I read an article online yesterday about Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and his wife planning to live on food stamps for one week. They will get $21 per person to live on for a week. So...$42 for a week. This got me thinking about how much people spend on food for their families. I will admit that our $60 a week budget is on the small side. I will also admit that I rarely manage to stay within that budget and we often spend closer to $85 a week to feed our family of seven. Also...our "grocery" budget here also covers essentials like toilet paper, shampoo, laundry detergent, etc. To me, feeding two people on $42 a week doesn't sound that unreasonable. Sure you have to cut out things like oreos and ice cream, but that can only benefit you health wise. I thought I would try to come up with a basic menu to feed two people on $42. Here it is. Take into account that this is based on food prices where I live (also take into account that because I live in a small town, we don't have wonderful stores like WinCo. We make due with Safeway, and Fred Meyer [owned by Kroger] If I had access to a Winco more often, then it would be a snap to feed two people for that price.)
Monday: Breakfast=A bowl of cereal with milk and a piece of toast.
Lunch=Peanut Butter Sandwich and an apple
Dinner=Baked Potato with sour cream, salad
Tuesday: Breakfast=Scrambled eggs (3 eggs divided between two people) toast.
Lunch=Tuna Sandwich and some carrot sticks
Dinner=Spaghetti and Salad
Wednesday: Breakfast=cereal with milk and a piece of toast
Lunch=Leftover Spaghetti and Salad
Dinner=Burritos, Carrot Sticks and tortilla chips
Thursday: Breakfast=cereal with milk and toast
Lunch=Peanut Butter Sandwich and an Apple
Dinner=Homemade Mac and cheese (note-I assume I didn't start this kitchen from scratch and have access to some flour, salt and spices) and Salad
Friday: Breakfast=scrambled eggs (again three eggs divided between two people) and toast.
Lunch=tuna sandwich, carrot sticks
Dinner=Grilled cheese sandwiches and Ramen
Saturday: Breakfast=Cereal with milk, and toast
Lunch=Baked Potato with sour cream celery with peanut butter
Dinner=Breakfast burrito with Hash Browns
Sunday: Breakfast=Cheese and Potato Omelettes
Lunch=Grilled Tuna Sandwich
Dinner=Cheeseburger soup, salad
Okay...so its not really a fun menu. I think that its a lot harder shopping for just one week at a time. Usually we have staple foods that we buy once a month or once every other month. My grocery list for this menu is as follows
2 boxes of store brand cereal at $2.00 a box, One Gallon of milk (generally-you would have to drink water at meals) at $2.00 a gallon. Two loaves of the cheap generic bread (priced here at .79 a loaf every day) for a total of $1.58, a dozen eggs at $1.19, 18 oz jar of peanut butter for $2.00, 18 oz jar of jelly for $2.00 a jar (note...here I get them for about $1.00 a jar for peanut butter and/or jelly...there is a coupon every couple of months for that. I used the higher price in this example though). 10lb bag of potatoes for $2.00. Container of sour cream for $1.00 (that will usually get me a whole lb). 1lb spaghetti and 1 lb macaroni at $1.00 each for a total of $2.00 of pasta, 1 lb of ground turkey for $1.50, 2 lb of cheese for $4.00, 2 lb of carrots for $1.00, a bag of apples for $3.00, 1 can of spaghetti sauce for $1.00, 2 cans of tuna for $1.00, 1 jar of mayo for $1.00 (here they sell the generic kind for $.98 for the first jar). 1 can of refried beans for $.79, 1 lb of margarine (I prefer real butter, but in this case I'm on a budget) for $.50, one package of tortillas for $1.50, one jar of salsa for $1.50, tortilla chips for $2.00, 3lb bag of salad for $1.98, small onion for $.44, Ranch dressing for $2.00, 2 packages of Ramen for $.20 each equalling $.40, $1.00 worth of celery (with celery prices as they are now you would have to make due with just buying a few stalks).
Shopping for a family can be expensive. Getting enough food to keep your family from being hungry can be easier, but getting food that is good for them too, can be complicated and can consume a lot of money. So what are your tips for staying within a budget for groceries? I can always use more ideas. Making up this menu took more time and energy than I thought it would, and I am glad that I am able to spend more on my grocery budget than I was allowed here.
Monday: Breakfast=A bowl of cereal with milk and a piece of toast.
Lunch=Peanut Butter Sandwich and an apple
Dinner=Baked Potato with sour cream, salad
Tuesday: Breakfast=Scrambled eggs (3 eggs divided between two people) toast.
Lunch=Tuna Sandwich and some carrot sticks
Dinner=Spaghetti and Salad
Wednesday: Breakfast=cereal with milk and a piece of toast
Lunch=Leftover Spaghetti and Salad
Dinner=Burritos, Carrot Sticks and tortilla chips
Thursday: Breakfast=cereal with milk and toast
Lunch=Peanut Butter Sandwich and an Apple
Dinner=Homemade Mac and cheese (note-I assume I didn't start this kitchen from scratch and have access to some flour, salt and spices) and Salad
Friday: Breakfast=scrambled eggs (again three eggs divided between two people) and toast.
Lunch=tuna sandwich, carrot sticks
Dinner=Grilled cheese sandwiches and Ramen
Saturday: Breakfast=Cereal with milk, and toast
Lunch=Baked Potato with sour cream celery with peanut butter
Dinner=Breakfast burrito with Hash Browns
Sunday: Breakfast=Cheese and Potato Omelettes
Lunch=Grilled Tuna Sandwich
Dinner=Cheeseburger soup, salad
Okay...so its not really a fun menu. I think that its a lot harder shopping for just one week at a time. Usually we have staple foods that we buy once a month or once every other month. My grocery list for this menu is as follows
2 boxes of store brand cereal at $2.00 a box, One Gallon of milk (generally-you would have to drink water at meals) at $2.00 a gallon. Two loaves of the cheap generic bread (priced here at .79 a loaf every day) for a total of $1.58, a dozen eggs at $1.19, 18 oz jar of peanut butter for $2.00, 18 oz jar of jelly for $2.00 a jar (note...here I get them for about $1.00 a jar for peanut butter and/or jelly...there is a coupon every couple of months for that. I used the higher price in this example though). 10lb bag of potatoes for $2.00. Container of sour cream for $1.00 (that will usually get me a whole lb). 1lb spaghetti and 1 lb macaroni at $1.00 each for a total of $2.00 of pasta, 1 lb of ground turkey for $1.50, 2 lb of cheese for $4.00, 2 lb of carrots for $1.00, a bag of apples for $3.00, 1 can of spaghetti sauce for $1.00, 2 cans of tuna for $1.00, 1 jar of mayo for $1.00 (here they sell the generic kind for $.98 for the first jar). 1 can of refried beans for $.79, 1 lb of margarine (I prefer real butter, but in this case I'm on a budget) for $.50, one package of tortillas for $1.50, one jar of salsa for $1.50, tortilla chips for $2.00, 3lb bag of salad for $1.98, small onion for $.44, Ranch dressing for $2.00, 2 packages of Ramen for $.20 each equalling $.40, $1.00 worth of celery (with celery prices as they are now you would have to make due with just buying a few stalks).
Shopping for a family can be expensive. Getting enough food to keep your family from being hungry can be easier, but getting food that is good for them too, can be complicated and can consume a lot of money. So what are your tips for staying within a budget for groceries? I can always use more ideas. Making up this menu took more time and energy than I thought it would, and I am glad that I am able to spend more on my grocery budget than I was allowed here.
1 comment:
Wow, an incitful and down to earth blog.Thanks. By the way I think anything you don't save by going to WinCo and such is offset by your low produce costs. so it seems to balance it's self out.
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