[quote=AN][quote=harvey]Ok, but that’s still $1/meal for one of the cheapest options possible. The budget I’m skeptical about is $1.38 average.
No doubt there are inexpensive dishes, but it would be tough to eat them exclusively, three meals a day, 365 days a year. All while working two full time jobs. And, like CAR said, there’s more to grocery bills than just food.
Are there holiday meals or an occasional celebration? Those could easily break the $1.38 average.
Another challenge with maintaining such a tight budget is medical costs. The $250/month estimate is for insurance only. That policy likely won’t cover all costs. The only way to maintain that budget is to never be sick.
There’s also no fun in that budget. Do the kids play sports?
I suppose the budget is theoretically possible, but this is a good week to be thankful that I don’t have to make it work.[/quote]As I’ve stated, I can give you a big long list of all the dishes you can make with that budget. This is just one of the many. But I didn’t feel the need to do so.
The rest of your post is essentially saying, you can’t afford luxury on a bare bone budget. Of course you can’t. But that was never the point of UCGal’s post or mine. All we’re saying is, it’s very doable. You can stay within that budget and be fully fed.
What’s the point of bringing up fun budget and sports?When you have limited income, you have to prioritize and food is much more important than sports or trips. If you make more money, then you can afford to do those other luxury things.
BTW, I’m not talking about theory here. I’m talking about plain old facts. My grocery budget on average for a family of 4 is between $400-600. My parents’ budget is much lower than that. So, it’s not just theoretically possible. It’s realistically possible.[/quote]
Totally agree, AN. My grocery budget (incl non-food personal/hshld items) was ~$170 mo for 1.5 people before my last kid turned 18 (when I lost my military commissary privileges). It is now ~$160 mo just for me and my pets. However, the months of Nov-Dec usually cost me $230-$300 mo, depending on how much entertaining I am doing at home.
Grocery outlet has good prices but does not carry several items I use (or only carries them sporadically). Sprouts is cheap for produce and Vons is good for (markdown) dairy and meat. Ralph’s has the best markdown (dry) grocery table and bakery rack in town and Albertson’s has the best markdown OTC drug and personal items rack in town. I’m fortunate enough to be able to conveniently shop at all of these stores. The trick is to shop at about 8:30 am for the best selection in markdown mdse. I’ve also gone into CVS on several occasions emerging with ~$80 worth of hsld/personal items for $15-$20 using their loyalty program benefits in combination with mfr coupons.
There are people out there on utube (yes, from CA) instructing the masses on how to properly use store loyalty programs to their benefit. That’s how I first learned how to “game” CVS a few years ago 🙂
edit: between 11/12 and 11/19, Albertsons had a deal for two for one Butterball turkeys (of similar size). They do this every year one week in advance of TK. I got two 12-pounders for under $20.
