How to survive on 40-50 dollars per month on food.

d3mon4ngel

Not read whole topic, so not sure if this has been mentioned but this websites meal plans mean that you should be able to feed a family of four (two adults, two teenagers) for £100 a month. It's all homemade, a lot of batch cooking, and it ensures minimum 5 a day fruit and veg.

www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/

Edit: not been on that website for a while, but just read that the costings were for 2010, and as of July 2011 the price had increased by approx 4%, so it would be closer to £110 now maybe?

bm99

Skip the bread, it's expensive. Buy evaporated milk instead of the stuff in the dairy section. Frozen vegetables, dried beans and rice: $50 worth could last a month. Add a bag of onions and a bag of potatoes and you're set.

I didn't read this whole thread, but $50 a month for food (how many people?) is not a lot. Don't fill up on ramen and CRAP (like peanut butter sandwiches), you still need to keep healthy, even if it doesn't taste as good.

MarieAnneN

Same here, I send over 600$ per month of food.
I wish I could spend only 100$ per week!
Lol!

Far out! $50/mth I wish I could only spend $100/mth! The kids milk comes in at $4.97 per 2lt and having 3 little ones means a whole heap of milk - they have to drink A2 milk but it is much better than regular (regulat milk is around $3 per $2lt!

Groceries are really expensive in Australia ... 'cheap' apples are when they are $2.95/kg, tomatoes range between $3-$8/kg a single head of lettuce is around $2.80 on a cheap day! Oh, and these are regular prices, not organic or anything. I bought a 1lt of almond milk trying to be a bit healthy and it cost $3.95! Wont be buying that again!!!!! The cheapest cage eggs run around the $3 per dozen.

I will be watching this thread for some ideas ... am down to our last $$$ before our monthly pay day in 5 days ... grrr I hate getting paid monthly!

Oh, and I would love some of your tips for getting down to $100/mth spend

Edit: WOW! "$5 rotisserie chicken" the cheapest I have ever found one around here is $9.98 for a small one, the large ones (that barely feed a family of 5) are around $12.95!

johicks

That's about what I'm doing, except I'm not vegetarian --

Make sure you get your local supermarket fliers -- usually you can find them online, and look for comparison shopping. Especially if you like fruits -- I can't afford them unless aldi has them on sale.

This was my suggestion as well...... I rotate my menu by what's on sale weekly. Then I can stock-up a little bit here and then as well. Best wishes!!

kylesmommy89

bump

itsnevrenough

bump

shaynak112

Rice. Fresh veggies. Pasta (well it's not really good for you). Oatmeal. Cornmeal.
I buy huge bags of beans (chickpeas) in bulk. So much cheaper than in cans.

Saprina_Danise

I feed 3 people (2 adults and 1 six year old) three meals a day(we all pack our lunches daily) and snacks on $25 a week. I coupon like crazy and since starting it saves me a ton of $$. I know thats $25 a week is more than your budget but i am feeding three so with a little planning a couponing I know you can do it.

The secret to couponing is clip them weekly but save them until the item is on sale, when ever possible combine store coupons with manufacture coupons and I shop at multiple stores and stalk up when prices are dirt cheap exsample reacently I was able with a store sale and a manufacture coupon to get cheerios for $0.36 a box so I boaught enough to last us a while.

Menue planning helps big time and when I plan my menues for the week I plan based off the sale ads. So if a whole chicken is $0.98 a pound guess what we are having chiken this week. And 1 whole chiken will make three meals for us so for about $5 I am able to get protien for three meals. I'll roast up the whole chiken and have it roasted with a veggie one night, make chicken tacos another night, and put the rest on a salads for lunch.

Sorry so long! But feeding my family for cheap is something I am supper passonate about. I have tons of resourses and tips for couponing if your intrested!!!

kristelpoole

Some of the things I get cheap are rice noodles, soba noodles, sale grocery store items (i.e. stocking up on onions when they are on sale at Kroger), farmer's market lettuce, bulk family packs of cod and salmon, tofu, lentils, peas, dried beans, quinoa, wild rice etc from the dry bins, eggs, and big blocks of cheese that last for a couple weeks.

californiansun

Skip the bread, it's expensive. Buy evaporated milk instead of the stuff in the dairy section. Frozen vegetables, dried beans and rice: $50 worth could last a month. Add a bag of onions and a bag of potatoes and you're set.

I didn't read this whole thread, but $50 a month for food (how many people?) is not a lot. Don't fill up on ramen and CRAP (like peanut butter sandwiches), you still need to keep healthy, even if it doesn't taste as good.

I am wanting to become a Nutritionist and a personal trainer, so it's safe to say I won't be eating Ramen noodles or peanut butter sandwiches. I will refuse to buy Ramen. I cook a lot from scratch, that saves me a ton of money. I bought all healthy items last month for 45 dollars. I'm single, btw.

californiansun

I feed 3 people (2 adults and 1 six year old) three meals a day(we all pack our lunches daily) and snacks on $25 a week. I coupon like crazy and since starting it saves me a ton of $$. I know thats $25 a week is more than your budget but i am feeding three so with a little planning a couponing I know you can do it.

The secret to couponing is clip them weekly but save them until the item is on sale, when ever possible combine store coupons with manufacture coupons and I shop at multiple stores and stalk up when prices are dirt cheap exsample reacently I was able with a store sale and a manufacture coupon to get cheerios for $0.36 a box so I boaught enough to last us a while.

Menue planning helps big time and when I plan my menues for the week I plan based off the sale ads. So if a whole chicken is $0.98 a pound guess what we are having chiken this week. And 1 whole chiken will make three meals for us so for about $5 I am able to get protien for three meals. I'll roast up the whole chiken and have it roasted with a veggie one night, make chicken tacos another night, and put the rest on a salads for lunch.

Sorry so long! But feeding my family for cheap is something I am supper passonate about. I have tons of resourses and tips for couponing if your intrested!!!

Wow, thanks!!! I always wondered how people can do that, thanks so much for explaining! I will for sure message you!

gatorento

Find out if your supermarkets have slightly damaged fruits and veggies - often hardly any damage, but greatly reduced prices. A few bruises or dents are easily dealt with, and the cost savings are enormous!

I have often purchased large quantities of just-over-ripe bananas, took them home, and did one of two things. Both options really extended the shelf life of foods, and enables me to have more nutritious foods available:
1. peel, break into thirds, store in large zip-locking freezer bags - use for smoothies: they are excellent in smoothies! Good for 1-2 months in freezer.
2. peel, slice (2-3 mm thickness), and dehydrate. Store your delicious homemade banana-chips in freezer to maximize shelf-life. Good for up to 4-5 months if frozen.

Dehydrating works for vegetables really well, too: you can use dehydrated vegetables in soups and/or add to bean dishes. (Crumbled vegetables can be surreptitiously added to dishes to increase nutrition and taste, and even family members who "hate" veggies won't complain.

Dehydrators made specifically for the purpose of drying foods out are the most convenient way to dehydrate, but if you can also dehydrate foods using your normal oven. Set oven at the "warm-up" temperature (150F). Remove when pliable, and before they become crispy.

Tip #1: use a cookie sheet as a drying rack.
Tip #2: spritz some vegetable oil onto drying rack before putting fruits/vegetables on it to make removal much easier!

Good luck!

Wow, thats an amazing tip! Thanks!!!!

My pleasure!

Gloria67648

I bumped this yesterday. Someone mentioned a good website on making Indian food and now I can't find it!

BOATS52

Plant a money Tree !

jenniejengin

To save money on fresh produce try going to a farmer's market! You can buy a TON of produce for super cheap.

californiansun

Plant a money Tree !

Hahaha, working on it!!!

Antjebeth08

I'm going to be needing this advice soon!

LovelyNFit

bump

dehliahopp

look at flyers/internet for sales each week and find the best deals.
stock up on freezer and pantry items when there is a good sale. ie: stop & shop 10 for $10.
I shop at a store called Price Rite, it's really cheap. Aldi's is also cheap, see if you have any discount grocery stores where you live.

Eat mostly chicken and pork for protein (nix expensive cuts of meat like steak), but try to buy only on sale days (reading the flyers come in handy for this). Freeze and take out your portion the day before to thaw. Look at the UNIT PRICE to make sure you are getting a good deal! When I buy meat i look for around $1-2 per pound on sale. Some fish is pretty cheap too, but i don't buy seafood often. I've tried frozen fish, but it is just not good to me, so i'd rather splurge sometimes and buy the fresh fish. Also generally I've found that shrimp is pretty expensive so I never buy shrimp. I don't eat other seafood.

Use frozen veggie bags (i stock up on 10/$10 days or when Price Rite has em for a dollar) to stretch your meals. Especially follow using my other tip below, cutting your meat portions in half.

I generally have snacks/breakfast as whey protein shake with water or milk. A huge tub is $10-20 and it will last me maybe 2 months. I'm counting my macros so I need the protein to reach them -- shakes are a good way to sneak it in cheaply. Generally though, protein bars are really expensive in comparison - a single bar can be $1.50++. Do shakes instead.

EGGS. They're pretty cheap and have a good amount of protein to fill you up. I cook eggs all the time -- not just for bf.

Try to nix cheese. It is pretty expensive and is a lot of calories without offering a lot of nutrients. Other expensive and/or empty-cal things: mayonnaise, butter, oil (if you like cooking with it though, olive oil is worth the cost), peanut butter (really good for quick lunches/dinners though, your choice to buy or not -- the jar does last really long), soda, juice (just drink water), bottled water (just buy a washable bottle), bagels/etc (the only bread you really need is a whole wheat loaf), and junk food like chips/ice cream/cookies.

Shop the perimeter mostly, except when you need pantry items.

On a good sale day, get some canned fruits/veggies to keep for good cheap options. I also like tuna as a cheap protein source.

Have meals that do not include meat at all, meat is expensive. I can make plenty of meals using noodles or rice and some frozen mixed veggies, with a bit of creativity. Or half your "usual" portion of meat. My fiance and I do this and our meat now lasts twice as long, because we're eating 1/2 chicken breast each instead of 1 each.

Don't buy any processed or conveniently packaged products. A couple more minutes of food prep is really all you need to trim the fat, or cut the fruit, or bag individual serving sizes. ESP rice, beans, potatoes. Super cheap foods.

I usually buy the cheapest bread that is whole wheat, but you can nix bread entirely and just have salads instead, and also cut out the carbs/cals from eating bread. I love sandwiches though, but lately i've been doing open-face to save cals and a slice of bread so my bread lasts twice as long. You can also freeze bread so it lasts longer -- esp when it's HOT out!

Write a shopping list, and plan your meals - great things to do before you go shopping to really stick to your budget. my friend is also on a tight budget and she is one of those people who bring a calculator to make sure there are no surprises at the register.

Once you stock up your freezer/pantry with the essentials, the only stuff you'll really need to buy once a week or so are eggs, milk, fresh fruits/veggies, and sometimes meat (when your freezer stock is depleted), plus whatever else is depleted that you'll need. Also, I love yogurt and generally it's not bad. I get a bunch when they're like 50 cents each and use em for snacks or breakfast.

I mentioned this briefly, but don't BUY anything to drink! Drink your water. I bought a 32 oz reusable bottle from Family Dollar for like $2 and I carry it with me everywhere! I don't drink milk unless i use it to make my shakes.

Also, do not eat out! Eating out is soooooooo expensive. It's such a waste. If you don't have one, buy a rice cooker/steamer and you will have meals so quick and easy you'll never want to eat out again. I literally take a couple minutes to throw some rice and water in the bottom and then put some frozen veggies on the top. If I'm eating meat with it i'll bake or use the pan to cook it with zero-cal oil spray (most meats take 10-15 minutes to cook). EASY. We literally only eat on special ocassions, unless I'm REALLY craving something specific. Usually it's pizza haha...But don't do that! Get the $5 pizza (Price Rite has $5 Digiornos sometimes) instead of $20 from like dominos lol.

That's all I got for now, hope this helps!

patranus

Don't know if this has been posted yet but there is an entire blog dedicated to a guy who ate (semi healthy) on $1 per day.
Took a lot of work but it is certainly possible.

Edit: http://www.grocerycouponguide.com/articles/eating-well-on-1-a-day/