Life on $7 a Day

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Many people tell me they tire of buying fruits & veggies because the produce spoils before they have a chance to use it. If you take a few moments to think how you can bring a few ingredients together to make a complete meal, you'll save money and you'll keep the food in your fridge from spoiling. You'll live healthier knowing you made the meal yourself and you know exactly whats going into the dish!

Gus of CA 10:35AM April 05, 2010

Most of the foods described here sound very unhealthy and unappealing. They are all processed foods filled with ingredients too hard to pronounce and lots of sodium. Once in a while could be okay but not on a daily basis.
Sam's Club and the like are okay on occassion but don't always save you money in the long run. It is the convenience of buying large quantities. I agree if you buy what is on special you can save a lot of money.
Living in NYC, some of the fruit markets have good deals or you can go to neighborhoods like Chinatown for good produce and fish at reasonable prices. I also find that shopping in the outer boros in neighborhoods that are less affluent, have good produce and fish for half the cost in Manhattan supermarkets. Less expensive than traveling to New Jersey and paying for gas and tolls.
Stock piling has its limits as even canned goods have a limited useful shelf life. The same items go on sale every few weeks. No two grocery stores carry specials on an item simultaneously.

Nanc of NY 10:10AM April 05, 2010

I regularly save $50 a month in groceries by using paper coupons clipped from the newspaper, shopping at grocery stores that offer double coupons (up to $1), and carefully shopping the "clip-less" coupons (aka: the in-store specials). And we eat well, no crappy store brands. You have to plan carefully, make a list before you go to the store, and shop a little more slowly and with more awareness of what else is available on the shelf. These simple steps save us $600 a year in groceries. In fact, I often save enough money in grocery coupons to pay for all of our meats and fish. So in essence, we get our protein foods for free.

Donna of PA 9:27AM April 05, 2010

No way am I driving to New Jersey to grocery shop! There are plenty of Sam's Clubs in Indy, and Kroger is cheaper anyway and three blocks from my house, without the yearly fee. If you want to eat cheap, buy ramen noodles by the 12 pack (about 12 cents a pack), microwave four of them, drain, add a small can of chili (I use Kroger brand at $1.50), add a few table spoons of cheese sauce (the good stuff is about $3, but you will only use about $1 worth per batch.) That feeds five people for about $3. Also if you really have an uncontrolable desire to eat out go to Speedway instead. (I know, your thinking ewe, gas station food, but it's no worse than fast food, and probably fresher, especially if you get there on the hour.) The best reason is that there are a lot of 2 for $1 and 2 for $2 deals, and if you use your SPEEDY REWARDS card regularly you get every seventh coffee, fountain or 20oz pop, and sandwich free, plus points for every non-cigarette and non-lottery purchase. Also, if you bring your own cup, ice and water are free, and coffee and pop are only 86 cents including tax and still count toward you freebee. Instead of drinking water in a plastic cup, get what you really want, while supporting local business, helping the environment and spend less than a dollar a day for six days, free on the seventh, and use your SPEEDY REWARDS card to help the store track their customer quantity, which gives the employees more hours, which stimulates the economy and provides more jobs, and helps them serve, you, the consumer better. And, Speedway is faster than any other place you can shop. Then again, driving across two and a half states to go grocery shopping causes a lot of business for Speeday, too.

Stephanie of IN 6:05AM April 05, 2010

$7 a day I feed my fiance and I for less then that. Sams club sucks for almost all deals. Peruse the paper every sunday for grocery sales. I may have to hit up three or four stores but I save a lot. Take the 30 large boxes of pop tarts I got, $7.50 for 5 of them so I stocked up. Or Cambels chicken noodle $.50 each so we have about 100 in the cabinets. Or Cereal for a $1 each, though I must admit I am terribly tired of "Life" cereal and basic "Captain Crunch"(someone else got all the peanut butter). Or say Hamburger helper for $1 or less each; hence we haveabout 20 packages of that as well. I always keep an eye out for cheap meat even if I don't need it, especially since I will only eat 7% fat beef(I have found as low as $1.50 in the last three months). The only thing I over spend on is chicken and that because I hate to cut up raw chicken. But seriously Sams club/ Costco both suck compaired to weekly deals at the grocery, I only go to Costco for some of the frozen items or occasionally the butcher as they 'can' be cheaper.

justin of WA 2:18AM April 05, 2010

As was said, having a job at a food place helps. I work at disney in outdoor food and I'm always eating when there slow times. Or eating things that I'm going to just throw away anyway. It prevents waste, keeps me full, and its free!
Coupon bulking is a big one for me. If I find a coupon on something that I regularly purchase, depending on what it is, I buy a ton of it. It may cost me more at the current moment but it will save me a WHOLE lot more in the long run

Shawn of FL 7:46PM April 04, 2010

If you go to a fast food joint and ask for a water cup, fill it with water. Stealing is stealing, no matter where you are or who you think needs to get a learnin'. Water is better for you than soda anyway. When I realized how much I was spending on diet coke every week, I decided to cut back now and try to stop altogether in the next few weeks.

MJC of FL 7:34PM April 04, 2010

Cooking at home makes a big difference and saves money. I grew up eating meals and put forth effort to do the same my children. Also, I love my crockpot too and it saves alot of time. Saving money isn't too difficult when you when you want to have a sense of freedom and well-being.

sistateacher of NJ 2:52PM April 04, 2010

Get a job in a restaurant, cafeteria, or some kind of food establishment. Most places will offer discounted food or meals some will even feed you for free. I work in a corporate cafeteria and can basically eat just about what I want. This is great as I can have something for breakfast and then eat my main meal for lunch. I can also eat healthy as I can usually chose what I want so I make sure I get in fruits and vegetables.

justme of NJ 2:14PM April 04, 2010