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Bananas here are usually 69 cents/pound unless you buy from BJ/Costco, and even then they're still around 49-59/lb. I think Aldi's has them for 49/lb but I've had lousy luck with Aldi's bananas. They get mushy after a couple of days even if they're not fully yellow when I buy them.
On the other hand, I've gotten really good at making from-scratch banana bread, so maybe Aldi's is a great place to get "bananas that go mushy quickly"
Our current budget is $125 per week, for family of 5. So, that works out to $25 per person.
It takes some effort, but we eat pretty well, I think. I buy probably $80-$90 at Aldi and the rest at a local grocery.
Oatmeal with brown sugar for breakfast. Some add frozen blueberries or strawberries, some add milk. Store-brand Cheerios maybe 2-3 times a week.
Lunches are usually leftovers, sometimes sandwiches. I'm going through a phase where I eat sauteed peppers and onions w/ spicy guacamole several times a week.
Dinner tonight was homemade chicken dumpling soup. We probably have kind of soup 2-3 times a week. Within the last week, it was black bean soup and apple-sweet potato-red lentils-carrot soup. So good.
Three of our five people are children, and two of them do not eat as much as an adult, so I suppose we have some savings there. However, they're somewhat picky, they like juice, and we also buy them organic milk, yogurt, and some produce every week, which brings up the costs. I'd say it probably evens out.
If I were a single person and didn't have to worry about picky eaters and had nothing in my pantry, I'd buy:
-Oatmeal $2.29 for a canister with 16 servings er)
-Brown Sugar $1 (1 lb)
-Gallon of Fat Free milk $3
-Bread $1.29 (100% whole wheat, sandwich slices)
-Peanut Butter $2.50 (1 lb)
-Jam $2
-Bag of apples $3
-Whole small chicken $4
-5 lbs of potatoes $2.50
-Bananas $1
-1 lb bag of baby carrots $1
-Bag of frozen broccoli/cauliflower $1
Not a lot of variety, but there will be food left over from several of these basic categories, so I could expand choices in the upcoming weeks. Other cheap main course meals would be spaghetti using turkey burger ($1.89 lb) or meatloaf, chicken soup, lentil soup, black bean soup, etc.
Bananas here are usually 69 cents/pound unless you buy from BJ/Costco, and even then they're still around 49-59/lb. I think Aldi's has them for 49/lb but I've had lousy luck with Aldi's bananas. They get mushy after a couple of days even if they're not fully yellow when I buy them.
On the other hand, I've gotten really good at making from-scratch banana bread, so maybe Aldi's is a great place to get "bananas that go mushy quickly"
I don't buy Aldi bananas either. They are so green, you can't tell if they're going to ripen nicely or not, and usually they didn't. I buy mine at the local grocer for about 45-55 cents a pound - except when I happen to find a whole bag of them for $1 at local grocer, because they are at peak ripeness and need to sell that day. I scoop those up and put them in the freezer and use them in smoothies.
A few years ago I was living on a really tight budget and just bought bulk food at CostCo. It was all processed food from boxes or the microwave aside from the occasional fresh chicken breasts/thighs but I think I was probably only spending $20-$30 a week on food without eating fast food.
I was checking out at the grocery, amd the checker mentioned to me he has a tight food budget: $25 a week. He relies on Taco Bell. And i started thinking...how would i survive on $25 a week (single working person).
So what would you eat or make? How would you make that work out? Would love to see your ideas!
I'd definitely buy a jar of peanut butter, buy some dry beans, some seeds for planting.
You can sprout seeds and make your own home-made sprouts for salads and stir fries that provide the protein needed to replace amino acids found in meats.
And, with seeds, you can cut your sprouts and they will regrow.
Definitely, on a $25 budget, you would have to make your dollar stretch and be a little creative with what you buy. Beans can be blended into a smoothie like Japanese red beans and tastes great, providing also the iron and protein needed to stay fuller.
50 cents worth of chicken wings thrown in this the lentils would really add flavour. I scoped out frozen fruit for our guy to add to his oatmeal... $3-4 a pound!
But even then, I was going to have him snack on hummus, because chickpeas are cheap. But the tahini, lemon and garlic would be a $10 upfront cost, plus the food processor to grind them.
It's fairly widespread to be able to find some cut of chicken on sale for around $1 a pound in any given week. Those produce prices are way way way lower than even e cheapest places I've lived, though. My guess is they live in a food producing area, like California or Texas.
Mine is almost twice his and I buy premium dairy, meat and eggs to supplement the cheap fruit and veg.
I live in CA and there is ALWAYS some cut of chicken on sale for 99 cents a pound. It rotates from legs/thighs and then rarely breasts or a barbeque pack which is cut up chicken pieces minus the wings. Wings cost the most as there is a shortage of them, the restaurants want them. Whole uncut chickens will go on sale for 69 cents a pound about once every two months.
Fruit at low cost per pound is generally melons, some that are locally grown will go for 15 cents a pound. The dollar store will have small watermelons for a dollar. Honeydew and cantaloupe sometimes too.
A few years ago I was living on a really tight budget and just bought bulk food at CostCo. It was all processed food from boxes or the microwave aside from the occasional fresh chicken breasts/thighs but I think I was probably only spending $20-$30 a week on food without eating fast food.
But Costco cost $50 or whatever a year to join. And you need a car to shop there. Not that practical. Our caustics are pretty far too!
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.
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.
Yes, flour is much cheaper than Bisquick, but Bisquick has the baking powder and a shortening type ingredient, so it can be used for a variety of recipes by adding milk or water to make biscuits, dumplings, pancakes, etc without buying margarine, baking powder, etc., which in this case would have placed the total cost over budget. If one has a stocked pantry then just buying the flour would be cheaper.
I figured that the pasta would have 1/2 pound in the soup and then 2 servings with the spaghetti sauce.
But Costco cost $50 or whatever a year to join. And you need a car to shop there.
Maybe he has a family member who shops there and doesn't use the 2nd card. Or who would go shopping there with him. My SO has his mom's second card for Sam's Club, and I've gone to Costco with my mom a few times and gotten stuff.
And I'm pretty sure Costco doesn't require their members to have cars. That would be weird if they did....
But Costco cost $50 or whatever a year to join. And you need a car to shop there. Not that practical. Our caustics are pretty far too!
Get on a bus and get a shopping cart. Problem solved.
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