Struggling and Poor

amoeba15

I'm vegan and prepare my own meals most of the time. My daughter (an omnivore) and I eat for about $200 a month (including the 8% sales tax on groceries in my state). I'd suggest eating meat-free a few days a week to save money (Meatless Mondays, for example).

Tips:

1. Buy produce that is in season or use frozen produce (not the butter-sauce or cheese-drenched junk but the plain stuff).
2. Eat more whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, barley, etc.). Carbs aren't your enemy if you chose the right kind.
3. Cook your own beans (a slow cooker comes in handy for this). You can freeze them in portioned batches if you want, too. Cheaper than canned and healthier, too, since canned often includes a lot of added sodium.
4. Don't buy stuff just because you have a coupon for it. Use the coupons for things you actually use. (Look at various milk/soy milk producers' websites for good coupons you can print off every week, for example.)
5. Buy generic when possible for things you can't make yourself (flour, sugar, cooking oil, etc.) unless you find a coupon for the brand name that makes it cheaper. Some things I have to buy brand name because there isn't a generic version that meets my needs, like tofu, Vegenaise and Earth Balance margarine.
6. Plan your meals for at least a week at a time (include days for leftovers, too, obviously).
7. If you eat meat, ask the store you shop at what day they mark down the meat and pick some up then and freeze it. It'll keep in the freezer for 3 to 6 months.
8. Invest in a slow-cooker and a combination steamer/rice cooker. It helps in preparing foods from bulk with little actual work for you, particularly if they have built-in timers.
9. If you live near a health-food store that has a bulk bin section, use it. The prices are lower for bulk-bin items and you can buy just what you need. I get enough beans and grains (particularly amaranth and quinoa) to last at least two months since I live 30 miles away from Earth Fare and it's not worth driving there constantly.

Check out this blog, too: http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/ She posts some great recipes and includes the cost per serving!

ChristineS_51

May I say what a great range of food you have - lovely healthy choices - well done! You sound like you ae doing everything right as far as other things are concerned as well. I am in Australia so can't comment on costs and stuff in the US, but I am a member of an Australian website called Simple Savings - it does have a free download page where you might pick up some hints. http://www.simplesavings.com.au/downloads/

The least processed foods, and buying in bulk, generic brands would probably be cheapest, as others have suggested. Beans and lentils (get the dry ones and soak them) are great value. What are eggs like in the US - are they expensive? Here a dozen eggs (varies) is about $A2-5 a dozen.

Good luck, keep up your great food choices :flowerforyou:

jewelswye

I dont think anyones put this previously but what about going to the supermarket as they reduce the price of fresh produce. you can get fruit and veg for less than half price this way. obviously it will spoil sooner tho. I love it when they reduce ready meals or bread coz I just put it in the freezer till I want or need it

todaysanewday

Hey man, I notice that you're buying a lot of brand names and organics. It probably won't hurt you to buy generics once in a while. They're not always quite as healthy as the brand names, but if money is that much of an issue then it might help.

Do you buy in bulk? I save a lot of cash by waiting for a sale and stocking up, or just by buying the biggest container (most stores have a per unit cost in small writing beneath the price so you can compare more accurately).

Farmers markets are always great places for affordable fruit and veg.

You can also purchase large slabs of meat from local farmers at surprisingly low cost. If you have access to a chest freezer you can literally get a whole cow.

Use coupons. I save anything from $10-$30 on a $100 grocery trip. That really adds up. Although there aren't often coupons for fruit and veg.

Financially, you can examine your expenditure and income and see where the problem lies. If it's too little income then you need to either find a better paid career or try to open up more streams of revenue. There's a lot of ways you can generate passive income streams (i.e. income that you don't really have to work for once you've set it up initially). I earn about $10 a month from Squidoo for example... by doing nothing at all. You can also earn dribs and drabs from online surveys, competitions, adspace etc. Just approach it carefully and do your research because there are a lot of scams out there.

If the problem is on the other end - too great expenditure - then you may need to hit the big things first. Move into a smaller place, buy a more affordable car etc. After that you can concentrate it down to the smaller things (usually subscriptions to entertainment like magazines or netflix have to go first).

Best advice I ever got for being better off was this: Pay yourself FIRST. Take 10-15% of your income and put it into a credit union every month without fail. Pay yourself even before you pay your landlord or mortgage. Consider it the most important check you write. It might mean struggling like hell for a while but in the end it really pays off. Once you've built up a decent safety net (3-6 months living expenses) then you can start putting your money to work for you - investing in bonds or low risk mutual funds will generate even more passive streams of income. It's not hard, it's only hard at the beginning.

Good luck man, hope something here helps!

What is squidoo and what sort of work do you do on there. Can you share some specifics. Thanks

thepanttherlady

I'm a single mother of 3 (I have 5 but only 3 are still at home), and sometimes grocery money is tight. The paychecks I have a little extra to spend on are the checks I stock up on seasonings etc that I use to cook recipes. The rest of the paychecks I usually buy a package or two of chicken breasts (works for 2-3 dinners for the four of us). Fish (I've been buying Swai) is usually pretty inexpensive if you buy frozen. A frozen pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts can make MANY meals for a single person as can a package of Tilapia, Swai or other fish that is wrapped indiviually. If you cook a recipe that makes 4 servings, freeze the remaining servings for future dinners.

Another thing I didn't know until recently is that if you have any swapmeets that have vendors selling fruit/veggies, they tend to drastically mark their prices down to move the produce before the end of the day. There is a swapmeet here in So Cal that you can get into free towards the end of the day. A co-worker told me she goes and about an hour or two before closing the fruit/veggie vendors are selling their items for cents on the dollar.

amoeba15

I dont think anyones put this previously but what about going to the supermarket as they reduce the price of fresh produce. you can get fruit and veg for less than half price this way. obviously it will spoil sooner tho. I love it when they reduce ready meals or bread coz I just put it in the freezer till I want or need it

I do this and get fruits and veggies that I can cut up and freeze well. When avocados go on sale I'll mash them and freeze it. Thaw it, add in chopped tomato and onion and I've got some guacamole. :-)

becoming_a_new_me

Hi everyone,

I have been doing pretty good with the big changes I have made to my eating lifestyle. i love the healthy foods and dont have much of a problem in that regard. The problem I am having is financial. I have cut all my bills as much I can and am still struggling to get by. I dont go out, I dont buy anything really. All my money goes to bills. This is really starting to cause me stress and I'm not sure what to do.

The only place I can see cutting more money out is in groceries. But i really dont want to go back to eating the cheap unhealthy crap I did before.

Can someone please teach me how to both eat healthy and very cheap?

I pretty much live off of salads, chicken and fruit and veggies. I have switched to frozen veggies. Feel free to take a look at my diary and offer ways I can make changes that will save me money.

Thank You

If you have a farmers market, that is usually much less expensive than the supermarket and you are supporting local farmers. I go when they are pulling their "about to spoil" merchandise and marking it down, then I freeze the produce. Works great to do it this way. I also buy beans in bulk...black, red, white, lentils, etc. Cheap and easy to make. For my 11-yr old daughter and I, it is about $50-75 per week in food...less in the summer because of the family garden

hsmithway

I forgot to add that if you have an extra bit of time, you could work for a CSA.

My CSA requires people to work for 4 hours a week in exchange for two grocery bags of produce (at least a $75 dollar value if you are buying organic at a store). If you have the time, it's a very good deal.

That was going to be my suggestion as well. I find it to be one of the best ways for people to get a great deal on fabulous locally grown produce.

Gwenski

Souper Inexpensive Soup Recipe:

Golden Carrot Soup

1/3 cup margarine
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups thinly sliced carrots
3 chicken bouillon cubes (or three tablespoons of liquid chicken flavouring)
3 cups of boiling water (or, just 3 cups of chicken stock)
1/4 cup long grain rice
1/2 tsp salt ( omit to save on sodium)
2 cups milk (1%)


In a medium saucepan saute onions in butter until golden. Add carrots and toss until coated with butter. Add bouillion cubes, water and rice, cover and simmer until carrots are fork tender and rice is cooked. Add salt. Add to blender 1/3 at a time and blend until smooth. (or stick the beaters in the pot and do it there) Return to saucepan, add milk and heat. Makes six 8 ounce servings.

98 cals, 5g fat, 290g sodium 1g fibre adn 3g protein per bowl.. and DELICIOUS!

cmeade20

I buy a lot of produce at a farm stand or farmers market-much cheaper and usually fresher. Things like oatmeal,cereal, greek yogurt, protein bars I get at BJs. For meat I pay attention to the sales flyers every week and when I see a good deal I buy a lot and freeze it.Good luck!

krunchykat

The best way to save on meat is to look for it marked down. Buy freezer bags and store it in the freezer for later if you won't use it right away. Just be sure to use a sharpie to mark what and how much is in the bag and put a date on it. Definitely check out any farmers markets and compare prices there to the stores you visit. Most of the time the produce will be cheaper and better quality.

BrendaLee

Being on a tight budget, brown rice is a very important staple. A little goes a long way, and it can be paired with just about anything. It also takes flavor very well, and you can spice it up with a bit of hot sauce, BBQ sauce, spices, etc. It's very filling, and it can bulk up an otherwise measly meal.