Low income grocery shopping tips for a newbie to adult crap.

madxprofessor wrote: »

So I am 22 and been on my own for 2 years, but i find myself running out of food money and having my dad bring me pizzas and fast food because that is all he will buy me even though i'm trying to lose weight.... Anyways I need good advice on how to make roughly $350 last a whole month if that's even possible. I love fresh fruit and veg but can only get 2 shopping trips in a month currently, leaving plenty of time for the end of my 2 weeks worth of fresh stuff to go to waste. I am okay with frozen vegetables but not frozen fruit. I am only cooking for 2 people 3 times a day including myself. I need no-so-obvious tips on how to stretch my money like its the great depression. thanks in advance if you read all that.

Plan your meals out. I just make a list of 28 dinners every month or 2 and assign 7 per week. I generally have the same things for breakfast or lunch so it isn't hard to figure out what I need for those.
Some fruits and vegetables have a longer shelf life than others. Apples and oranges will last longer than bananas or strawberries. Potatoes, onions, carrots last a bit longer. Use the most perishable stuff first. If you can't use something before it will go bad freeze it. Use frozen fruit in smoothies or baking. Buy frozen vegetables so you only use what you need and reduce waste.
Buy things that are whole and cut it or shred it yourself. This goes for meat, cheese, vegetables and fruits. You can get 5 or 6 cups of meat off a whole chicken and use that for all kinds of recipes.
Dry beans and lentils are super cheap. After you cook them, you can freeze them. Canned beans are still fairly cheap if you prefer those.
Get eggs.
Rice and pasta are pretty cheap.
Buy a large container of plain oatmeal.
Buy larger containers instead of single serving containers.
Buy store brand or generic brand items. Most of the time there isn't a big difference except price.
Cut up meat and put it in stir fry, soup or casseroles instead of having a large slab.
Make a big pot of soup once a week. Use leftovers for lunches or freeze for another day.
Use what you have on hand.
Popcorn (not the microwave kind) is a cheap snack.
Hummus is cheap and easy to make. You can use it as a dip or a sandwich spread.
Drink water mostly. If you want to flavor it add a few drops of lemon or lime juice or drop in some frozen fruit.
Nuts/trail mix is very filling in small amounts.
Use leftover spaghetti sauce for pizza sauce.

be careful about canned fruit - the ones packed in water usually have splenda in them, which works for some people and not others. it gives me seizures. just a heads up

make a list of 10 meals based on what can be stored easily - dry or canned beans, rice, pasta, frozen vegetables, frozen meat, etc. then buy as much as you can when they're on sale, and then supplement with your fresh produce (whatever's in season/on sale, look at per-serving or per-pound prices). cycle through those 10 recipes whenever you need to.

i was dirt poor for about 3 years and i was a student for several years in my 20s. this is how i survived. unfortunately i did not make the best nutritional choices, but i am learning.

angieward39 wrote: »

Here is a sample menu with per serving price approximations that I've used for ideas: (I live in the South)

Breakfast:
yogurt bought on sale @ .50
OR banana @ .50
OR Nutrigrain bar @ .80
OR eggbeater omelet with onion, 2 oz ham, and laughing cow cheese @ $1.50
OR Package instant oatmeal and a side of fruit @ $1.50

Lunch:
salad made at home with 3 oz of grilled chicken @ $2
OR large can Progresso light soup @ $2
OR baked sweet potato and 3 oz grilled pork loin @ $2
OR English Muffin pizza with turkey pepperoni made at home and small salad @ $2
OR Tuna salad with side of cucumbers @ $3


Dinner:
Stir Fried Veggies (do these yourself) and 3 oz stir fried chicken @ $2
OR homemade burrito with refried beans and low carb wrap @ $1.5
OR Morningstar black bean burger and steamed broccoli @ $2.50
OR spaghetti squash with tomato sauce and turkey meatballs @ $2.50


Snacks:
Fruttare all-fruit popsicle @ .80
Chocolate greek yogurt (Dannon) @ $1

I love this! I'll post my own in a second

Another cheap meal is spaghetti noodles with marinara sauce, plus a veggie. I use frozen broccoli a lot in marinara sauce, tastes good.

or potatoes. Holy crap potatoes are so cheap here. I eat them nearly everyday, nuked in the microwave. I top them with BBQ sauce,or baked beans, or chili...or margarine.... so good.

obscuremusicreference wrote: »

Kalikel wrote: »

Try applying for food stamps. They give them out like crazy.

That is completely dependent on where you live. Given that this poster lives in Florida (as I do), unless the second person she's cooking for is a baby, I wouldn't count on it.

Lots of good ideas in this thread. It is doable. It comes down to taking the time to look at ads (Publix also has where you can sign up for coupons online) and not going into the grocery store without a plan and a budget.

ETA: I actually applied for food stamps 2009ish. As I was the only one working in a house of 3 adults and my $24000 income was not stretching very far, I was very surprised when I was turned down.

There is a big difference between supporting someone and having an adult considered a dependent for official financial reasons, which usually requires declaring them incompetent.

My biggest tip is to find a "ethnic" grocery store i.e. a non-chain grocery store in a Mexican or Indian or Asian neighborhood. I live in a neighborhood that has a large Hispanic population and the produce in our local grocery store is SO CHEAP. The other day I got two huge bags of fresh fruits and vegetables and my total at the cash register was $21. I couldn't believe it. I am not exactly sure why this is but I think is partly just the fact that people in those cultures tend to cook with a lot more fruits and veggies so the stores can carry more and charge less because less is wasted. I also think that these stores look look for fruits and veggies that wouldn't be sold in other stores. Not because they are bad because they are the wrong size (apples that are too small or too big) or blemished in some way. My store also has a shelf where they sell veggies that are on their last legs for a discount. I shop from this shelf any time I am planning to cook that same day. In a big chain store they would just throw that stuff away.

Anyway when I used to shop at the big chains fruits and veggies seemed like a luxury. My perspective totally changed when I started going to local ethnic markets. FWIW I live in Chicago so we have a lot of them -- if that is not the case where you live then yes, as others have said, Aldies is also great.

I am on low income and have a problem with my budget for shopping. It's scary that the recent figures show 90 percent of people other. U. K. are malnourished.