up when I do (nothing crazy, but 1 or 2 extra cans/boxes).
My main sources of protein are chicken breast (I don't pay over $1.99 a lb, means shopping around a little sometimes) and ground turkey. I mostly buy frozen veggies unless there's a great sale or something is in season. We have tacos a couple times a week (counting leftovers), pasta at least once a week... Breakfast can be cereal or eggs and toast.
I often go to 2/3 different stores to find the cheap stuff.3
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