How much should a single person spend on food? (best, value, sale)

[ohyellowbug]

Originally Posted by lottamoxie

Beans are very filling, very healthy (full of fiber), have some protein, and are super cheap. In fact for Diabetics, eating 1/2 c of beans every day has been shown to lower blood glucose/A1C over time. This was shared with me by a nutritionist who specializes in Diabetes education.

So learn to make some easy dishes, big pots of yummy soups, eat fresh foods, shop for groceries around the perimeter of a grocery store, which helps avoid all the processed junk, no need to eat meat or chicken or fish more than a couple times a week. A whole-food diet is healthy, relatively cost efficient, has lots of variety and can be quite delicious.

I would think you could easily manage on $180 - $200 a month for all food expenses especially if you're willing to do some cooking.

Thanks! I unfortunately can't eat a ton of beans due to how gasses they are. However, I do use them when I have a Mexican dish or they are in salsa. I also can't have a ton of onions either and I always forget and manage to have multiple dishes with them in it.

I'm going to be printing off a few recipie ideas before I move.

[ohyellowbug]

Originally Posted by NCN

We spend about $100 a week for two people and buy anything we want to so I agree with your figures. That does not include meals out. We have gone on vacations where we ate out a lot and ended up spending less than when we are at home. Guess we were too busy to eat.

We have a subway at the corner and if I lived by myself, their daily specials would probably take care of me since they are for foot longs. I would eat my normal breakfast and a half sub for lunch and dinner. My husband has to have exactly the right sub if he eats one. So that does not work for the both of us.

We seldom eat the same food for our meals. I am a short order cook and don't mind that at all.

I know someone who has a subway near them and they cut the subway foot longs up too. I have never tried that because I just get a 6 inch. That's an idea though because there will be a subway right near my work.

[Shira_k]

Originally Posted by ohyellowbug

Hi,

I am going to be moving out on my own and wanted to know what you guys think the average single person spends on food? I can cook...somewhat. I will be living in PA just outside of Pittsburgh if that helps. I don't eat any red meat. I only eat chicken.

Right now I live at home, but I have gotten into the habit that if I eat out like pizza or chipotle that I save some for work lunches. Like today I had leftover veggie bowl with chips for lunch.

Thanks in advance!

Single person, live in my own , live in North NJ and work in nyc, cook 90% if all my meals from scratch. I spend around 50-100 /week, depending on where I shop and what I make

Breakfast , 90% if the time is oatmeal. I make a mix from the bulk bins at whole foods, cook a batch in Sunday and take a portion to work every day. I add ginger, dried orange peel and cinnamon

Lunch, usually a big salad with some kind of protein like chicken, turkey, cheese, etc. I usually add a handful of beans(I saw you said you don't eat a lot of beans). I cook batches of beans from scratch and freeze. Sometimes I'll take good like a party soup, chicken and rice etc

Supper, usually something cooked like soup. I make sure to cook over the weekend so there's always something to eat. If I have nothing prepared then I can make pasta or scrambled eggs

Always read the store flyer, sign up for their loyalty program, and but what's on sale.right now , food example, I have three beautiful organic whole chicken breast in my freezer- bought on sale. I don't usually but organic but these were a great price. My local supermarket always has some chicken cut that's $.99 /pound, as well as "family pack" size(usually about 4lbs) of chicken parts. Take home, repack in smaller portions and freeze, or cook the whole lot and freeze in containers.

Speaking if containers, I buy mine at the dollar store. Our dollar store carries a fair brand that last for a pretty long time.

I rarely eat out. It's expensive where I work. A salad with a little protein can run you $12 .

[ohyellowbug]

Originally Posted by Shira_k

Single person, live in my own , live in North NJ and work in nyc, cook 90% if all my meals from scratch. I spend around 50-100 /week, depending on where I shop and what I make

Breakfast , 90% if the time is oatmeal. I make a mix from the bulk bins at whole foods, cook a batch in Sunday and take a portion to work every day. I add ginger, dried orange peel and cinnamon

Lunch, usually a big salad with some kind of protein like chicken, turkey, cheese, etc. I usually add a handful of beans(I saw you said you don't eat a lot of beans). I cook batches of beans from scratch and freeze. Sometimes I'll take good like a party soup, chicken and rice etc

Supper, usually something cooked like soup. I make sure to cook over the weekend so there's always something to eat. If I have nothing prepared then I can make pasta or scrambled eggs

Always read the store flyer, sign up for their loyalty program, and but what's on sale.right now , food example, I have three beautiful organic whole chicken breast in my freezer- bought on sale. I don't usually but organic but these were a great price. My local supermarket always has some chicken cut that's $.99 /pound, as well as "family pack" size(usually about 4lbs) of chicken parts. Take home, repack in smaller portions and freeze, or cook the whole lot and freeze in containers.

Speaking if containers, I buy mine at the dollar store. Our dollar store carries a fair brand that last for a pretty long time.

I rarely eat out. It's expensive where I work. A salad with a little protein can run you $12 .

I love oatmeal! I eat it on the weekends. Work day breakfast is normally a banana.

Speaking of pre cooking things and putting them in containers. Do you freeze them or just keep them in the fridge?

Thanks!

[Shira_k]

Originally Posted by ohyellowbug

I love oatmeal! I eat it on the weekends. Work day breakfast is normally a banana.

Speaking of pre cooking things and putting them in containers. Do you freeze them or just keep them in the fridge?

Thanks!

I usually freeze most of the food in individual containers, and leave 1-2 portions in the fridge.

[sherryb41]

To those who wonder what it would be like spending, say, $140 per month on groceries. Take 140 and divide it by 90 (30 days times 3 meals) and you get about $1.55 per meal. For this to work, you would need to first start out with all the basics so you're not buying sugar, flour, oil, spices, etc, all at once, which would take your whole budget. And you wouldn't be eating very healthy.


Frankly, it might be easy to eat oatmeal and an egg for breakfast, but how long can you do that? And can you eat very little calories?


Just remember to divide the dollars by 90 (meals) to see what you can spend. That is basically a fountain drink at the gas station ($140 per month).


I am wondering if those that say they spend this little are actually not including toilet paper and personal needs. And I wonder if they are eating somewhere free or growing their own garden.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by sherryb41

To those who wonder what it would be like spending, say, $140 per month on groceries. Take 140 and divide it by 90 (30 days times 3 meals) and you get about $1.55 per meal. For this to work, you would need to first start out with all the basics so you're not buying sugar, flour, oil, spices, etc, all at once, which would take your whole budget. And you wouldn't be eating very healthy.


Frankly, it might be easy to eat oatmeal and an egg for breakfast, but how long can you do that? And can you eat very little calories?


Just remember to divide the dollars by 90 (meals) to see what you can spend. That is basically a fountain drink at the gas station ($140 per month).


I am wondering if those that say they spend this little are actually not including toilet paper and personal needs. And I wonder if they are eating somewhere free or growing their own garden.

1) I doubt those of us spending less than $140/ month EAT much toilet paper, Tho it is healthier than a Soda Drink at a gas station...(When is the LAST time we did that? maybe age 16...)
how-much-should-single-person-spend-on FOOD

2) Been having plenty of Oatmeal for last 60 yrs... 5 Breakfasts this week- hasn't killed me yet... (No 'Rolled oats' choke...ICK) Eggs nearly everyday in some form or another. That didn't kill my grandfather either (95+ yrs of LOTS of eggs... fried in LARD)

I eat FREE every chance I get! (4x this last week) but I don't go out of my way to do so (even tho my fuel cost is ZERO (burning free cooking oil since 1976))

Grow your own garden... not required if you are nice to your friends Garden produce is abundant, especially this summer season (Tho I can grow yr round). Barter with gardeners, help them weed, prune, thin. Join a local 'Gleaner' group. Help on a local produce farm. Buy culls from produce manager (Often they are free) Bruised produce is not bad for you! My 'scenic and edible landscape' adds 500 - 800# produce to the freezer / yr.

$140 / month would cover MUCH more than my FOOD! ($100/ month was our budget for family of 4, kids left 10 yrs ago, but we still cook for seniors and have lots of company over for dinner (No oatmeal required)) We eat very well (Too well). If our $100 envelope runs dry... we get 'creative'... free food ! Chest Freezer is FULL.

None of this is too creative...BTDT for generations.

Healthy? Fresh veggies, lots of Salmon (Bought from local American Indian Fishery) NO FOUNTAIN SODA's Next time you are shopping for produce... remember I SELDOM pay over $0.79 / # for ANYTHING (meat excluded, my fresh Salmon is $3 / #). If you are paying more, you are shopping in the wrong place. (Trader Joes? Whole Foods?) Find the company that sells their culls! We have a produce liquidator who buys culls from the big stores / warehouses. I can buy it far cheaper than I can grow it.

[ohyellowbug]

I am about to do my first solo shopping trip! I was lucky and my parents did help stock my fridge and get me my spices that I most use for a few recipes I do know how to cook. I have leftover chicken chili for dinner tonight and I got a welcome to the neighborhood pizza offer.

I am thinking of stopping by Aldi as they had pineapple on sale this week and I love fresh pineapple.

Here's to hoping I stick to my budget *fingers crossed*

[TamaraSavannah]

Think outside the box a little.

I eat a lot of spaghetti but one of the things that works for me is I don't do tomato and meat balls but fish and other toppings. Usually a lot of cooking with wine but not always. A hot pot of toppings may be white wine, fish, cheese,capers or olives, while a cold topping might be just Parmesan and the fish, other toppings.

People say that if wine is not worth drinking, it is not worth cooking with. I don't believe that for if it isn't worth drinking, at least it can be worth for cooking ....... the last alternative is to be used for getting baked on cheese off of pans.

I cook brisket and at $1.98/lb, I make out like a bandit. Of course, I have to buy 20-30+ lbs of it and cook it for 7 hours, but in the long run, it works.

On the whole, the more you can keep to basic, raw ingredients, the cheaper it can get.

It may take a while to build up one's infrastructure such as spices, such as olive oil, Good God, that stuff is expensive but very useful......and I spent some early years greasing my pizza pans with the oil in the sardine cans. I could eat a lot of pizza but I try to keep to the philosophy that if I am going to eat pizza, I am going to make the crust from scratch.....and usually I am too lazy for that, so I have spaghetti instead.

Have a freezer, buy day old bread, and put the bread in there.

Salad is always good, of course. It can extend a meal or be the meal. One can always be inventive about it. Mine are often fish based but a few are pure veggie......especially when something is reaching the end of its life.

A note on using canned fish;I maintain a day's limit from opening a can especially and for most fish always. Fish is cheap but be cautious about food poisoning.

Potatoes and pinto beans. Potatoes are cheap simple food. One can go overboard with toppings....or can be cheap about them such as with butter and spices. Pinto beans are cheap but can be difficult to cook. These days, I use both as elements to put into stews. They serve no other function than calorie enhancers but they are very easy to use.

Ice Cream.....I never have it around except for the time I was recovering from dental surgery. Too easy and too expensive. There should be dessert because it signals the body that the meal is over. I try to keep up with my cookie baking for this since my use of fruit is usually kept around for munching at work.

I'm not perfect at this. There are a lot of times when I eat a very simple, easy, and decadent meal, such as a brisket on french bread, when I should eat a salad. But so many times when I am out and about town and I think, "Wouldn't Chinese buffet be great?", that thought gets canceled by the amount of food I have at home, I have already paid for, and shouldn't I be eating that instead.

[49erfan916]

i spend about $200 a month on groceries but i TRY to budget $50 a month on eating out. However, my friends do want to eat out alot and that $50 goes about a week. I think i spend about 150 a month on eating out and $210 a month on groceries.