When my wife & I first got married we ate them a bunch. We were bringing in $28k a year, neither of us were insured, & I had considerable student loan debt. A bowl of Ramen Noodles & a big glass of ice water from the water fountain was the norm & isn't a terrible lunch for 12 cents. Do that for a year & you can save a lot of money.

 

You need to get the reduced sodium or you'll have a heart attack though.

My suggestions:

 

1. Invest in a good rice maker with "fuzzy logic," preferably one made in Japan. Buy rice in bulk.

 

2. Eat less beef by substituting pork and poultry. At $1.79/lb. or even less, smoking a Boston butt pork roast will go a long way.

 

3. If you like to cook spicy dishes and live near Asian grocery stores, spices can often be found there for a fraction of the cost at chains like Kroger.

First off, stop eating healthy. It costs a fortune. I would love to have 3 healthy meals a day, cooked properly with all the good ingredients and side items. It's just too time consuming and expensive. Hit the dollar menu.

My wife and I eat pretty healthy, usually fresh foods, including some veggies from our garden. We both eat meat although not much for her, and we don't have a lot of "junk" food around the house. However, our monthly food bill is getting pretty outrageous for just two of us + our youngest who is home on summer break. We do our food shopping between the local Walmart and Kroger. BTW, we seldom eat out, so we do save money there. My wife will cook several main dishes on the weekend, and during the week, we heat those up and add a saland and/or vegetable.

 

I am appealing to the intelligencia of my fellow posters to share, if you will, your tactics to reduce the monthly food bill (not including eating less:-).

How much are you currently spending and what you are trying to get to?

 

Food is one thing I don't mind spending money on. I save where I can but at the end of the day I'm going to be unhealthy in an effort to save a few pennies.

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If you throw the sodium-filled sauce out and just eat the noodles with spray butter and some pepper they are actually not that unhealthy or at least that is what I tell myself

I don't recommend Chipotle once a week. Esp since they raised their prices.

 

Coupons, no junk food and off brands are only way to save money today.

Low food budget is tough for me because I have to watch carbs and sodium. I don't eat too much from boxes or cans. Don't spend money on high-priced junk food and snacks.

 

Store brands; especially stuff like cereal.

 

I can't stand the stuff, but I know several folks that will buy powdered milk.

 

A pork roast will go a long way. We typically get 3 or 4 meals out of one. Roast, sandwiches and bbq. So does a big package of chicken - leg quarters are the most economical. PB&J sandwiches. Soup beans and greens. Potatoes are pretty good ballast for the money.

 

I love corn. Should be able to buy decent corn at Kroger for a quarter an ear.

 

Lots of money can be saved by drinking water instead of pop and juice.

 

 

Finally - and this seems like common sense - eat what you buy. People throw away a tremendous amount of food. Learn lots of ways to use those leftovers - hash, soup and stew, stir-fry. Break the boredom.

First off, stop eating healthy. It costs a fortune. I would love to have 3 healthy meals a day, cooked properly with all the good ingredients and side items. It's just too time consuming and expensive. Hit the dollar menu.

 

I would argue that unhealthy eating costs more in the long run, in the form of health and wellness.

Tonight we had chicken quesadillas. Used leftover Kroger fried chicken, Kroger cheese and Ole brand healthy tortilla wraps. Leftover soup beans. Dessert was one of those cool whip/cottage cheese and strawberry concoctions. Total cost about 5 bucks for the two of us; and it was great.

My mom had about a hundred ways to cook chicken.

Think about what you buy in terms of how it can be more than one meal. When I was raising my kids, even as teens, a chicken could be 5 different meals. Start with baked. Then pull off what's left. I would make a chicken rice casserole with some the next day. Boil the bones and make a stock. Use the stock and the rest of the chicken to make chicken and dumplings. Caveat: I make egg noodle dumplings, not biscuit dumplings. The final night, throw some frozen peas and carrots and either make more egg noodle dumplings or add frozen egg noodles for chicken noodle soup.

 

Consider planting your favorite veggies and herbs. This will really help in the summer. You don't need a huge garden. It's a low cost investment of money, but a bit of time.

 

Or maybe consider trekking out into the deep country. My area has Amish and Mennonite farms aplenty where you can buy pretty much anything really, really inexpensively, even better than farmer's markets.

 

I eat a LOT of pasta a lot of different ways. I rarely eat much meat because of that. With some pasta, olive oil, various combinations of veggies and herbs, maybe balsamic vinegar, it's a different meal every time

 

Panera sells bakers dozens of bagels for $5.99 after 5 on Tuesdays. Not always a huge selection, but it's such a deal!

We love fresh herbs. Always plant (at least) basil, oregano, cilantro, etc. every summer. Caprese salad (mozzarella, tomatoes and basil) is a family favorite.

And right now at Kroger, Jacks pizzas are 3 for $9.

Because it does not matter what we had for dinner, the teens are still hungry later on.

I love spicy Asian dishes and many of those dishes are relatively healthy and cheap if made at home. Some of my favorites:

 

Chicken Biryani, Hyderbadi style - This is a very economical dish that is popular among young, single Indian IT workers. You have to follow the recipes carefully, but it can be made in large quantities and reheats well. It is a great dish for pot luck meals.

 

Chicken Panang Curry (Thai) - My wife often substitutes some Paneer for some of the chicken. Paneer is a mildly flavored homemade style cheese that can be used like tofu but I prefer its flavor and texture.

 

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice - This can be made with chicken and or shrimp, pineapples, cashews, and raisins.

My mom had about a hundred ways to cook chicken.

 

My mother was the same with turkey--turkey sandwiches, turkey salad, turkey gravy, turkey Hash, turkey a la King, & gallons of turkey soup.