$65 budget for this month's groceries...

[SoulOfTheFlame]

Get drunk with that money... worry about food in the morning.... BE A MAN!!!!!!!!!!

[troutman]

Mother feeds family of six on $4 per week:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/1..._n_339346.html

In these tough economic times we could all learn something from Massachusetts mother Kathy Spencer. Spencer has figured out, using coupons and other money-saving tricks, how to feed her family of six on just four dollars a week!

Spencer spends a few hours a week gathering coupons from newspapers, circulars and the Internet before she hits the supermarket:

Once you have a stockpile, you're good to go and you go through the ads, find out what works for free and then cut the coupons and go to the store. When I go to the store, I only buy what works out free or close to free, and that's how I do it for as little as I can.

Other tips from my student days:

Go to buffets - fill your backpack with food.

Go to Dennys on your birthday - free meal.

Eat all the free samples you can at super-markets.

Date an Italian girl - her grandmother will keep you well-fed.

[bomber317]

I know you don't want instant noodles, but there's a "healthy" alternative.

Get the cheap instant noodles and if you do manage to go to superstore, get the cheap fishballs/squid balls/shrimp balls. Some of those small cheap chinese veggies, some eggs and throw them all into the pot.

I think the instant noodles are $.60 each at superstore. Eggs are what? $3-4 per dozen? i don't remember. A bag of seafood things are $5 for i'd say about 15-20 (don't remember, i usually get them from T&T). Veggies is like $2 for the chinese veggie.

$20 should get you a dozen meals that isn't so unhealthy

[GreenLantern]

Last year when I was in college we were going through a similar thing.. so one night we decided to go door to door asking for treats. We grabbed a sack of some sort.. I think it was a pillow case... My buddy was kind of embarassed so he wore his Darth Vader mask and a big black cloak to hide his identity.. he just couldn't look them in the eyes. I myself decided to dress down for the occasion to show how much I really needed this. So I ripped up some clothes and made myself appear homeless, or as a hobo.

Well I gotta say guys I am not quite sure what it was that made all of these people feel sorry for us enough to give us food, but in just a few short hours we were able to fill our pillow cases. I have to say I was also surprised by the number of other students that were doing the same! They were literally hundreds of them, some as young as grade 1 or 2.. I just can't imagine having to beg for food at that age. I felt doubly guilty when we stole their hard earned candy from them.

Anyway, that worked great for us.. in fact I think tomorrow night will be a year ago to the day.. so maybe try it then just for good luck. Hope that helps.

[Wookie]

Since you're in school (Maybe UofC) go by planet organic and take liberties on their samples. Usually a pretty good spread!

Buy some cheap porridge. That should be good for 30 breakfasts. Even without milk.

[ma-skis.com]

try day old bread from bakeries or superstore for 50% off the price, peanut butter and beans will help with your protein,

Check Canada's food guide too to understand how small a serving of anything actually is and ideas for alternatives to eating meat.

try to think of how you can make a couple quick bucks working as well, tutoring or driving drunk people around on halloween.

[Phaneuf3]

$65 is do-able. Rice and beans and lentils are your friend.
As mentioned, Costco is a good option.
Talk to friends about arranging a potluck dinner. Find a decent recipe for a rice and beans dish or a good salad and mooch off their fancier stuff. If its at your place, keep the left overs
If you don't think you can stretch it far enough with those ideas:

Go trick or treating tomorrow. If you're not too proud and you have a sympathetic looking older person at the door, give them a bit of your story and ask them if they have any canned goods instead of candy.
Again, someone already mentioned food bank... just adding another +1 to this.

But really, you're not all that bad off till you've gathered dandelion greens from lawns and the side of the road in order to make a soup....

[mykalberta]

www.safeway.ca
www.superstore.ca

For coupons - 65 is crazy low - what supplies/kitchen equipment do you have on hand - I had about double that plus a bit every month when I was at UofA and that was 8 years ago

Being in Edmonton you are lucky to have access to a Walmart Supercentre - I would go there and superstore, avoid Safeway/Sobeys etc cause you wont be able to get by.

[worth]

I was gonna say $65 a week for groceries isn't that bad...then I realized it was $65 a month. Wow man, that's insane. I spend $80-100 in groceries per week for myself. I hardly ever eat out though, I cook all my own meals.

Anyway, I remember reading an article a while back about some guy living off a dollar a day in the states. I can't find the article though.

[Phaneuf3]

If things get really desperate, there's always dumpster diving. You would be surprised what some grocery stores throw out. At a lot of places if some of the produce is less than perfect they toss it in a box and into the dumpster it goes.

This is probably not going to be 'Plan A'. Probably not even 'Plan E' but its not as awful as you would probably think and not something you'd want to completely rule out... if it comes to that, it beats going hungry.

[Tyler]

Time to get a credit card.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by worth

I was gonna say $65 a week for groceries isn't that bad...then I realized it was $65 a month. Wow man, that's insane. I spend $80-100 in groceries per week for myself. I hardly ever eat out though, I cook all my own meals.

Anyway, I remember reading an article a while back about some guy living off a dollar a day in the states. I can't find the article though.

No kidding, hey. I spend about $65 a week and that's basically me eating in, cooking 95% of my own meals. Although I do eat a lot of chicken and fish, so that adds up after awhile.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by starseed

That seems to be the case here. When I went to Southern Ontario, produce was insanely cheap. Eating healthy down there is way cheaper than up here. One would think that Calgary's proximity to the prairies and interior B.C. would make produce cheap here.

Why?

Do you see many BC/Alberta Lettuce/Red Pepper/Carrot farms?

With Labor you cannot make money on mass producing crops like that, the market up here for locally produce is organic which can't really be done large enough scale to bother.

[wooohooo]

Sly you're in Edmonton right? Close to the University?

If so, that essentially rules out walmart seeing that the closest walmart is too far for me to even drive there. The Safeway on whyte is a little pricey, but it's really not that bad. They have sales all the time and that's when it becomes 'normal' price. So as along as you're ready to go all the time... it's okay.
If you're a big fruit and meat eater, definitely take the time to go to superstore. Meat at safeway is just ridiculous and you can't buy bulk.

Go to Superstore, buy those bulk frozen chicken pack. Wings and breasts are quite a bit more expensive than say thighs and legs.
Buy regular ground beef when it's on sale, and buy a lot. Buy it in bulk and freeze it. Sucks buying regular, but if you take the time to strain the fat, it's fine.

Fruits, buy seasonal fruits or just buy Bananas. Those always seem dirt cheap.

NO BOOZE. That's probably the easiest way to keep on budget. But, it really is do-able. I've done it many times. And I'm not exactly a healthy eater. Those frozen pizzas do well too. Buy those 2 pack ones and it'll last a few days

Edit: The Sobey's on 114th (I think) is very expensive. Way worse than the safeway. The save-on's on 104th is pretty good

[bigtmac19]

I agree with the Food Bank idea, I'm sure they would be more than happy to give you an emergency hamper. Or try a local church, I'm sure most would be willing to give you some temporary help.
Also agree with the beans, lentils, peanut butter, oatmeal, all healthy and can be stretched.
Here in Southern Ontario, we are lucky with the price of fruits and vegetables as pretty well anything and everything is available at roadside/local stands for very good prices.

[Shazam]

Buy frozen peas. That's your vegetable.
Buy rice and beans. That's your carbs + protein.
Buy inside/outside round steak and eggs. More protein.

Combine these with generic instant noodles should keep you alive until you have more money.

Never shop at Safeway. What a damned ripoff.

[JerzeeGirl]

Originally Posted by Wookie

Since you're in school (Maybe UofC) go by planet organic and take liberties on their samples. Usually a pretty good spread!

Buy some cheap porridge. That should be good for 30 breakfasts. Even without milk.

I totally think Wookie is a genius in the sampling idea - for a budget that won't really afford you a lot of fresh fruit/veggies, samples at places like Planet Organic would definitely supplement whatever you can afford to get canned/frozen.

Also, if you are in a cafeteria/Tim Horton's etc that has portable condiments (like cream/ketchup/mustard) make sure to try and grab a handful if it's convenient. Saves you spending the money and can help stretch the cupboard supplies a little.

[octothorp]

A small bag of flour and a bit of yeast is all you need to make enough bread to last you all month. Might take some practice to bake good bread though. Also, get rice and lentils, as another poster recommended. You can probably save money by getting dried lentils and soaking them yourself rather than buying canned. If you can find generic quinoa (not the gourmet stuff that safeway has), it's a really tasty variation to other grains. Any fresh fruit or veggies are going to stretch your budget, but apples are probably the cheapest there are.

[Komskies]

If you can easily get to a Costco, you could go around all day eating samples...

[redforever]

Ok, for some actual recipes that you or any student should be able to handle. You could do 3 different rotations of this for 24 meals. And since you are on a very strict budget, tomato juice will be much cheaper than V8 juice.

Hamburger Soup

This will make 8 servings that are hearty enough to be a meal in itself.

2 pounds ground beef
2 large cans tomato juice or V8 juice (48 oz each)
3/4 head green cabbage, roughly chopped
1 large onion, peeled and diced
2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups frozen corn or frozen mixed vegetables
herbs and spices of your choice


1 Brown the beef along with the onion and garlic in a large Dutch oven and drain off fat.

2 Add the tomato or V8 juice, cabbage, corn or mixed vegetables and spices. Bring to a quick boil, then turn heat down to a slow simmer (small bubbles will rise but it should not be a full rolling boil). Cook, with the lid slightly ajar, until the flavors have had time to meld and the soup is the consistency you like. Stir occasionally. Aim for between 3 and 4 hours total cooking time. Hamburger soup develops its flavor from a long slow cooking, it is usually not quite as thick as chili but not as thin as a regular vegetable soup.

And that is it , each serving should work out to be between $1 and $1.50. Now a few suggestions for you.

a) Check the price on the hamburger. If the regular and lean are not that much difference in price, buy the lean. Regular will have more fat that will cook out and you would just throw the fat out away anyhow.
b) For spices, you will need salt and pepper as per your taste. Start with about 1 tsp of each, taste after 2 hours and adjust if necessary. I would also suggest 1 tsp oregano or 1 tsp Italian herbs, or else 1 tsp chili powder for a Tex Mex taste. I would not use the oregano and Italian along with the chili powder, I would use one or the other.
c) Make it with frozen corn one time, frozen mixed veggies another, so you can mix it up and not be as bored. If making with corn, do the chili powder and kidney beans, is a good combination.
d) Use 1 large can of drained beans such as kidney beans for one batch, vary that with perhaps 2 cups peeled and diced potatoes the next time, or 1 to 2 cups of plain old macaroni another time. If using potatoes or macaroni, add when soup is almost done and then continue to cook until the potatoes or macaroni are cooked through as well. Don’t add potatoes or macaroni too early, they will get overcooked and mushy.
e) If you can afford it, sprinkle the soup with some grated cheddar cheese on top. Not on top of the whole pot of soup, just on top of an individual bowl of soup.
f) If you have a crockpot, (I think that is probably not the case) just follow the recipe, throw the ingredients in the crockpot, set on low and it should be done 6 to 8 hours later. So you could get up, make the soup, go to school, come home to a hot cooked meal. Failing a crockpot, make this on a weekend or a day where you have about 6 hours that you will be home.

Now to make this a complete meal, serve a cheap salad and some bread on the side. Use the cheapest lettuce you can buy, add a bit of sliced celery or chopped tomato or green pepper, whatever is on sale and what you like. And if you can afford it and want a bit of extra protein, add one hard cooked egg, peeled and chopped and some cheese. Actually, if you add enough egg or cheese, or drained canned beans, that could be your lunch or a light supper.

Make a salad dressing that will last for months in your fridge. Make up whatever amount you wish of this recipe keeping these proportions. This is a very flavorful dressing so you won’t need to use much either. I usually make up at least 4 of these proportions. Put it in some bottle that you can shake prior to use.

6 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard powder

Now for breakfasts, good old fashioned oatmeal can be made for dirt cheap. Not the elcrappo stuff that you buy in a small packet and just add hot water to. Either the quick oats or old fashioned oats sold in a bag. Since you are a student with not too much time on your hand, I would suggest the quick oats, takes only 2 to 3 minutes to cook. And even if you have not been a fan of porridge, if you put enough brown sugar on top, it goes down pretty easy.