Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Are posters here eating meat for dinner every day of the week? That may be why your grocery bills are out of sight. We have fish once or twice a week. Every other meal is vegetarian, which goes a long way toward keeping our grocery bill under control.
Fish is more expensive than chicken/pork/beef....and lack of protein is not good for some people...and beans and rice only go so far.
Fish is more expensive than chicken/pork/beef....and lack of protein is not good for some people...and beans and rice only go so far.
Scarlet, I assure you that we eat plenty of protein, and we eat a varied diet of more than beans and rice. We just eat little meat. Two servings of fish a week for our family comes out to much less than chicken/pork/beef for every meal. After reading the responses to my question, however, I can see that my family is definitely in the minority.
Anything made of rice or wheat is going to be infinitely cheaper at home. Crepes at a creperie are around 8-10 dollars, at home you can make them for pennies. Making yellow rice at home is super cheap too, as opposed to getting it for three dollars at a restaurant
You are so right about the crepes! Crepes are so expensive in restaurants because of the French glamour it conjures up in people's minds and they are thought of as a fancy dish, that's why the crepes are priced so high (not unheard of for a crepe to cost 8 bucks). At home, you can make as many as you want and you can individualize the servings in a creative way, probably taste better, too.
Here in TX, I'm in the heart of "beef country" and it's rare to see 80% at less than $3.99/lb - which is what I can buy it for in 1 lb chubs at Aldi. Brookshire brothers had 2lbs for $2.99/lb just before the weekend of the 4th, but by the time I got there, they only had one package left.
Yup. Albertson's will occasionally have 80% for $3.29/lb on sale but we tend to prefer 93%. Last year, Albertson's would run sales for 93% at $2.99/lb. Not this year. $3.99 is the best I've seen lately. So I grab 8 or 10 lbs when they do that price and freeze it.
I also like it when they have roasts on sale for $2.99/lb. Recently we did a pot roast in the crockpot. For $10 in meat (plus potatoes, carrots, celery) we got 9 good (aka "big") size bowls out of it. (3 adults)
Just a suggestion. Buy popcorn from the bulk bins instead of microwave popcorn. It's 1/10 the price. There's an easy way to stretch your budget a little further right there and the popcorn tastes better.
My grandfather used to grow popcorn corn. It was so much fun. Think I am going to try that next summer!
The charcoal briquettes will cost at least a buck. You need to add the butter that you spread on the bun before grill toasting it. You also forgot the dill pickle. If you know how to cook, you can make a decent burger at home. Or you can eat a reheated abortion at a fast food joint.
Yeah, I forgot about the butter, probably because I insist on a good Kaiser roll on my homemade hamburg (you can skip butter there); and therefore, I forgot about the butter that really does make a difference in most cases.
By the way, that's exactly why I never bother with Mickie Dee's, Jack in the Box, or Wendy's anymore. I refuse to bother myself with a hamburger placed on a slab of Bimbo bread (mecch!). Ruins the whole thing. Even "5 Guys" hasn't gotten past that. IMO 2/3 (yes! I said 2/3) of the taste of a hamburger is the bun, I don't give a hoot about what other "mouth watering" stuff they put on it. Mothy tasting bun - crappy tasting hamburger; in my case, winds up getting tossed. Wasted money.
I have advised these fast food hamburger joints to just send their "tasters" to Central/Eastern Europe or France or Italy for a couple weeks. They'll quickly learn what good bread tastes like - and it couldn't cost more than a few cents more to make. Americans are completely clueless about good bread. Middle East stuff tortillas and even Hawaiian bread just doesn't rank. Sourdough has been so messed up its now out of the question. I suspect that the "sugar in everything" concept (I think they call it "fusion"?) has pretty much wrecked restaurant food here. Sugar in food is for toddlers (whets their taste buds) - not for adults.
White Castle is a good example. You still get the same bun (ignore everything else) on those "sliders" that they had 50 or 60 years ago. I suspect that very few people hooked on those burgers even realize why they are still so acceptable. It's the bun. It doesn't make a White Castle taste like a junior high school cafeteria "mock up." (White Castle's buns are an "institution," you know - Attend a party in Columbus Ohio with sloppy Joes served - you'll likely find White Castle buns used - they have (or had at one time) a surplus store, and for stuff like sloppy joes, you can't beat them.)
Cooking for one doesn't have to be expensive, but if you're trying to recreate restaurant food or if you don't like leftovers then it might not work for you.
Lifestyle too. When I was single I honestly hardly cooked at home because it DID cost me based on my lifestyle. It wasn't unusual for me to go out for happy hour with friends 4-5 nights a week. An app special and I was good. It was hard for me to meal plan when I had no idea where or what I would do during the week. And if I was given the choice of going to have a drink with a friend I haven't seen in awhile vs going home to cook a chicken breast, socializing won out every time. If I had a night with nothing to do, I would get some take out on the way home and that would generally feed me dinner and lunch the next day. Every now and again I would make a large batch of easily freezable meals like chili or red beans and rice or enchiladas and throw everything in the freezer for the nights when I didn't feel like take out. Truthfully it felt like a lot of effort and expense to feed just me.
Now that I have a family of 3.5, cooking at home is WAY cheaper than eating out so I make the effort but when I was single and it was just me? Nah.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If I had a night with nothing to do, I would get some take out on the way home and that would generally feed me dinner and lunch the next day. Every now and again I would make a large batch of easily freezable meals like chili or red beans and rice or enchiladas and throw everything in the freezer for the nights when I didn't feel like take out. Truthfully it felt like a lot of effort and expense to feed just me. 
