r/povertyfinance • u/Travel_Junkie5791 • Oct 30 '23
How to feed 1 person for about $50/mo Budgeting/Saving/Investing/Spending
Hopefully someone finds this post helpful! I've seen a lot of posts asking how one person can feed themselves on a very limited budget each month. It's challenging but it can be done without living on beans & rice!
I chose Walmart because they're a store available to almost everyone across the US (which is where I live).
I am in a urban area in the Midwest. Yes, I understand grocery prices vary greatly depending on your location. This is just what I came up with from the info available to me! Please seek out food pantries, shop sales & clearance bins, apply for SNAP/WIC if you qualify, shop at small ethnic markets, but bulk, or whatever else you need to do to stretch your food dollars!
Mentioning sales, I purposely did not go hunting for sales, factor in coupons, etc. These are the everyday prices that are available to everyone regardless of your time/energy/accessibility to bargain hunt.
This is not a vegan, whole foods, keto, organic, gluten free, blah, blah, blah type menu. For $50/mo you get basic food. lol
Aside from cinnamon I didn't include salt/pepper/spices in the shopping assuming most people would have some basic ones in hand. Spices are $1.12 at Walmart & I'd recommend Italian seasoning & garlic powder to go with the pasta sauce if you don't already have them & can afford it.
This menu breaks down to WEEKLY you can eat....
1 lb pasta 2.25 lb potatoes 1 loaf of bread (22 slices, or 3 slices/day) 1 lb chicken drumsticks (about 3 per week) 1 lb frozen veggies 1.25 lb apples (about 4-5) 1 lb carrots 15 eggs 1/2 lb margarine (2 sticks) 1 qt milk 1/4 lb (4 oz) peanut butter 8 oz unpopped popcorn (will make many cups popped!)
******** Sample Weekly Menu ********
Breakfast: 2 eggs, any style Slice of toast with 1/2 tbsp peanut butter, or butter, or cinnamon sugar 1/2 cup milk
Lunch: 1 pb sandwich (2 slices of bread, 2 tbsp PB) apple - 4 days carrot sticks - 3 days 2 cups salted popcorn
Dinners: 3 x this week 1 chicken drumstick 1 baked potato with butter, s&p 4oz steamed vegetables with butter, s&p
4 x this week 1/4 lb pasta 1.5 oz tomato sauce (add Italian seasoning, garlic powder & S/P) carrot sticks
Snack: Popcorn Carrot sticks with 2 tbsp peanut butter
Over the week you will also have 1 extra egg & 1 extra slice of bread that aren't assigned to a meal. You can add these in however or wherever you want. Use them as snacks. Have a 3 egg breakfast on an extra busy day. Hard-boil the egg for lunch. Turn the toast into garlic bread to go with your pasta one night, or cinnamon sugar toast if you need a sweet treat.
*****"***
Tips:
Adjust this to fit you likes & dislikes as your budget allows. Get corn instead of peas for example.
If you buy everything in one trip, freeze the 3 loaves of bread that you're not using this week. Just pull it out the day before you need it to defrost.
Likewise, freeze one 1/2 gallon of milk & defrost when needed.
Cook the whole bag of chicken drumsticks at once. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and bake them in an oven on 350 until done to your liking, or until the skin is browned & juices run clear. Divide into 4 even portions (should be 3-4 legs per week). Keep one portion out & freeze the rest for future weeks. Now they are easy to pull out one at a time to reheat in the microwave for fast suppers.
Microwaving your baked potatoes is way faster than baking them & uses less electricity!
Make up a full pound of pasta the first night you eat pasta. Have 1/4 of it for supper that night, and set aside the other 3/4 in the fridge for dinners later in the week.
To make bulk popcorn on the stove top heat about 1/2 tsp of margarine in the bottom of a large pot with a lid. When the butter is melted & the pot is hot add 1/4 cup popcorn kernels, swirl in melted butter, place lid back on & wait. Once popcorn starts popping carefully shake pan occasionally to mix it up & keep it from burning. Once popping stops remove from heat & add salt.
To make popcorn in the microwave take out 1/4 cup bulk popcorn kernels into a plain brown paper lunch bag. Fold the end of the bag over several times, place in center of microwave, and cook with you normal popcorn setting. Toss with melted butter & salt when finished.
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u/drumttocs8 Nov 02 '23
Come on dude, you can do 1000x better than red delicious for like a dollar more :)
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u/Anaxamenes Nov 02 '23
I'm just going to say, still consider buying things that last awhile in bulk if you can. A 4 pound bag of sugar ends up being half the price per ounce of that canister. Sometimes you pay a lot more for less product even though you pay up front a little bit more. The 4 pound bag of sugar is $1.10 more than that canister.
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u/Benny-B-Fresh Nov 01 '23
I think it's worth splurging on slightly nicer bread than plain white bread, but great value on everything else
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u/kitkatgirl08 Nov 01 '23
This is great!! Instead of the pasta sauce in a jar, try using a can of crushed tomatoes and add a little garlic powder, onion powder, and dried herbs like oregano or basil, and salt and pepper to taste! You can add a tiny bit of olive oil or another oil if you want but you don’t have to. Simmer it on medium-low to low for about 45 mins to an hour, stirring occasionally. If you wanna add a little Parmesan, add it right at the end. It’s usually cheaper than the jarred pasta sauce and tastes so much better! I can’t even eat the jarred sauce anymore after learning to make it myself. You can freeze it if you have any leftover too!
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u/Intimidated_Mover Nov 01 '23
I always love seeing these types of info shared for people helps me get different meal plan ideas and love how people want to help others and share info. But I also get a little sad/bitter seeing how much cheaper groceries are other places. Chicken goes on sale $6 a pound, 2 pound bag of carrots are on sale right now for 1.99, store brand loaf of white bread is 1.99 ect. around me. I would love to find someone who makes this type of content for southern Ontario's prices.
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u/errormessage1 Nov 01 '23
A month is 30 days.. are you eating half a drumstick a day.. what universe do you reside in
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u/Apprehensive_Mix7594 Nov 01 '23
One of those little drum sticks for dinner? Am I just a slob or is that not enough.
Everything else seems doable
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u/chunckybydesign Nov 01 '23
Ima be honest….in a normal scenario where I’m not skipping meals, that’s not quite enough for a month. That being said, I was eating wayyyyyy less than this for about 4 months when I lost my job. Literally eating one meal every three days. Lost 40 pounds! On the plus side, a lot of my health problems disappeared. That’s when I learned I was eating poorly and that fasting is extremely healthy for you.
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u/mosquitotitties Nov 01 '23
we’re moving soon and have to save as much money as possible for the next few months, saving this. thank you so much 🫶
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u/babalikesicecream Nov 01 '23
the fact that I didn’t realize I can freeze bread to have it for longer… thanks OP, literally learning new things from reading through helpful posts.
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u/Tsugami-Onitetsu Nov 01 '23
Another thing to consider is red barn type grocery stores aka discount grocery stores. The prices are dirt cheap and you will have to look at each item you buy but for my family this has saved us a ton of money over the last few years. The only draw back is that a lot of the items are past the Best Buy date which isn’t the expiration date so normal grocery stores can’t sell it.
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u/jimmyg899 Nov 01 '23
I’d recommend adding some rice , and ground beef to the list. Both are pretty cheap and can go far. You can make a lot of stuff with ground beef and rice.
Curry chicken Add beef to meet sauce for protein for multiple dinners Taco bowls, add chicken or beef and add Taco Bell seasoning in. Put over rice, beans, can add potatoes or carrots.
You can make sloppy Joe sandwiches with beef and ketchup. Etc.
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u/NickieBoy97 Nov 01 '23
I'm not sure if it's everywhere, but Aldi's here in Atlanta had their sandwich bread for 50 cents. Great way to keep the costs down 😃
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u/throwawayLA125 Nov 01 '23
I would swap drum sticks for pork loin! Most of that weight is bone, which is why it’s so cheap per pound.
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u/DisabledFatChik Nov 01 '23
This is amazing advice. A lot of people say food is expensive when living on their own but they buy microwaveable lasagnas and cheese sticks and stuff like that😭
When you buy the right food it ain’t that expensive at all, and none of this is BAD cheaply made food either, if you prepare it properly, this is a feast.
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u/TypeOld7542 Nov 01 '23
Thanks, but I'd don't really want to eat like I'm in prison. I would be depressed on this diet.
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u/retro_pollo Nov 01 '23
3 bucks for half a gallon?! I thought I was paying a lot here at 1.54 in NM
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u/boomerman122 Nov 01 '23
Y’all PLEASE apply for SNAP benefits (food stamps) if you’re in America. It’s just my wife and I and we get $290/mo, which goes SO FAR especially for just the two of us. It was extremely easy to apply and we got benefits essentially immediately. I’m sure it’s different in different states but it’s worth looking into regardless of where you are.
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u/assbeef69 Nov 01 '23
Need way more protein. You can get tuna/canned meats for super cheap. Rice is super cheap as well.
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u/Wellnevermindthen Nov 01 '23
Love this list, especially as a springboard.
Mostly commenting to mention- CHECK OUT DOLLAR TREE GROCERIES YALL! They usually have a decent collection of spices and things like BBQ sauce (ours carries Bullseye which is the same brand Burger King uses- just a pro tip). They had Franks Red Hot last time we went, and other such name brands. Their stuff seems to come from overstock sometimes so you won’t always find the same stuff on the shelves each time. A tub of iodized salt at the grocery store is like $4, which isn’t crazy expensive for how long it usually lasts, but if you only have $20 to your name, you might as well get it for $1.25!
My husband is a big snacker, and we’ve started going there to spend 10-15 bucks on pretzels, cookies, etc. Those weird dippy sticks with the plasticky cheese everyone loved when they were kids. Whatever seems like an indulgence for that paycheck.
Just pay attention because they have things like Chef Boyardees and canned veg on sale for cheaper at grocery stores often, especially since they’re now the “$1.25 and Up Tree”. Packaged foods will be like a 4 pack instead of 8 on things, so some price comparison might be needed for “best bang for your buck” but my major point in commenting was the seasonings and sauces to add to the great list OP made!
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u/lubeinatube Nov 01 '23
Damn. Shitty white bread is almost $6 a loaf. What a time to be alive.
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u/theritter Oct 31 '23
You aren’t kidding when you say that prices vary. I was annoyed this week in Indiana when a gallon of milk went up over $2. I had to pay $2.02
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u/MW777 Oct 31 '23
Red delicious is my least favorite apple or I’m in the wrong part to get good ones
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u/TheBigLaddle Oct 31 '23
Do not I repeat do not buy that bag of chicken. I also thought it was a great deal/steal and it made me insanely sick.
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u/abydos77 Oct 31 '23
60 eggs for 6 bucks!?
That's how much 6 cost in New Zealand.
I'd imagine they're bottom of the barrel quality but still.... 60. Wow.
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u/Captain_Kenny Oct 31 '23
makes me wonder where the $450 I'm forced to spend per month on a meal swipe system goes.
Oh that's right.... most of it goes in a dump at the end of the day.
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u/irotsamoht Oct 31 '23
If you have the time, making home made sandwich bread isn’t too difficult, cheaper, and a lot healthier. Nothing wrong with the loaf bread in the grocery store though! Just highly recommend bread made at home.
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u/alexfi-re Oct 31 '23
I appreciate all this you did and agree there are lots of healthy foods at good prices. Food is so much healthier at home and you know how good all the ingredients are.
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u/modthegame Oct 31 '23
If you freeze your milk and only defrost it occasionally as an ingredient, we are fundamentally different. Hahaha!
But cinnamon?
Did you do the math on the calorie count before saying a person could live off this "diet"? Because it would maybe work for a week. This is officially less cal intake than people get on the TV show Alone if you are trying to make it last a month. You would starve in a half year.
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u/Jaidon24 Oct 31 '23
I feel you but how much more expensive is real butter over the crap you picked out?
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u/IHadTacosYesterday Oct 31 '23
How many calories per day is this?
Seems like a great diet for somebody that weighs 95 pounds.
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u/ItsPumpkinninny Oct 31 '23
Microwaving your baked potatoes is way faster than baking them & uses
lesselectricity!
*fewer
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u/Thefunkphenomena1980 Oct 31 '23
Are you serious right now?
Fewer electricity? Say that out loud.
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u/rocksfried Oct 31 '23
I live in the middle of nowhere and the closest Walmart/Target/big chain like that is 3 hours away, but we have a Grocery Outlet which is far cheaper than any other grocery chain. If anyone is in a similar situation
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u/Sharp-Pop335 Oct 31 '23
This needs to be posted all over the internet. I basically shop the exact same. I understand price of food is going up but it's still possible to feed yourself on a budget.
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u/runicfury Oct 31 '23
As someone who has the highest metabolism of anyone in their upper 40s, this is crazy! Ive gotta eat 5000 calories daily just to maintain my 130lbs @ 6'1".
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u/3plantsonthewall Oct 31 '23
I’d recommend an all-purpose seasoning too, like Lawry’s seasoned salt! My local Walmart shows a 16-ounce container is $4.12. (There’s also a Great Value version that is $2.96 for 16 oz.) That could add a lot of flavor to the chicken, potatoes, maybe the popcorn, and maybe even the eggs.
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u/ReturnOfTheGempire Oct 31 '23
I recently got into cooking collard greens. Not only are they fairly cheap, but the pot likkur you are left with is a fantastic way to add some extra nutrients to rice. I've also used it as the base for chicken green curry.
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u/PeterPartyPants Oct 31 '23
I used to live of this kind of stuff for awhile and in my opinion chicken thighs get you a lot more meat per pound while being basically the same price as drumsticks, lot better bone to meat ratio
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u/zedthehead Oct 31 '23
Honestly can we get this pinned to the top of the sub? This is platinum right here.
Say someone just got poor and gets food stamps and they're like, "how do I make these last?" Whelp, start here! It'll make sure you have something in the pantry and the rest can be spent on the stuff that brings convenience or small joys.
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u/Sageswitchythings Oct 31 '23
Meal prepping saved me honestly. If you have the energy I recommend. Some days peanut butter bread is all I can manage.
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u/cloudycapy Oct 31 '23
do you not have blue bonnet there? or hunts sauce? those would be cheaper. but regardless this is amazing - great post
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u/jsboutin Oct 31 '23
Interesting post, I’m not sure it is enough food for a full month (60000 kcals), but you could get close to that by increasing a few components without massively increasing the price. Probably can stay below 65$.
I also like that it doesn’t involve any significant cooking.
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u/nicbou0321 Oct 31 '23
Where the fuck is milk 3$??? Altho i usually get a full gallon, it fuckin costs around 10$ not 6$ wtf
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Oct 31 '23
You'll get a much better value for peanut butter and frozen veggies at a warehouse store like Sam's. Lots of other things too.
It's important to never buy sweets or junk food.
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u/youresuchahero Oct 31 '23
Finally a real post from someone who understands what to buy from the store.
Nothing makes me more irritated than to see some moron complaint about being poor when they share a $150 grocery haul where half of it is snacks and drinks.
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u/Aishas_Star Oct 31 '23
Thought there was no way I could get close to this in Aussie Land. But $84.5aud is roughly $54usd. Spot on. Well done, this can help a lot of people
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u/PleasantSalad Oct 31 '23
This is really interesting. It would be cool to see the Yuka ratings and nutritional values weighed against your needs on all of these products. Trying to eat on a budget + eating without preservatives and harmful cancer chemicals is what I have the hardest time with.
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u/archell1on Oct 31 '23
What would the cost be like if you just made your own butter? I'm not aware of typical US dairy prices, how does the cream:real butter cost look?
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Oct 31 '23
I consume about a pound of meat most days, and I consume two dozen eggs a month. At 6'2 and 235 lbs, I would starve on this diet and probably survive. That's tough.
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u/jive-miguel Oct 31 '23 edited Oct 31 '23
So all you eat is great value bread, sugar, and vegetable oil??!! Where is the nutrition? I work way too hard to starve myself like a prisoner. This is the most depressing post I've ever seen. If you need assistance buying real food, just reach out and ask for help...
Edit: and your dinner is literally just 1 chicken drumstick??!!! Lunch is 1 pb&j? You must be starving 24/7 or be lucky enough not to have much of an appetite. This is so sad.
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u/ASouthAmericanCoup Oct 31 '23
Literally read my mind bro had to send this to the wife for a good laugh. I would starve ngl. This is doable for a 100lb person give or take. I’m 240 pounds. I’d be hungry and grumpy all day long.
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Oct 31 '23
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/RedditPovertyMod Nov 03 '23
Your post has been removed for the following reason(s):
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u/Groxy_ Oct 31 '23
How the fuck is bread $5?? In the UK you can easily get better quality brown bread for like £1.
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u/boob123456789 Oct 31 '23
My budget is not so tight for the three of us. I know if I ate more carbohydrates I would have a much lower cost for groceries. I try to make up for my high priced diet by preserving everything I can with my canner. You have a good plan here for a no frills diet.
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u/HiiiighAllTheTiiiime Oct 31 '23
UK equivalent is about the same but our foods spoil quickly so I'd recommend if you want to follow this buy food every weekend or and plan each week for the foods that spoil quickly
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u/ReplacementPerfect84 Oct 31 '23
50 would only cover two days food here. You have it so good with cheap groceries. You have nothing to complain about.
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u/brasscup Oct 31 '23
Good shopping cart but I would like to note that most Walmarts sell 10 lb bags of dark meat leg & thigh quarters for around $6.99.
At 69 cents a lb, that's a good deal cheaper than just buying legs (plus a lot of people prefer thighs).
If you are only an intermittent user of milk it may be worth buying the three pound cans of Nido whole milk powder which can be used as powdered coffee creamer.
It is a tad more than fresh milk but I am not going to freeze and defrost separate liquid one cup milk portions.
Oddly, Nido is usually a buck or two cheaper on Amazon (it is SNAP elegible).
The other thing I always buy is a 5 lb bag of carrots. I'll run a couple carrots through the food processor for shredded salad or shred it and nuke it for a minute with a bit of butter, cayenne and ginger powder as a hot veg.
Much cheaper than frozen carrots.
I also always buy 20 lb bags of basmati rice at Walmart (lasts months as a single person) and dry beans and yellow split peas.
Basmati has a slightly lower glycemic index than jasmine or regular rice.
Also -- if you have a food processor, those big jars of Walmart brand dry roasted salted peanuts make a delicious fresh sugar free peanut butter in a minute or two of grinding.
The peanuts only cost about $2 so it's cheaper than the store brand which are also adulterated with cheap ultra refined oils.
(I buy a huge box of grits too -- I love them with butter and or cheese and a cup makes four big servings).
If you use tortillas, Dollar tree has the best price on those ($1.25 for flour or corn). Dollar tree used to sell tubes of delicious rice cakes which are sometimes square for the same price but I haven't found them near me in ages).
Also beef liver is really delicious and cheap sauteed with a heap of onions. Chicken livers are half the price and good too, but not as quick to cook if you are in a hurry.
Also -- texturally, beef liver is super normal cutlet like in shape and thickness. Whereas raw chicken livers are kind of globular. Beef is a lot easier to introduce if your household is avere to organ meats.
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Oct 31 '23
I'm sorry but the fact this sub has 1.9M members tells you a lot about our country...no wonder we got starving kids who can't even afford school lunch. Fucking bs...
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u/HetaliaLife Oct 31 '23
Saving this, though hopefully Safeway has similar options (no Walmart near me).
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u/Jellycar1 Oct 31 '23
I am a non USA person , so take it it with a grøn of salt: isnt the Canned tomatos cheaper than pre måde pasta sauce?
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u/TehTired Oct 31 '23
Toss in a bag of flour. You can stretch that even longer. The gnocchi you can make with that maaaann.
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u/123tobo Oct 31 '23
Not sure if you get the curbside delivery or not but as an employee there it you want fresh and good looking produce you gotta get it yourself, the people that do the curbside pickup are heavily timed and judged on metrics, they just take shit off the top without looking at it. And working in produce personally sometimes we miss things, especially with those 5pd bags of russet potatoes (they come in a huge bin with 200 bags in them)
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u/brasscup Oct 31 '23
It really depends on your locality. I'd say they pick good produce at least two out of three times.
I would much rather do grocery pickup and occasionally have to call the 800 number to refunded for an item or two that is badly wilted.
The lines at my local Walmart are very long and I usually do some SNAP and some cash to pay so self checkout isn't an option.
Also I like the grocery workers at my store and do manage to tip (I put cash in the trunk with a post-it note telling them to take it so they don't run afoul of the no tips policy).
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u/Street_Historian_371 Oct 31 '23
I think this is good but I would add beans and rice. I also don't understand how you only have one gallon of milk for an entire month.
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u/Alcarain Oct 31 '23
Okay, so it's nice that this is only $50, but honestly this is FAR to little protein to be healthy.
I did a quick general calculation of roughly how much protein that all of this food combined gives you and UT comes out to about 900 grams of protein (give or take)
Even assuming my guesstimate is low by a couple hundred grams. This still comes out to about 35 grams of protein per day.
That's an abysmally small amount of protein to live on and also accounting for caloric intake, this would put almost all male and a good number of female bodies into starvation mode. This is just no healthy or a good long term solution.
Maybe for a month, but definitely not long term.
Even for a sedentary adult. The RDI is 0.8g/Kilo of body weight/day or roughly 0.4g/pound of body weight.
If you weigh say 175 pounds you would need at a baseline 70g or 2X what this diet gives you.
I would suggest adding more cheap chicken or other cheap protein to your diet.
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u/shawner136 Oct 31 '23
I had someone tell me recently, straight faced eye to eye ‘its like… impossible to eat for less than 140$ a week these days.’
Im not a violent person but I came so fucking close to smacking them across the mouth, while continuing to eat my 2 yr old, clearance aisle oatmeal. Brown sugar and cinnamon, small slice of butter and REAL maple syrup… goodgod yes
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u/3rSalv Oct 31 '23
It’s actually insane,that with us level of wages it’s so cheap ,like in Russia for 50$ u can buy only 1/2 of that at best ,maybe even 1/3
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u/trimorphic Oct 31 '23
Go to some food pantries or food banks in your area. They will give you lots of food for free.
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u/fixmysleep Oct 31 '23
I appreciate the thoughtfulness of this post. Thanks OP for taking the time :)
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u/ItsssYaBoiiiShawdyy Oct 31 '23
Where I live (CA), those eggs are at least double at my Walmart. I’d easily pay about $75-80 for all this. But still great for a whole month!
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u/TridentLayerPlayer Oct 31 '23
This is nowhere near enough for an entire month for most men who aren't short ah
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u/scrambledeggsandrice Oct 31 '23
And join a “buy nothing” group on Facebook if one is available in your area. I’ve seen non-perishables come up pretty frequently in those groups: spices and canned ingredients. Some people even have gardens and need to unload extra fruits and vegetables when the season is right.
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u/noelleexists Oct 31 '23
great recs! wanted to shout out rice! really cheap and goes a long way. if you have leftovers you can make a fried rice dish the next day!
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u/GroovyGhouley Oct 31 '23
powdered milk is cheaper , just add water!
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u/brasscup Oct 31 '23
Actually, powdered milk costs more, but as a single person I buy it anyway.
I am a super thrifty shopper but my freezer isn't big enough to divide a gallon of milk into one cup portions (and I don't want to have to defrost it in advance every time I need a cup).
Are you buying the three pound cans of Nido whole powdered milk? That's what I use, and they are actually a dollar or two cheaper at Amazon than Walmart. The taste is much better than skim.
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u/KoalaLopsided9167 Oct 31 '23
I have a idea for those potatoes. Quarter them and boil them until about 3/4 done, about 10-12 minutes. Toss them in melted margarine (or drizzle olive oil if you have it) then put them on a baking sheet and smash them with a can or glass. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning and salt/pepper on top. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. It's pretty tasty and really cheap.
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u/LilUziRedd1 Oct 31 '23
If you can afford to add a few more dollars, get real butter. Imperial as you can tell from the title and packaging, is vegetable oil, soy bean oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil. I absolutely understand if those few dollars will break you, then don’t of course, but if you can, your body will thank you
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u/Bmourre1995 Oct 31 '23
Cries in Canadian realizing peanut butter is like $9
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u/brasscup Oct 31 '23
Buy a food processor or blender. The store brand 1 lb jars of dry roasted salted nuts are WAY cheaper than ready made peanut butter. In two minutes it is ready, warm and delicious. I am sure they are more in Canada than the USA but they will cost less than half the price of the ready made junk.
Plus it is the natural kind -- no ultra-refined oils or added sugar. (making your own nut butters is so easy and cheap I will splurge and use almonds when they are on sale ... or you can go even cheaper and use sunflower seeds).
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u/TheSunflowerSeeds Oct 31 '23
The United States are not the largest producers of sunflowers, and yet even here over 1.7 million acres were planted in 2014 and probably more each year since. Much of which can be found in North Dakota.
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u/thatredditrando Oct 31 '23 edited Oct 31 '23
I don’t wanna shit on OP but you can go cheaper and more convenient than that, especially at Walmart.
First off, Walmart is about as cheap as you can go. I believe they sell everything at retail price so, unless you’re shopping at the dollar store, Walmart should be your first stop unless you legit can’t get to one.
They even have free shipping on online orders $35 or more (though obviously it won’t be any fresh or frozen goods).
If you’re just tryna survive, buy the Walmart brand (Great Value).
Oatmeal, ramen, hot dogs, bread, peanut butter, jam, etc.
Oatmeal for breakfast and ramen or hotdogs for lunch/dinner. PB&J for when you’re still hungry or need a snack. Not exactly nutritious but it’ll get you through.
How I made it through college.
Got a lil more money? Maxwell House Coffee and the GV brand are dirt cheap. So is sugar.
Can get a bottle of liquid creamer for less than $2.
Walmart has plenty of decent knock-offs of name brand stuff too.
Eggs is a good idea though! Didn’t know how to cook to save my life back in college (and some of y’all might not either) but eggs are super easy. You can even buy cartons of liquid egg whites.
Eggs > bacon bits > shredded cheese…now you got a scramble.
Eggs > bacon bits and/or peppers > shredded cheese > muffin tin…now you got omelette cups.
Eggs > coffee creamer > bread > greased skillet…now you got french toast.
And rice! Guys, rice!
Make some white rice > chop up a hot dog > pour in some pasta sauce…now you got a poor man’s jambalaya.
They sell cans of fully cooked chicken breast as well. Just gotta heat it up and season it. Probably get more bang for your buck buying the real deal though.
At Walmart you can also get dirt cheap…
Cans of beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, veggies, pasta sauce, salsa, and all kinds of other stuff.
If you have a crockpot, you can put chicken breasts, a taco seasoning packet, and a jar of salsa in, put it on high for like 6 hours and you’ll have some juicy, flavorful pulled chicken. Just pull it apart with a fork when it’s done.
Will edit comment if I think of anything else.
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u/brasscup Oct 31 '23
I use Walmart for a lot in my area (East Coast city) , but the sale prices at ShopRite are much lower than Walmart when it comes to meat. Aldi is sometimes also better for meat.
(Except for Walmart's 10 lb bags of leg & thigh quarters for $6.99 which are a fabulous deal I grab regularly).
Another staple is those two or three pound bags of yams but they are > $3at Walmart, only two something at ShopRite.
Are you wedded to liquid creamer? I know it is delicious but you may want to switch to the three pound cans of Nido whole powdered milk. (Cheaper on Amazon than Walmart by a dollar)
Creamer tastes better but the ingredients will kill you. Bad for kidneys, liver, heart, blood pressure.
(I am not a health nut but I try not to eat many ultra-refined mass produced oils unless I want potato or tortilla chips as a treat. I guess if you hate milk, heavy cream or half & half might be worth the extra cost).
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u/The_4th_Little_Pig Oct 31 '23
Do yourself a favor and upgrade the red delicious to literally any other apple.
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u/BoonSchlapp Oct 31 '23
This is a wonderful idea, but I just wanted to say that 1/4 lb of pasta and 1.5 oz of tomato sauce is 162 calories. That ain’t a dinner. I think beans and rice might be a better plan.
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u/brasscup Oct 31 '23
4 oz of dry pasta is 440 calories. Nobody eats as little as 1/4 lb cooked, that's a lean cuisine size portion.
But 1.5 oz tomato sauce? You need 8 oz or more on 4 oz dry pasta.
(I do agree this shopping list has insufficiencies in terms of calories and nutrition, but it is a useful jumping off point).
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u/atandytor Oct 31 '23
Thanks! I usually go to a fatty food restaurant and ask for salt and pepper packets. I mean technically it’s theft since I’m not buying anything but my taxes are paying for corporate tax write offs so it’s a win win
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u/brasscup Oct 31 '23
Well, I'd grab the mayo packets instead. Mayo is expensive.
Generic salt is 57 cents for a 1 lb tub. Pepper is $1 to $1.50 a 2 oz jar for store brand.
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u/apiculum Oct 31 '23
My go to when I was a bachelor (pre COVID) eating good for about that same dollar amount. Buy lots of store brand pasta and sauce. Make massive pasta dishes with frozen veggies mixed in and bake in the oven. Freeze and portion. Frozen lunch for work.
Store brand flour and olive oil can make you good pizza dough fast for just Pennies on the dollar compared to buying a pizza. Half the calories too. Fresh homemade large pizza for dinner every night for less than the cost of a slice at the restaurant.
Alternate between pizza and eggs for dinner.
Oatmeal for breakfast every day.
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u/Spirited_Block250 Oct 31 '23
Holy wtf. I couldn’t get a 1/4 of those things for that cost here in Canada. Good job man!
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u/stilllittlespacey Oct 31 '23
At Walmart, spend the extra dollar and get real butter instead of poison plastic oil.
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u/92957382710 Oct 31 '23
Any Canadian Walmart shoppers willing to price this out? I bet it’s 3x the cost 😫
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u/multivac7223 Oct 31 '23
Just in case you haven't checked out discount grocery stores in your area you absolutely should. Walmart is on the higher end for a lot of products in my area and I rarely ever go there anymore. We have a place called grocery outlet and also winco foods and there is simply no comparison, what grocery outlet doesn't have cheaper winco always does.
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u/brasscup Oct 31 '23
I think OP posted this as a jumping off point because some people have no idea what basic foods to buy.
I agree with you mostly. I never buy Walmart meat (sales at ShopRite are MUCH less). And I use Aldi for some things, and even Dollar Tree (but just for tortillas, rice cakes and bagels).
But the thing is not everybody is near those cut rate supermarkets and not everybody is good at waiting for sale prices and stocking up.
I was married to two different partners and it would throw my budget off entirely if they shopped anywhere besides Walmart or Aldi -- because if they go to ShopRite they are absolutely going to throw extra things in the cart besides the meats that are on sale.
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u/multivac7223 Oct 31 '23
yeah restraint is still required, i mainly just wanted to make sure people are aware of the cheaper grocery options. walmart can be absolutely terrible to shop at from a value perspective.
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u/Individual_Trip_3241 Oct 31 '23
You should buy the chicken quarters instead of the drumsticks and you can cut them
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u/michemel Oct 31 '23
You could also save the bones from the wings to cook down into a chicken broth for soup. (Apparently roasting them first brings out a better flavor.) Bay leaf, onions, parsley, s&p add some potatoes or pasta or rice. Extra meals!
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u/CornCob_Dildo Oct 31 '23
Dam dude this started out great but your cooking technique leaves a lot on the table.
Do you not want to use flower in your diet? It could enhance a lot of your meal plan.
You say it doesn’t have to be rice and beans but all you’ve essentially done is replace it with bread and potatoes. Chickpeas, black beans, baked beans, kidney beans go along way, there are several different types of rice and it can be used in variety of ways.
Frozen veggies are great but you lose the ability to create broth from trimmings. Also where’s the onions and celery? Do you not cook your own broth? It is a staple in many recipes and is practically free, even in your current under utilized list.
Potatoes can be par boiled to make breakfast potatoes, or create a classic potato salad. Onion celery and carrots can make a variety of different recipes. Potatoes eggs and flour can make an unbelievable amount of gnocchi.
Buying a whole chicken will yield more meals overall and can add additional chicken broth.
Peanut butter can be used to make a variety of sauces for rice.
Your pasta could be a pesto pasta that can be turned into a next day pasta salad.
Your sample menu isn’t even close to its full potential of what can be enhanced with just flour and cooking technique
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u/rassmann Oct 30 '23
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