$30.00 A WEEK...

I echo the opinion of a whole chicken!

I can pick up a good, free-range chicken for about 6-7 bucks and that will last hubby and I for 3 meals at least.

What would you buy for grocerys if you only had 30.00 a week. I am looking for all ideas. Would you live on ramen noodles for a week so the following week you could have 60.00 to spend on sales? I prefer fresh fruits and veggies for my vitamins, i know this might not be possible but i am hoping for the healthiest way to stretch a buck. Looking forward to your grocery lists, and brilliant ideas :flowerforyou:

My family of four eats on about $100 per week. I get meat, dairy, cereals and grains, fruits and veggies. The key is don't buy any processed foods. Cook your own meals. We don't buy ramen. Those are gross and are only good enough to keep you from starving. Rice has more nutrients and it's actually cheaper, per serving.

We usually spend about $30 on meat, so I would think you can get buy on $10 for meat. You just have to buy what's on sale. A gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, some peanut butter and jelly, and then whatever fruit is on sale. Get frozen veggies instead of fresh, a few dollars for a big bag of mixed veggies.

Bump.. lots of great ideas and I really need to start saving more on my weekly shopping. 100-150/wk is beginning to be too much.

A box of cereal/oatmeal, $3.00-5.00. A half gallon of milk, $2.00-4.00, A loaf of bread $2.50-3.00, half a pound of deli turkey $4.00, a carton of eggs $2.00-$4.00, a head of lettuce $1.00-2.00, a bunch of celery $1.00-2.00, apples $1.75 a pound (if you buy the sale ones), bananas >$1.00 a pound. And don't forget the staple of the PBJ, which a jar of PB and natural preserves will last you more than a week on. Also, whole wheat pasta or beans, or brown rice.

And like some people have said, frozen and canned veggies and fruit actually retain their nutrients longer and are cheaper than their fresh counterparts.

Even ramen is not that bad if you toss in some frozen veggies, and top with a scrambled egg or thinly sliced meat. Tofu is also really affordable, if you like that sort of thing. Goes great with rice or ramen.

YOU GUYS ROCK!! :flowerforyou: I cant wait to go grocery shopping now! :happy:

sounds like the staples on my shelf at all times should be :

rice
beans
peanut butter
and for spices?
garlic powder
hot sauce
rosemary
basil
chili powder

Onions... would you buy fresh and leave them sit out ( how long before bad?) or dice them up and freeze.

would you continue to buy chicken every week or buy it in bluk then cook it then freeze it? I was going to cook everything i could on sunday then divide it up into meals. rice n chicken w/ rosemary for one meal, ect Something i should have started long ago ...one of my new years resolutions was to shop smarter and not waste. You guys are giving a great start! :happy:

Grocery store sales run in cycles. You'll notice that chicken is on sale at all of the stores at the same time. So, buying it in bulk and freezing can be the way to go to get you through to the next big sale.
Buy onions fresh. Any left over after a couple of weeks...freeze.

-5 dozen eggs - $7.50
-brown rice - $3.50
-chicken breasts - $10
-5 bags frozen vegetables - $5
-oats $4

$30.00 a week is easy, browse your stores sales, don't buy name brand, store brand is just as good and a lot cheaper. (At least at our store). My family of 4 (1 is under 1yr, so spending on baby items is a little pricey) can get groceries under $400 for a month. My husband and I budget wisely and that isn't getting junk food (certain things for my 4yr old) but I always have fruits and veggies available.

If you are wanting to lower your food budget, there are 3 basic rules you need to follow:

1. Eat the food you buy (minimize throwing away fresh veggies by buying only what you need or buy frozen/canned)

2. Make some sort of meal plan (I actually subscribe to eMeals, a menu planning service--they send me a menu with 7 meals based on the grocery ads and a grocery list. There are several companies out there, and you can often find a groupon for one of them somewhere in the country at any given time...I subscribe to the family plan, and then use leftovers for lunches. With only 2 of us at home, we only use 4 meals a week, but it gives us more than enough food for lunches and dinners. I personally think that the service is worth every penny, but you can also make your own)

3. Shop the sales. Back when I was in college and I had more time, I would sit down with the grocery ads and a pad of paper. I would then look at what was on sale and build my menu of the week around the sale items. If it wasn't on sale, I didn't buy it. By doing so, I was able to eat relatively healthy on $50 a month (this was also over 10 years ago--I doubt I could do the same thing now!) I would also stock up on things that I liked to eat when they were insanely cheap (buying 10 lbs of chicken leg quarters when they were on sale for 39c/lb or buying mac and cheese when it is 4 boxes for a dollar)

One other thing I would mention is that you should periodically plan to just eat from your pantry for a while in order to rotate staples/canned goods. I like to do this during National Buy Nothing Month (usually in February), and it means that I can use that can of chickpeas that has been buried in the back of my pantry!

Check at your local dollar store for cheap spices. They will often have things like italian seasoning or lemon pepper for 50c each.

Oh, Onions can last 2-3 months on your counter as long as it is cool and dry. You know they have gone bad when they start to change color underneath the skin.

Do you have a produce stand in your area? We have one called "Fresh Pickens", they are cheaper than grocery stores and every thing is grown locally (I think). I would purchase things I could make into several servings so as to last longer.

I'd buy a whole chicken as apposed to just the bag of breasts. A whole chicken is just around $5 and you can make several meals with the meat. I like to season one, throw it in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours then harvest all the meat from it. Then I throw the bones back in all the juices in the slow cooker, add about 6-8 cups of water then let it continue on low for 8 hrs. You now have the best homemade chicken broth. I strain that and freeze the stock in a muffin pan so I have frozen portions of stock ready to go.

We buy whole chickens as well, and butcher them ourselves. One half of the breast can usually be sliced into two therefore giving you 4 servings as opposed to two. The tenders are bagged separately as are the hind quarters. The rest of the carcass is used to make chicken stock for use in recipes. Store bought stock has far too much sodium.

One chicken can yield: 2 hindquarters, 4 breast filets, and one/maybe two servings of tenders, 2 quarts stock. You can also divide the leg from the thigh and get four servings instead of two. One chicken can go a LOOOONG way.

bump, very informative

I always spend $30 a week on average for my groceries! So, this is not a problem for me :laugh: I get:

-- 1 bunch of bananas, a bag of apples
-- raisins
-- 5 Greek yogurts for the week
-- eggs
-- tomatoes & mushrooms
-- two bags of salad
-- oats

& I get by just fine, unless I need to buy refills of things that have run out. :flowerforyou:

Shop at Aldi"s!!! I love that store. Everything is off brand, the quality is there, the price just isn't. You could fill your cart 1/2 way up with $30.