Realistic food budget for 1 person

kitten992107 · February 2015

A I will be moving out on my own soon and I always buy too much food and I always feel like healthy food is really expensive to get, does anyone have any advice or recipes they an share?,I will be cooking on Sunday'so for the month so I can have everything portioned and ready to go, thank you in advance for your time.

Jolinia · February 2015

Crock pot, especially if you eat meat. Chuck roast keeps pretty well and it's delicious and cheaper than most cuts of meat. You can do other dishes in a crock pot, too. Also if you eat rice and beans you can buy them dried, they keep a long time, just soak your beans in water overnight before you cook them to avoid gastrointestinal distress.

missiontofitness · February 2015

kitten992107 wrote: »

A I will be moving out on my own soon and I always buy too much food and I always feel like healthy food is really expensive to get, does anyone have any advice or recipes they an share?,I will be cooking on Sunday'so for the month so I can have everything portioned and ready to go, thank you in advance for your time.

I do $50-$75/week just for me. I tend to stock up on items when they're on sale, so sometimes I spend closer to $75. However, it's easy to stick to $50 by buying bulk greens, produce when it's on sale, and meat that is reduced down because it is close to its sell-by date. If I can't find marked down meat, I'll buy bulk packages and freeze what I can't eat before its sell-by date.

Chili, spaghetti, bulk cooked veggies, and casseroles are all good go-to bulk meal prep items. I also like to bulk cook chicken for salads or chicken salad as well.

TimothyFish · February 2015

If you buy rice, pasta, and potatoes in larger quantities as well as buy frozen vegetables and fresh meat in bulk, $100 per month is a doable budget, though not much fun. When I was trying to live on that budget, I found that shopping once every two weeks rather than weekly helped. My food bill is closer to $100 per week these days, but I'm debt free, so I don't have to watch money as closely as I once did.

agal129 · February 2015

I live on my own and pay about $150/month for food.

atypicalsmith · February 2015

When you make anything, even if it's hamburger helper, put it in a casserole dish, let it chill overnight in the refrigerator, then cut it into portion sizes. Grease a cookie sheet, let the individual portions freeze uncovered, then wrap them with plastic wrap and throw them in a labeled freezer bag. You can do this with nearly everything. Well, cold cereal doesn't qualify, but oatmeal does! I make oatmeal from scratch (not the instant junk) with bananas, blueberries, brown sugar, and some cinnamon and freeze it in portion sizes. Even rice and pasta dishes freeze very well this way. And you'll save a ton of money.

satansees · February 2015

I don't live alone any more, but it was about £60/month minus things like toilet paper (and now it's nearly double). But I still find its a lot of planning not to waste stuff -like planning meals so you don't waste a whole can of veggies when you only need a little bit. Why don't they sell small bags of salad?
But I am still a fan of buying half a chicken or something, and using the leftovers - like with frozen stir fry veg, or Gyoza from scratch (can cook from frozen when you make too many).
How bigs your freezer? That holds me back from bulk cooking too much.

TheLittleFangs · February 2015

That you are willing to batch cook will save you tonnes! Good job! Don't be afraid of 'end of life' items if they are being sold they are safe to eat and I sometimes pay a quarter for something this way. Beans legumes pulses are cheap last ages if stored correctly and add protein and bulk to dishes for very few pence (I am in the uk). Toss in frozen veg for vitamins. Buy frozen berries and fruit for desserts and smoothies.

DKG28 · February 2015

I buy about $40-50 a week. But I'm eating 1200 calories/day. My experience is that i'm spending the same amount as when I overate/ate badly. The overall value is greater if you think about buying nutrients instead of buying empty calories. I find processed foods to be expensive - a $3.99 bag of chips is mostly air. 3.99 worth of carrots will buy a 5 lb. bag. I get 2 or 3 entree salads out of a nice head of lettuce 1.99 on sale. usually 2.99. That's one junk food snack. I can frequently find some cut of chicken for 1.99/lb. You don't need expensive ingredients to eat nutritiously. I do buy lots of dry herbs/spices. Expensive up front, but they last forever.

AlisonH729 · February 2015

I spend about $200 a month for my fiancé & myself. Right now our pantry is so stocked with canned goods, and the freezer with meat and veggies that we probably could go a month without shopping. I recommend the Ziplock Perfect Portions bags so you can separate larger packages of meat. Or buy a few of those aluminum pans line them with plastic wrap and put the pieces in individually and cover with a second piece of plastic, then when they are frozen you can toss them all into a freezer bag and grab them as you need them. I saw some plastic food storage containers at CVS yesterday that we're divided like tv dinner trays. They would be great for storing & freezing meals too.

I like fresh produce and have been feeding a zucchini noodle habit lately. I shop for that stuff once a week or so. (I can't wait til the farm stands open up again!)

And like anything else, it all gets easier the more you do it. You'll learn how quickly you go through certain items & begin to recognize when prices are low for other items, buying more one week, skipping them others.

segacs · February 2015

What other people spend isn't all that useful to you to know. It depends on:

Where you live -- food prices vary wildly based on country, region, urban vs. suburban vs. rural setting, or even neighbourhood.
Your food preferences -- got expensive tastes? Filet mignon every night, or gourmet cheeses and fancy olive oils, are going to cost more than eating rice and beans every night.
Your household size -- cooking for one is generally more expensive than cooking for multiple people. Buying in bulk and cooking for a big family is the most cost effective on a per person basis.
How much work you're willing to do -- you can save money by clipping coupons, going out of your way to buy things at cheaper stores, and buying less convenient non-cut up format food and doing the chopping and portioning yourself. A whole chicken is always more economical than per-packaged boneless chicken breasts, but you have to clean it and cut it up. Are you willing to do that extra little bit?

A long thread full of people saying "I spend $X" is really useless. Instead, look at circulars and flyers at your local grocery chains. Plan out your food and calories for the week, take out your calculator, and add up how much you think it will cost you. Substitute some foods for cheaper foods if you want to save some money. Rinse and repeat. It gets easier with time.

callsitlikeiseeit · February 2015

i buy for 6 so ..... lol my best friend is single and her budget is about $100 a week. BUT she eats a crappy diet of mostly prepackaged/ processed/ and junk foods, so that may be on the high side compared to someone who makes healthier or more well rounded decisions.

Unknown · February 2015

This content has been removed.

xp0sed · February 2015

I've been really budgeting lately. I started with $100/month for just me and it was too low. I have "upped" it to $150 and if I don't use it all bonus but it's there if things are on sale, costco trips, etc.

I shop the sales too. I often go to 2 or 3 different grocery stores and I try to only go every other week, or I buy too much.

kennie2 · February 2015

find an awesome market and check out their deals! also buy frozen veg as theyre sooo much cheaper! I spend about £15-£20 a week i think and thats with getting nice things like expensive tofu and seafood

softblondechick · February 2015

The real problem is starting from scratch, you need a chunk of money on things like cooking spray, an outlay on basic items, you don't buy all the time, but need when you are starting with nothing. Salt, pepper, spices, oil, vinegar, pantry items. That most recipes "assume" you have in your kitchen. I eat very simple foods, and spend less than $150 a month. But that is food items only, not foil, plastic wrap, other incidentals. My main expense is protien powder, I buy one large container every other month, $45.

kitten992107 · February 2015

Thank you everyone for all your suggestions I appreciate it very much I will Def bulk up on rice etc, any maybe look into a apartment size freezer,keep then coming

segacs · February 2015

By the way, since you're going to be moving out on your own soon, you'll want to draw up a budget for everything, not just food. Here's an interactive worksheet that I find is excellent at helping you do that:

gailvazoxlade.com/resources/interactive_budget_worksheet.html

agratzy · February 2015

This was a very helpful thread for me! Thanks for the good question!

pa_jorg · February 2015

Most months I'm in the $120-150 range for just me. I try to focus on buying sale and in-season items when meal planning. Plus, I often make large batches of a meal and either eat it the entire week (which can get boring) or freeze things for later on.

tomatoey · February 2015

Hmm... all told, I guess maybe $75-100 a week? I live in Canada, where food is more expensive than in the US. I eat meat. I also buy canned vs. dried beans because I'm lazy, and I get "fresh" (debatable) vs. frozen veg.

kitten992107 · February 2015

I'm in Canada as well

tomatoey · February 2015

Ok, well I'm actually spending less than I used to, if you can imagine. The difference has been:
- cooking a huge batch of meat twice a week (meatloaf, roast beef, a bunch of burgers, whatever). If you have good tupperware, you don't have to freeze it, it'll keep for 2-3 days. You can freeze some for later, though
- buying veg every couple of days. Realistically, I'm only going to eat two kinds of veg in a day, and there will be some left over from previous days. So buy for only 2 veg per day.

kitten992107 · February 2015

segacs wrote: »

What other people spend isn't all that useful to you to know. It depends on:
Where you live -- food prices vary wildly based on country, region, urban vs. suburban vs. rural setting, or even neighbourhood.

Your food preferences -- got expensive tastes? Filet mignon every night, or gourmet cheeses and fancy olive oils, are going to cost more than eating rice and beans every night.

Your household size -- cooking for one is generally more expensive than cooking for multiple people. Buying in bulk and cooking for a big family is the most cost effective on a per person basis.

How much work you're willing to do -- you can save money by clipping coupons, going out of your way to buy things at cheaper stores, and buying less convenient non-cut up format food and doing the chopping and portioning yourself. A whole chicken is always more economical than per-packaged boneless chicken breasts, but you have to clean it and cut it up. Are you willing to do that extra little bit?

A long thread full of people saying "I spend $X" is really useless. Instead, look at circulars and flyers at your local grocery chains. Plan out your food and calories for the week, take out your calculator, and add up how much you think it will cost you. Substitute some foods for cheaper foods if you want to save some money. Rinse and repeat. It gets easier with time.

I don't think what other people are saying is useless at all they are just giving there experience and what worked for them, its there opinion witch does actually give me and idea of what I'm looking at, thank you for your thoughts

kitten992107 · February 2015

segacs wrote: »

By the way, since you're going to be moving out on your own soon, you'll want to draw up a budget for everything, not just food. Here's an interactive worksheet that I find is excellent at helping you do that:

gailvazoxlade.com/resources/interactive_budget_worksheet.html

Thank you I appreciate that

kitten992107 · February 2015

atypicalsmith wrote: »

When you make anything, even if it's hamburger helper, put it in a casserole dish, let it chill overnight in the refrigerator, then cut it into portion sizes. Grease a cookie sheet, let the individual portions freeze uncovered, then wrap them with plastic wrap and throw them in a labeled freezer bag. You can do this with nearly everything. Well, cold cereal doesn't qualify, but oatmeal does! I make oatmeal from scratch (not the instant junk) with bananas, blueberries, brown sugar, and some cinnamon and freeze it in portion sizes. Even rice and pasta dishes freeze very well this way. And you'll save a ton of money.

That's really smart thanks

tomatoey · February 2015

also, get No Name brand cans, for beans/lentils, if you have a superstore or no frills

aimeecardiff · February 2015

I spend about £20-30 a week - often cook 4 portions and freeze them. I don't eat very much meat, and cook nearly everything from scratch.

A good blog for low cost recipes is 'a girl called jack'

MKEgal · February 2015

I'm given $180 for the month, and usually don't use it all.

Here's a cookbook put together to help SNAP (food stamp) recipients make the most of the small amount they're given.
Yummy healthy recipes, great photography, a nice departure from the usual bland government output.

For always-good recipes, browse www. tasteofhome.com.

Talkradio · February 2015

When I lived at home, I was used to cooking in big portions, and had a hard time adjusting to cooking for just two people. My biggest probably was buying wayyyy too much food! I'd wind up wasting good produce because we just couldn't eat it all.

I definitely recommend planning out your menu. I'm pretty loose with it, I'll just decide something like "chicken breasts, rice, veggie that's on sale". Don't buy produce that you don't have a plan for! Sometimes it was cheaper for us to buy a couple of potatoes instead of a 10lb bag, even though the unit price was cheaper in bulk. If you aren't going to commit to using 2lbs of spinach a week, don't buy that much. Frozen vegetables are great. Our favorites are peas, corn, green beans, and broccoli. I always have a few bags on hand so I can throw something together.

I make most of our food from scratch, but I've realized if we don't have quick preparation meals available, I'll get lazy/overly hungry and grab fast food. That's where canned tuna, frozen fish, eggs, bacon, refried beans and tortillas come in handy.

Good luck to you.

Lounmoun · February 2015

kitten992107 wrote: »

A I will be moving out on my own soon and I always buy too much food and I always feel like healthy food is really expensive to get, does anyone have any advice or recipes they an share?,I will be cooking on Sunday'so for the month so I can have everything portioned and ready to go, thank you in advance for your time.

I'd say $30 to $50 a week for food.
I would plan meals in advance. My method is to write out 28 dinners for the month, divide it into groups of 7 and cross things off as I have them. I have the same things for breakfast and lunches or eat leftovers.
Don't get hung up on labeling foods as strictly healthy or unhealthy that you make things too complicated. A sandwich is not unhealthy. If you are busy a pre-made pizza is fine if it fits in your calories limit.
Use what you buy. Use the most perishable items first. Buy things with a longer shelf life.
Soup is a good dollar stretcher and freezes and reheats well. My family likes minestrone, tomato, fassolatha, and lentil soup.
Buy things whole and cut them up/peel them yourself.
Dry beans, lentils, oatmeal are cheap and filling.
Frozen vegetables can reduce waste as you can just use the amount you need. You can also buy vegetables and fruits when they are cheaper and freeze them.
Buy store brands or generic. Most of the time there isn't much difference except price.
Cut up meat and put it in a stir fry, casserole, soup or stew to make it stretch farther.
If you are freezing meals be sure to label and date them. I forget to do that sometimes and that is why my tomato soup last night turned out to be spaghetti sauce and meatballs.
Invite a friend to cook with you and split the cost and food sometimes if you have other friends who are on their own.

Budgetbytes.com has recipes that my family has enjoyed.

Realistic food budget for 1 person

Replies

Categories