Buying groceries when hovering around poverty level...

YouKnowWhoThisIs

Some great suggestions. The original list definitely is not the best use of $50. PS: There is no nutrition in sugar. I have actually read too much sugar has the same affect on your liver as too much alcohol. You will be paying high medical bills in exchange for saving money. You are better of spending $50 on other things.

SachaMichel

I used to cook up the ground beef and put it in my son's spaghetti and I ate just sauce on my noodles... he needed the protein more than I did. We ate cereal EVERY morning and maybe shared a banana on our cereal. My son grew to love peanut butter straight off the spoon as a treat and sometimes I made him peanut butter and banana sandwiches for his lunch. I always threw in some kind of frozen veggie in our ramen... that stuff is seriously void of nutritional value and REALLY high in sodium... but it filled our bellies back then.

Once a week, my parents invited us over for dinner... they had NO idea how we ate at home... again... too proud to whine about it. So those dinners were like a feast to us and we devoured every single bite. Thankfully, this only lasted about 2 years when I finally got a better paying job.

The whole experience made me really appreciate a dollar and how far it can be stretched. I also learned that I can accomplish just about anything if I tried hard enough. I never asked anyone for anything and was proud of myself for getting through those times without too many bumps and bruises.

I was raised by one parent to be absolutely frugal (mom) and the other to spend as if you were going to die the next day (dad). I ended up somewhere in the middle; saved enough money as a teen to pay off my nursing degree in full, but not a whole lot else beyond that

suzyq369

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:

Articeluvsmemphis

1 jar of peanut butter

fresh fruit (different varieties)

eggs

oatmeal over noodles

milk

coffee (or go without:noway: , drink water)

some nuts for sure

chicken, I'd be golden off this list, for the most part

add Greek yogurt

vcreinert

You can leave out the instant coffee and sugar., Drink water and save the money for something more nutritious than coffee and sugar.

lynnmarie60

Check with your local churches (in the U.S.) they have fresh fruit, produce, breads and more on a weekly basis. I know of a church that gives out different items daily to first come first serve.

Also, check online for coupons for different grocery stores; cheap stores likes Aldi's and Save a lot (here in the States).

Eggs, low calorie bread, bananas, peanut butter, deli ham, cereal, milk (those could be affordable) and heathly at the same time; especially if you go to pantries for the rest.

catdoc1

I used to make 1 pot each: bean soup, red pasta sauce, vegetable soup, and spicey lentil soup, then freeze it into portions, making it last the entire month. This was my typical shopping list. If you're willing to cook, you can eat heathfully and pretty well (although not much variety within a particular month)

Dry beans and lentils from bulk section, soak and cook yourself
Frozen vegetables, generic large bags, including those with lima beans and peas beans for protein
Canned tomato products, a few
Pasta for pasta sauce & soups
Oatmeal and generic whole grain cereal in a bag for breakfasts, 1 each
Onions, garlic, a few for flavor
Apples and oranges on sale, small sized fruit in a bag are cheapest
Peanut butter, natural if you can
Whole wheat flour for homemade bread, pancakes, biscuits, 1 5# bag
Foraged dandelion greens for salads from an untreated yard or field (unless covered in snow, they're everywhere)
Milk from dried milk (I have a whole bag of organic dried milk but went vegan -- I'll mail it to you if you IM me)
Instant coffee
Water!

Food pantry at church or social agency - lots of people need the help right now, you can volunteer or donate later when you're able

almadino

It is tough and I understand where you are coming from. I don't know if you can get food vouchers at your school or community, there are also food banks (both at school and community). Now, the community food bank may be tough to get in, but schools are less tough. It was hard for me at first, but I realized that I needed to feed my body proper nutrients. So even if nutrition isn't your priority and there are other things such as rent that are much more important in the end you want to be able to function properly to give everything the right amount of attention Ask around and see if these programs are available in your community. I hope this helps!

suzyq369

Also check on the local food pantries. I don't know your location but I was just told of a couple that provide meats that are donated from Price Chopper. One family told me that they received pork sausage, chicken roast, hamburger, hotdogs, etc. as well as additional stuff like butter, peanut butter, cereal, bread, and frozen veggies. I can't remember all the items but these pantries are for people that need help, so don't be ashamed to ask for help. The people are really nice and can give you suggestions on meals and ways to make the food go further. Some of the food is healthier than other, but be creative. What a friend of mine and I have found is portion control and having a buddy to keep you on track and be tough on you once in awhile is the answer for us. I lost 7 lbs. this week and she lost 3. And we really looked at her exercise and changed her routine to more cardio. Oh, and positive thinking. Don't say if, or maybe, say when and I will.....keep positive......

hbunting86

I can completely empathise - I'm a graduate student living 12000 miles from home... so I have to make my money spin pretty far in terms of food. Frustrating that my PhD is in food and nutrition, and my own budget is pretty tight!

Here's what I'd get as staples:

Brown rice
Wholewheat pasta
Lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans - anything of that sort (cheapest is best!)
Spices - chilli and/or other spices really jazz up something as simple as a rice & bean salad
Canned tomatoes - the cheapest brand are fine, and you can stretch them out when making a rice/pasta sauce by adding water
Canned tuna - protein fills you up for longer, and the cheaper brands are usually fine
Frozen veg - easy to throw in pasta
Coffee (of course!)
Sugar - get a cheaper brand/smaller amount - that much sugar in your diet really isn't so good
Eggs - you can generally get trays for very few $ at Asian supermarkets (and their spices are real cheap too)

Good luck!

xMedullaOblongatax

I hope my post helps.

I used to be in your position. I had actually no free money despite working, so I once had to snack on my dorm roomie's candies for a week. Let me tell you, I was sick as a dog for a long time because of that =(

I also used to live in a very bad way when I was young, so I had to learn a few things the very very hard way. Without going into too many details, these are the things you can get for free:

1) Packets: Sugar, Ketchup, Mustard, Salt, Pepper, BBQ Sauce, Honey, Butter, Soy Sauce, Hot Sauce, Creamer. You can get all of these for free at the following restaurants - McDonald's, KFC (bbq, butter and honey), Taco Bell (hot sauce), and any other fast-serve fast food place that you can think of. Don't forget to grab yourself a fistful of napkins at each place for general dorm-cleaning. Most napkins are not septic safe, so don't use them as toilet paper.
2) Plasticware: Any fast food place will provide at least a fork, knife, and spoon for free.
3) Freshly-brewed coffee: Sometimes churches, hotels, and some businesses offer free coffee.
4) Food Banks, Church services: both will donate food to you. These will range anywhere from stapled bags of portioned flour to beans to rice, soups, stews, frozen veggies and sometimes meat.

Aside from that, there are things you can buy for cheap.
White rice: I have found 25 lbs. bags of rice for $12 a bag once at an asian market. They also sell very inexpensive rice cookers. Online, I have seen them go in the neighborhood of $12 a piece. A cup or two of rice will make your belly happy, so three servings a day will last you roughly two months.
Beans: This goes without saying. Buy yourself some dried beans, they will go a long way. Jack Rabbit brand dry lentil beans go for $1.55 per pound. Goya red kidney beans go for $1.79 per pound online as well.
Bread: Buy your bread from the bakery outlets. You can get a loaf of bread for $0.30!
Fresh fruits and veggies: Go for farmers market. You can feast like a veggie king for 2 weeks for less than $20! Freeze what you can't eat right away!

My advice? Forget the coffee and sugar... but I understand trying to make sense out of a Chemistry paper at 5AM after number-crunching until 3AM, so I understand you needing to chug caffeine. Please drop the sugar from your budget, get your sugar and cream for free or at least train yourself to take coffee black. $12 for sugar can actually get you almost 2 weeks of veggies from the farmers market with extra left over for fresh eggs!

I plan on starting my own vegetable garden this year... I'm a beginner so it will probably be something like hot peppers and that's all, LOL! But if you were here I would just hand you a big old bag of rice in my storage! =(

shalinimunjal

All right. Here is my perspective from a fellow vegetarian Indian. If I were ever in your shoes, here's what my grocery list will look like

Wheat Flour $5 (4lb)
Rice $10 (10lb)
Red Kidney Beans $6 (4lb)
Chickpeas $6 (4lb)
Lentils $5 (4lb)
Onion $3 (5lb)
Potato $3 (10lb)

That's $38. With the remaining $12 I'd get Milk, oil, salt and frozen veggies. These groceries will last longer than a month for 1 person. Learn to make yogurt at home. You CAN live on this budget, just have to be creative and learn to cook differently.

Meals with these groceries could include but not limited to curry and homemade chapati/naan with whole wheat flour, rice and beans, rice and chickpeas, wheat paranthas with various fillings or plain, soups with chickpeas and kidney beans, potato pattie, samosa, etc.

Bottom line - learn to cook from scratch instead of relying on noodles to carry you through. You'll be ok.

zoominzozo

Not sure of conversion but last month I managed to spend £48 ($78) on my shopping bill for just me, not including top ups of milk, bread and veg mid month (this did include approx £12 cleaning items too and tissues) . Feel free to correct me but I'm thinking the UK is very expensive compared to other areas of the world for food. I've taken to batch cooking and freezing.

liroez29

FOOD BANKS!!! They are everywhere!!!! Churches, salvation Army. Go to your public aid office!! There are so many places to get help! There is no shame is asking for help! Do you have children? if you do your really should be taking advantage of these outlets! Good luck to you! I will pray for you too, it always helps!

hollyeverhart

Wow I am impressed that you could get by on 50$ a month in groceries! I probably spend 85-120$ a week just for me and my Husband. And we eat super healthy, I'm vegetarian pretty much vegan, he eats meat/dairy/eggs. But I don't buy processed junk (cereal chips frozen meals candy boxed pre made food etc). Just LOTS of veggies/fruits, 3 kinds of meat for him for 3 dinners then the rest of the week is left overs, tempeh/tofu/soy/almond milk etc...Pretty much the 'basics' and I feel like I don't get hardly anything for my money. So I don't see how anyone could get by on 50$ a week! I hope you can find a affordable way to get healthier food

primalkiwi

I've been through similar as a student - my saving grace was the vegetable garden I planted in my backyard. Seeds can be obtained for free through community seed banks, seed swaps and community gardens. Try also googling 'free fruit community map' plus where you live to find info on public plantings of fruit trees etc in your area. Community gardens are also a good source for free vegetables, herbs etc. If you are studying see if your campus has one - often there's a keen group of students that have started one up somewhere in a neglected corner of campus. Often you are welcome to take fruit and vegetables although it is good to give back by volunteering for an hour or two a week. Making sure you get some nutrition from your food will help you cope with stress, illness etc. There's lots of great suggestions already left on here especially from those who have been through the same.

missjoci

Do they have some sort of government aid there? I started getting food stamps when things got really rough. Hope you find some good food choices.

liznotyet

if you can make the time to cook it and like the taste, brown rice will be much cheaper and make you feel full longer than the instant noodles.

LittleMissAngi

There is a ministry where I live, where you can get a whole month worth of food for like $25. Meats/veggies/fruit etc. Maybe google and see if there is one near you! It's called Angel Food Ministry.

Kaelabaela

I can tell everyone of you that this person is 100% ****ing with you all.....this is not serious.