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Some weeks I'd do with less, so that I could save up and buy staples in quantity. So instead of $25/week, I'd call it $100/4-week period.
Now we have a working budget.
1 medium-sized container of oats: $1 on sale.
1 dozen eggs: $3
2 pounds ground chuck, on sale: $7, sectioned into 1/4 pound baggies. Two in the fridge for use "this week" and the rest of them in the freezer.
1 box of clementines: $6
2 jars of store-brand organic tomato and basil pasta sauce (it's pretty tasty): $5 on sale
2 Arnold's wheat bread; one for freezer, one for the fridge - $4.50 B1G1 sale
1 large jar Ted's peanutbutter: $6
1 small jar strawberry preserves: $2
2 packages of ground coffee: $7 on sale
1 small container olive oil: $5
1 small container red wine vinegar: $1
Those are the staples I'd buy for the month.
That's $45.50. Leaves me with $51.50 for 4 weeks worth of essential weekly stuff, such as milk, cheese, and salad greens. I'd only use milk for coffee. I'd also have plenty of peanut-butter and preserves left over for the next month, and probably plenty of vinegar as well. So that $25/week would end up being more like $26/week the following month. Since the only perishables I'd need to buy weekly is milk, cheese, and salad greens, I'd probably have enough left over that I could treat myself at the end of the month with a sandwich or lunch special at the Chinese take-out.
See, in many places oats are way more than that. The smaller boxes are $1.50 and only have 13 servings, so you'd need two for the month. A small jar of strawberry preserves would be about 150mL? So that's ten one tablespoon servings, which won't get you to the end of the month, let alone leaving plenty left for the next month. Two jars of pasta sauce for 30 days, four or five servings per jar, what do you eat for the next 20 days? And what do you eat the pasta sauce with? Two loaves of bread is 28 slices. What do you eat the next two weeks?
It works out that for two weeks you eat each day one egg, one serving of porridge, one peanut butter and jelly sandwich, 1/7 pound of beef, half a cup of pasta sauce, coffee and a glass of vinaigrette. The second two weeks you spend the same amount again to eat just as meagre a diet, and you're left with a couple of dollars for a bus fare to hospital.
You quote sale prices, but the sale cycle is six weeks, so you wouldn't hit all of these items on sale in the week you went shopping. Also, you're budgeting by the month assuming that he can eat ramen for a couple of weeks to save up, but the 20-40 packets of ramen are still going to cost $10.
See, in many places oats are way more than that. The smaller boxes are $1.50 and only have 13 servings, so you'd need two for the month. A small jar of strawberry preserves would be about 150mL? So that's ten one tablespoon servings, which won't get you to the end of the month, let alone leaving plenty left for the next month.
Obviously its dependent on where you live and shop. At my local "bag your own" (not Safeway), I can get a giant jar of strawberry preserves for $2. That jar could last me many months.
Some people will opt to buy generic bulk oats whereas someone else might be buying prepackaged.
I can get a jar of mayo for 98c, or $1 at the dollar store - its not my favorite brand but if I only have $25 I'm going to squeeze my nickel 'til the buffalo $hits.
Of course, in some regions the food costs are much more. But just because you don't see those prices locally, doesn't mean they don't exist. This is a great way to see the different food options we all have locally and how our menus reflect that. BTW thanks for posting your food plan - looks good!
Obviously, if youre one who simply HAS to buy organic/gourmet brands, youre not going to get as much food as those of us who have no problem eating non organic/gourmet things.
I ate MRE's for 8 years; trust me, ive no problem eating cheap, inorganic processed foods.
Obviously its dependent on where you live and shop. At my local "bag your own" (not Safeway), I can get a giant jar of strawberry preserves for $2. That jar could last me many months.
Some people will opt to buy generic bulk oats whereas someone else might be buying prepackaged.
I can get a jar of mayo for 98c, or $1 at the dollar store - its not my favorite brand but if I only have $25 I'm going to squeeze my nickel 'til the buffalo $hits.
Of course, in some regions the food costs are much more. But just because you don't see those prices locally, doesn't mean they don't exist. This is a great way to see the different food options we all have locally and how our menus reflect that. BTW thanks for posting your food plan - looks good!
But there are still people who live in a given area and don't have the option to move to Texas (a PP from Texas cited Roma tomatoes as a cheap staple). Generic bulk and prepackaged oats cost the same everywhere I've compared them. Even the regional price differential tracks to both kinds.
In Anonchick's meal plan she had the person eating PB&J for lunch daily. You and I don't eat jam daily, which is why it lasts us many months. If you were to use a tablespoon every day then yes, you'd be using up 450 mL (almost two cups) every month (which is an enormous jar, not the small jar she planned for). This is the trap of assuming you could live on way less than you do, you forget about snacks, you don't realise that while a box of pasta is cheap, you need two of them to get through the week, etc.
My meal plan doesn't look good, it looks booooring! And, incidentally, while at the supermarket this morning pondering this question I managed to go $50 over my normal budget.
Ok, admittedly, this menu does not have much variety, but with the budget given there is not a lot of money for variety and in writing it out its easier just keeping it simple. I thought that I would do something that was not rice/beans/pasta focused, although there is some pasta. And this is something I would really do and eat
Cook the chicken in a pot with a carrot, celery and onion. Remove the chicken and shred it. Save some chicken to have chicken pieces and fruit for some lunches or chicken on Bisquick biscuits. Split the broth, frozen vegetables and shredded chicken into 2 pots. Add 1/2 the macaroni to one pot, you have several servings of chicken noodle soup. Make Bisquick dumplings to go over the contents of the other pot and you have several servings of chicken and dumplings. When tired of the chicken and dumplings and soup take the remainder and put in a pie pan and make a Bisquick biscuit to put over the top and bake, now you have a serving or two of chicken pot pie.
Breakfasts eggs and Bisquick pancakes as a bread (I eat pancakes dry or with margarine or jelly or fruit) or Bisquick biscuits.
Lunch 1/2 the package of macaroni with the spaghetti sauce, should be a few servings. And several days of pulled chicken or hard boiled eggs with fruit, celery and carrots, Biscuit biscuits or pancakes for the bread.
Dinner chicken noodle soup, chicken and dumplings, chicken pot pie.
You were the first to note that frozen vegetables are one of the best nutritional deals available. They often contain more vitamins than "fresh" cold storage produce. My wife and I make a lot of soups, sometimes just with bouillon or canned broth. We're not big on pasta, but our microwave has a simmer setting that automates rice cooking. We often do stir fry over rice, another place to use frozen vegetables and boned chicken/broth.
Pancakes are cheap. Oatmeal is cheap. Rice is cheap. Beans are cheap, but take a lot of cooking to do them right. I sometimes do vegetarian beans when I know I will be feeding vegetarians. Tomato paste is often cheaper than tomato sauce, while onions and a little liquid smoke in the beans really makes the flavor pop.
If you really want to eat well while saving money, bake your own bread. You can't beat the flavor, and you can do a loaf of bread for a small fraction of the retail price. If doing it the old fashioned way doesn't appeal, shop for a bread machine at Goodwill or Salvation Army.
I did the sums for bread baking once, and while it makes sense for me since I buy nice bread for $3-5 a loaf, it has no advantage over buying a 1 1/2 pound loaf of sandwich bread for 99 cents.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lae60
Ok, admittedly, this menu does not have much variety, but with the budget given there is not a lot of money for variety and in writing it out its easier just keeping it simple. I thought that I would do something that was not rice/beans/pasta focused, although there is some pasta. And this is something I would really do and eat
Cook the chicken in a pot with a carrot, celery and onion. Remove the chicken and shred it. Save some chicken to have chicken pieces and fruit for some lunches or chicken on Bisquick biscuits. Split the broth, frozen vegetables and shredded chicken into 2 pots. Add 1/2 the macaroni to one pot, you have several servings of chicken noodle soup. Make Bisquick dumplings to go over the contents of the other pot and you have several servings of chicken and dumplings. When tired of the chicken and dumplings and soup take the remainder and put in a pie pan and make a Bisquick biscuit to put over the top and bake, now you have a serving or two of chicken pot pie.
Breakfasts eggs and Bisquick pancakes as a bread (I eat pancakes dry or with margarine or jelly or fruit) or Bisquick biscuits.
Lunch 1/2 the package of macaroni with the spaghetti sauce, should be a few servings. And several days of pulled chicken or hard boiled eggs with fruit, celery and carrots, Biscuit biscuits or pancakes for the bread.
Dinner chicken noodle soup, chicken and dumplings, chicken pot pie.
Flour is cheaper than Bisquick.
A pound of pasta gives four servings, so you'd need way more than one box, four if he'll be eating it breakfast and lunch.
But there are still people who live in a given area and don't have the option to move to Texas (a PP from Texas cited Roma tomatoes as a cheap staple). Generic bulk and prepackaged oats cost the same everywhere I've compared them. Even the regional price differential tracks to both kinds.
In Anonchick's meal plan she had the person eating PB&J for lunch daily. You and I don't eat jam daily, which is why it lasts us many months. If you were to use a tablespoon every day then yes, you'd be using up 450 mL (almost two cups) every month (which is an enormous jar, not the small jar she planned for). This is the trap of assuming you could live on way less than you do, you forget about snacks, you don't realise that while a box of pasta is cheap, you need two of them to get through the week, etc.
My meal plan doesn't look good, it looks booooring! And, incidentally, while at the supermarket this morning pondering this question I managed to go $50 over my normal budget.
You assume a lot. My jar of preserves is 510ml and 26 servings @$1.45. A larger jar @ 46oz can be had for 1.98 at Winco. Regardless, it doesn't matter.
Meal plans are going to be different whatever area you are in because prices will be different. In Texas, someones staple might involve tomatoes, in Ontario someone else might get a good deal on cabbages. Its good to see how $25 is used in each individual's area or zone. It's not a right or wrong answer kind of question, it's a "what would you buy with $25 to last all week" question YMMV.
There's nothing green in there. Sub some frozen peas or frozen spinach for the mayo (you wouldn't be using the whole bottle every week. Beans are $1 a can usually, and the lowest I've ever seen fresh fruit is $1 a pound, not 19 cents a pound. That price for oatmeal is high for seven breakfasts. Would five pounds of potatoes really last all week for breakfast lunch and dinner?
Canned beans are a convenience food. If you are on a tight food budget you have to avoid prepared foods, though as you note, frozen vegetables are quite reasonable. You can get a pound of frozen mixed vegetables for under a dollar, and there is no waste.
I forgot about potatoes. I will sometimes buy a pound of hamburger and fry it up with another pound of onions and a packet of sloppy joe seasoning without the tomato sauce. A couple spoonfuls of that makes a great topping for a baked potato and will stretch a long ways.
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