Serious budget help please

Sammfp
Sammfp Posts: 21
in Health and Weight Loss
Hiya I'm having a few financial difficulties recently one being I just lost my job and can't afford to buy good quality food like lean meats and chicken even the frozen stuff is too expensive plus with it coming up to Christmas I'm finding to very overwhelming and don't know what to do I'm relatively new to mfp being off and on here for a little while my fiancé said I should be those £1 frozen microwave meals as they're cheap and have the nutrition info on them but I just don't see how I could lose weight buying stuff like this could I?? what do you all do when trying to save the pennies while losing weight?? I'm 22 female and over 100lbs to lose I've cut corners financially were I can and in run outdoors so I don't pay for gym memberships any advice at all please if you can thankyou

Replies

  • micheleb15
    micheleb15 Posts: 1,418 Member
    Plan your meals around what is on sale. Oatmeal, pasta, rice are all relatively cheap and you can get multiple meals out of them. You can buy bags of frozen veggies for cheap. It's possible to lose weight on frozen dinners, but they may not be the best economical choice.

    Weight loss is due to a calorie deficit - what you eat is your choice.
  • TurtleTape
    TurtleTape Posts: 254 Member
    Rice, black beans, and veggies are your friend. You can get a lot of these three things for very little money. Get some seasonings like soy sauce and garlic powder, keep some olive oil and butter on hand. For meats go with whatever's cheap, chicken breasts are usually pretty cheap and very versatile. Buy in bulk, cook it, and freeze excess portions whenever possible so you have your own microwaveable meals on hand.
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    Pay attention to grocery circulars. See what proteins are on sale and plan your meals around them. Boneless skinless chicken breast is on sale regularly for $1.99/lb, so check several different ads. Worst case scenario, Walmart normally has it for around that price as well. Boneless pork loin is ofen $2.49-2.99/lb, ground beef (80-20) is often $2.99/lb or less. Sometimes even whole roasts are less than 2 bucks per pound. Take advantage of these.

    After that, see what veggies are on sale, which fruits are on sale, etc. Dry beans and rice are incredibly cheap. As are eggs and 10lb bags of potatoes (when on sale).

    Avoid things like canned meats and deli meats. While certainly convenient, they are much more costly per pound than raw meats and you need to make your dollars count.


    If I were on a hardcore budget, my shopping list would look like this:

    Chicken breast
    Pork loin chops
    Ground beef
    Tilapia (big bag from Walmart)

    Spinach
    Broccoli
    Tomatoes
    Carrots
    Potatoes
    Lemons
    Onions
    Garlic

    Milk
    Eggs
    Cheese
    Greek Yogurt
    Bread

    Long grain rice
    Lentils
    Pinto Beans
    Pasta
    Olive Oil
    Canola Oil
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Weight loss comes down to calories in/calories out. Your body doesn't care if it's frozen boxed dinners, lean, chicken, oatmeal or eggs as long as you eat at a deficit.

    Plan your shopping ahead of time and avoid the snacks and empty calories. Eggs are good protein and relatively cheap for the food value. Beans and rice are good value as is oatmeal. You can totally lose weight on a budget.
  • FrankiesSaysRelax
    FrankiesSaysRelax Posts: 403 Member
    Weight loss comes down to calories in/calories out. Your body doesn't care if it's frozen boxed dinners, lean, chicken, oatmeal or eggs as long as you eat at a deficit.

    Plan your shopping ahead of time and avoid the snacks and empty calories. Eggs are good protein and relatively cheap for the food value. Beans and rice are good value as is oatmeal. You can totally lose weight on a budget.

    All this! Also, think about making something in bulk. A pot of chili for exmaple isn't too expensive and you can eat it for a week. Cooking in bulk is going to be your best friend in this situation.

    For workouts- check out youtube. Fitness blender has tons of free workouts, many of which don't require any equipment.
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
    Dried beans and lentils are incredibly cheap. Also if you buy the big 5 or 10 pound bags of rice, it works out to pennies a serving.

    Some supermarkets sell their ripe produce at a big discount. If you can shop every day you can save money buying this stuff and eat it same day before it goes off. If you don't see an "eat today" display, ask the produce manager; it's not always easy to find.

    Also, as I think has been mentioned, you can pick up the supermarket flyers and plan your menu around what's on sale.
  • MyJourney1960
    MyJourney1960 Posts: 1,133 Member
    as previous posters said -

    eggs
    rice- see ifyou can find the large bags in ethnic markets
    beans - buy dry beans, pick over, soak overnight, cook in a lot of water (no salt till the end) for about 2 hours, then drain and freeze in small baggies.
    tomato paste (the plain kind).
    pasta
    usually you can find some kind of less expensive meat/chicken but the above can give you basic meals for a few days.

    make chili, and serve with rice or pasta. make hard boiled eggs, omelettes, etc.
  • Wrxsti23
    Wrxsti23 Posts: 62
    SOUP! I make a big batch that costs my about $5-6 and get a weeks lunch out of them.
  • piersonj
    piersonj Posts: 62 Member
    If the budget will support the initial investment, I seriously recommend some brand of food vacuum seal device. My grocery will put meat on sale in "Family" packs before the smaller single meal sizes. If you can vacuum seal the meat, you can purchase the larger pack sizes and not have them freezer burn as quickly.

    Just last week, my husband and I got a family pack assortment of pork for $14.00. Once we portioned out the meat, we figure we will get about 18 meals out of it.
  • MsTT80
    MsTT80 Posts: 59 Member
    If the budget will support the initial investment, I seriously recommend some brand of food vacuum seal device. My grocery will put meat on sale in "Family" packs before the smaller single meal sizes. If you can vacuum seal the meat, you can purchase the larger pack sizes and not have them freezer burn as quickly.

    Just last week, my husband and I got a family pack assortment of pork for $14.00. Once we portioned out the meat, we figure we will get about 18 meals out of it.

    Yep, I do this. When I see meat on offer I make the most of it. Take it home and then portion it up for the freezer. The big trick to sticking to a budget is planning your menu. I sit down the night before my weekly big shop and write out not only my shopping list but my menu for the coming week.
    I write the menu using ingredients from the freezer and store cupboard (things I have normally bought on sale/special offer) and then buy my fresh veggies and fruit. This way of shopping reduces a lot of waste and impulse buys, helping you stick to budget.

    Other cheap and healthy meals include homemade pizza. Make your own bread dough for pennies and then top with tomato paste, veggies such as tinned sweetcorn, peppers, mushrooms and a little low fat cheese. What about a spanish omlette packed with veggies, a bean chili rather than using meat, use any leftover veggies to make a pasta sauce or a soup.

    Another tip, if you have one, use a slow cooker. It's amazing what healthy and cheap stews you can make with a little thought and imagination as the meat goes so much further.

    Good luck
  • scarrletti_girl
    scarrletti_girl Posts: 479 Member
    I have fallen off track for awhile but I have a budget problem but I lost almost 20lbs by eating those cheap frozen meals and they are pretty delicious and I also ate soup which is also cheap filling and healthy just got to make sure to pay attention to what kinds you get though. And you can eat rice too it's super cheap. And you can fill up on cucumbers and carrots which are super cheap. And make more simple salads which can be cheap too. And buy the generic brands of stuff which saves money. Hopefully this helped a little bit. Good luck!
  • kowajenn
    kowajenn Posts: 274 Member
    I've switched up my diet so I'm not eating them anymore, but I lost the first 50-60 pounds eating microwavable lunches every day. Smart Ones, Healthy Choice, etc. They are filled with sodium which is the biggest drawback, but they are low in calories (always under 300) and filling enough to get you through from lunch to dinner. Worked for me.

    Do what you can, just keep your calories lower than what you are expending. No one has to be perfect to lose weight and there's no certain diet you need to be on.
  • farway
    farway Posts: 1,253 Member
    Your profile does not say where you live, so some advice is geographic speciific

    What may be good UK advice may not apply in US or Australia

    For instance [in UK] around here are no "ethnic" stores so that option may not apply, not knocking the suggestion, but countries & locality do come into it

    I know some local street markets are said to be cheap, not round here though
  • chandanista
    chandanista Posts: 986 Member
    I use the microwaveable lunches on work days, about as cheap as brown bagging it. Sometimes they are on an extremely good sale too, and I'll stock up the freezer.

    I second the "soup" suggestions, and throw in "chili" too. I buy frozen veggies in $1 bags at the grocery; they are good on their own with a bit of butter, or stir fried, or in soup.

    You can lose weight eating anything, it's the amount consumed that matters. Be sure to check the nutrition information though, so your health doesn't suffer.
  • wonkosane
    wonkosane Posts: 42 Member
    You need to develop a plan that includes earning more money.

    Seriously. Go read a good financial planning book, such as your money or your life, and then put a plan in place for developing the financial life you want to live. It is no different than diet, it is a process, that requires work, and knowledge, and dedication.

    Once the plan is good, the work is easier, more productive, and leads to strong results. Achieving results is fun, rewarding and addictive. Success breeds success.

    Drowning yourself in details won't help you put the building blocks in place that become the foundation of a rich life.
  • Sammfp
    Sammfp Posts: 21
    Thank you so so much everyone, your replies have been super helpful ideas I myself would of never thought of so thank you again for the advice :-)
  • Debbie_Ferr
    Debbie_Ferr Posts: 582 Member
    yes, shop for things that are on sale.
    The freezer is your friend ! .
    There's great FREE books at the library that you can learn from ~ what freezes well, what doesn't, proper storage, and recipes.

    When something is on sale, buy a couple of extra to freeze for later that week/month.
    When you make a huge batch of something, aka chii, freeze some in smaller containers.

    also, plan ahead for what you can add to the defrosted the food, and wait until that item is on sale, ie...
    ie fresh veggies to the chili, or some pasta noodles to the chicken soup,

    be sure to label the containers with item & date frozen.
    You'll soon have a nice 'inventory' of very inexpensive purchases.
    cheaper & healthier & less sodium than the grocery store's frozen dinners.

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