It’s no secret that we are broke.
I’m careful not to use the word “poor”, not just because I think there’s a lot more than money involved in a rich life, but because I had a teacher once explain to me that the difference between being broke and being poor is that a broke person has no money, while a poor person has no money and doesn’t know anyone that has money either. That has stuck with me. It makes a big difference.
Even so, it doesn’t change the fact that when I go to the grocery store, I go only carrying my own wallet, and not the wallets of all the people that would let me sleep on their couches if I ever lost my house.
We do all of the usual things that broke people do to make ends meet. We don’t have cable. We don’t have memberships. We drive cars that were new when we were in college – though we didn’t own them then. We shop at thrift stores, etc. etc. etc. At the end of the day though, you gotta eat. Even if you’ve got a gallbladder on the lam, and don’t eat much, your kids have to eat. And they eat A LOT.
Recently, some folks in my pride turned me onto Leanne Brown and her free cookbook about how to eat for $4/day. MAN. That thing is PRETTY. I was jealous. Her whole schtick is that $4/day per family member is about what a SNAP (Food Stamp) budget allows for. So, she created this beautiful PDF cookbook of real food you can feed your family using a budget like that. Brilliant. Lovely.
Unfortunately, though we qualify for SNAP based on our income (hello teacher salary) we don’t qualify because I’ve yet to completely cash out the IRA I inherited from my mother. Doesn’t matter. Before I inherited it we only qualified to receive $220/month in benefits. Not the $840 that Leanne’s plan would require. With my good old friend Sallie Mae hanging around, there’s not $620 a month to be spent on food either. So, what’s a girl to do? Well, since I’m a bit compulsive, I set about figuring out the absolute cheapest way to feed my family based on what I do have: A working kitchen, running water, ALDI, about $300/month, and limited time. If I can do it, you can do it too.
Before I get into the nitty gritty, let me make a couple notes:
- These are sample menus for how I feed my family on $300. I’m not saying it’s ideal. This is a winter menu, it looks a lot different in the summer. I’m feeding 2 adults, 2 tweens who eat like adults, and 3 toddlers who eat a TON but are not very adventurous.
- All of my prices (except for a few items not available there) are based on ALDI food prices. These fluctuate, but when one thing goes up, something else comes down, so it evens out. If you don’t have an ALDI, Costco, or Sam’s club is your next best bet.
- I try to feed my family mostly whole foods. Not foods from Whole
PaycheckFood, mind you, but real, mostly unprocessed foods. I make a couple exceptions (the occasional box of mac and cheese, graham crackers, etc.) because I’m busy and my kids like them. - I don’t buy organic. I love organic, just like I love fancy wine, but I can’t afford either.
- I don’t use coupons.
- I’m not a great cook. I don’t even play one on my blog.
- I’ve found the single, best way to save money on groceries is to use what is always least expensive and use it a lot. As such, there’s no great variety in my menus, no exotic ingredients that I buy for just one meal. We eat dinner on a two week rotation, lunch and breakfast on a weekly rotation. Yes, it can get a little boring. When that happens, I go looking for something else that uses primarily those same cheap ingredients. God bless the Internet.
- My little girls go to a Mother’s Day Out program twice a week. They do not allow peanut butter, hence, the Sunbutter sandwiches.
- We have family movie/pizza night every Friday. That explains the nearly $20/month in pizza.
- Finally, you’ll notice a lot of cheese, beans, and eggs in this menu, as well as some things that seem unlikely for a frugal cook, like cold cereal. Our family gets WIC coupons and these are some of the items that are provided. This menu actually costs me $200/month, but I’ve included the actual price for all items so that you can see what it would cost without the WIC vouchers.
So here it goes. A menu, that if repeated twice, can feed a family of 7 three meals a day plus snacks and beverages for $300/month.
Day One:
Breakfast: Oatmeal with raisins, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Bananas
Lunch: Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches on whole wheat bread. Apple slices. Cheese cubes.
Dinner: Roasted Whole Chicken with carrots, onions and potatoes.
Snack: Ants on a log
Day Two:
Breakfast: Banana muffins and orange slices
Lunch: Hard boiled eggs, cheese cubes, fresh pineapple, saltines
Dinner: Chicken noodle soup (with leftover chicken) and french bread
Snack: Apples
Day Three:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, toast, orange slices
Lunch: Baked potatoes stuffed with broccoli and cheese
Dinner: Spaghetti with roasted tomatoes, Romaine salad with cucumbers
Snack: Saltines with peanut butter
Day Four:
Breakfast: Frosted mini wheats with bananas
Lunch: Sunbutter sandwiches, pretzels, orange slices, carrot sticks
Dinner: Black beans and rice
Snack: Hard boiled eggs
Day Five:
Breakfast: Cinnamon toast, bananas, hard boiled egg
Lunch: Tortellini with marinara sauce, cucumber slices with ranch dip
Dinner: Mexican stuffed potatoes (kidney beans, shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream)
Snack: Chocolate chip muffins
Day Six:
Breakfast: Pancakes with homemade syrup, strawberries
Lunch: Boxed mac and cheese, carrot sticks, bell pepper strips
Dinner: Lemon Pepper tilapia, fine green beans, rice
Snack: Pretzels
Day Seven:
Breakfast: Whole grain frozen waffles, homemade syrup, strawberries, yogurt
Lunch: Baked potatoes stuffed with broccoli and cheese
Dinner: Aldi take and bake pizza, bell pepper strips, carrot sticks
Snack: Graham crackers
Day Eight:
Breakfast: Oatmeal with raisins, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Bananas
Lunch: Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches on whole wheat bread. Apple slices. Cheese cubes.
Dinner: Black Bean Soup, cornbread, salad
Snack: Pretzels
Day Nine:
Breakfast: Banana muffins and orange slices
Lunch: Hard boiled eggs, cheese cubes, fresh pineapple, saltines
Dinner: Spaghetti with (turkey) meat sauce, bread, salad (*this makes 2 meals for the month)
Snack: Apples
Day Ten:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, toast, orange slices
Lunch: Leftover black bean soup and cornbread
Dinner: Dump and Cook Lentil Soup (* this makes two meals for the month)
Snack: Chocolate chip muffins
Day Eleven:
Breakfast: Frosted mini wheats with bananas
Lunch: Sunbutter sandwiches, pretzels, orange slices, carrot sticks
Dinner: Salmon Croquets with egg noodles, fine green beans
Snack: Ants on a log
Day Twelve:
Breakfast: Cinnamon toast, bananas, hard boiled egg
Lunch: Tortellini with marinara sauce, cucumber slices with ranch dip
Dinner: Turkey Tacos and Salad
Snack: Hard boiled egg
Day Thirteen:
Breakfast: Pancakes with homemade syrup, strawberries
Lunch: Boxed mac and cheese, carrot sticks, bell pepper strips
Dinner: Lentil and Black Bean Chili (*this makes 2 meals for the month)
Snack: Saltines with peanut butter
Day Fourteen:
Breakfast: Whole grain frozen waffles, homemade syrup, strawberries, yogurt
Lunch: Taco salads (made from leftover taco night ingredients)
Dinner: Aldi take and Bake Pizza
Snack: Graham crackers
Beverages: Coffee for grown ups at breakfast, everyone else drinks milk. Little girls have one cup of juice (diluted 50%) in the afternoon, big kids drink (diluted) juice at dinner, little girls have milk at night. Water the rest of the time, unless I make lemonade with extra lemon juice (lemon juice, sugar, water, duh.)
Here’s the Shopping List, or How it All Pans Out:
2 Whole chickens ($.95/lb, 5lbs each) = $9.50
3 pkgs. lean ground turkey ($3.29/19 oz.) = $9.87
1 Value pack frozen tilapia ($5.49/2lbs.) = $5.49
2 cans salmon ($3.49) = $6.98
2 3lb. bags of yellow onions ($1.89) = $3.78
4 5lb. bags of baking potatoes ($2.49) = $9.96
2 2lb. bags of carrots ($.99) = $1.98
4 10oz. containers of grape tomatoes ($1.49) = $5.96
6 cucumbers ($.49) = $2.94
4 packages of romaine hearts ($1.99) = $7.96
2 packages of green peppers (3 for $1.69) = $3.38
1 bunch celery = $1.29
1 bunch cilantro (Publix) = $.99
10 lbs. of bananas = $4.40
2 3lb. bags of navel oranges ($2.99) = $5.98
4 1lb. containers of strawberries ($1.49) = $5.96
4 pineapples ($1.69) = $6.76
4 3lb. bags of apples Gala, Granny Smith, or Fuji ($2.69) = $10.76
2 lb. packages of frozen fine green beans ($1.69) = $3.38
2 12oz packages frozen broccoli florets ($1.19) = $2.38
10 14oz cans of black beans ($.59) = $5.90
1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes = $.95
4 8oz cans tomato sauce ($.25) = $1.00
2 6oz cans tomato paste ($.39) = $.78
1 can sliced mushrooms = $.59
2 14oz cans of kidney beans ($.59) = $1.18
2 1lb bags of dried lentils ($.79) = $1.58
1 5lb bag all purpose flour = $1.39
1 4lb bag of sugar = $1.49
1 2 lb bag brown sugar = $1.19
1 bag yellow corn meal = $1.39
1 can baking powder = $.99
1 box baking soda = $.39
1 42oz canister of old fashioned oats = $2.29
1 20oz canister of raisins = $2.89
1 container of cinnamon = $.99
1 container of Italian seasoning = $.99
1 container of oregano = $.99
1 container of chili powder = $.99
1 jar of chicken bouillon cubes = $1.69
17oz of extra virgin olive oil = $3.29
48oz canola oil = $1.89
ground black pepper = $.50
salt = $.39
bay leaves = $1.50
canister of bread crumbs = $1.69
2 packages of taco seasoning ($.35) = $.70
2 packages of taco shells ($.99) = $1.98
2 2lb boxes of spaghetti ($1.59) = $3.18
1 bag egg noodles = $1.39
1 container fresh salsa = $1.99
1 jar peanut butter = $1.69
1 jar grape jelly = $1.45
1 jar Sunbutter = $3.79 (Publix)
1 24oz jar marinara sauce = $1.79
4 boxes mac and cheese ($.39) = $1.56
1 bottle balsamic vinegar = $1.79
1 bottle of light ranch dressing = $1.50
1 32oz bottle lemon juice = $1.99
1 bottle ketchup = $1.29
4 Aldi take and bake cheese pizzas ($4.99) = $19.96
4 packages fresh cheese tortellini ($1.99) = $7.96
4 32oz containers of vanilla yogurt ($1.89) = $7.56
6 8oz packages cheddar cheese ($1.79) = $14.32
6 dozen eggs ($1.59) = $9.54
1 16oz container of light sour cream = $1.39
1 lb butter = $2.69
4 boxes frozen multigrain waffles ($1.29) = $5.16
2 boxes frosted mini wheats ($1.99) = $3.98
2 boxes saltines ($.89) = $1.78
2 16oz bags of pretzels ($1.29) = $2.58
1 box graham crackers = $1.69
1 bag chocolate chips = $1.99
3lbs. white rice = $1.49
4 loaves french bread ($1.00) = $4.00
4 20oz loaves whole wheat bread ($1.29) = $5.16
12 gallons skim milk ($2.89) = $34.68
4 64oz bottles 100% apple juice ($1.49) = $5.96
1 34oz canister of ground coffee = $5.49
Grand total: $312.08*
*This assumes you have NOTHING in your pantry. I do not have to buy all spices, oils, vinegars, sugars, etc. every month. When those costs are spread out, the monthly total is almost exactly $300.
Looking for the summer menu?
