$10 grocery budget game (old, prices, price, money)

[NewbieHere]

I would get a whole chicken for less than $4 here and a dozen of eggs. Then the rest for carrots, beans, rice, onions. I assume sugar and flour are in the pantry.

[goodlife36]

That is a tough budget. I am bearly making it with $40.00 a week.

Let's see.

Brown Rice $1.29
Beans $.59 times 2
Vegetables $1.09
Oatmeal $1.67
Juice $2.59
Tostitos $1.99

I guess this is what you call poverty. I would not be a very happy camper if I had this budget.

Thankfully, I get to eat chicken and shrimp this week.

[CAjerseychick]

pork chops half off at Safeway ( .75 a pound ) 3 lbs , potatoes 10 lb sack at Costco for .25 a lb, 2 dozen eggs at Grocery outlet for .89 each-- diced tomatoes with celery and onion for .69 each at grocery outlet (4 cans) that puts me at 9.98 for the week.... I'm small so that should do it, plenty of ketchup and garlic salt - its still winter but usually I have plenty of greens, and collards from the garden to eat too... the main thing is I need my protein.

[keraT]

This is awesome. Maybe I should meal plan more often to save

[Girl Friday]

How funny!! I just had to do this last week, albeit with a bit more budget. I don't like to owe the government anything, so I paid my entire tax bill (State and Fed) and ended up with $18 (rounded down from $18.74) in my account for 6 days until my paycheck. I have a savings with 3 months of living expenses in it and I have a credit card. However, I make it a rule never to touch either one unless it is a dire emergency.


I bought:


1/2 gallon of milk - $2
a dozen eggs - $1.89 on sale
Bananas, apples and oranges - 2 each (1 fruit each day) $3.50
loaf of wheat bread - $1.00 on sale
2 cans of tuna - $1.78
1 lb. of ground turkey - $3
Spaghetti Noodles (cook and then coat with butter) - $1


***I already had rice, peanut butter, boxed pasta, butter, tea (I will buy tea before I buy food!!!), a block of cheddar cheese and some frozen mixed vegetables.***


I actually ended up with 2-3 dollars leftover in my account and I never went too hungry.

[evening sun]

2 doz eggs $2 (dollar tree)
bunch of greens .99
lump of cheese $3
carrots & celery $2 ( a buck each)
chicken thighs or legs whatever is on sale find a pack for $2

I would make some frittatas with the eggs cheese & green veg, & some egg salad for lunch.

Chicken would be roasted & eat for a few meals, save bones & make a nice thick soup with lots of carrots & celery & add whatever legumes are in the pantry ( we always have dry beans & lentils) & maybe some rice or pasta whatever is in the pantry.

[Clarallel]

I certainly wouldn't waste money on lettuce or celery, which have little nutritional value.

I'd probably start with:
a pack of chicken quarters at 50c a pound or so
a dozen eggs
a half-gallon of milk
potatoes
carrots
onions

I think the real issue would be to check out sales

[evening sun]

I love celery & find it adds a lot of flavor, for little money.

[Aery11]

Couldn't even start to do a week on $10 where I live up north. Any kind of chicken unless it is MUCH less than a pound or on sale (when you might save a dollar or two) will come to almost the $10 if not more. Celery is generally around the $2.99 mark as is a pound of carrots. A decent size onion would run you over $1.50. A small bag of potatoes is close to $4. One sweet potato would be cheaper (but not go as far) and may cost around $2 or so. Ground pork - 12 oz. $6.99 is probably the best meat choice for under $10 and I can stretch that for several days but not a whole week.


In NC though I could probably make $10 last a week IF I wanted to (and I rarely do of course), as long as I had all the condiments and basics on hand including rice. Chicken $5, onion $1, carrots $2, ginger <$1, garlic <$1 = 7 days worth of 1 (non-soupy) meal and 6 soups in various flavours (with the condiments/vinegars/homegrown herbs/etc. I already have on hand). Lord help me though if I run out of coffee or tea during that week. And I won't be eating any lunch .. just dinner. I never eat breakfast so that helps.


Face it .. it can be done but variety would probably suffer a lot.

[Themanwithnoname]

I spent $12 today, for the next 9 days.

I got some garlic knots (I could bake them from scratch but don't feel like it.)
A bag of candy, some combo snacks on sale, and some fruit.

I could do this because I have a chest freezer full of food.
Including a pig I bought and butchered, food I grew in the garden and canned, fruit I picked and froze or canned.

I don't buy food (Except convinance or fresh when not in season or grown locally) for this week, but for months and even a year from now.

I made a big pot of chili in the fall, and I'm still eating on it. (Canned in pints)

Plan ahead and you'll find you don't have to live hand to mouth.