Buying groceries when hovering around poverty level...

Hambone23

I'm on food stamps right now myself and I have a boyfriend who eats quite a bit, so it's a real struggle. But I remember it was even worse as a student. My suggestions:

1. Coupons. (If you can't afford a paper, most libraries take the coupon section out of the Sunday paper and throw it away. Go to your library and ask if they'll put it aside for you and pick it up every Sunday.) Also, sign up for free sales flyers from all your local pharmacies/stores. They sometimes have amazing deals when combined with a coupon.
2. Only use coupons when they can be combined with in-store sales. And make sure to ask if they double coupons at the store and how much they'll double it. (Usually, they'll double any coupon up to $0.99.)
3. If a store has a discount card, get it, and use it.
4. Find bulk stores that sell a limited number of foods, but who sell the necessities in large quantities for surprisingly low prices. One example out here is Aldi's.
5. Look into a food pantry or a food pick-up from a local church. You don't have to be Christian or Jewish, etc. to get food from churches. They help anyone in need. And as someone said, don't feel bad about doing it. It's not shameful, though it might feel that way. You can usually call your local department of health and human services to get information about resources like this.
6. I agree with a lot of other people. Ween off the sugar. I know it sucks, but you can do it.
7. You can buy more nutritional things for cheap. Frozen veggies are actually super cheap and last a while. Buy those bags of beans and brown rice and oats. The big sacks of them that are a buck or two and last forever. And always buy generic unless an in-store sale makes another brand even cheaper than the generic (it happens from time to time).
8. Absolutely get your condiments from fast food places or the school cafeteria. (I even snatched a roll of toilet paper from a public bathroom once. Shh.)
9. See if your school offers financial help (separate from financial aid). They sometimes do for students under a certain poverty level, but this varies from school to school.
10. Google some websites where the bloggers specifically challenge themselves to eat for $50 or under and that give you a list of what they bought and the recipes they made. There's a number of these sites these days because everyone is tightening their belt, and these people manage to make some yummy and nutritious meals.
11. Buy dry milk. It doesn't go bad, and if you follow the directions and leave it in the fridge overnight, it's as good as the real thing.
12. Browse stores when you know they're having their taste testing days. You can almost get a full lunch out of it.

Whatever advice you take and what works for you the best, I wish you a lot of luck. It's so difficult to handle the stress of money and food and your graduate studies. Trust me. I know.

smashatoms

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.

Those are really great suggestions.

I second this opinion-- SUCH a good idea. Lentils are fabulous and even black beans and white beans can make fabulous soups with the right spices and just plain old water. And they are cheap-- here (I live in a bigger city, granted) I can get 1# of beans for 1.59. You might be able to swing it cheaper than that even. Good luck-- and let me know if you need any bean soup recipes.

SeeEmRun2012

Struggling young adult here....dirt poor yet still eating well is due to FARMERS MARKETS. If you can find one in your area you should check it out. I go every Saturday and spend about 15-20 bucks and get:
lettuce
tomatoes
cucumber
strawberries
blueberries
spinach
onions
peppers
carrots
broccoli
AND WHATEVER ELSE I CAN FIND ALL FOR AROUND $20.00
Than I go to a value store and get some cheap chicken or ground beef , eggs, hot sauce and a loaf of bread and that lasts me for ever!!

elg1982

Check out this website, it has advice on how to plan menus if your budget is just 1 dollar a day.

http://dollaradaymeals.com/the_lists

Nette_54

One of the main things my ex and I did when we were trying to save really hard and it may sound strange but I would buy beef for roasting like Topside beef or cheaper cut. I would cut it in half and bake half which we would have that night then the next night cold cuts and then another night the other half and cold cuts the next night again so there was 4 meals a week for the 2 of us out of one piece of beef, I also made my own bread by hand ( no bread making machines )

netchik

If you have local markets you can usually get big sacks of potatoes for next to nothing... and loads of other fruit and veg for excellent prices, particularly if it's the end of the market day (where they try to get rid of everything cheap).

I'm so sorry you are living like this. But I applaud you seeking advice on a better way to get nutritious food.

Pocket_Pixi

There have been some really excellent suggestions about going to the food pantries and such here. I know in Sask, we have the Friendship Inn, basically a soup kitchen that offers free HOT meals - nutritionally speaking, I do not know how good it is but I do know that when you are down on your luck you can go there and they will help.

I would suggest you go to your local food bank, get your food and see what you get. Than take your 50 dollars and buy frozen veggies, lentils, beans etc. And suppliment if you have to by going to a soup kitchen - you are in BC, I know they have them there.

12$ for sugar for the month is quite ridiculous considering you plan on mixing it with water and drinking it to get your calories. I have lived on a tight budget before, its rough, but you can get oats in bulk and make oatmeal, frozen fruits and veggies last a whole lot longer than fresh, cupons can be your friend, lentils and beans go a long way. I do not know your entire situation but if you do pay for phone/cable/TV I would think cutting those would be where I would start - you can always gain access to the internet from free sources such as the library. Losing weight when you are THIS down on your luck doesn't seem like it would be my priority...

cobarlo14

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'?

Wow - Ignorant much?
If you can't type anything productive do us all a favor and type nothing.
The poster is asking for help. Be helpfull or move right along.

learningtolove

Theres no way you would go through 2 jars of pb a month,swap one of them for 4 $ worth of fruit or veggies.
Also who bother buying a sack of sugar ,just "borrow" a cup fo sugar from a neighbour every now and then and spend that money on a clubpack of the cheapest meat you can find,portion it out and freeze it.

netchik

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'?

It's easy to find free internet these days, in libraries, McDonalds etc. It's easy to jump to conclusions, but we never have the full story on a forum. You have to give everyone the benefit of doubt.

ajbeans

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:

What are you going to do with a big sack of sugar? The only thing I can see you'll need it for is the coffee, and you don't need a big sack for that, surely. So I would probably buy a smaller sack, and use the cash you save for canned tuna and/or chicken so you can have a little protein in your month.

sbrooks0387

i would add some rice and frozen veggies. that's what i lived on in college with chicken maybe once a week. a bag of white rice is not to expensive and you could get a bag of brown and mix it half and half or something. also most stores have store brand frozen veggies for a dollar a bag. maybe cut out some sugar and use that money for veggies.

in the summer you can hit farmersmarkets they have great produce at cheap prices.

paeli

There was a similar thread a little while ago that had tons of great ideas as well,
See here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/411491--75-100-budget-for-2-weeks-of-meals-d?error_user_id=217296&error_username=paeli&hl=budget

DrumlineGirl

Definitely look at dried beans and rice.

Search for coupons online and then compare them to your local grocery ads. It takes some time, but if you can combine a good coupon with a sale, you can get some stuff really cheap.

Eggs are normally pretty cheap too, you can eat them hard boiled, fried or scrambled for a nice protein boost.

Make your own bread for about 50 cents a loaf.

SamiSamiBoBlammy

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!!

Angel Food Ministries no longer exists. It was a great program, but it has been discontinued since the founders are under legal and financial scrutiny.

aranchmom

I'm heading to bed so I'll reply in the morning (thanks for the suggestions everyone) but the items on my list are basically the very, very cheapest I can get them in my area.

This also sounds sad but I want the sack of sugar because it's a cheap source of calories. I can mix it with water and drink that, when push comes to shove. Unfortunately I don't think $12 worth of vegetables and fruit can last me an entire month like a sack of sugar can.

I didn't read all the pages - but if you replace the sugar with another jar of peanut butter - you could have 1 extra tablespoon of pb each day - which would be better calories and last longer for energy than a glass of sugar water.

renaconnor

There's a Mexican Market called Fiesta right by my house...I bought strawberries, apples, oranges, yellow zucchini, green squash, lettuces, tomatoes, mushrooms, green onions, brocolli, and green beans for $17...This is all raw mind you! Do you have anything like that near by?

ajbeans

I would call the local Salvation Army and local churches. Often they have food banks that can help you. At the very least, you can usually get a meal for holidays, and those meals can sometimes stretch for 2 or 3 days depending on how many people you're feeding.

Goldenbast

I am in this position somewhat. My daughter recently lost her job and since it is such slim pickings around here, her and her boyfriend have decided to go along with me to the state prison system, where my husband works....but for right now We support them, so we feed a family of 7. Also factor in that we have started eating healthy and it has been a real challenge to feed this many people! I tried the coupon rout, but no stores here double, so the only choice was to use them when a good sale was going on. Even then, you hardly ever see fresh produce and meat coupons so I usually used coupons for canned goods (no salt varieties), and household goods. A bit of a savings there.

What has saved us a mass amount of money and allowed us to continually buy fresh produce and meats is using Walmarts price matching program. Each week I get all the ads for the stores in the area, including online copies for ones that don't come to my house. Then I make a master list of the best prices. I go shop at Walmart and price match everything I can. This assures that I can get the best price for something, and not have to go to four different stores to get it.

Another good thing to use is a Price Book. You keep a book with a list of the foods you buy the most, and keep note of the best price for an item and on what date it was at that price. Once the book really gets going you will start to see a sales trend that you can anticipate for as well as know at a glance if something is actually a deal....I have seen some stores offer a 'sale' that really isn't much of a sale in the long run. This is an invaluable tool for the budget grocery shopper.

Also try to home-make as much as you can, it really is cheaper. For an example, my children LOVE those frozen burritos..the usual best price for them is $3.00 a pack, which is .50 each, sometimes they go on sale for a quarter or fifty cents cheaper. BUT they have such CRAP in them. I buy the tortillas when on sale, the beans, cheese..I make a HUGE pot of the beans (soak them overnight) then I add in an onion quartered, some cumin and a diced jalapeno and some pepper..I don't even add in any salt and I cook them in homemade chicken broth. They are super tasty and cheap. Then I sit for a few hours and wrap up burritos, then wrap them in a bit of foil and freeze them. On a good day with the right sales I was able to make these for about .05 each AND they were waaaaaay more healthy than the packaged stuff. You just take one out of the freezer and throw it in the over, foil wrapper and all and bake it. They are good.

In this day and age you really have to think outside the box if you want to eat healthy on a budget.

DrumlineGirl

Oh yeah, and oatmeal is VERY cheap and very filling.

beskimoosh

I'm a student nurse so I constantly have no money. Make friends with your local butcher would be my advice, then he'll give you extra things! Same goes for the greengrocer! My butcher trims down everything for me and then weighs it, so I'm not paying for fat I won't use. Things like that make a huge difference! I don't know what it's like in the US mind, so it might not be too much help, but going to independent shops and to the market save me so much!

Edit: it means I spend about £35 a month on food, which is pretty good I think and it's all yummy!

dls06

http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_eating_on_budget.htm

simplymily

I agree with what rennaconnor said. There's a lot of spanish/and chinesse grocery stores in my area with extremely low prices for fruits and veggies when we are short we usually go to these grocery stores for fresh produce.

Amberchalon

I purchase some things in bulk--lentils--which are very filling and full of fiber...as well as oatmeal and couscous. Couscous can be used as a savory item or a sweet item and it only takes literally 5 minutes to cook. At the whole foods, a pound of organic lentils is 1.19 a pound, organic oatmeal is 99 a pound and the couscous is 1.27 a pound. Each of the items I mentioned are loose and you can easily get several pounds of each and spend less than 5.00 on each. I generally spend about 3.00 on each of them. Because the couscous and lentils are so versatile, you can revamp them in so many ways to get different types of meals. Hope this helps

amandamaren

this website is awesome. it got myself and my kids through nursing school on a shoestring budget while being well fed.
http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/

simplymily

When my parents weren't doing well they used to go to dollar store for sugar, bread things like that but check the expiration date before buying. Maybe you can check your local dollar store? We have to in the area that sells food but not anything that needs to be refrigerated.

Diary_Queen

I don't happen to have a receipt with me (i usually keep one in my purse on my food shopping weeks), but I can feed my family of 4 for about that price per week..... under that assumption, one person for a month would work out about the same. I spend about $60 per shopping trip, but choose cuts of chicken over peanut butter since we're a peanut free household and often pick wheat or corn tortillas over bread since you get more and you can still made a sandwhich on them. Meat can go a long way especially if it's made into soup. Even broth with meat in it can last for a long while or be frozen and can be cooked in a crock pot to save on cooking time. I also don't use sugar or coffee or milk unless I want to. I'm lactose intolerant so the milk I have to purchase is twice as expensive as regular milk. I would suggest since your list mentioned buying full fat milk, when if you have any extra money or could get friends/family to spare a few $$$, you could get milk and freeze it in the plastic jug. I did this for years when my kids were on WIC and I got milk every month. Then when it thawed, I would split the whole milk into two jugs and cut it with water to be more like 1% milk and to last longer.

tdmcmains

We are lucky to not be in the position but we don't spend a lot on food anyway. we eat a lot of rice, dried beans, and frozen veggies. We get huge 20 lb bags of rice at costco (which, granted, charges an annual membership fee) for ... i dunno, really cheap per pound. much cheaper than the supermarket. and big bags of frozen chicken. I think it's hard living on a tight budget because you can't afford the initial outlay on giant bulk quantities of things... but i think i'd definitely go with the frozen veggies and rice over packaged noodles, just health-wise.
In the summer, we have a garden and grow most of our own veggies. Don't know how feasible that is for your location or your work situation because it's a time commitment but we save a TON of money in the summer just growing our own veggies.

DancinSMartiPants

Dried beans and rice can replace your ramen noodles for about the same cost but TONS more nutritional value. My family of 4 can eat TWICE on a pot of redbeans that costs about $2.50 when you include the rice and the bellpepper and onion used for seasoning.

hhorncastle

https://www.foodbank.bc.ca/receiving-food

http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/carnegiecentre/kitchen.htm

http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/gatheringplace/

Finding inexpensive groceries in Canada is tough and I hear Vancouver is a very expensive city. Here are some resources I found in your area that you could try.