Buying groceries when hovering around poverty level...

can you get food assistance like foodstamps or something?. I say if you can take that 12 bucks for sugar and get a smaller sack or none at all and spend that on frozen or canned veggies. the rest you do need accept the coffee but i understand a coffee addiction but if you could cut out the coffee that gives you another 4 bucks to get more vitamin dense food. adding veggies to the noodles is a good idea. and what about meat. if you cut back the sugar and cut out the coffee you could get a few pounds of ground beef along with some frozen veggies.

I agree. We have been really really broke since we moved and beans and rice are super cheap, nutritious and super filling. You can make the staple of a meal w/ beans and brown rice for an entire family for about $2 for the week. Then I'd use the rest to buy frozen veggies. You can buy 2 or 3 different kinds for a little over $1 each and mix it up throughout the week and sometimes you can find 2 for 1 coupons for frozen stuff. Oatmeal is another great staple because it's filling and cheap, the big rolled oats containers are also about $2 and last me 3-4 weeks.

Oh and get your sugar from McDonalds in the little packets instead of paying for it! lol

Most condiments can be collected "for free" (sorta) from fast food. Mayo, ketchup, mustard, sugar, napkins, etc. Takes me back to college...

Also, there were bars around our campus that would offer dollar taco days, etc. Not health food, but you could put some tomatoes/salsa, green peppers, etc. on them. Or a once a months splurge to a Chinese buffet and just pack your plate with veggies?

I would start here:

http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/index.html?opt=pc

This person regularly undertakes challenges to feed their family extremely cheaply, and on this website gives a plan to feed a family of 4 for 80p a day. And the meals give variety too.

We were in that position once but we had a small child and qualified for food pantry assistance once every 2 weeks (got milk, eggs bread, canned goods, rice, pasta) and we had WIC which supplied our milk, eggs, cheese, cereal, pb and juice. So we only had to spend about $20 a week on other things. Not proud of it but we did what we had to do.

Why in the world would you spend $12 on sugar a month? That is more than 20% of your food budget. That seems unreal to me.

Oh and I've done the rice and beans route when things get in a rough patch and lentils are pretty nice because they cook pretty quick compared to dry beans and make a great fiber and protein source. I could eat peanut butter everyday and not get tired of it yet I don't seem to make pb sandwiches often, hmm. We like pb and honey here. A canister of oatmeal last me a few months and is pretty cheap for breakfast option. However I have to have something in it either brown sugar, honey or agave nectar and those costs add up. Usually those last me a couple months to 3, brown sugar a bit longer.


You may ask family and friends for a bread machine as a gift if they ask you what you want when birthday rolls around. You can definitely make great tasting bread fairly inexpensively. Look at getting yeast online you can get huge containers much cheaper on amazon than buying it by the package like most stores have. The nice thing about scratch is you can give yourself variety and make bread when you want that or do tortillas when you want a change. I love plain ol' heated up tortillas with pb. YUM

I know how it is to be strapped so bad you can't worry about balance and nutrition and just get in survival mode.

Do an online search for "cheap grocery shopping tips."

Coupons, coupon, coupons!!!! My husband and I eat 3 meals at least 2 snacks a day for about $5 per day. This can easily be less for a one person household that doesn't require as many cals as we do. Just last week I purchased birds eye frozen veggies for 26 cent, prego spaghetti sauce for 26 cent, chicken breasts 99 cent per lb, bags of tilapia for $3 that have at least 5 servings. It takes a little time but its worth it. Also food assistance is available in most places.

Obviously... you are under pressure to meet this goal... I don't think you have to completely give up on healthy eating so it's going to be all about choices and really good planning.
The grocery stores in my area have the "day old" section of the produce area. I get marked down produce for pennies on the dollar -- sometimes it's tomatos, sometime it's kiwis, but there's always something I can use. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it if you eat it withing 4-5 days. I think you'lll get just as much mileage out of buying a pound of ground turkey, can/jar of spaghetti sauce, and box of dry pasta that you portion then freeze left overs. You can make meals that resemble frozen WW or Lean Cuisine dinners. Consider that those meals are usually about 4oz of meat, a cup to a half cup of broccholi or green beans or some other vegetable and either rice or pasta (2 oz or less). A $1 bag of frozen vegetables might be 5 servings...so you got veggies for 20 cents per serving. A box of pasta should be about $1 (depends on brand) and wil have about 8 servings so that's 13 cents per serving. Same for the sauce.

Several chain stores in my area frequently advertise Buy 1 Get 2 Free deals. That paired with a coupon makes for a very good deal.

I mean only to offer some ideas and do not intend to sound preachy what-so-ever.... and I wish you all the very best :flowerforyou:
You also forgot things like TP, deoderant, etc. I would seriously consider looking at the coupon sites. Not to become an EXTREME COUPONER but you can search by brands and maybe start to train your brain to look for deals.

I buy a 5# bag of sugar and it lasts us nearly 6 months! I only use sugar for baking, which I don't bake much or I'd eat it, and making french toast or pancakes. Do you drink all that sugar in your coffee!?!? I'd opt for potaotes and rice over the noodles - because at that price, it has to be Ramen, which is so high in sodium. Baked potatoes in the microwave are the best! Also, if you have a bakery near you, they always have cheap bread - 'day old' that they sell very inexpensively.