One thing you can do is plan every meal a month in advance precook it and freeze it.
Also salmon cakes are cheap and tasty
4 Likes
Learn to love beans and rice. Invest in some different spices, because they add so much variety and enjoyment to otherwise bland, cheap foods.
7 Likes
Pasta is very cost effective 
5 Likes
Canned beans at discount stores are pretty cheap but it’s cheaper to cook the dried beans and easy too.
4 Likes
My stepbrother and his Puerto Rican gf lived with me for a while. She made the best beans n rice. We ate it with every meal.
2 Likes
I feed 7 people on $330 a month. We also utilize food pantries for canned stuff.
8 Likes
How the heck do you do that?
1 Like
Sounds like a good idea for someone who’s a better cook/organiser/ planner than me.
1 Like
We but $150 of meats for the month. The rest goes to sides and sauces for making different flavored meats. The food pantries round out the canned and dried items.
5 Likes
Cheaper grocery stores like the ones in WalMart and Target have better prices but are always farther away from where we live.
Right on @Ninjastar I love brown rice and black beans. Brown rice gets a bad name cuz it’s chewy and tasteless. I add broth or powdered bulllion at the last few minutes of cooking man is that good.
Also I save money by buying off brand foods. Some things you just can’t but many things can be good or good enough.
I also go to the food shelf once a month. The one I go to is very generous for me being in a one person household.
2 Likes
I try to avoid traditional grocery stores. Walmart and aldi are close to me.
I get organic canned beans they are so quick and easy and versatlie
Plus they go with nearly everything
N they can be tasty with the right spices etc etc like @Ninjastar said.
I love my beans 
2 Likes
But dried beans take so long to prepare cook. 
2 Likes
we eat marie callender’s frozen dinners…quite gourmet and only $2.50 a piece…that and hot dogs are cheap.
1 Like
mexican food can be less costly. my wife cooks it good. vegetarian diet seems expensive. smaller portions helps. snacks are expensive. 2 meals works sometimes. many smaller meals good? what think ye?
1 Like
Spaghetti is also cheap to make and goes a long way.
1 Like
That’s understandable. Beans in a can aren’t expensive so it’s fine. This thread is for people to tell others what they do to stretch their food budgets so they don’t have to skip meals to make it to the end of the month.
2 Likes
All of my canned goods come from either www.wholesaleclub.ca or a local restaurant supplier that has a cash and carry outlet. I buy spices in bulk. I buy large pieces of pork or beef and cut my own steaks and roasts. If I need luncheon meat I slice my own from roasts I cut myself. You can get a few small packs of luncheon meat for $15 or you can buy a whole turkey for the same, get 4x the sliced breast, all the dark meat, and make a nice broth from the carcass.
I almost never eat out at restaurants these days. I can cook better myself for cheaper. That extends to paying for fancy beverages. You’re money ahead of you buy your own espresso maker and pull your own shots.
3 Likes
I also make cheesy Ramen noodles. Basically you just cook an egg in your noodles and add cheese. It’s really good.
2 Likes