Grocery Lists? Budgets?

Mom0fTwo

Hi, I am just starting out and I'm living on my own. Luckily I only have me to feed but have no idea how to go about doing it on a budget... I have budgeted fifty dollars a week.
I was hoping that either some of you had this too and were willing to let me see your grocery lists, and give me advice on how to do it, or that someone might know where to go to find this. I googled it but the results are mainly from years ago and unfortunately food is not as cheap now. Thanks.

personally i spend about 110-130/ week for a family of 4 (in canada) so to me $50 a week for 1 person is completely doable...but remember the first couple weeks you move out with prob be double that if not more, because you will have to buy things like laundry detergent, paper towels and toilet paper, spices salt pepper, baking items, tons of meat to stock up, lots of non perishable items to be able to make meals but once this major effort has been done it is mostly up keep and fresh items
things like a bag of carrots, an onion, some tomatoes, potatoes, apples oranges and grapes are usually cheap and can last minimum a week if not closer to a month, cheese is a good staple to have and remember you can freeze bread and some fruit like grapes and pre-make things like soup, stew, chilli that can feed you all week, also the most versatile thing, eggs, whether baking or breakfast they are cheap and easy....good luck

amazon75

I try to plan my meals around what's on sale each week. I always scope out the sale papers for my local stores then go shopping.

Topsking2010

bump

hali1

Another bonus to planning your meals in advance is that you can keep from wasting food. For example maybe I want some cabbage for a stir fry but it would be too much to use the whole head, so I'll plan on making cole slaw later in the week to use up the rest. I HATE throwing away food.

My other favorite trick for saving grocery money is just eating less meat. I use really small amounts of meat to cut up into a stir fry or casserole, but it's pretty rare (maybe couple of times a month) to have a whole meal based around meat. And I used to live on pork chops, meat loaf, etc. I try to cook meatless at least half the week. Dried beans are super cheap and even tofu is cheaper than most meat in my area. Yay for plant-based protein!

Hoakiebs

For emergencies, buy some lean cuisine or weight watchers smart ones for about $2 to $2.50 each. If a family member has a Costco membership, get them to buy you yogurt 18 pack for 9.99, house foods tofu 3-19 oz. packs for 3.97, broccoli 4 lbs for 4.99, and apples 12 for 6.99 and frozen fish fillets of your choice, or 12 boca burgers for 9.99. Make meals you can make 4-6 servings at a time and refrigerate/freeze them for later in the week; things like chili or hamburgers or hot dogs or soups?

photojunkie28

All the suggestions/reminders on here are fabulous and inspiring as I have found that not planning enough in advance really drains the budget when eating healthy.

I can say however that a container of rolled oats lasts me a couple weeks and I eat it EVERYDAY for breakfast with blueberries/cinnamon. And its really cheap. A pint of blueberries and container of rolled oats will be about 5 bucks and lasts over a week.

I seen Eggs mentioned. Very cheap form of protein and versitile.

Lettuce is a must - Buy it by the head for $1, chop it up and put it in mason jars in the fridge to keep fresh longer (check pinterest)

Skip everything "ready made". You will find if you have to do the work yourself, you will pay less for it

Also, Make lots of crock pot/soup/chili type meals. You can make a million healthy variations so you don't get bored and you can make a weeks worth of lunches/dinners at once and store them in containers. Hope this helps a little

Laddiegirl

I just wanted to throw out there that the larger dollar stores in my area (SF Bay area) are fantastic hidden sources for fresh and affordable veggies. You've got to look everything over of course to make sure it's not starting to go but I can't tell you how much money I save doing that. I never use canned veggies and find frozen veggies rubbery for my liking so this has been a great resource for me.

shaynak112

I'm from Canada, my boyfriend and I budget $50 a week ($200 a month) on groceries for the two of us. We just went grocery shopping today and bought:
broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms, apples, oranges, pears, strawberries, nectarines, lettuce, spinach, oats (5 kg lol), tofu, low calorie yogurt, fake sausages (we're vegetarian)
it came out to about $30 and then with the oats it was like $40
that will last us a week. we usually spend $35-$40 on a shopping trip once a week and then I go out partway through the week and get a few more fresh veggies and fruits. Oh and to get shirataki noodles at a Chinese store once a month
We eat a lot of salads, veggies, rice, oats, and beans. We buy rice, oats, and beans (chickpeas!) in bulk because we eat so much of it.
Soup is good, cheap, easy to make, and you can freeze it! We have like six or seven containers of soup in the freezer, for when we are too lazy to make an actual dinner. It's so filling and delicious too!

CMB1979

I'm in Korea and spend around $100/week just for myself. Of course, food is more expensive here. Chicken breast is about $7/pound. Beef around $15/pound for ground up to about $50/pound for real steaks. Apples are $1-3 each, a small melon is about $20. etc etc. I found prices are 6-20x the US cost and impossible to eat anywhere near $50/week. I did find Quaker quick oats in the foreigner store for $15 for 1 kg.

I miss the USA!

PLUMSGRL

Here's a good site for ya:

http://www.dollarfriendlymeals.com/

sc1572

bump!

PunkyRachel

My husband and I have a grocery budget of about $150-300 a month, so I feel ya. I buy store brand mostly, unless a national brand is cheaper. Coupons are your friend! Don't be shy to use them. I keep stocked instant rice, pasta, lots of different spices, canned tomato sauce no salt added, and 97% fat free cream of mushroom soup. Veggies, I get frozen, last longer and is cheaper. Dairy I get light yogurt, natural cheeses, and skim milk. Meat, I buy rolls of ground turkey and skinless boneless chicken breast in bulk, then bags each breast individually in sandwich bags, so it's easy to just grab and thaw. I'm not much for fruit, I will eat bananas and apples. I go to bread stores to buy my bread, like Sara lee or Wonder bread. You can save 1-2 dollars a loaf. My towns Sara lee outlet, has a thing were every $10 you spend you get a free item. I do all the cooking and I have yet to get the cooking for 2 thing down, but I always put away leftovers to eat later. I work at a daycare and my lunch is provided. I will mark the menu on days I can't have what the kids are eating, then just bring my own lunch, which is just my leftovers. That saves us some dough too.