How to survive on 40-50 dollars per month on food.

I bumped this yesterday. Someone mentioned a good website on making Indian food and now I can't find it!

To save money on fresh produce try going to a farmer's market! You can buy a TON of produce for super cheap.

I'm going to be needing this advice soon!

look at flyers/internet for sales each week and find the best deals.
stock up on freezer and pantry items when there is a good sale. ie: stop & shop 10 for $10.
I shop at a store called Price Rite, it's really cheap. Aldi's is also cheap, see if you have any discount grocery stores where you live.

Eat mostly chicken and pork for protein (nix expensive cuts of meat like steak), but try to buy only on sale days (reading the flyers come in handy for this). Freeze and take out your portion the day before to thaw. Look at the UNIT PRICE to make sure you are getting a good deal! When I buy meat i look for around $1-2 per pound on sale. Some fish is pretty cheap too, but i don't buy seafood often. I've tried frozen fish, but it is just not good to me, so i'd rather splurge sometimes and buy the fresh fish. Also generally I've found that shrimp is pretty expensive so I never buy shrimp. I don't eat other seafood.

Use frozen veggie bags (i stock up on 10/$10 days or when Price Rite has em for a dollar) to stretch your meals. Especially follow using my other tip below, cutting your meat portions in half.

I generally have snacks/breakfast as whey protein shake with water or milk. A huge tub is $10-20 and it will last me maybe 2 months. I'm counting my macros so I need the protein to reach them -- shakes are a good way to sneak it in cheaply. Generally though, protein bars are really expensive in comparison - a single bar can be $1.50++. Do shakes instead.

EGGS. They're pretty cheap and have a good amount of protein to fill you up. I cook eggs all the time -- not just for bf.

Try to nix cheese. It is pretty expensive and is a lot of calories without offering a lot of nutrients. Other expensive and/or empty-cal things: mayonnaise, butter, oil (if you like cooking with it though, olive oil is worth the cost), peanut butter (really good for quick lunches/dinners though, your choice to buy or not -- the jar does last really long), soda, juice (just drink water), bottled water (just buy a washable bottle), bagels/etc (the only bread you really need is a whole wheat loaf), and junk food like chips/ice cream/cookies.

Shop the perimeter mostly, except when you need pantry items.

On a good sale day, get some canned fruits/veggies to keep for good cheap options. I also like tuna as a cheap protein source.

Have meals that do not include meat at all, meat is expensive. I can make plenty of meals using noodles or rice and some frozen mixed veggies, with a bit of creativity. Or half your "usual" portion of meat. My fiance and I do this and our meat now lasts twice as long, because we're eating 1/2 chicken breast each instead of 1 each.

Don't buy any processed or conveniently packaged products. A couple more minutes of food prep is really all you need to trim the fat, or cut the fruit, or bag individual serving sizes. ESP rice, beans, potatoes. Super cheap foods.

I usually buy the cheapest bread that is whole wheat, but you can nix bread entirely and just have salads instead, and also cut out the carbs/cals from eating bread. I love sandwiches though, but lately i've been doing open-face to save cals and a slice of bread so my bread lasts twice as long. You can also freeze bread so it lasts longer -- esp when it's HOT out!

Write a shopping list, and plan your meals - great things to do before you go shopping to really stick to your budget. my friend is also on a tight budget and she is one of those people who bring a calculator to make sure there are no surprises at the register.

Once you stock up your freezer/pantry with the essentials, the only stuff you'll really need to buy once a week or so are eggs, milk, fresh fruits/veggies, and sometimes meat (when your freezer stock is depleted), plus whatever else is depleted that you'll need. Also, I love yogurt and generally it's not bad. I get a bunch when they're like 50 cents each and use em for snacks or breakfast.

I mentioned this briefly, but don't BUY anything to drink! Drink your water. I bought a 32 oz reusable bottle from Family Dollar for like $2 and I carry it with me everywhere! I don't drink milk unless i use it to make my shakes.

Also, do not eat out! Eating out is soooooooo expensive. It's such a waste. If you don't have one, buy a rice cooker/steamer and you will have meals so quick and easy you'll never want to eat out again. I literally take a couple minutes to throw some rice and water in the bottom and then put some frozen veggies on the top. If I'm eating meat with it i'll bake or use the pan to cook it with zero-cal oil spray (most meats take 10-15 minutes to cook). EASY. We literally only eat on special ocassions, unless I'm REALLY craving something specific. Usually it's pizza haha...But don't do that! Get the $5 pizza (Price Rite has $5 Digiornos sometimes) instead of $20 from like dominos lol.

That's all I got for now, hope this helps!

Some of this has probably been said in here already,,,

Do you have a freezer? If so this could help quite a bit. A whole chicken for my family(4) will make 2, maybe 3 dinners and a pot of soup (roast chickent and veg, chicken soup, chicken quesidillas for example)
I find soup, chillis and stews the best bang for your buck, especially if you can freeze it for meals later in the month where $$ might be tight.
Spaghetti sauce is another staple around here.
Keep an eye on the reduced bin for produce. Things like carrots, celery, peppers and even over ripe bananas freeze well for use later.

Buy in bulk the staples you go through the most, like beans, rice, flour ect. In an airtight container they can last quite a while.
Same applies to family packs of meat when on sale (if you have a freezer of course) they are generally cheaper (per KG) than the smaller packs.

Price matching at walmart and coupons are a great saver. Better bonus when you can price match a sale item and use a coupon. We only use coupons for stuff would actually buy, it does take some planning, but has saved us lots.
I do find manufacturers very generous for things like whole wheat pasta, pasta sauces, cereal, juice, shampoos and soaps coupons. I miss our soy milk coupons that were directly on the carton. (My BF is a Vegetarian. )

last week multigrain cheerios were on sale for 2.99 inside the box there is a coupn for free juice and i had a .75 coupon Bonus! I get exited over little things now lol

Im in canada and like going to food basic sunday before a long weekend, Thats usually when they will reduce the dairy we go through 8L of milk a week, so when they reduce it to 2$ for 4.29 thats some savings for us.

You can grow a few things from an apartment. Back in the day I had 2 tomato plants, a few carrots, and herbs. They dont take up much space and you can garden them year round.

You seem very resourceful :)Im sure you can make it to your goal of 50$ a month

bump i'm trying to cut my grocery bill while still keeping within my macros

I check the weekly ads, portion out the meat to what i need and freeze the rest. i need to add more beans and rice into my diet though!
this thread rocks!

bumpage!

If your supermarket has a bulk food section, like rice and beans purchase from there it cost much less.

Go to Dollar Tree. They have a great frozen food section. I have gotten the steamed veggies from there, and sometimes you can catch the Smart Ones meals.

I really want to read these tips but I'm WAY too a.d.d. right now... Hopefully later

I had to eat that snugly in college. I totally feel you! It is also the time that I became a confident cook at home.
I ate a lot of these, which are filling, relatively nutritious and dirty cheap.
- Potato
- Onions
- Oats
- Lentils
- Beans - all kinds. Dried Beans are very inexpensive
- Rice
- Eggs
- Chicken - Whole and Roasted at home. On sale, some of these cost only a few dollars and for just you, a 3 lb hen is plenty for a while. When you cook them and use them like a Thanksgiving Turkey, will last you a couple of weeks. Chicken broth can be a boon to bland starches.
- Bullion - you will be amazed how much flavor you can get out of one tiny cube
- Apples
- Root Veggies
- Pork. It only takes a tiny bit of cured pork to add enormous flavor, thus, making it cheap.
- Inexpensive cheeses
- BIG green leafy veggies. If you buy a whole head of romaine lettuce, it can really last a while.
- Dried fruit. The reason this fits the budget is you can use small amounts for flavor, snacks or otherwise, and it lasts much longer than the month you purchased it in. It's a $6 hit now, for three months worth of snacks, salads, flavor-adds, etc. Cranberries are my favorite.

Become an avid home-chef. Spices make the low-budget world go around so get really good ones if you can. Penzey's has very high quality spices for much less than the store, so go there if you can find one. . My sis can feed a family of 6 on $200 per MONTH at times, and she does a stellar job by cooking at home. Good luck!

Man I'm only up to page 3 but this is a great topic! Thanks!!