Can you help me grocery shop?

Question

I have a $150 monthly food budget but everytime I go to the store I leave with junk and already cooked food which turns out not to last me and my two sons each month. Name some items you would put on your list if you were in my situation, please to give me an idea.........My ex did all the shopping before that's why I'm in need of alittle help now!

Answer 1

With $150.00 you can get alot.

Rice
Pasta
Sauce
Beans
Seasonings
Chicken (Not cooked)
Steak
Pork Chops
Ground Beef
Bread
Cereal (For the little one)
Milk
Butter
Mayonaise
Mustard
Deli meat (Ham/Cheese) -for those quick nights-
Juice
cookies
crackers
potatoes


Good Luck.
Hope this helps

Answer 2

Read your store sale flyer before going shopping. Plan menus using food that is on sale. If something you use regularly is on sale, buy extra while the price is low. Always shop on a full stomach - a hungry shopper always buys too much because it all looks good. Make a detailed list and stick to it. If at all possible, shop without your sons. Eggs are good, they are cheap and have a lot of versatility plus are a good source of protein. Fresh fruit is a great thing to eat, but is usually expensive and will spoil before a month goes past. Try canned fruit instead, the bigger the can the better the price per ounce, usually. Pasta is an excellent buy for your money as well. You can make home made pasta sauce in a large quantity and freeze it in portions that your family would use at each meal. There are many good pasta sauce recipes if you do a search on line. Potatoes are also usually a good choice. You can bake them in the microwave and top them with broccoli and cheese or chili from a can. Don't deny your family everything that's junk food or pre-cooked, just limit it and buy it only if there is money leftover after you have bought the healthy groceries first. Investigate if there are any outlet stores in your area such as for bread. You can often get 3 loaves for $1.

Answer 3

Try shopping at local farmers or ethnic markets because they are usually cheaper than chain markets especially with stuff like spices and veggies. Try 99 cent stores or Dollar store too for staples like pastas, tuna, legumes, soups - they carry off brands and name brands and the quality is fine. Go to the library and pick up a cookbook with Quick or budget in the title, flip through and copy any ideas you like then create a weekly plan to make your dollars stretch. Have soup and sandwich night or make your own taco bar, pizza can be homemade or buy the inexpensive frozen kind and dress them with extra cheese and meat (leftover from taco night). It is very important you pay attention to the basic food groups and try to offer a balanced diet -this will help you all stay healthier. Whenever possible use fresh fruits and vegetables and encourage your kids to help create a menu.This will help them learn life skills and give you a break from doing all the work, the added bonus is they will be very proud of their accomplishment. I've been where you are and with a little creativity you can have a healthy diet on a budget. There is no shame in going to a food bank or getting food stamps, it's only temporary and when you are on your feet you can always pay it forward.

Answer 4

$150.00 a month is not much for a mother and two kids.
It is usually less expensive and healthier to buy foods that are fresh and prepare them your self. Spaghetti and a salad is cheep and nutritious. Home made soups and stews are good and cheep. Shop around and see which stores have the best prices, you may even find it cheaper to buy some things in bulk and freeze them. Kids love casseroles and they are cheep to make, usually less than $10.00 for all of the ingredients and it makes enough that there are usually left overs for lunch the next day. The only exception i have found to this is caned fruit, it is usually cheaper than fresh.
I have three kids that I raised alone with no child support, so I understand what a challenge it is to get good food that is easy to fix and a cheap price. Talk with your friends and maybe have a pot luck, or have dinner at each others houses on different nights. My friends saved my sanity when my kids were young. We use to go out on the weekends and one of us would stay with all of the kids, a different person on kid duty each weekend.
Hang in there it gets better.

Answer 5

I agree that you should use lots of coupons, but don't use coupons for things you don't need to buy. You can buy hamburger in bulk and package it in gallon freezer bags.
You can buy some chicken, and instead of making a chicken dinner, make 2 casseroles.
I have learned to use my imagination being on food stamps most of my life. Even now, I can buy enough food for 5 people, for 1 month, and only spend about $300.
Find an outlet store. Look around your town and find the store that has the cheapest meat prices. And find a good fruit and vegetable stand.

Answer 6

$150 a month is really not enough. But if that's all you have then so be it. That's $37.50 per week, not much.
What I would do is get a lot of potatoes and bulk hamburger, some eggs. You can combine things and change the taste w/onion, garlic and other spices.
You need assistance from the family or state. No one can provide meals w/any substance w/that amount of money.
A lot of churches give cheese, canned food and bread to people who need help. Call around and find a charity to assist you.
Sorry for the situation.

Answer 7

well do what I do, I cook meals that will last for 2 meals sometimes 3, like chicken spaghetti, regular spaghetti,
hamburger helper, u can even buy some hamburger patties
that come in a pack of 30-50 at walmart, I make chicken fettuccine
most of these last me for 2-3 meals, and I have a family of 4
and I have to have lunch leftover for my husband to take to work
try to keep away from all the junk food. I keep 2-3 boxes of cereal
and small snacks.

Answer 8

Buy store brand products and cut coupons for only things that you will use.

I would buy:
frozen vegetables (they are cheap and last a long time)

plain cheap noodles and a bag of plain cheap rice

cheap on sale meat (you can always freeze what you do not think you will use immediately) turkey and frozen chicken breasts are by far the cheapest meats I have seen in the store
Jennio turkey you can buy a one pound chub for sometimes only $1. Jennio is usually in the frozen section of meats.

bulk cheese (It is cheaper to shred it yourself than to buy it already shredded)

Beans (They are also really cheap and you can make a pot and eat off of it for several meals in tacos, beans & rice, homemade nachos etc...)

Bread (tortillas, loaf of bread, bagels) You can freeze tortillas and bagels.

yogurt (buy the big container and add your own fruit to it)

Keep staples like flour, sugar and butter so you can make pancakes, cookies etc.. It takes more time to make it yourself but maybe your boys could help you measure and you could cook together ;)

For fresh fruit buy what is in season and what you and your kids will eat. You can keep canned fruits and applesauce on hand when you run out of fresh fruit.

I hope this helps!!!! Good Luck!!! It is tough to live on a budget but it can be done ;)

Answer 9

i know what 150 dollars to eat on is like. you can make it good on that if ya know the cheap stores to go to.. maybe take a day and just price check. might sound funny but its worth it. :-). do you have a store called save-a-lot that you can shop at? it really is cheaper. how fond of vegetable soup are you all? if ya like it you can make your own with 3 cans of mixed vegetables and 1 can tomato sauce and a small pack of hamburger or if ya dont have the hamburger, just add another can of mixed vegetables and you can also add those little chopped up packs of meat instead of hamburger. if ya got spices add some, if ya dont, thats ok too. you can add hamburger to any kinda noodles or mac and cheese. if its with noodles, add some tomato sauce. ramen noodles are cheap too and they come with their own spice. how about canned cream of mushroom soup? all ya do is add water. chicken noodle soup. if ya like salads you can buy the prepacked. add a tomato and dressing and there ya go. its also good without tomato if ya cant afford it. maybe for breakfast you can try some toast, eggs and milk when ya want cooked food and when ya dont, get cheap cornflakes and 2% milk. good luck hun.

Answer 10

make out a weekly menu and a list of items needed at the grocery store to prepare the menu. Packaged foods are usually more expensive than freshly made. Try to make items that can be used for multiple meals. For example - Roast chicken can be eaten as a roast chicken, and then later used for chicken salad sandwiches, chicken enchiladas, etc.