~*~ Budget Friendly ~*~

i grew up eating rice and beans like every nightttt ughhh.
now i live with my boyfriend and im in college. money is so tight that we only spend 150 a MONTH on food for the both of us. mind you i live in a large city where the cost of living is high (my studio apartment is 709 dollars a month to rent w/o utilities) right now i only have a glass of milk in my fridge, but thats beside the point haha.

i have shopped at aldis on the same budget, it does NOT go as far as woodmans. though most of you probably have no idea what that is. woodmans has almost all of the things (minus meat and fruit) for around a dollar.

we normally dont eat meat, which saves us a lot of money
but i buy eggs.
rice (brown)
a few boxes of pasta (wheat if you want)
canned sauce (or tomatos if you are crafty and have time)
frozen chicken (whole then wash and cut up)
ground turkey
canned tuna in water
wheat bread (lots, like a loave a week)
nutella
pb
bananas
cutie oranges
two bags of apples
biggg huge jar of applesauce (motts, and only a dollar for 20 servings)
frozen veggies (they are only 80 cents a bag!)
string cheese (something i cant resist)
nutri grain bars
block cheese (two types)
milk, lots of milk.
archer farms items are my fav. at 2$ a box i can afford organic fruit leather. love ittt (from target)
big tub of oatmeal (not instant)
i make a lot of my own soups too.
frozen juice (100%) concentrate

yepp. thats what i live off. its not glamourous, but i dont mind :]

If you want to cut down on your budget, buy more legumes and whole grains. Eating complementary amino acids on the same day will give you complete proteins, so you don't need to buy as much meat. I also find that I spend less on fruits and vegetables if I only buy them when they are in season (for example, cherries drop in price from $8 a lb at the start of the season to $5 a lb in the middle). And, if you're buying anything organic, it's only really worth it for foods with edible peels and long growing seasons, like apples.

bumping :happy:

I'm finishing my post-doc so I don't make much money. I shop and cook for two on a budget, usually around $200 a month. I tend to do a few things that others might not find helpful, but here goes:

1. I coupon! I know a lot of foods on coupons are processed and some people are avoiding these things, but there are great coupons for healthy foods like frozen vegetables, canned vegetables, Soy milk (if you're into that, I've never bought it), milk, eggs, etc. so it't not all processed.

2. I shop and compare prices. I get all of the circulars in the mail on Tuesdays (for me it's Sunflower, Smith's, and Albertsons), look at what I want, circle or list items and what store to get them at. Then I do one big trip and stop at all three places.

3. If you have access to a farmer's market, then great! Food is much cheaper there, and usualy local. Great resource for fresh fruits and vegetables.

4. Alternatives are stores that are "speacialty" that carry organic or locally grown products. We have a store here called Sunflower and although there is Whole Foods, it's much too pricey for many of the same things. Sunflower has the same foods but much cheaper and I can buy items in bulk bins as well so it costs less. Bulk is also great in case you only needa little of something to try out and see if you like a new healthy recipe instead of buying large quantities of something you may never use again.

5. I DO buy meat in bulk, usually at Albertsons when it's buy 1 get 2 free on steak and boneless/skinless chicken breast. It's a lot more budget friendly and since I can freeze it, then that means less running around and I always have food to cook at home instead of going to the Chinese restaurant that's only a 4 minute walk from here.

6. Check the price tags for cost per unit. Sometimes buying bigger or item sizes that are on sale are NOT competitively priced. If you can't find the cost per unit (i.e., 17 cents per ounce) then calculate it on your phone by dividing the price in pennies by ounce or number of pacakges to figure out the best deal.

7. I have no issue with store brands and actually many are healthier than the Brand name comparable item.

8. When I do go out, I do have coupons (Like I said, LOVE THEM). Also, Restaurant.com gift certificates are great for local restaurants at a discount. Some cities have great restaurants wth very healthy menues and it's a great way to get out once in a while.

Hope that helps and feel free to ask questions.

Do you have an Aldi grocery store in your area? They have great prices on just about everything you need! They have low calorie brand also called Fit and Active! Good luck to you!

I spend $500 per month for 3 people. Yes the healthy food costs more money!

I wanna know your guy's's secrets. We spend $200/week on groceries for me, hubs, and the 4yo. We don't buy a lot of processed foods, and we don't buy expensive organic. You guys are amazing (and slightly insane) when you say "I spend $200/mo on groceries, but I need to bring that down"
Super Grover says "HUBBA WHA--?!" HOW?!

I spend about that amount...

Usually what I buy is on the perimeter of the store
Fruits, veggies, fresh salmon, thin sliced chicken breasts, pasta...things like that.

I need some of you to start doing my shopping! My partner and I spend around $250 a week on groceries for the 2 of us and our dogs. That also includes all our household cleaning supplies, paper items and such. I dont have the time to hop shop from store to store so I just get everthing in one big trip each week.