I can't afford to buy the right food...

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Replies

  • ncfitbit
    ncfitbit Posts: 1,058 Member
    retrojag wrote: »
    There's this totally incredible website called Budget Bytes that lists very good and wholesome meals at totally affordable prices. It breaks down the cost for the meal and per portion, some of which are as low as pennies per serving of food.

    My go-to healthy foods are the same as those listed here, but I don't cook anything that's not from Budget Bytes these days--and it's saving me a ton of money!

    This! I love budget bytes!
  • bsballmom55
    bsballmom55 Posts: 13 Member
    Zomoniac wrote: »
    rybo wrote: »
    Rice, beans, tuna, frozen vegetables, and sales make eating well not as expensive as many people think.

    Tuna? Wish I lived where you did! It's £1.50 (about US$2.50) for a small can here.

    Wow that's a lot. I buy tuna fresh from the docks in the bay for $2.50 a pound they skin and bone it I bring it home and can it for the year.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    You can't just use the exchange rate to convert money, though, 'cause she gets paid in Australian dollars, too.

    Here's a study that was done a couple of years ago on how much people in countries around the world pay for their food as a percentage of income. It concluded that, out of 83 countries tracked by the USDA, Americans spend the least on food as a percentage of income or annual expenditures -- only 6.6% in the US, compared to 9.6% in Canada, 10.2% in Australia, upwards of 10% in most of Europe, 15% in Brazil, 25% in India, 26% in China, 31% in Russia, and a whopping 48% in Pakistan.

    Think about that next time you think you can't afford to buy food.
  • DsAdvocate
    DsAdvocate Posts: 93 Member
    Chicken breast in central Canada was $14/kg. nicer chicken breasts were $21/kg. None of those were free range, organic, or anything like that. They were factory farmed broilers. prices aren't comparable across countries never mind in different countries.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    Heck, sometimes prices aren't even comparable at two different grocery stores in the same neighbourhood.
  • MickeyCastello
    MickeyCastello Posts: 269
    edited February 2015
    Are there food banks close to you? I volunteer at the one in the next city, and a lot of really good food can be gotten there for free if you qualify. Maybe that will get you through your crisis.
    Is there a warehouse club like Costco, or something like a Wal-Mart within a reasonable driving distance? I live in a very small area too. Our local grocery store is so high that it still saves me money driving 70 - 80 miles round trip once a month to get my groceries.
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
    edited February 2015
    Edit because it's too late to argue about economics. But consumer expenditures are not income.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    jodi_fletch wrote: »
    I'm in a financial crisis at the moment. I have two children and a partner and it's easier for me to grab a cheap pizza or frozen fish fingers.....
    It's not good for me but I just can't afford to buy more. Could I have my portions and work out more?

    Jodi,

    Do you have a Dollar Tree or some kind of dollar store in you area, or even a food outlet store? If so, they sell some good food.

    Buy beans, rice, nuts, in bulk. You can get small amounts.

    I don't have money problems at this time, I am just pretty frugal, so I look around for bargains. For example, I saw mackerel, tuna, and Vienna sausages at Dollar Tree yesterday, checked the expiration dates to make sure they were good, and bought plenty for a dollar each. Had some mackerel on my salad tonight and....mmmmm......

    Do you have a local grower where you can find fruits and vegetables for cheaper? We have Imwalles here, which is a local grower who sells wonderful fruits and vegetables at reasonable prices. They have eggs and milk too.

    Why do you believe that the pizza and fish fingers are not good for you? They are just food and can be eaten in moderation. If you choose to do what I mentioned above, you can get some pretty cheap food, and it's good too.
  • softblondechick
    softblondechick Posts: 1,275 Member
    Right. Pizza and fish sticks are so much less expensive than eggs and potatoes.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,472 Member
    edited February 2015
    rybo wrote: »
    Rice, beans, tuna, frozen vegetables, and sales make eating well not as expensive as many people think.

    Tuna used to be relatively cheap, but it isn't any more. It's about £20 a kg for fresh, maybe £7 a kg for tinned, and with tinned you're paying for the water/oil that it's packed in. It's cheaper to buy fresh meat. Or cheap frozen fish.
  • Th3Admiral
    Th3Admiral Posts: 29
    Bulk foods and sales. I live in a country with a horrific growing season, almost all of our fruits and vegetables are imported, and those that aren't are even more pricey because they are 'local.' Yet, by keeping my eye on sales and purchasing a used deep freeze, I spend less on healthy foods than I would on highly processed, pre-made foods (which I've never eaten, but have done comparisons to satisfy my curiosity).

    I just picked up a huge slab of pork tenderloin for $26, it will make ten dinners (with lunch the next day for my husband). That's $1.30 per person per meal, not accounting for lunch. Chopped up and in the freezer. Takes a little patience and dedication, but over time you can build a great stash of healthy foods (with enough money left over for fresh vegetables and fruit).
  • Dragn77
    Dragn77 Posts: 810 Member
    dragthewaters wrote: »
    Dragn77 wrote: »
    Thats eating half a chicken in two days per person!!! Yeah, a chicken for two (kiddo and me..shes 18) lasts us way longer than that. Like Blue...I will use that one chicken for at least 3 or 4 meals, which ends up being more since we have the leftovers for lunch too.

    I think the thing here is portion sizes...

    Sometimes people are just like that though...my fiance could eat an entire chicken by himself in one sitting tbh. Back when we had a stove I always found it annoying to buy meat because he would eat everything on the first day and there'd be no leftovers.

    Oh I feel you... I have a teenager..they eat a lot plus they make no sense lol A couple years ago, she ate a loaf of bread the day I bought it. I was like...wha?? why?! ..just sat there and ate a whole loaf? huh?! She said she was really hungry and didnt want to cook (because apparently..in her world, making an actual sandwich is exhaustive cooking)

    She hates it when I tell that story lol But she does have an insane appetite..but I have to be strict about it, if she wants to eat, eat an actual meal which would be more filling, not just polish off all of one thing. If I had a hungry male in the house, I have the feeling I wouldn't need to be on MFP, because there'd never be anything left for me to eat lol
  • Dragn77
    Dragn77 Posts: 810 Member
    edited February 2015
    christinev297 wrote: »
    Yep! Our prices are ridiculous compared to other countries :disappointed:
    obscuremusicreference wrote: »


    She's actually paying
    $11.68/2.2 pounds chicken breast
    $4.68 for a ~1 lb. bag of frozen vegetables
    ~3.00 for a half gallon of milk
    $10.13 for a whole roast chicken
    $3.12 for 2.2 pounds of bananas

    Crazy that even the stuff that should be domestic is high. I guess the producers have to share the pain too.

    Thanks for that. I was in the middle of working out the translations. My brains hurting lol



    I too appreciate it! I was curious and about to do some google conversions when I saw this lol

    Feeling very fortunate about the cost of meat and produce around me right now I have to say...
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
    Supermarkets in the UK deliver. Supermarkets in the UK have value ranges.

    If you live in a middle of nowhere village, I'm sure there's farms nearby, ask if they will sell to you direct, same for shoots, pheasent is cheap, plentiful and delicious.

    If you can't afford weekly staples to make a week's worth of meals I'd seriously think about seeking help from the welfare state, or using a food bank if you have one locally. However, if you can budget for an internet connection/mobile phone surely you can budget for a weekly food shop for the family.

    I haven't done the sums, but surely it's more financially viable to buy inexpensive food in bulk to make a week's worth of meals than to buy premade food for every meal.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    edited February 2015
    christinev297 wrote: »
    From the prices of food I've read here, you guys are pretty lucky to have such cheap food! I'm in Australia, and just a few things I bought this week:

    1kg chicken breast== $15
    500g frozen veggies== $6
    2L carton milk== $4
    a whole roast chicken== $13
    1kg bananas==$4


    Food is expensive in England too. We spend over £100 a week (around USD170) on grocery shopping for a family of 5. The children are young too, so I dread to think what we'll spend when they're teenagers. Admittedly we could spend less, but we do buy some organic things, and we buy the more expensive fish fingers, ham etc, so it actually contains meat lol. My kids are obsessed with tuna...4 cans are nearly £6 ($10). Luckily primary schools here provide a school lunch for all kids in the first 3 years, so my son gets free lunch. The scheme only just came in this academic year. Last year he was having a tuna or ham sandwich (2 small packs of ham = £5) and an organic yogurt for lunch every day when he was taking his own.

    And don't get me started on the cost of petrol (gas) over here....
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited February 2015
    It is harder to eat well on a budget, especially if you're tired. I feel like OP is getting a lot of flack for being tired, but maybe she's tired for good reasons.

    Anyway - I've found the easiest thing is to cook a bunch of meat on two days of the week. Sunday and Wednesday are good to space out the effort and food, but you can do it whenever and freeze some instead. That way, all you're doing on the other days is the veg and grain/starch. It's easier to think about planning a meal around the protein, I find.

    So, tonight I made a kind of meatloaf (adjusted, no glaze - basically it's just beef, onion, egg, & bread). Later this week, I'll have it:
    - with rice and salad
    - with a side of beans and broccoli
    - with tomato sauce and pasta (like a bolognese).

    I've got flank steaks marinating to cook tomorrow. I might throw them into a veggie stir fry (at the last minute) later in the week.

    For the beans - bulk dried is great and affordable, but it can be a pain, honestly. If you can find no-name canned beans (cheaper), it's a lot easier, imo. But beans are great for the fiber/protein combo, great at keeping you full.

    The bean thing I'm liking right now is: 1/2 a large onion and 3 cloves garlic fried until golden in 1.5 tablepoons of olive oil, with 1 can black beans, and 1 tablespoon of red wine. That gives four half-cup servings. It has enough flavour to enjoy it like that (as long as you fry the onion a good while), but is basic enough that other things can be added to it, or it could be a side to something else.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    cityruss wrote: »
    Supermarkets in the UK deliver. Supermarkets in the UK have value ranges.

    If you live in a middle of nowhere village, I'm sure there's farms nearby, ask if they will sell to you direct, same for shoots, pheasent is cheap, plentiful and delicious.

    If you can't afford weekly staples to make a week's worth of meals I'd seriously think about seeking help from the welfare state, or using a food bank if you have one locally. However, if you can budget for an internet connection/mobile phone surely you can budget for a weekly food shop for the family.

    I haven't done the sums, but surely it's more financially viable to buy inexpensive food in bulk to make a week's worth of meals than to buy premade food for every meal.

    And, homemade pizza is delicious, not expensive to make, and, in our house, lasts longer than the store bought.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    You can always try a "do it yourself" meal-replacement recipe. Google it. Lots of people are looking into it as a means to get away from the crazy expensive food prices. It's not hard to get the cost under $200/month. It's also not a commercial "buy this product and do better" because you piece together your shake with things you can buy from your grocery store.

    Google "diy soylent" and thank me later. :smile:
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