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

californiansun

I am not sure if this has been mentioned but homemade soups can be real cheap to make and you can make a great big pot and freeze individual servings. Soups can also be bulked up with veggies, beans etc.

Thanks!!! Great idea!!!

KrazyAsianNic

I'm a college student without an on campus meal plan. My father transfers me $70 a week, and don't use it all. I grocery shop every Sunday. This past shopping day, I only spent $22. I bought a whole bunch of veggies and fruit. I shop at discount stores (FoodMaxx in my area), so things are cheaper. My favorite veggie to buy is Broccoli, which I can usually by there for $.98/lb. When I don't shop at the discount and go to a regular place, i try to find whatever is cheapest that I still like. I

Justacoffeenut

I sooo need ideas as well. I thought I was being good by buying on sale and freezing what I can't eat up right away. But new ideas are always useful.

lalalalyndsey

Cabbage and potatoes. Potatoes get such a bum rap.

I've got a cookbook for cheap people, it's British though =/

Anyways it says peas also.

I second the cabbage... i have mine with sausage usually, but you can have it with almost anything... and it's dirt cheap! And I LOVE potatoes... such a good source of potassium! Really don't get why people hate on it! Also don't forget sweet potatoes and frozen veggies! Cheaper than fresh and last longer too ;D

auntiebabs

I'll have to look up some recipes from my college days when I got by on $5/week even in the 80s that was not a lot

I do remember pairing complete proteins and rotating my buying cycle..

Week 1: Peanutbutter and Value size loaf of Bread (Who needs jelly?)
Week 2: Bag of Beans and bag of Rice. (lentils are the quickest to cook and don't need soaking)
Week 3: Potatoes & Cheese
Week 4: Pasta and Tomato Sauce

What ever $ I had left over I would get oatmeal, and fresh produce (the past it's prime bin).

Once you got the rotation going you had you had some choice.

I used to thinly slice potatoes and munster cheese and layer with spinach in a casserole and bake until potatoes were tender and cheese was browned. A complete protein with a veg and pretty tasty too

Justacoffeenut

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/554549-lookin-for-a-good-soup

Here are a lot soup ideas. I posted one on there with the nutritional info. I used a lot of canned stuff in mine just cause that's what I had. But you could use all fresh. I like it cause it is a started recipe that can be made into many different types just by what all you add. I did use 12oz of ground turkey in this one. However it makes 12-14 2cup servings and 2 cups fills me up. Made it last week. My whole family ate off of it and I just finished it today. It is really cheap to make mostly beans, carrots, onions, celery, tomatoes, and tomato juice. From there you let your imagination go.

Justacoffeenut

Another idea. If I just am sick of something (I hate to toss out food) I freeze it with the date on it. And once a week is left over night. If none in the fridge it comes from the freezer. We hardly ever if ever toss out food. Also that way if some night you just are to busy or to tired to cook you have a healthy frozen dinner waiting for you and the family.

kazzari

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

This is what I've been doing. I spend $50 each pay period...so $100 a month. $50 a month would be pretty tough. Lot's of egg dishes! Thanks to the farmer's market and a bundle of beets with some gorgeous greens attached I discovered I love beet greens and for 5.00 I ate 2 cup portions for four meals...plus the beet roots that I ate with separate meals.

kazzy777

Quinoa is an excellent choice - goes along way and keeps for about 3-4days in refrigerator when cooked. You can google Quinoa and see how good it is with omega, protein, etc etc - plus there are loads of recipes online. It is a protein, not carb.

californiansun

I'm a college student without an on campus meal plan. My father transfers me $70 a week, and don't use it all. I grocery shop every Sunday. This past shopping day, I only spent $22. I bought a whole bunch of veggies and fruit. I shop at discount stores (FoodMaxx in my area), so things are cheaper. My favorite veggie to buy is Broccoli, which I can usually by there for $.98/lb. When I don't shop at the discount and go to a regular place, i try to find whatever is cheapest that I still like. I

Wow! That's awesome! I have a foodmaxx here too.

I'm down to pasta, canned chicken, a little bit of cooked chicken breast, very little brown rice left, cream of wheat, very little oatmeal, peanut butter, 2 slices of bread, 3 dozen eggs (yes, I know... lots of eggs), 2 oranges, some baby carrots, hummus and one veggie burger.

I'm going to go shopping this weekend, I'm trying to wait till I really have nothing left.

Thank you all for the great ideas!!!

kazzari

between going out to eat and buying food just for myself I spend aprox. $700. per month. I have been trying to not go out much but have not seen my food bill decrease b/c when I do go out I spend less than when I cook at home. I definately will be back to this thread to learn some new ways to save.

Wow! In my case, I eat with what's left after I pay my bills. I'm lucky if that's $100. I don't eat out except rarely...if I do it is $1.00 menu items. I guess if you have the money you spend the money, if you don't have the money you don't have a choice! I guess if I was in your position, I'd be eating some really nice cuts of meat.

kazzari

I love this thread. I've really been enjoying the challenge of trying to eat on as little as possible, while also only eating whole foods and staying away from all processed foods. My mom and dads chickens are laying... so I'm getting my eggs for free!

BigRich822

Good luck i spend that much on supplements every two weeks.

californiansun

Good luck i spend that much on supplements every two weeks.

I feel like I'm dying with no food hahaha. Luckily I bought protein powder when I still had money... that will be a few meals for sure!

susannamarie

I'm down to pasta, canned chicken, a little bit of cooked chicken breast, very little brown rice left, cream of wheat, very little oatmeal, peanut butter, 2 slices of bread, 3 dozen eggs (yes, I know... lots of eggs), 2 oranges, some baby carrots, hummus and one veggie burger.

I'm going to go shopping this weekend, I'm trying to wait till I really have nothing left.

Thank you all for the great ideas!!!

If you have an aldi in your area, look up their fliers. The one here, for example, just had strawberries for 99c/lb, and their eggs are usually under a dollar a dozen.

I just found ham on sale at a local hyvee, boneless ham, for 99c/lb as well. I spent far more than usual on groceries this week because I bought 3 hams. But they will last me through the weeks without specials.

I also just found tuna on sale pretty cheap and bought 2 dozen cans.

californiansun

I'm down to pasta, canned chicken, a little bit of cooked chicken breast, very little brown rice left, cream of wheat, very little oatmeal, peanut butter, 2 slices of bread, 3 dozen eggs (yes, I know... lots of eggs), 2 oranges, some baby carrots, hummus and one veggie burger.

I'm going to go shopping this weekend, I'm trying to wait till I really have nothing left.

Thank you all for the great ideas!!!

If you have an aldi in your area, look up their fliers. The one here, for example, just had strawberries for 99c/lb, and their eggs are usually under a dollar a dozen.

I just found ham on sale at a local hyvee, boneless ham, for 99c/lb as well. I spent far more than usual on groceries this week because I bought 3 hams. But they will last me through the weeks without specials.

I also just found tuna on sale pretty cheap and bought 2 dozen cans.

We sadly don't have any Aldis or Hyvee's here. I'm sure we have something similar, though. I'm going to shop around.

kazzari

dont know if anyone has suggested this yet but i LOVE livingrichwithcoupons.com ....has changed my life and the way i shop for everything... for example last week or week b4 land o lakes eggs were 1.99 at acme...she had a printable coupon for .75 which doubled to 1.50 ...u can print 2 coupons per computer...anyway eggs for .49 a dozen.....just one small example of the incredible savings.

She has many different supermarkets and the matchups for coupons to sale prices...check it out.

I got into the couponing, too, but didn't get a lot of deals on fresh, whole foods. I did stock up on toilet paper, toiletries, toothpaste, tht kind of thing. Also in southern california, coupons are not doubled to more than 1 dollar. So even a 75 cents off coupon will be doubled up to a dollar only.

californiansun

dont know if anyone has suggested this yet but i LOVE livingrichwithcoupons.com ....has changed my life and the way i shop for everything... for example last week or week b4 land o lakes eggs were 1.99 at acme...she had a printable coupon for .75 which doubled to 1.50 ...u can print 2 coupons per computer...anyway eggs for .49 a dozen.....just one small example of the incredible savings.

She has many different supermarkets and the matchups for coupons to sale prices...check it out.

I got into the couponing, too, but didn't get a lot of deals on fresh, whole foods. I did stock up on toilet paper, toiletries, toothpaste, tht kind of thing. Also in southern california, coupons are not doubled to more than 1 dollar. So even a 75 cents off coupon will be doubled up to a dollar only.

Thats how it is here. I want to buy whole foods, since it's cheaper and not many coupons for that.

beckylawrence70

Wow, is this even possible?? I wish u luck.......

ullrichMEX

Move to mexico you can have plenty of fruits, veggies, real "organic" food, there are lots of markets, chicken etc.

Down here, processed food it is much more expensive than the real options