Buying groceries when hovering around poverty level...

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  • grobbygru
    grobbygru Posts: 295 Member
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    Is this serious? or just one of those 'how would you do it' posts? Just never ceases to amaze me that people say they are poor yet seem to be able to afford the internet/phones etc.
    I am guessing it's a 'how would you do it'?
  • swisspea
    swisspea Posts: 327 Member
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    I looked online, and you can get 2 kilograms of Redpath sugar for 2.99 from grocerygateway. That would give you $9.00 to buy some frozen or canned veggies- enough 4 cans of tuna per month, a bag of frozen veggies, a couple apples and and some extra money left over for spices.
  • ItsMeRebekah
    ItsMeRebekah Posts: 910 Member
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    any ministries in your area that do outreach programs ?? the angel food ministry will give you a box full of foods, fresh veggies and meats, breads, fruit, all for abt 25bks. churches in my area also do free foods one day a week, some have shops you can go to once a month and "shop" for a amt of food all for free.

    when we are tight i always do a day to day basis figuring out WHAT we have i can create and if i need to get something hopefully only spend a buck or two at the dollar store... you would be shocked what you can do for very little!!
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
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    I think I'd get rice, lentils and frozen veg instead of the bread, sugar and noodles. More nutrition for your dollar and Dahl (lentils) is yummy and nutritious. And if you have $1 left, spend it on dried chilli or curry powder to spice up the Dahl.
    And powdered milk instead of fresh - you should get more and it won't go off.
    I would also try to see if you could squeeze a few onions or carrots (or other cheap seasonal veggies) in there too.

    Excellent Post.

    You absolutely can eat more nutritiously.
  • jen0731
    jen0731 Posts: 59 Member
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    Check your local churches for food pantries. It wouldn't be much but it will help. I've had to go to a few myself when I've been done on my luck. I hated it but you gotta do what you gotta do.
  • fjrandol
    fjrandol Posts: 437 Member
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    When I was in college I volunteered stocking shelves at the local food bank. In exchange for about 2 hours of work a week I was able to come home with a big box of goodies: fresh veggies, baked goods, etc. You might want to check out the food banks in your area. Even if you don't have the time to volunteer, I know a box of food only ran $2-3, so you should be able to keep yourself fairly well fed on the cheap. :smile:
  • TBirdGirl
    TBirdGirl Posts: 96 Member
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    I buy veggies & fruits on the clearance rack that are very very ripe. Take home wash, slice, dice, shred, etc and freeze. Super savings there!
  • almondgirl00
    almondgirl00 Posts: 29
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    I can get a kg of red lentils for $3.50 at the local Indian grocer. According to Woolworths online shopping it would cost me $4.72 there. I'd invest in a few basic spices (turmeric and cumin, mustard seeds if I could afford them), over the instant noodles. Lentils have protein, tons of vitamins and nutrients and fibre, fibre, fibre! 100g of dry lentils is 345 calories. Not sure how many calories a pack of instant noodles has, but I'm guessing it's reasonably high.

    A really great food is mujaderra (sp?). Fry onions, a great cheap vegetable that lasts, in oil, add spices if you have some like cumin and coriander, then throw in cooked rice and brown or green lentils. I can eat a huge bowl of this, which is why I don't make it anymore (: and it's ridiculously filling. You get plenty of b vitamins if you use brown rice as well as magnesium and, I think, potassium but don't quote me on that.

    So from Woolworths:
    1kg pink lentils - $4.79
    1kg brown lentils - $4.29
    cumin - $2.10
    1kg brown rice - $3.64
    750g rolled oats - $1.28
    1kg milk powder - $6.44
    1kg frozen peas - $2.14
    250g frozen chopped spinach - $1.39x4
    1kg frozen beans - $1.71
    1kg brown onions - $1.88
    1kg unwashed potatoes - $1.98
    whole canned tomatoes - $.69x3
    250g minced garlic - $1.39
    25g turmeric - $1.31
    420g can baked beans - $0.69x3
    dozen eggs - $3.01
    825g pineapples in juice - $1.59
    825g pear halves in syrup - $1.60
    825g fruit salad in syrup - $1.60

    Total - $50.45

    This is all homebrand, but I suspect it can be done even cheaper at Aldi. And the spices and oil will carry on over to the next month. The only thing I'd worry about is getting b12 - a dozen eggs over a month isn't going to supply nearly enough. I put the fruit in syrup in there as a treat. You've got to have something to tide you over. Plus it will make eating your porridge a bit more fun.

    There's not as much veg as I'd like in my plan, but if I was in a bind I'd have no problem eating it.

    Eta: I know the Australian dollar is roughly at parity with the US, not sure how we're doing against the Canadian!
  • FaugHorn
    FaugHorn Posts: 1,060 Member
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    There are often food banks that you can sign up for, pick a local church and call and ask, if they don't do it then they may be able to point you to one that does. That will at least get you some canned veggies and additional nutrients! You can usually sign up for a box a month at least and that would do wonders for you.
  • jennajava
    jennajava Posts: 2,176 Member
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    My husband says he lived off of fish sticks in college. You can buy frozen ones in HUGE packages for dirt cheap.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    What are you going to do with all that sugar? For that same $12 you could by a large bag of dried beans, a large bag of brown rice, a bag of carrots, a couple of onions, a pepper and a bag of celery. Cook them all together and eat for days.
  • carleyfunk
    carleyfunk Posts: 59 Member
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    I have been there too. I lived off of potatoes and top ramen. Potatoes are really filling and can work almost as a meal.
  • mixmastermolly
    mixmastermolly Posts: 272
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    Dry beans are cheap and go a long way. Also, look into finding a food co-op in your area. You can help by working there for a short amount of time and get food in exchange. There are probably plenty of food pantries around that would serve you since you're low income. You could get most of your canned and boxed goods there and then use your $50 for produce.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    What's the best you can do?

    I think I can live on $50 a month:

    4 loaves of bread- $8
    2 jars of peanut butter- $8
    A case of instant noodles (24 pack)- $6
    A jar of instant coffee- $4
    A big sack of granulated sugar- $12
    A jug of full-fat milk- $5

    The tax in my province is 14% so that works out to about $49.

    I would switch to no-name brands and full-calorie versions of everything to maximize savings and caloric intake :happy:

    Groceries are not taxed in Canada so you have some extra ($6) to play with there. The coffee may have tax but the other items wont.
  • katinka13
    katinka13 Posts: 41
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    i gained over 30!! pounds during my first 3 years at uni, because i only ate peanutbutter sandwiches and packed food. it was cheap but fat and calorie packed!
  • cimonenchina
    cimonenchina Posts: 4
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    1lb of ground beef goes a long way! and it is really easy to cook. Try making Chilli from scratch. You need 1 lb of ground beef (turkey if you can afford it), 2 cans of diced tomatoes, 2 cans of kidney beans, and 2 packages of chilli seasoning. this meal can feed you for a whole week, if you only eat it once a day, and it come in at the grocery store at just around $10.00. If you can splurge, buy an onion, and use that the saute the meat in.
  • ShrinkinMel
    ShrinkinMel Posts: 982 Member
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    What on earth do you use sugar for that you'd need $12 worth every month??? WHOA I know sugar cost has gone up but you must be getting some expensive stuff or you use a crap load. I agree dump the sugar and get AT LEAST some frozen veggie mix bag(about $5-6 at Walmart for a broccoli, cauliflower, carrot mix) or potatoes or something(usually a few bucks for a 10 lb bag but can be cheaper) and some fresh fruit. You can eat by what is on sale.

    We also enjoy no tax on food in our city(a suburb of Phoenix). Not all the cities in the area are tax free food though. My best friend drives over to this city(short hop on the freeway) to get her groceries tax free.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Dry beans are cheap and go a long way. Also, look into finding a food co-op in your area. You can help by working there for a short amount of time and get food in exchange. There are probably plenty of food pantries around that would serve you since you're low income. You could get most of your canned and boxed goods there and then use your $50 for produce.

    This,

    Go to a food bank for canned and boxed food and spend your money on fruit, veggies, and any other gaps in nutrition.
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
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    Is this serious? or just one of those 'how would you do it' posts? Just never ceases to amaze me that people say they are poor yet seem to be able to afford the internet/phones etc.
    I am guessing it's a 'how would you do it'?

    You are assuming. I have never paid for internet. Our local library, the college i attended and just about any coffee shop in town provides free wifi. So does my office :wink:. I don't own a computer either.
  • ilookthetype
    ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member
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    Rice, beans, frozen fruits/veggies, potatoes, "fryer" chickens, and lots of oatmeal. I have a lot of food intolerances so my bread costs $5/$6 PER LOAF and they're tiny and disgusting, I make my own, but when money is tight, I forgo bread all together.

    I can make about 26 different kinds of beans and rice, same goes for potatoes. Frozen veggies are a great source of nutrients because the freezing holds in the nutrients (or so I've read - if I'm wrong, let me know). Fryer chickens are the whole chicken, you can make a ton of meals out of the meat and then I use the bones to make broth for an additional few meals. Oatmeal is awesome. I add it to smoothies, I eat it plain, I use it in bread. I find it very filling.

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