Money is going to be tight here for the next few months, and the easiest way to cut our expenses is at the supermarket–but it’s really damned hard. I don’t know if it’s just because I don’t know how to shop smart or what. Our average grocery bill is $100-$115, there are only three of us in the household, and we don’t even buy things like breakfast food or lunch food. We already avoid frozen meals, we don’t buy a lot of snackfood, and we’re not big on anything that comes in a box (so no mac and cheese, no instant mashed potatoes, nothing like that). Except for pasta and canned goods, I basically shop on the perimeter of the store.
We have a few standbys. Pasta, of course. Tacos/burritos. Hamburger soup (that comes out more like a strange casserole with hamburger, tomatoes, egg noodles, carrots, and potatoes but we like it), stove-top chili, pork chops when they’re on sale, a lot of ground beef. But when we get bored of this menu, we tend to order pizza or buy other things we can’t afford, and that’s bad.
So I’m looking for any suggestions. I don’t have a lot of experience cooking, and I’m not very creative in the kitchen. But I’m going to be home all day, I have a brand new Kitchenaid, and a willingness to learn. Nobody has any allergies, and we’re not really picky eaters. I would just like to get my weekly food bill down to $50-$75. Any help is appreciated!
Chicken, when on sale, is always a good way to economize. When one of the local mega-marts puts boneless chicken breast on sale, say $1.99/lb, I usually stock up and freeze them. Whole chicken is a good idea, too. Buy one on sale for $3-4, roast it, and you’ve got dinner, plus chicken salad or chicken and pasta/rice for a few more meals.
Got a crock-pot? Try a pork shoulder roast. They go on sale for about a buck a pound pretty frequently. Slow-cook, shred, and add any BBQ sauce of your choice–sammiches for days! And when you tire of those, buy spuds on sale, bake them, and top with your BBQ mixture. This also works for cheap cuts of beef chuck.
Don’t have a crock-pot? Buy one. Now. Inexpensive tastes so much better slow-cooked!
Have you any hispanic supermarkets nearby? You can get your meats there at bargain prices. You’re not going to find great filet mignons or racks of lamb or anything, but you’ll find thin-cut beef and pork from which you can make fajitas or other Mexican dishes. The chicken will be a great bargain, too, and you can make terrific crockpot dishes of stewed chicken thighs and legs.
My local hispanic markets carry good produce, too, and there are great buys on lettuces, peppers, fruit, tomatoes, and tropical fruits.
Not to mention, of course, bulk tortillas and dried beans and dried chiles.
In general, I’d agree that’s a good approach, but I dive into one of the middle aisles every few weeks to grab a 42-oz box of Quaker “Quick-1 minute” Oats. What does that cost, like five bucks? Cheap, easy to prepare, filling, and nutritious. I don’t really care for oatmeal, but I eat it like 360 days of the year. I get 3 weeks of breakfast out of one box, and that’s using the large serving size. I bet one box would make breakfast for three people for a week.
$100 for three people? For my mom and myself it’s like $180-$200 every two weeks. And that’s shopping at the cheap mega-store. Methinks we’re doing something wrong.
As for cheap, there’s always the tried and true instant ramen noodles. Throw in some leftover veggies and meat and you’ve got a complete, cheap meal.
Try making your own pizza when you need a pizza break. My family is also on a tight budget, but we still have Friday night pizza. When we make it at home we use the Pillsbury pizza crust and store brand shredded cheese. It ain’t the best pizza in the world, but it is a nice change and fairly cheap.
Also, look for a take and bake chain in your area. Papa Murphys is our place of choice and with their coupons you can get a decent pizza under 10 bucks that will feed two adults and two kids under 5, and leave you a few leftover slices.
Plan a weekly menu of meals. Start by checking out what ingredients are already in your fridge/freezer/pantry and create meals using those. Check out what specials your local supermarket is running (either from a coupon book or if they have an online store) and plan the other meals using those.
Have one night with a slightly special meal - maybe someone’s personal favourite - that feels like a treat. That way you’ll feel less inclined to phone for pizza.
If you don’t already, plan one or two vegetarian meals a week.
Casseroles/stews are great in winter and work well with cheaper cuts of meat. Making a double batch and freeze half. I usually make it a day in advance of eating, because the flavours develop over 24 hours.
I know these aren’t meal ideas as such, but they are some things that have worked for my household.
New York Times column on healthy foods for under a dollar. I cook all the time with eggs and chickpeas. Popcorn isn’t on the list but if you buy the kind in a bag that doesn’t get microwaved you can have a nice large healthy snack on the cheap.
Expand you horizons with pasta. Don’t just stick to spaghetti and meatballs. A quick and cheap meal around Casa Silenus is pasta and broccoli with Italian sausage. The pasta and broccoli cook in the same pot at the same time. All you have to do is dress it with butter and garlic, add a little grated cheese and black pepper, and stir in the cooked sausage. Takes 15 minutes to make and costs next to nothing. You can vary the veggies and meat in countless ways, as well as varying the type of pasta and the saucing.
Ingredients: 1.5-ish lbs. hamburger, 1 onion, 4-5 potatoes, 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
Preheat oven to 400.
Brown 4 large, thick hamburger patties on high. You want to sear them, not cook them completely.
Put the patties into a dutch oven or deep casserole dish. Top each patty with a slice of onion. Slice the potatoes into 1/2 inch thick slices and layer on top.
Warm the soup in the microwave for a minute or two to soften it. Stir in salt and pepper to taste (You can add things like garlic powder or thyme if you like). Spread the soup over the top of the potatoes. Cover and bake about an hour.
You end up having to eat whatever is an actual bargain, and not just marked on sale.
Things you can do without that really are never a bargain are:
all chips
sodas and juice
Bottled water if your home stuff is drinkable.
Spices that are not in the large jar for a dollar category.
Candy
Breath mints and gum
Individual serving sized food.
Things you need to watch and buy in very limited quantities unless a special price:
Cheese
Meat
Deli food
Produce
Additions such as bacon pieces or croutons for basic foods.
When ever you can leave out an extra you would like as an addition you can spend a little more on the main ingredients of a dish. By cutting out the first list you will save a lot of money. You also need to make your meals on what is cheaper and not on what you’d prefer as a first choice. Be frugal with the expensive components of a dish that need to be in that dish.
This year I’ve had bacon available for $2.50 a pound where as hamburger is about $4. I’ve been enjoying more bacon than I usually get. Cheese has been about $6 a pound locally so bacon sandwiches it is.
Quesadillas: fast, cheap and as healthy as you want 'em to be.
I use whole wheat tortillas, reduced fat shredded cheese, diced chicken, black beans and jalapenos. a little low fat sour cream and salsa on top, and bam! Bob’s your uncle.
Tomato soup and grilled cheese. I make the grilled cheese by toasting the bread, spraying it down with no-cal butter spray, and then putting the cheese on and melting it in the microwave. I buy the low-sodium Campbell’s and add a can of no salt added chopped tomatoes with garlic and onion (after I’ve sauteed it to dry up the liquid some). I add skim milk instead of water. Not only is it low-cal, but two cans of soup will feed three of us for lunch and dinner.
Also, you should keep an eye on portion control. My biweekly grocery bill for three of us is about $120-150. Shopping on the outside is the healthiest thing, so while I encourage you to try and save, your family’s health is priceless. Try to cut back elsewhere.
This I find to be a total false economy. Small amounts of spices, if used right, can make lower costs meats and otherwise bland protein sources much more palatable. I’d suggest going to a non-“mainstream” grocery store to get them - my local Hispanic grocery has much better prices, as does the West African place down by the Metro.
Without knowing how often you shop that dollar figure is meaningless. However, if you shop once a week and spend $100-120 for three people that’s roughly $33-40 a week per person which is not bad. Food stamps, which are pretty minimal, allot $25/week per person and it’s unlikely you’ll do better than that.
I’ve cut back by doing things like baking my own bread - but even there you have to know what you’re doing or else you can wind up spending more than you would by buying day-old bread from an outlet store.
Fruit and vegees from fresh or frozen (watch for what’s in season), potatoes, and other basics you’re probably already familiar with. If you can learn to cook beans from scratch that might save you a few pennies on canned items but it will certainly cost you in some time and effort.
This thread on another message board has a wide variety of recipes, some cheap and some not, that may give you some ideas for new items.
Shop at Aldi or Rat-Bastids-Walmart, if you can. You can triple your purchasing power by buying off-brands on sale in these joints.
Another plus at shopping at Rat-Bastids-Walmart is that they sell food in larger quantities (10 chicken breasts vs. 3). If you have enough freezer space, you can grab the big quantities on sale and break them down into useable packages.
I’m in the same place, financially, that you are (been unemployed since 11/11, husband is also out of work), so I’m very up-to-date on the latest “inexpensive food” options!
I live in Florida where there’s a very large Mexican migrant population, so the stores always stock “ethnic” food. I can buy great big bags of tortillas cheap. There are even whole-wheat ones, which are healthier and taste better.
You can use tortillas for everything! Breakfast? Put a little butter/margarine and honey or jelly/jam or cinnamon-sugar and roll up. Lunch? “Wraps” are the big thing now. Tuna wrap, caesar salad wrap, whatever. Dinner? Quesadillas. Soft tacos. Put a little refried beans, salsa and rice and you’ve got a vegan burrito. (or add cheese, if you’re non-vegan).
