My partner and I are trying to stick to a monthly food budget of $500 total for the both of us. We’re not including household items or toiletries in this amount — just food. We're hoping to make this work by cooking most of our meals at home, avoiding takeout as much as possible, and doing some basic meal planning.
We both work full-time, so we’re looking for meals that are affordable, not too time-consuming, and reasonably healthy. We’re open to buying in bulk, shopping at lower-cost grocery stores (we have access to Aldi, Walmart, and a local farmer’s market), and using frozen or canned ingredients when it makes sense.
We're not following any special diets, though we try to eat balanced meals with some variety. Ideally, we’d like to avoid eating the exact same thing every day, but we don’t need anything fancy either. Think simple, home-cooked food: rice, beans, eggs, pasta, chicken, veggies, etc.
A few questions:
- Is this budget realistic in your experience?
- What are some affordable meals or recipes that you rely on regularly?
- Any tips for cutting down food waste or getting the most value per dollar?
- How do you manage grocery shopping and meal planning on a tight budget?
We’re in the U.S., in a medium cost-of-living area, if that helps for context.
Thanks in advance for any help or ideas!
Is a $500/month food budget for two adults realistic if we mostly cook at home?
byu/Relative_Reward_6691 inFrugal
Posted by Relative_Reward_6691
26 Comments
Depends on where you live I guess? I can make about $400 work for three of us
Yes. I cook for 4 and can spend less than $100 a week when I really pay attention.
Yes. That’s more than $5.50 each meal for 3 meals a day for 30 days divided by two.
For example, I made chili with beans yesterday with two pounds of ground turkey on in store sale for $4 a pound, two cans of pinto beans on in store loss leader clearance for 29 cents each, beef bouillon powder I had on hand, and two 79 cent generic cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes. It made 10, two-cup servings.
In an MCOL area where you have access to cheap/bulk grocery stores and neither of you have dietary restrictions? I think this is more than doable. I’m shopping for one in a VHCOL area and I spend $50-60/wk
It totally is! I buy a lot of staples in bulk (flour, sugar, rice, ect) and save a lot of money. I also tend to make a lot of the same kind of meals, where I can switch between protein and veggie options depending on what’s on sale. Meat I generally will only get if it’s clearance. Beans and legumes are filling and cheap as well.
We get it done on $850-950 for family of five in MCOL area of Pennsylvania. Probably 60% Aldi, 20% Costco, 20% local grocery or market.
I think you can do it, good meal planning is key.
This is very very doable.
My advice would be to take advantage of your freezer to avoid eating the same things multiple days in a row if that’s something that bugs you.
When you make something, make a LOT of it, and freeze it into single meal size portions. Once you get a nice backlog in your freezer, you can easily mix up what you’re eating AND avoid cooking daily.
Take advantage of bulk deals when you see them, especially on meat. Just because you buy 20 lb of chicken doesn’t mean you need to cook it all immediately – again, divide into smaller portions and freeze!
Yes, if you buy sales only and meat by the case. I’ve recently been able to bring my household and grocery spending to $500 or less a month. There are 3 of us (4 sometimes). If there is food in my home, there is sustenance. Sure, they may want to eat out, but even more, they want to eat, period. I buy meat by the cases on sale at my local grocery store and create meals around them. It may take more prep and cook time. But I’d much rather have 40 lbs of chicken thighs that I have to prepare than spend $40 at a food joint for us to eat 1 meal together. When things like onions and peppers are on sale, I cut them up and freeze them, other veggies as well.
Absolutely.
Here are my top tips.
1) find some good websites or YouTube channels you like for recipe ideas. Budget bytes is a great website, on you tube I like creators like FitFrugalMom and See Mindy Mom. They have good easy frugal recipes. (FFM taught me how to make bread!)
2) one way that helps me stay on budget is ordering grocery pickup so I can’t get distracted and add things I didn’t need. However, places like Winco or Aldi may have better prices but not offer online shopping. So it’s a mix.
3) I use chat gpt to let me know how much I would save if I bought something in bulk at Costco vs. Walmart for example, and that helps me make smarter choices.
4) I got a deep freezer and a vacuum sealer and I have saved so much money by having those things. I can buy stuff in bulk and freeze it easily.
5) I try to work in a few cheap meals a week like: spaghetti, beans and rice, tomato soup and grilled cheese. I try to eat 30 plants a week so I sneak veggies in there whenever I can.
6) we try to do a fridge clean out dinner one day a week, where we just eat leftovers or things that may go bad or whatever is in the pantry.
7) try to plan meals for the week based on what you already have
I hope these help!
Yes – shop at ethnic grocery stores for things like chicken and dairy. It’ll help.
Don’t know where you live but for me it’s at least 400 per person
We are 2 adults and 1 toddler and I spend $400 on groceries, but this can also include other products like paper towels or random grocery store things. I live in a MCOL area and shop at Walmart, Smiths, and Costco.
I often plan and cook meals from the website budgetbytes.com. It isn’t fancy by any means but we like the meals and they focus on canned and frozen ingredients. We eat balanced in our home and our meals usually include a protein, a vegetable, and a carb. We focus on fiber foods like beans, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. We aren’t perfect but that is the goal when picking meals from the website.
We also do a lot of batch cooking and eat leftovers often. I probably plan and cook 3 meals per week and just make a decent amount to last us the entire 7 days of the week.
Frozen foods are clutch to avoiding food waste! We buy almost all our meats/chicken frozen. We often buy frozen fruits and vegetables too.
If you can afford to bulk shop, you can do it.
$500/month is about what the USDA shows for their Thrifty Food Plan for two adults between 20-50 (which is the very lowest plan).
Good and Cheap is a cookbook that was designed for people receiving SNAP benefits, so it’s excellent for tight food budgets. You can get a free PDF of it online. There are a lot of great recipes in there, including bulk cooking recipes.
Yes, you can do this. Look for specials on everything. Use coupons. Meal plan. Baked potatoes with a salad or broccoli and cheese is a great dinner for $5. Pasta with garlic, Parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper and a chicken breast is maybe $8. Add any veggie it is $10. Grilled cheese sammies and tomato soup? $4.
Two adult household here in TX. I usually come in around $400/mo, sometimes $500 because we get carried away at Costco and have two dogs and two cats (I budget their food with ours).
I like to use potatoes instead of buying frozen fries, I cut them in to wedges cover with oil, seasonings, and dried parmician cheese cook 400 F for 35 mins. Tuna patties are affordable, using canned tuna. Look up one pot meals, that will help with the work of cooking. Homemade soups are delicious and some are simpler to make. Tacos are usually quick and affordable, there’s a taco rice skillet that works. That’s off the top of my head, best of luck.
I just use chat got, go online and order out of Aldi pick up. Here’s mine fir a two week rotation
Got it — we’ll keep it vegetarian, high-protein, low-sodium, but no edamame and no seitan.
I’ll rework the two-week grocery list so all the protein comes from tofu, tempeh, beans, lentils, dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds, and grains.
⸻
Two-Week Low-Sodium Vegetarian Grocery List (No Edamame, No Seitan)
Fresh Produce
Vegetables
• Spinach – 2 large bags (fresh) or 2 boxes frozen
• Romaine or mixed greens – 2–3 heads/bags
• Tomatoes – 8–10 medium
• Cherry or grape tomatoes – 1 pint
• Mushrooms – 2 lbs
• Carrots – 2 lbs
• Zucchini – 4 medium
• Bell peppers (mixed colors) – 6–8
• Cucumbers – 4
• Broccoli – 2 large heads or 4 cups florets
• Cauliflower – 1 large head
• Asparagus – 1 bunch
• Brussels sprouts – 1 lb
• Green beans – 1 lb
• Sweet potatoes – 4 medium
• White or yellow onions – 4–5
• Garlic – 2 bulbs
• Fresh herbs: parsley, basil, dill, cilantro
• Lemons – 4
• Limes – 3
• Fresh ginger – small knob
Fruits
• Bananas – 8–10
• Apples – 6–8
• Berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries) – 4 cups total
• Pineapple – 1 fresh or pre-cut
• Mango – 1 fresh or 2 cups frozen chunks
• Peaches – 3–4
• Oranges – 4
• Grapes – 1 bunch
⸻
Vegetarian Protein Sources
• Eggs – 2 dozen
• Cottage cheese (low sodium if possible) – 32 oz
• Greek yogurt (unsweetened) – 32 oz
• Firm tofu – 4 blocks (about 14 oz each)
• Tempeh – 3 blocks (about 8 oz each)
• Lentils – 4 cups dry (red, green, or brown)
• Chickpeas – 4 cans (no salt added) or 4 cups dry
• Black beans – 2 cans (no salt added) or 2 cups dry
• White beans (cannellini/navy) – 2 cans or 2 cups dry
• Kidney beans – 1 can (no salt added) or 1 cup dry
• Natural peanut butter or almond butter – 1 jar (no added salt)
• Unsalted nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews) – 2 cups total
• Sunflower seeds – ½ cup (optional, good for snacks/salads)
• Hemp seeds – ½ cup (optional, high protein)
• Protein powder (plant-based, unsweetened) – optional
⸻
Grains & Bread Ingredients
• Whole wheat flour – 5 lbs (for bread)
• Bread flour – 5 lbs (for lighter bread)
• Quick oats – 1 lb
• Brown rice – 2 cups
• Jasmine or white rice – 2 cups
• Quinoa – 2 cups (higher protein than rice)
• Whole wheat pasta – 1 lb
• White or brown pasta – 1 lb
• Rice cakes – 1 pack
⸻
Canned & Pantry
• Low-sodium vegetable broth – 8–10 cups (or make homemade)
• Olive oil – 1 bottle
• Apple cider vinegar – 1 bottle
• Tomato paste – 2 small cans (no salt added)
• Crushed or diced tomatoes – 3 cans (no salt added)
• Unsweetened almond milk (or soy milk for more protein) – 1 qt
⸻
Seasonings (No-Salt or Low-Sodium)
• Black pepper
• Paprika (smoked or sweet)
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Italian seasoning
• Cumin
• Chili powder
• Curry powder
• Cinnamon
⸻
Optional for Flavor & Baking
• Baking powder (low sodium if possible)
• Baking soda
• Honey or maple syrup
• Unsalted butter – 1 lb (or plant butter for vegan)
The remainder of the month is leftover Buffett night and wth soup on fridge clean out.
Depends where you’re at for real. I’ve been able to make 300 for three work in LCOL areas. I’ve had to do almost 300 per month in HCOL for one person. I really recommend a deep freeze and meal prepping as much as you can.
I feel like this is very reasonable, especially if you are okay with some meat light, or a non meat day or two a week in your mealplan.
I love the strat of cooking once and eating twice or even three times, so cooking with left overs in mind.
you dont necessarily need to buy in BULK especially meat and such – infact bettter to keep an eye out for great deals on stuff like whole chickens, full roast you can cut down etc
and stock up on your basics, big bag of rice, big bag of dried beans, spices and such. if you dont already have that stuff, start adding a few things on each grocery shop for a couple months to get a back log going of those types of things.
if i can do 250, you two can do 500.
the key is to break it down (i think), so for simple math you’re looking at 8 bucks a day (with a little bit reserved for replacement of condiments that you might not need very much of). i tend to eat more at dinner than any other meal, so it’s 4 bucks for dinner and 2 for breakfast and 2 for lunch. just try get your meals in under those prices unless they serve multiple meals.
so you want to add sloppy joe to the menu? pound of ground beef is what 5 bucks now? i’ll eat them on a loaf of sandwich bread so that’s 2 bucks, have to account for the ketchup/bbq/etc so i’ll say 1 dollar…so 8….will it last two dinners? if so, it’s easily on the list. if not, then you add to the list something else that’s cheaper (think casserole, hot dogs, whatever)
maybe you want your list to be 7 items or 14 or all 30 for the month, but as long as you make each one either under the amount designated or balanced out with something else so they average the designated amount you’re good.
i eat like crap at work so maybe it’s a 2 dollar box of chewy bars that lasts me 3 days and some nutra grain bars for another 2 dollars that lasts me a week, and some etc etc, so i might have to do some math to see if my lunches are adding up to the 2 bucks a day i set aside or not.
maybe you dont’ eat breakfast and the meals would be 4 for dinner and 4 for lunch, or 3 for each and 2 for breakfast, whatever makes sense for you
Nice ChatGPT post (said no one ever)
Probably possible with beans + potatoes + pastas + rice as the basis.
I spend $400/mo for 2 adults, 2 kids in a very high cost of living area. All of us are big eaters. I stock up when stuff is on sale and don’t really buy stuff that isn’t a good price. My wife recently bought eggs because they came down in price a little. But I haven’t had eggs for over a year.
Yes.
500 is for sure doable especially if you’re cooking at home and have a farmers market near by. Easy! Rice, quinoa, and some frozen mixed veggies and then whatever proteins are on sale. Eggs are 2.29 a doz, grab about 8 and make 5 hard boiled. Clip coupons and use reward points. Easy.
Also watch struggle meals, Frankie is the best!