Buying groceries when hovering around poverty level...
Replies
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I hope my post helps.
I used to be in your position. I had actually no free money despite working, so I once had to snack on my dorm roomie's candies for a week. Let me tell you, I was sick as a dog for a long time because of that =(
I also used to live in a very bad way when I was young, so I had to learn a few things the very very hard way. Without going into too many details, these are the things you can get for free:
1) Packets: Sugar, Ketchup, Mustard, Salt, Pepper, BBQ Sauce, Honey, Butter, Soy Sauce, Hot Sauce, Creamer. You can get all of these for free at the following restaurants - McDonald's, KFC (bbq, butter and honey), Taco Bell (hot sauce), and any other fast-serve fast food place that you can think of. Don't forget to grab yourself a fistful of napkins at each place for general dorm-cleaning. Most napkins are not septic safe, so don't use them as toilet paper.
2) Plasticware: Any fast food place will provide at least a fork, knife, and spoon for free.
3) Freshly-brewed coffee: Sometimes churches, hotels, and some businesses offer free coffee.
4) Food Banks, Church services: both will donate food to you. These will range anywhere from stapled bags of portioned flour to beans to rice, soups, stews, frozen veggies and sometimes meat.
Aside from that, there are things you can buy for cheap.
White rice: I have found 25 lbs. bags of rice for $12 a bag once at an asian market. They also sell very inexpensive rice cookers. Online, I have seen them go in the neighborhood of $12 a piece. A cup or two of rice will make your belly happy, so three servings a day will last you roughly two months.
Beans: This goes without saying. Buy yourself some dried beans, they will go a long way. Jack Rabbit brand dry lentil beans go for $1.55 per pound. Goya red kidney beans go for $1.79 per pound online as well.
Bread: Buy your bread from the bakery outlets. You can get a loaf of bread for $0.30!
Fresh fruits and veggies: Go for farmers market. You can feast like a veggie king for 2 weeks for less than $20! Freeze what you can't eat right away!
My advice? Forget the coffee and sugar... but I understand trying to make sense out of a Chemistry paper at 5AM after number-crunching until 3AM, so I understand you needing to chug caffeine. Please drop the sugar from your budget, get your sugar and cream for free or at least train yourself to take coffee black. $12 for sugar can actually get you almost 2 weeks of veggies from the farmers market with extra left over for fresh eggs!
I plan on starting my own vegetable garden this year... I'm a beginner so it will probably be something like hot peppers and that's all, LOL! But if you were here I would just hand you a big old bag of rice in my storage! =(0 -
All right. Here is my perspective from a fellow vegetarian Indian. If I were ever in your shoes, here's what my grocery list will look like
Wheat Flour $5 (4lb)
Rice $10 (10lb)
Red Kidney Beans $6 (4lb)
Chickpeas $6 (4lb)
Lentils $5 (4lb)
Onion $3 (5lb)
Potato $3 (10lb)
That's $38. With the remaining $12 I'd get Milk, oil, salt and frozen veggies. These groceries will last longer than a month for 1 person. Learn to make yogurt at home. You CAN live on this budget, just have to be creative and learn to cook differently.
Meals with these groceries could include but not limited to curry and homemade chapati/naan with whole wheat flour, rice and beans, rice and chickpeas, wheat paranthas with various fillings or plain, soups with chickpeas and kidney beans, potato pattie, samosa, etc.
Bottom line - learn to cook from scratch instead of relying on noodles to carry you through. You'll be ok.0 -
Not sure of conversion but last month I managed to spend £48 ($78) on my shopping bill for just me, not including top ups of milk, bread and veg mid month (this did include approx £12 cleaning items too and tissues) . Feel free to correct me but I'm thinking the UK is very expensive compared to other areas of the world for food. I've taken to batch cooking and freezing.0
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FOOD BANKS!!! They are everywhere!!!! Churches, salvation Army. Go to your public aid office!! There are so many places to get help! There is no shame is asking for help! Do you have children? if you do your really should be taking advantage of these outlets! Good luck to you! I will pray for you too, it always helps!0
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Wow I am impressed that you could get by on 50$ a month in groceries! I probably spend 85-120$ a week just for me and my Husband. And we eat super healthy, I'm vegetarian pretty much vegan, he eats meat/dairy/eggs. But I don't buy processed junk (cereal chips frozen meals candy boxed pre made food etc). Just LOTS of veggies/fruits, 3 kinds of meat for him for 3 dinners then the rest of the week is left overs, tempeh/tofu/soy/almond milk etc...Pretty much the 'basics' and I feel like I don't get hardly anything for my money. So I don't see how anyone could get by on 50$ a week! I hope you can find a affordable way to get healthier food0
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I've been through similar as a student - my saving grace was the vegetable garden I planted in my backyard. Seeds can be obtained for free through community seed banks, seed swaps and community gardens. Try also googling 'free fruit community map' plus where you live to find info on public plantings of fruit trees etc in your area. Community gardens are also a good source for free vegetables, herbs etc. If you are studying see if your campus has one - often there's a keen group of students that have started one up somewhere in a neglected corner of campus. Often you are welcome to take fruit and vegetables although it is good to give back by volunteering for an hour or two a week. Making sure you get some nutrition from your food will help you cope with stress, illness etc. There's lots of great suggestions already left on here especially from those who have been through the same.0
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Do they have some sort of government aid there? I started getting food stamps when things got really rough. Hope you find some good food choices.0
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if you can make the time to cook it and like the taste, brown rice will be much cheaper and make you feel full longer than the instant noodles.0
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There is a ministry where I live, where you can get a whole month worth of food for like $25. Meats/veggies/fruit etc. Maybe google and see if there is one near you! It's called Angel Food Ministry.0
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I can tell everyone of you that this person is 100% ****ing with you all.....this is not serious.0
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Fresh fruit especially if bought at a farmers market can go a long way - both financially and nutritionally0
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I can tell everyone of you that this person is 100% ****ing with you all.....this is not serious.
It definitely came out more serious than I meant it to be, but I am going to have to keep my food costs to around $50-$55 per month soon. All I asked for were ideas, not your pity or sympathy, nor do I want those things from anyone
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if there is an aldis around go there.. you can buy dried beans and bags of rice which is far more nutritional than 12 dollars of sugar. you can buy canned tuna at aldis for like 50 cents a can.. and buy a canister of oatmeal which for a few bucks you can eat breakfast with that every day for a month because there is 30 servings in a canister. a carton of eggs of 18 count is also about 2 bucks .. so for that 12 dollars you can get beans, rice, tuna , oatmeal and eggs.
i didnt read all the comments on here so dont know if anyone suggested getting help with food stamps.. thats what they are there for so call your local social services dept and ask them what step you can take to get help with that.0 -
What's the best you can do?
I think I can live on $50 a month:
4 loaves of bread- $8
2 jars of peanut butter- $8
A case of instant noodles (24 pack)- $6
A jar of instant coffee- $4
A big sack of granulated sugar- $12
A jug of full-fat milk- $5
The tax in my province is 14% so that works out to about $49.
I would switch to no-name brands and full-calorie versions of everything to maximize savings and caloric intake :happy:
Since you mentioned that this isn't happening right now, but might be the reality in 6 months, I would see if I could 'stockpile' a little .
Groceries are expensive in Canada, especially where you live. I believe there is the good food box program where you can get really good fesh fruits and veggies that are in season for dirt cheap. For my family, we could get 50 pounds of produce for $25 each month. That was for a large family, they had a single person one for $15. Just google good food box, it's usually a community share program.
I would also look at shopping on sale only for the next few months and stock up on sales items that are non perishable or can be frozen. Also, when you are shopping bring a calculator to determine which size of items will give you the best cost per unit. Sometimes smaller on sale boxes with coupons are cheaper than the larger item. Take your time comparing each size on the shelf. Get coupons on line of you can, bring flyers or print puts of flyers for price match, which will also save on gas.
Prepare everything from scratch and in bulk. Even bread you could do cheaper.
Items I would look to stock up on, you could buy one item each time
Big bags of rice, this week is actually really good because of Chinese new year. You cold get a 18kg bag for about $25.
Dried beans or lentils - much cheaper than even canned. I can get them for a $1 lb on sale
Flour - generic bag of 10kg about $7 for whole wheat. You can use this for so many things, breads, pancakes, home made tortillas, at a fraction of a cost. A bag that large will last my family of 5 3 months of heavy use
Meats - buy what is on sale. I have found things like pork shoulder, and chicken legs go on sale for $1 lb. I will buy a pork shoulder and cut up the meat for various dishes, or will make a pulled pork. A 9 lb shoulder will give me up to 20 servings that I freeze. Smoke shoulder, I will cook then use left overs later.
Veggies - see my good box ideas, but shop only on sale
Potatoes - buy large bags on sale
Onions, you can get 0.50 a pound.
Canned tomatoes, you can use them for sauces and stews.
Tomatoe paste instead or tomatoe sauce, a little will go a long way.
Canned tuna or salmon, $1 a can
Other things are waste nothing. If I make a whole turkey, or pork shoulder, I will take the bones and freeze them , or make a broth . out of them. I take all left overs and freeze it, and can put it in a soup. Omemade soup can be really cheap. I would take the peelings off veggies and freeze them, once I had a bag, I would boil them to make a veggie broth, just make sure you wash well before peeling. If you are looking for calories, you could rip off the skin from chicken, and fry just the skin crisp, save the oil for other cooking. Its not healthy, but it will give ou fat that you don't have to buy.
I do think it will be extremely tight, but you can make some different choices than you planned. . I would Not buy the sugar or coffee. You can get sugar, salt, pepper at food courts. Other spices can be found in bulk in small quantities. I would use the noodles as an emergency as they are awful for you.
I am sure I can come up with many other ideas, but will see if you respond.0 -
My goodness. I would go insane if i could only spend $50 a month on food and had to just eat the stuff on your list!
Is there anyway that you can re-balance your budget so you are spending less on other things and then have more money for food.
Or get another part time job or something. Anything to just make your life a bit better.
I also don't think that would be a particularly good diet either. Without fruit or veg or meat... you are going to miss heaps of important vitamins and minerals. If you are student, then i can't imagine your brain will function all that well on a diet like this.
Anyway i think you should make sure you spend your $50 if that is all you have on different things each month in the hope you pick up on some of the missing minerals and vitamins you have on your list.
Some cheap nutritious food options:
Dried beans and lentils
Brown rice
Rolled oats
Frozen vegetables (peas, beans, spinach etc. Often cheaper than fresh).
Meat off cuts (liver, kidneys, meat bones you can make into a hearty soup etc).
I'd be buying everything in bulk to save money. This might mean being over budget one month, but then you will be under on the next etc. And if you focus on long life food weather they store in the freezer or are dried, then you can mix it up and don't have to eat the same thing for the whole month.
Also i'd recommend going to farmers fruit and veg markets. They will often have cheap produce. You might even be able to talk to them and say you are poor and they might give you some of the 'seconds' kind of stuff. Bruised apples for example can be stewed up and then even frozen afterwards for later. There are actually lots of options.
I wouldn't waste your money on sugar, especially since it is the most expensive part of your budget! Why not go around and sneak little sachets from coffee shops for sugar. You may want to look into other (legal) sources of free food. For example university functions. Or even soup kitchens. Perhaps you can get some kind of deal where you volunteer somewhere and get free food...0 -
What's the best you can do?
I think I can live on $50 a month:
4 loaves of bread- $8
2 jars of peanut butter- $8
A case of instant noodles (24 pack)- $6
A jar of instant coffee- $4
A big sack of granulated sugar- $12
A jug of full-fat milk- $5
The tax in my province is 14% so that works out to about $49.
I would switch to no-name brands and full-calorie versions of everything to maximize savings and caloric intake :happy:
There's no way you would live off of that list for a month. If it was really crucial I'd buy bags of rice, beans, frozen veggies, and as much chicken as I could afford. I'd get my groceries from places like Save a Lot or Bottom Dollar. Hell they even have groceries @ the dollar store these days. Realistically I don't think any American has to live on a $50/month grocery budget. Between public assistance, soup kitchens, churches, etc, I just don't buy it.0 -
Since you mentioned that this isn't happening right now, but might be the reality in 6 months, I would see if I could 'stockpile' a little .
Groceries are expensive in Canada, especially where you live. I believe there is the good food box program where you can get really good fesh fruits and veggies that are in season for dirt cheap. For my family, we could get 50 pounds of produce for $25 each month. That was for a large family, they had a single person one for $15. Just google good food box, it's usually a community share program.
I would also look at shopping on sale only for the next few months and stock up on sales items that are non perishable or can be frozen. Also, when you are shopping bring a calculator to determine which size of items will give you the best cost per unit. Sometimes smaller on sale boxes with coupons are cheaper than the larger item. Take your time comparing each size on the shelf. Get coupons on line of you can, bring flyers or print puts of flyers for price match, which will also save on gas.
Prepare everything from scratch and in bulk. Even bread you could do cheaper.
Items I would look to stock up on, you could buy one item each time
Big bags of rice, this week is actually really good because of Chinese new year. You cold get a 18kg bag for about $25.
Dried beans or lentils - much cheaper than even canned. I can get them for a $1 lb on sale
Flour - generic bag of 10kg about $7 for whole wheat. You can use this for so many things, breads, pancakes, home made tortillas, at a fraction of a cost. A bag that large will last my family of 5 3 months of heavy use
Meats - buy what is on sale. I have found things like pork shoulder, and chicken legs go on sale for $1 lb. I will buy a pork shoulder and cut up the meat for various dishes, or will make a pulled pork. A 9 lb shoulder will give me up to 20 servings that I freeze. Smoke shoulder, I will cook then use left overs later.
Veggies - see my good box ideas, but shop only on sale
Potatoes - buy large bags on sale
Onions, you can get 0.50 a pound.
Canned tomatoes, you can use them for sauces and stews.
Tomatoe paste instead or tomatoe sauce, a little will go a long way.
Canned tuna or salmon, $1 a can
Other things are waste nothing. If I make a whole turkey, or pork shoulder, I will take the bones and freeze them , or make a broth . out of them. I take all left overs and freeze it, and can put it in a soup. Omemade soup can be really cheap. I would take the peelings off veggies and freeze them, once I had a bag, I would boil them to make a veggie broth, just make sure you wash well before peeling. If you are looking for calories, you could rip off the skin from chicken, and fry just the skin crisp, save the oil for other cooking. Its not healthy, but it will give ou fat that you don't have to buy.
I do think it will be extremely tight, but you can make some different choices than you planned. . I would Not buy the sugar or coffee. You can get sugar, salt, pepper at food courts. Other spices can be found in bulk in small quantities. I would use the noodles as an emergency as they are awful for you.
I am sure I can come up with many other ideas, but will see if you respond.
I don't know what difference it would make if I buy (stockpile) food now, compared to buying it later. It would just be a matter of when I spend that money. I've always bought food that's on sale, and do my shopping at Superstore where food is cheapest.
Instant noodles are definitely bad for you, but for $0.25 a pack it could provide a month of dinners for $7.50 before HST.
The suggestions of lentils, canned beans, etc. are actually a bit expensive for me- on sale they're $0.60 a can and if I have one everyday, that's $18 before HST. That's a bit too much, especially when I can get 40 llbs worth of potatoes for $12.
As for flour, I don't know if it would be worth it as I'd have to buy milk and eggs to make things with it, compared to spending $4 a month on a couple loaves of bread instead. I'm keeping the peanut butter and using it for the bread and potatoes. I found a cheaper alternative that's $ 3.49 a jar, so two jars a month is definitely economical for me.
I think I read something on gas and driving; I don't have a car, and take public transit to get to school/work. Bus pass fees are going up next year (like pretty much everything here) but I don't think I need to elaborate on anything else on my living expenses.
Sorry if I haven't responded to every post, guys. I've read most of them and I realized it might have been a better idea to ask on a local forum, where there's a better idea of the food prices where I live. I'm appreciative for the tips though- I've upgraded my original list. $50 is *definitely* doable for me 0 -
If it were me and my monthly food budget is $50, id buy:
3 10 pk instant oatmeal= $6
24 pk noodles for lunch=$6
30 banquet meals or turkey pot pies for supper=$30
3 bags carrots for snack=$3
daily multivitamin from $ store=$1
Thats $46, $4 for taxes
The multivitamin makes sure u get the reccomended nutrients u need. This way you are eating a little something 4 times a day. The banquet meals/turkey pot pies have veggies,meat, carbs in them and cost between $.88-$1. Look in to food pantry in ur area. Good luck!0 -
I have to ask. What kind of instant noodles are you buying that cost $6 for a 24 pack?
The only 24 packs of noodles around here are Ramen Noodles and you can get them for $1.50 for 24. So I'm curious.
ah, yes... the cost of food in Canada.... $1.50 for 24 wouldn't happen in my province...0 -
There is no tax on basic food in BC so no idea where you're getting that from. Junk food and pre packaged stuff yes. Change what you eat and save the tax.0
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I think I'd get rice, lentils and frozen veg instead of the bread, sugar and noodles. More nutrition for your dollar and Dahl (lentils) is yummy and nutritious. And if you have $1 left, spend it on dried chilli or curry powder to spice up the Dahl.
And powdered milk instead of fresh - you should get more and it won't go off.
I would also try to see if you could squeeze a few onions or carrots (or other cheap seasonal veggies) in there too.
Yes. Rice and lentils/beans of various sorts. Whole protein, cheap, filling, nutritious and versatile. Forget the instant noodles and bread. Oatmeal works as well, as do eggs. I don't really do milk much so I'd skip it entirely, and then the cheap (frozen or seasonal) fruits and vegetables.
Combine that with buying things on sale, at discount places and with coupons and that goes a seriously long way to being able to eat affordably.
Plus, $12 for a whole big bag of granulated sugar? That's very much empty calories/$$ (as are the noodles and coffee).0 -
There is no tax on basic food in BC so no idea where you're getting that from. Junk food and per packaged stuff yes.
I wasn't aware of that, I'm pretty sure there was tax on a lot of food items I've bought before.
Either way I'll manage just fine. I'll keep out of using charity resources if I can... Pretty sure there's plenty who need it more than I do.0 -
There is no tax on basic food in BC so no idea where you're getting that from. Junk food and per packaged stuff yes.
I wasn't aware of that, I'm pretty sure there was tax on a lot of food items I've bought before.
Either way I'll manage just fine. I'll keep out of using charity resources if I can... Pretty sure there's plenty who need it more than I do.
I'm confused. On the 5th you posted you eat a lot of junk food on a regular basis, cookies, chips and alcohol. Doesn't sound like someone gearing down for $50 a month on food...and yes, there's never been tax on real food in BC0 -
I'm confused. On the 5th you posted you eat a lot of junk food on a regular basis, cookies, chips and alcohol. Doesn't sound like someone gearing down for $50 a month on food...and yes, there's never been tax on real food in BC
I don't want to explain my situation but I have family supporting me right now. Something happened in the past week, and now I won't. I'm not going to live on the streets if that's what you're asking, and I'm not going to need charity resources or welfare. I wouldn't be posting here if that were the case. Things are just going to get a bit difficult financially so I'm cutting down on what I buy.
I apologize if I gave that impression- Being homeless and needing food banks did cross my mind as a worst-case scenario but in likelihood I have other family that would help me.0 -
I don't know what difference it would make if I buy (stockpile) food now, compared to buying it later. It would just be a matter of when I spend that money. I've always bought food that's on sale, and do my shopping at Superstore where food is cheapest.
Instant noodles are definitely bad for you, but for $0.25 a pack it could provide a month of dinners for $7.50 before HST.
The suggestions of lentils, canned beans, etc. are actually a bit expensive for me- on sale they're $0.60 a can and if I have one everyday, that's $18 before HST. That's a bit too much, especially when I can get 40 llbs worth of potatoes for $12.
As for flour, I don't know if it would be worth it as I'd have to buy milk and eggs to make things with it, compared to spending $4 a month on a couple loaves of bread instead. I'm keeping the peanut butter and using it for the bread and potatoes. I found a cheaper alternative that's $ 3.49 a jar, so two jars a month is definitely economical for me.
Sorry if I haven't responded to every post, guys. I've read most of them and I realized it might have been a better idea to ask on a local forum, where there's a better idea of the food prices where I live. I'm appreciative for the tips though- I've upgraded my original list. $50 is *definitely* doable for me
I find Superstore usually the cheapest, however there are lost leaders (the items selling at a really low rate to get people in the store) from other stores. I usually just bring in the flyers or a computer print out of the flyer to Superstore, and they will price match. This is what I meant by saving you gas, it would at least save you a bus trip and time.
Stockpiling makes a HUGE difference. By buying something now in a much larger quantity, it will last you longer, and therefore save you a few dollars later on when things are really tight. The reason it makes the difference, is that first you’re paying at a lower cost per meal if you get the larger ones. You are also buying when the prices are the lowest, when you can’t always do that if you have to buy something. You are spending a little more money now, so later, you can have enough to carry you over, and make better food decisions. I also use a little bit of a stock pile to buy the basic pantry items such as spices, baking things, etc, this allows you more variety later on. If you bought a 40lb of rice this week at Superstore for $28, it would give you at least 200 dinner size servings, this is less than the $0.25 you are paying for the instant noodles. If you are able to save the $7.50 for that month for the noodles, because you already have rice, then if some meat goes on sale, you could get a small roast for the same amount, and have it for 7 meals, which would save you again. Stockpiling is one way to really weather through the bad times, especially if you have a little time to plan.
For the beans and lentils, usually one wouldn’t eat a whole can in one sitting. One can should be good enough for about 3-4 meals, that would be about $0.20 or $6 month. However, I said DRIED NOT canned. You can buy 1 lb of beans on sale for a $1. This would give you 10 servings, so 3 bags (even 4) would cost you $4 for the month. I would definitely substitute the potatoes for the sugar, and make sure you eat the skins, that’s the healthiest part.
For flour, you already mentioned that you buy milk, and eggs can be really cheap. I would rather get a dozen eggs ($2 not on sale) which would make an equivalent of 6 loaves of bread. You can use the eggs for pancakes too, or even substitute baking powder plus water for the eggs if you want. Your cost for bread would then be about $.60 a loaf, which if you are on that tight of a budget, every penny counts.
Definitely check out the Good Food box in Vancouver, there is one, and good luck0 -
Since you mentioned that this isn't happening right now, but might be the reality in 6 months, I would see if I could 'stockpile' a little .
Groceries are expensive in Canada, especially where you live. I believe there is the good food box program where you can get really good fesh fruits and veggies that are in season for dirt cheap. For my family, we could get 50 pounds of produce for $25 each month. That was for a large family, they had a single person one for $15. Just google good food box, it's usually a community share program.
I would also look at shopping on sale only for the next few months and stock up on sales items that are non perishable or can be frozen. Also, when you are shopping bring a calculator to determine which size of items will give you the best cost per unit. Sometimes smaller on sale boxes with coupons are cheaper than the larger item. Take your time comparing each size on the shelf. Get coupons on line of you can, bring flyers or print puts of flyers for price match, which will also save on gas.
Prepare everything from scratch and in bulk. Even bread you could do cheaper.
Items I would look to stock up on, you could buy one item each time
Big bags of rice, this week is actually really good because of Chinese new year. You cold get a 18kg bag for about $25.
Dried beans or lentils - much cheaper than even canned. I can get them for a $1 lb on sale
Flour - generic bag of 10kg about $7 for whole wheat. You can use this for so many things, breads, pancakes, home made tortillas, at a fraction of a cost. A bag that large will last my family of 5 3 months of heavy use
Meats - buy what is on sale. I have found things like pork shoulder, and chicken legs go on sale for $1 lb. I will buy a pork shoulder and cut up the meat for various dishes, or will make a pulled pork. A 9 lb shoulder will give me up to 20 servings that I freeze. Smoke shoulder, I will cook then use left overs later.
Veggies - see my good box ideas, but shop only on sale
Potatoes - buy large bags on sale
Onions, you can get 0.50 a pound.
Canned tomatoes, you can use them for sauces and stews.
Tomatoe paste instead or tomatoe sauce, a little will go a long way.
Canned tuna or salmon, $1 a can
Other things are waste nothing. If I make a whole turkey, or pork shoulder, I will take the bones and freeze them , or make a broth . out of them. I take all left overs and freeze it, and can put it in a soup. Omemade soup can be really cheap. I would take the peelings off veggies and freeze them, once I had a bag, I would boil them to make a veggie broth, just make sure you wash well before peeling. If you are looking for calories, you could rip off the skin from chicken, and fry just the skin crisp, save the oil for other cooking. Its not healthy, but it will give ou fat that you don't have to buy.
I do think it will be extremely tight, but you can make some different choices than you planned. . I would Not buy the sugar or coffee. You can get sugar, salt, pepper at food courts. Other spices can be found in bulk in small quantities. I would use the noodles as an emergency as they are awful for you.
I am sure I can come up with many other ideas, but will see if you respond.
I don't know what difference it would make if I buy (stockpile) food now, compared to buying it later. It would just be a matter of when I spend that money. I've always bought food that's on sale, and do my shopping at Superstore where food is cheapest.
Instant noodles are definitely bad for you, but for $0.25 a pack it could provide a month of dinners for $7.50 before HST.
The suggestions of lentils, canned beans, etc. are actually a bit expensive for me- on sale they're $0.60 a can and if I have one everyday, that's $18 before HST. That's a bit too much, especially when I can get 40 llbs worth of potatoes for $12.
As for flour, I don't know if it would be worth it as I'd have to buy milk and eggs to make things with it, compared to spending $4 a month on a couple loaves of bread instead. I'm keeping the peanut butter and using it for the bread and potatoes. I found a cheaper alternative that's $ 3.49 a jar, so two jars a month is definitely economical for me.
I think I read something on gas and driving; I don't have a car, and take public transit to get to school/work. Bus pass fees are going up next year (like pretty much everything here) but I don't think I need to elaborate on anything else on my living expenses.
Sorry if I haven't responded to every post, guys. I've read most of them and I realized it might have been a better idea to ask on a local forum, where there's a better idea of the food prices where I live. I'm appreciative for the tips though- I've upgraded my original list. $50 is *definitely* doable for me
You mentioned that you're not currently in a situation where you only have $50/month to spend, which suggests that you are currently in a position where you can spend more money on groceries.
If you stockpile while you have the money, that's money you won't have to spend getting started when you don't. IE - you spend some extra money (or start swapping out the luxury items) now, while you have it, to get non-perishable staples like flour, sugar, powdered/canned milk, rice, Ramen, etc. you won't have to cut into your food budget just for stuff to survive on when $50 is all you have. If you stockpile enough now, you can go for *months* without having to buy those staples, and redirect that $50 for things with more nutritional value and/or perishable items. $10-15 per shopping trip to build a stockpile can literally mean the difference between having a satisfying stir-fry a few times a month and living off of beans and rice every single day. You also have the added bonus of being able to wait for sales and coupons, instead of going "I need this now or I'll starve, even though this item is on sale next week."
Also, since you're not currently in the $50/month situation, I recommend looking into, and setting aside the money for, a food club membership (such as Sam's Club). The cost of membership will kill your food budget if you wait, but if you set money aside for it, it can really save you money on food.0 -
I find Superstore usually the cheapest, however there are lost leaders (the items selling at a really low rate to get people in the store) from other stores. I usually just bring in the flyers or a computer print out of the flyer to Superstore, and they will price match. This is what I meant by saving you gas, it would at least save you a bus trip and time.
Stockpiling makes a HUGE difference. By buying something now in a much larger quantity, it will last you longer, and therefore save you a few dollars later on when things are really tight. The reason it makes the difference, is that first you’re paying at a lower cost per meal if you get the larger ones. You are also buying when the prices are the lowest, when you can’t always do that if you have to buy something. You are spending a little more money now, so later, you can have enough to carry you over, and make better food decisions. I also use a little bit of a stock pile to buy the basic pantry items such as spices, baking things, etc, this allows you more variety later on. If you bought a 40lb of rice this week at Superstore for $28, it would give you at least 200 dinner size servings, this is less than the $0.25 you are paying for the instant noodles. If you are able to save the $7.50 for that month for the noodles, because you already have rice, then if some meat goes on sale, you could get a small roast for the same amount, and have it for 7 meals, which would save you again. Stockpiling is one way to really weather through the bad times, especially if you have a little time to plan.
For the beans and lentils, usually one wouldn’t eat a whole can in one sitting. One can should be good enough for about 3-4 meals, that would be about $0.20 or $6 month. However, I said DRIED NOT canned. You can buy 1 lb of beans on sale for a $1. This would give you 10 servings, so 3 bags (even 4) would cost you $4 for the month. I would definitely substitute the potatoes for the sugar, and make sure you eat the skins, that’s the healthiest part.
For flour, you already mentioned that you buy milk, and eggs can be really cheap. I would rather get a dozen eggs ($2 not on sale) which would make an equivalent of 6 loaves of bread. You can use the eggs for pancakes too, or even substitute baking powder plus water for the eggs if you want. Your cost for bread would then be about $.60 a loaf, which if you are on that tight of a budget, every penny counts.
Definitely check out the Good Food box in Vancouver, there is one, and good luck
You don't even need eggs for bread. Most basic bread recipes don't use eggs (you will want to pick up yeast and/or baking soda, though, both of which are cheap at places like Gordon Food Service). For recipes that call for eggs, you can even use milk as a substitute usually.0 -
I think I'd get rice, lentils and frozen veg instead of the bread, sugar and noodles. More nutrition for your dollar and Dahl (lentils) is yummy and nutritious. And if you have $1 left, spend it on dried chilli or curry powder to spice up the Dahl.
And powdered milk instead of fresh - you should get more and it won't go off.
I would also try to see if you could squeeze a few onions or carrots (or other cheap seasonal veggies) in there too.
THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD BE BUYING!! Ditch the Sugar. Buy your produce in season also check the reduced section of your grocery store. I can get apples, oranges, berries, etc...all for under $2 for large bags, then freeze what you do not use and make smoothies or add on oatmeal.
Also buy dry beans and make soup. Frozen veggies, get them on sale and stock up.
Oatmeal is inexpensive.
Clip coupons and shop sales, its not easy, you have to work at it.0 -
Mushroomed topic and a lot of good advice but remember that eggs are the longest lasting cheapest fresh protein source you can get pound for pound. At least they are here in the states.0
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Oh yeah, I was there in college, too. I'd buy a big bag of frozen chicken boobs and only eat half of a boob... fillet? Is that what they are called? Boob fillet? Anyway, only half of one at a time. A big bag of brown rice. Oatmeal. And when the bags of frozen vegetables went on sale, I would stock up on those. Like, my roommates would yell at me because there wasn't anymore room in the freezer. And that's pretty much what I would live off of. Plus when a group of us would go to the local Mexican restraunt, I couldn't afford to order anything but I'd stuff myself full of the chips and salsa.
I didn't want to let my parent know that my part-time minimum wage job was barely feeding me, espcially when they were already paying so much in tuition. So you do what you gotta do.0
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