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$200/month budget for groceries, 1 person

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JCloves	$200/month budget for groceries, 1 person		Lead	[-]
Posts: 1275 05/17/2012 2:38 AM	Is this doable? I'm calculating all my bills w/ my pay and all I really can allocate for groceries a month is $200. Is this doable? It's the first time on my own & I have to make it work.. Also anyone have easy meal ideas that are still healthy I really do not want to go down the ramen/frozen food route. Thanks!
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Mistress Darcy		#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 21989 05/17/2012 2:42 AM	I find it to be doable and I don't do ramen. I only occasionally do frozen food out of laziness and actually frozen food seems more expensive to me unless you get the gross dirt cheap stuff. I don't eat that much or drink that much which helps.
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IssieCol		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 726 05/17/2012 3:11 AM	Yeah, that's totally doable. We spend a little over a 100 bucks a week on groceries and we shop at Whole Foods or Central Market mostly. And that includes alcohol. If you're not shopping at some place pricey, you can get a bunch of food for 50 bucks, especially since you'll be making food in smaller portions. Like a loaf of bread will last you 2 weeks unless all you eat are sandwiches.
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Jeannine8		#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 10899 05/17/2012 3:19 AM	For 1 person that's definitely doable, since you're only buying and cooking for yourself. I'm not sure where you live, but I personally love going to places like a Grocery Outlet, because you can find more expensive items for really, really cheap. I've heard people say they're weary of places like that for some reason, but there's really no reason to be, the stuff I find there and buy saves me a lot of money. Really just make sure it has shelf life left, and most of it does. And whatever I don't find there, then I just head over to a regular grocery store and it all works out. As far as easy foods i'm not much help, but I love having cooked chicken ready, because it gives so many options for things that are relatively easy and fast, like stir frys and salads.
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P5 Teacher RN		#4	[url]	[-]
Posts: 25088 05/17/2012 3:25 AM OMG I LOVE GLOVES SO MUCH	It's definitely doable
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Kapuahone		#5	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6041 05/17/2012 3:36 AM	A simple recipe that I like is salsa chicken, I actually made it tonight. It's super easy and fast, just season the chicken with some taco seasoning, pour salsa over it and bake for about 20-30 mins. The last few minutes sprinkle shredded cheese on top. I made some mexican rice and corn on the side and a salad.
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Hollywood Whore 2005		#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 10902 05/17/2012 3:44 AM	yep totally doable
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susanlynn7		#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 21483 05/17/2012 4:18 AM	I can and I don't buy meat.
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Ninido		#8	[url]	[-]
Posts: 13058 05/17/2012 5:35 AM	Definitely do-able. I pretty much only buy veggies, meat and baking stuff and it's possible
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IssieCol		#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 726 05/17/2012 5:57 AM	Also, if you plan your meals in advance, you'll save a lot of money that way. Go to the store with a list and stick to it. The cooked chicken tip is a good one too, and I would add pre-cooked frozen shrimp to that, if you like it. It makes for easy additions to pastas, tacos, salads. One of my go to recipes when I've come home late and need to make dinner fast is soft chicken tacos. Everything's fresh, chicken just needs to be defrosted, salsa and cheese go on top. And I'll make some guacamole for chips to go with it. It takes me like 20 minutes. Another is baked pesto salmon. I get a 1/2 pound of the fresh Atlantic filet at the store (usually about 7 dollars), defrost it in the fridge before I leave the house and then spoon on some pesto when I get home. The pesto we use is Buitoni, I think, and it's kinda pricey, but it lasts forever. I let it bake for 20ish minutes while I make a salad to go with it and that's it. And we always have leftovers. Sometimes I'll make brown rice to go with it if I have time, but that doesn't take long either. Two cups cooks in like 10 minutes.
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popdontstop7684		#10	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6846 05/17/2012 7:19 AM just a steel town girl on a Saturday night	My fiance and I spend about $100 a week for the two of us so I think you'll be okay! Not all frozen food is bad. Frozen veggies are AWESOME when you're tired and need something quick.
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jrngirl		#11	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1248 05/17/2012 8:01 AM	I typically spend $35-$40 per week and have been for years, so yes, that's feasible. If you do smart meal planning (staying away as best you can from prepackaged meals which are usually $$$$) I think you can easily do it. Beans are cheap, rice is cheap, pasta is cheap, and frozen veggies, or veggies you buy fresh and freeze yourself, are good values.
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femme0622		#12	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3265 05/17/2012 9:19 AM	JCloves wrote: Is this doable? I'm calculating all my bills w/ my pay and all I really can allocate for groceries a month is $200. Is this doable? It's the first time on my own & I have to make it work.. Also anyone have easy meal ideas that are still healthy I really do not want to go down the ramen/frozen food route. Thanks! I'm in the same situation (it's me and Sofia, so it's two people tho) and I've allocated the same amount for groceries. I agree with the other posters about staying away from pre-packaged meals when on a budget, and I also agree with the cooked chicken/shrimp advice. That said, pay attention to how much those are. If a container of Tyson's cooked chicken is $5.65 and the store brand is $4.98 obviously go with the store brand. But take it a step further and parcel off portions when you get home from the store. (ie putting them into individual sandwich bag sized servings) This will ensure that you're only using/preparing what you need unless you intend to do leftovers, so that you're not wasting any of the food you've bought. I do the same thing with ground turkey and Sister Schubert's rolls- there's no point in making the whole pan, but buying them in the individual servings works out to be more expensive. Hope this helps and wasn't too confusing; PM me if you want recipe ideas!!
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NancyOttawa		#13	[url]	[-]
Posts: 23736 05/17/2012 9:24 AM	Yeah, that's about what I spend in a month and that includes cleaning supplies, kitty litter, cat food etc. I also go to Food Basics and Independant to get things on special, especiall fruit and meats.
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adamm1114		#14	[url]	[-]
Posts: 770 05/17/2012 9:48 AM	I'm not sure where you live, but if you're near a Trader Joe's, that can be a great supplemental store for a budget! I get most of my frozen veggies from them - they're cheap and generally of high quality. I also like to keep a reasonable number of frozen meals on hand for days when I don't have leftovers to take for lunch or don't have the motivation to pack something up - they have a lot of reasonably healthy, tasty meals for $2-3, which I find hard to beat.
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AudaciousAudrey		#15	[url]	[-]
Posts: 43198 05/17/2012 10:13 AM Biggest Know It All '09	Yep Trader Joe's is a staple for me. I probably couldn't stay under this budget if I was doing all my shopping at Whole Foods or Wegmans.
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.		#16	[url]	[-]
Posts: 17916 05/17/2012 10:17 AM	We spend $45 a week on 3 of us. $200 a month one person is definitely doable. If you use coupons you could make it even less.
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forever121young		#17	[url]	[-]
Posts: 14731 05/17/2012 11:09 AM	$200/month is a lot for 1 person. I spend about half that per month. Fresh fruits and veggies = $20/wk (TOPS) Less if you buy from a local market. A box of pasta is like, $0.99 tops (don't pay over $1 for a box of pasta unless its brown/organic/gluten free) I usually get cold cuts for lunch sandwiches during the week so that's $6ish for turkey and cheese. I buy meat only once a month and I buy the organic, grass fed, humane raised chicken and it's like $5 for 4 chicken breast fillets. If you're living in NYC, however, $200 is a good budget to have
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Hamptonic		#18	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3234 05/17/2012 11:17 AM	jus10luvr14 wrote: We spend $45 a week on 3 of us. $200 a month one person is definitely doable. If you use coupons you could make it even less. I wish I could do that. $45 is an uh-oh I forgot something trip to the store for me. I seem to spend about 180-220/wk for a family of 3. Juice itself is about $3 for 46 oz. and that's cheap. Are you guys also buying breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack items? My bill includes all of that plus items like paper towels, tp, soap, facewash, etc- I pretty much do it all in one spot. We don't eat a lot, aren't fat and don't eat only organic, however- we don't eat out and don't buy lunch/breakfast at work. I also don't coupon so maybe that's my problem.
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DBeckhamFan		#19	[url]	[-]
Posts: 57391 05/17/2012 11:23 AM	Yep Trader Joe's is a staple for me. I probably couldn't stay under this budget if I was doing all my shopping at Whole Foods or Wegmans. I'm moving out of state and I am so thankful they have a Trader Joe's where I will be living. I love, love, love that place! And I spend less than $200 a month on groceries and I live alone so that is most certainly doable.
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lisa2302		#20	[url]	[-]
Posts: 5119 05/17/2012 11:30 AM	That's definitely doable. Our budget is $400/month for a family of 3. This includes diapers, wipes, household items, etc. Edited 1 time by lisa2302 05/17/2012 4:10 PM.
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$200/month budget for groceries, 1 person

$200/month budget for groceries, 1 person