Broke

RunMyOregonBunsOff

Get brown rice and dried beans. Lots of things that you can do with them and both can be cooked and refridgerate pretty well so you can make some for the week and then have that to break up the other meals.

starcatcher1975

bumping to ready all the great ideas later

makemewannadie

I live off £10 a week for food- for myself I usually buy bunches of salad leaves, a cucumber, beetroot, lots of tinned tomatoes, frozen vegetables (broccoli/cauliflower), carrots, white onions, a couple of sweet potatoes, sometimes maris piper potatoes, some dried pasta, dried lentils, and some tinned beans (pinto/kidney beans), and that lasts me pretty well. My boyfriend (who I live with) gets a bit more (£15) because he's a meat eater (i'm vegan). We just about manage, it can be done!

dhencel

do you qualify to go to a food bank or a charity that helps people with food??

ChristineS_51

Check out this website, it is Australian, but has members from all over the world. You can get the newsletters and look at some stuff for free. Has great ideas, hints, recipes, ways of re-thinking your life.

http://www.simplesavings.com.au

I agree with the dried beans, vegies, what about eggs are they cheap in the US? a great bundle of protein deliciousness :-)

Could you take in boarders and get some room rent off them? Sell stuff you don't need on ebay?

likearadiowave

Buy fresh fruit/vegetables from the supermarket. Canned/bagged tuna (if you like tuna) If you shop around, they aren't usually that expensive unless they're organic (in my experience.)

Search the internet for healthy recipes you can make with existing ingredients. If you're creative, you can make a lot of small, quick meals that won't be helping you pack on the pounds.

wgn4166

I use Butter Flavored cooking spray. Its does a great job!!

kelseyhere

This is why I eat a lot of eggs

You should also look into local produce shares, sometimes called "CSA" for Community Supported Agriculture. It's basically a group of local farmers who get together and sell their produce in bulk to the local community. I am signed up for one where every Tuesday I pick up a HUGE basket of all fresh fruits and veggies for $20- the same amount of produce at the grocery would cost me well over $60. Another popular program is called Bountiful Baskets which is basically the same thing, just not 100% local as they source some of their produce from other states. Just type in 'CSA+the name of your city' into google and see what's available. There are at least 5 CSAs in my small city, so I'm sure there are some near you as well. Another great thing is that the CSA will often give you a discount if you volunteer to work at the farm or at the basket pick-up. Most farmer's markets will also give their volunteers some sort of kickback in the form of discount and or free food. If $20/week sounds like too much, find a neighbor to split it with you- there is more than enough for two small families.

In general though I do find it very disheartening that our government provides more support to the farmers who produce products that end up in high fructose corn syrup and white bread than the ones who are growing the sustainable, healthy crops that don't make us fat

MikeInAZ

So a huge head of brocolli is about $1.50 Cauliflower is $1.50. 10lb bag of pinto beans is about $5, Huge bag of spinach is about $3. Brown rice $3. Whole chicken fryer is about $3 on sale and freezes well, you can cut it up and have 10 meals out of that. Grapes on sale are $.85/lbs, apples $1.25, Pears $1.49, bag of carrots is $1. Cucumber is $.79. A can of chickpeas (which can be blended into hummus with a little oil, garlic and lemon juice is $.99. You can eat VERY healthy for pennies a day.

Stay away from processed foods, breads, white rice and potatoes. Ramen noodles are not your friend!

Good luck!

- Mike

Stompp

Potatoes, rice, eggs, dried beans, veggies.

Don't be afraid of the eggs!

Less than $2 usually for 18...

bellygoaway

You could always try donating plasma.

thepanttherlady

With my paycheck on Friday, I'm facing only being able to afford $100 for a week of groceries to feed myself and four growing children. That $100 includes shampoo, conditioner, toilet paper etc.

I've been making a list of things that will last us (mainly them because honestly if I have to forgo a meal so they can eat then I will) the week. This is what I've come up with:

Corn tortillas (you can buy so many for little $)
Bulk beans (cheaper and less sodium than canned)
Bulk rice
Cheese
Fruit
Veggies
Eggs
Top Ramen (haven't bought this stuff in months but since the kids do love it it'll be an inexpensive lunch. I'll add eggs and veggies to make it more nutricious for them)
Milk
Sprouts 9-grain hot cereal (I think I already have enough of this to last me the week)
For my lunches during the week I eat low sodium, light tuna with a tablespoon of mayo and half an avocado.

I have 9 boneless skinless chicken breasts in the freezer that I'll save for next week to add so we're not eating rice and beans every night by themselves. We also have a big canister of Old Fashioned oats (not the quick oats) that will be for breakfasts. Add a banana and there is no need for added sugar!

I'm going to go back and read through these posts to see if there are other low cost ideas I can add to the list. In a way, I'm excited to see how creative I can get with little money. Might be able to save on the grocery bill moving forward!

I'm going to go back and read through the posts to see if there are other inexpensive ideas to add.

rmarshalla

... Beans can go a really long way, you can make big stews with stock, beans and some veggies....

YES! THIS!

I buy dried beans. They're SUPER cheap (Less than 2 dollars a whole bag which is usually 16oz dry which makes about 7.5 cups cooked!!

Just soak them in fresh, cold water over night (at least 10 hours), then bring to a boil, boil for about 2 minutes, reduce to lowww heat and cook 45 min to 1 hour and you're set!!

I throw in onions and garlic and paprika for DELICIOUS flavor .
Sometimes I boil them down with chopped potatoes also. Gives good vitamins and is a great way to fill up.

You can serve it totally alone or with rice or quinoa (<--best choice).

BLACK beans are the healthiest for you (and my favorite!!)
then kidney beans and lentils
then maybe pinto beans

HIGH protein
HIGH fiber
COMPLEX (healthy, necessary) carbs

For ONE cup (172g) you have 227 calories, only 1g of fat, 15g of fiber (excellent! This makes the net carbs only 26 carbs and those are healthy, complex carbohydrates), as well as 15g of protein and 20% of your daily iron intake!!

They are an EXCELLENT and cheap diet food ))))).
And so yummy!
I eat them all on their own all the time. I make a huge pot about once a week. I can help you with recipes if you want .
My mom likes to eat them on toast or in a lettuce wrap. Sometimes she eats them with eggs.
I like them alone )).

Also, because they're a complex carb/fiber/protein super combo it will keep you full for a long time . (<-- money and calorie saver!)
Hope that helps!!

cindybowcut

Now is the perfect time to go to farmer's markets if there is any close by where you live. I can get my veggies there for real cheap. Also if you have neighbors who garden a lot of times they grow way too much and will give stuff away. Mine is always giving squash. Good luck.

ncahill77

It's a little late in the year for this but next spring plant potatos if you have any kind of yard, they grow pretty much anywhere and can produce an amazing yeild in a small space.

dcyr009

Suggest next time payday comes round, stocking up on plenty of canned beans, tuna, eggs, frozen veggies, yoghurt, baking potatoes and some rice. Beans can go a really long way, you can make big stews with stock, beans and some veggies.

Limit your tuna as it has mercury. Purchase chicken breasts (no skin) at Walmart for $1.97 a pound. The package is usually around $10.00 and has about 10 pieces. Each piece is about 6-8 ounces. I open the packange and re-wrap each piece into individual sandwich bags. Then all into a large gallon size freezer bag then put in the freezer. You can take one out and cook it when ever you like. Also, Walmart has salman pouches for $.98 a pouch. Salmon is not on the mercury list.

mbajrami

http://www.foodnetwork.com/ten-dollar-dinners-with-melissa-darabian/index.html

She's awesome.

sz8soon

If you happen to live near a Safeway, their new online couponing (Just 4 U) is an incredible resource.
They use your club card to cater to what you typically buy and then automatically give you discounted prices for those items. Also, they have coupons that are attached to your card once you "add" them to your Savings List.
Then, when you put your phone number in at checkout, it traces your card and applies the savings. Since every 2 weeks the specials change, I go online and "add" the ones I'd use and every week it's different, so I save tons of money (1.99 for a pound of strawberries, 1.00 off berries, $10 off a produce purchase of $30, ect.) and eat different things pretty often.

Never underestimate the power of veggie and bean soup and freezing it until you want it again. Fruit can be frozen as well. Anything you cook, cook extra and freeze it so you can eat it again in a month or so.

Coupons really made the difference for me.

Totally agree ^^

crzyone

Our Farmer's Market is as expensive as Walmart; however, it is fresher and homegrown, just not cheaper.

busymomto5PA

We are too with a family of 6. Great tips!