I’ve been trying hard to budget and I want to spend as little as possible. It’ll be around $1.60 per day on food.
I’ve thought about only eating oatmeal, maybe with some soy sauce & sugar. But I wonder if there’re healthier options?
I don’t have Costco or Sam’s club but anything from aldi or Walmart is accessible to me. I also only need 1200 calories or less per day.
Is it possible to spend less than $50 per month on food
byu/parkwithtrees inFrugal
Posted by parkwithtrees
46 Comments
Dried beans and rice or lentils. You’ll need the protein.
No. Even if it was possible it doesn’t mean you should. Your health matters too.
You’ll need a protein source and some produce of some sort. Can you forage? Garden? Fish? Beans would also be a good addition to your diet.
You can’t eat healthy and cheap at the same time. At least if you are in the US. The cheapest thing I can eat is pasta or ramen noodles. You could also eat one meal a day or practice fasting(with advice from your doctor). You can also coupon and pay attention to sales.
You need protein, vegetables for the fiber, vitamins, minerals, etc that you’re not going to get with such a homogeneous diet. Also oat meal with soy sauce and sugar is diabolical work.
I think the lack of nutrition and such a limited diet would become a problem for you in the long-term. I also think hitting 1200 cal on such a low budget would be pretty tight. You’re likely surviving on oats, rice, beans, and maybe peanut butter in small amounts. Is there a reason you have to keep your budget so low? Could you consider supplementing food from food pantries?
No. I don’t think it is possible.
Can you access a food bank? There is no shortage of food. Just distribution issues.
Donate to a food bank one day when you find yourself in a position to do so.
At that price you would most likely struggle with hitting any type of dietary needs your body has.
Frugality isn’t about being cheap all the time, it’s about saving money wherever you can to spend it on what actually matters, and I think the body is for sure one of those things that matter.
In the long run, it’s much better to spend a little bit more on food, because you will rapidly crack and end up spending more than your budget.
In theory, you could just do protein powder, coconut oil, and a complete multivitamin, but you will not do that for long
Do you have any food banks around you? Food stores give food banks their left over stock. They have plenty and you aren’t taking food away from someone else.
It is not about the 1,600 calories daily, it is about nutrition. We don’t eat food just for something to do. We eat to put fuel in our bodies, if we could do it with dirt we would.
If you don’t get proper nutrition now, you will pay for it later, and it is very, very expensive.
No
This really depends on where you are. In my area, it would be basically impossible. Certainly impossible to eat well, even if you don’t eat a lot.
You’ll be cooking for yourself, as anything packaged/processed for you will blow that budget. You can eat lots of beans and rice, and then get the cheap veggies. Peas are great, as they also add protein, and frozen peas are cheap.
If you can’t afford more, I would suggest a food bank, and add $50 on top of whatever they give you. If you can’t, or you feel it’s unethical (ie, you’re on vacation, and believe me there are lot of permanent-vacationers/travellers/van-life types where I live, and no shame), you’ll have to really get creative to stretch that.
If you ARE in a van/tent, it will be harder than in an apartment, as your cooking facilities are limited. If you have access to a kitchen, you can prep so much yourself.
Remember to include all the food groups, including fruit/veggies. They don’t need to be the expensive ones to be nutritions. Carrot and celery is as healthy as mango and raspberries!
You don’t need to go to costco to take advantage of bulk deals. Often regular stores have bulk pricing – and while you need to spend more up front, your subsequent weeks will be much less.
50 pounds of rice is less than $50, but…
Look up frugalfitmom om YT , she has an extreme budget series. Short answer chicken legs rice and beans in some form
I love oatmeal but even I wouldn’t do this. Go to a food bank. You need fruit/vegetables/protein as well.
Check out some Indian home style recipes. Those are often very tasty, can be made in large batches, and are poverty-friendly.
If your budget is that low then please visit the food bank and get other services to help supplement. Also try to apply for food stamps
1200 calories is too low and eating only oatmeal is terrible
I would go to a food bank
Ramen noodles 2x a day would do it.
Are you ok? Is there a food bank you can reach? Everyone has some hard times in their life and when you are back on your feet, you can give back. I don’t know if you are in the US, but maybe this would help you find a food bank: [https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank?s_src=Y25YG9E1Z&s_subsrc=c&s_keyword=food%20donation&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1488515746&gbraid=0AAAAADw7B0QFnuT1mBluAIEQmvEzKlX34&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnovFBhDnARIsAO4V7mBi-JBDOcA3rUhQT6IUQFqOUbglvgBan5fLvMIQaiEqO2ndnWHw1c0aAjrmEALw_wcB&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=edu&utm_campaign=grants](https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank?s_src=Y25YG9E1Z&s_subsrc=c&s_keyword=food%20donation&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1488515746&gbraid=0AAAAADw7B0QFnuT1mBluAIEQmvEzKlX34&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnovFBhDnARIsAO4V7mBi-JBDOcA3rUhQT6IUQFqOUbglvgBan5fLvMIQaiEqO2ndnWHw1c0aAjrmEALw_wcB&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=edu&utm_campaign=grants)
Also some churches/non-profits will offer a meal nearby that you could get on some days of the week.
Not sure what you can possibly survive on for $1.60 a day. Rice, tofu, tempeh, vegetables, and some fruits can be affordable on a small budget.
Admittedly I’m not American but almost certainly not. [USDA food plan](https://www.fns.usda.gov/research/cnpp/usda-food-plans/cost-food-monthly-reports) is over $50 a WEEK for thrifty.
If you work at a place with free meals, use food banks or family meals, dumpster dive and similar maybe you could get to like $100?
It might be possible at the cost of your health. Which i don’t recommend.
Technically i think you can live eating only beans.
Beau Miles did it and recorded the journey and a marathon he ran at the end of it. Although he was less healthy at the end of it and lost fitness. Worth experimenting with beans.
Oatmeal is around $2.00 a pound and will not get complete protein.
Need to go to food pantries. My community has two, basically the same food one on Tuesday morning the other on Thursday. This may be possible. There is an income mandatory around $29,000 for a single person. Would need to supplement with cooking oils, some meat.
No. This is not a good idea. Full stop. Food prices are at an all time high and you think you can live off a 1980s food budget? No shot. You’ll only see negatives if you scrimp that much on such an important thing as food
I do a CSA worker share where I work 4 hours a week for a box of veggies. It has saved me a significant amount of money. I also save up and buy meat in bulk every few months.
Your health is the most valuable asset you have. A healthy diet and good nutrition full of a variety of food will help prevent sickness which equals $$ hospital and doctor visits. Find a better meal plan because oatmeal isn’t it. You can eat on a budget if you plan wisely.
Yeah you can do it but I don’t recommend. Rice, dry beans, oats, frozen vegetables, carrots, onions, cabbage, bananas, peanut butter and cheap eggs.
No unless you split grocery bills with another person or 2. Or live in a third-world country.
I mostly eat rice, chicken, salmon and other fish, and I usually spend $75 per trip to the grocery stores. Those $75 trips can last 3 weeks but I’ll do $30-$50 purchases in between for snacks and drinks. I still cheat with eating out and eating at restaurant once in a blue moon.
Under $1K a year on food and drinks is almost impossible unless you live in third-world. $2K a year is very doable if you don’t eat out or go to restaurants often. $3K a year is a good mix. Beyond that, you might be eating out or at restaurants too much.
Don’t be a regard, food is the last thing you should cheap out on.
Go to a food bank and get some food! Also, banquet pot pies are filling. Canned soup and crackers. Sandwiches. Fruit cups. Make sure you get proteins with some veggies and fruits.
If you need help with a utility bill reach out to LIHEAP.
i mean yes, depending on how healthy you are, you don’t have to eat for a month and still survive. it’s generally not advised you do so, though.
also are you doing this because you’re broke, or just a proof of concept?
Probably not some of this will vary greatly with the COL in your specific location. Honestly check out your local sub as they may know local food deals and shopping tricks more specific to you.
This is doable. Run it through chat gpt (make a meal plan and include these parameters, use ingredients from Aldi, include grocery shopping list). You can even have it make it based on the food pyramid.
It’ll be heavy on rice and beans but you can tell it to figure in fruits, vegetables, and other things. It will just give it to you in smaller portions.
I think it’d be doable short term, but it isn’t (or shouldn’t be) a sustainable diet.
Oatmeal is actually a pretty good choice, it’s about as cheap as other grains in terms of calories per dollar, and your guts will appreciate the fiber. After mixing in some canola oil (actually cheaper per calorie) and a scoop of protein powder to flesh out the amino acids, that’s certainly a kind of meal. Definitely do a multivitamin also… and schedule an appointment with your local mental health provider because if you’re doing this voluntarily either you are crazy or you soon will be.
Do you have multivitamins, OP?
No
It might be possible if you cut yourself down to the bare minimum to stay breathing but you’re going to be severely malnourished very quickly. Please visit food banks to supplement if you need to, the health issues that come from doing this kind of restriction for more than a month or so will cost you way more than you’re saving.
Are you trying to be frugal or this is the only amount you have for food? I don’t think it’s possible. But if this is a need then try local food banks
Nah.
Of course. Cans of tuna and cereal
Sure.
I just pulled up online the prices for rice, red beans, eggs, potatoes, bread, chicken thighs, olive oil, mayonnaise, and apples, that would get you up to 1500 calories a day with a pretty reasonably balanced diet.
No. I did spend $50 on food and other groceries once. But it was per week and 25 years ago.
Sure you could only eat Ramen noodles but you need nutrition not just calories.
Currently I spend at least $300 on food and other necessities. Per month.