Life on $7 a Day

save on food

whenever my husband and I want chinese take-out food for supper,I opt to buy the lunch specials (which are by far cheaper than the night dinner meals). I work a full week, so sometimes we like to have a treat from cooking at night. It does work, as you can save considerably by doing this,even if you have large family.

I then put them in the refrig at work and take them home in eve for dinner!

Many of my co-workers have also caught on and now the fridge at work is getting full!

Judith Tomasiello of CT @ Jun 05, 2009 11:53:59 AM

a few tips

remember the baked potato with left over meats or vegies..skip the butter when you use left overs as a topping. this is meal

oatmeal is a great breakfast..

have an herb garden and tomato plants

have dinner in...if going out for a meal..lunch is best..

use your grocery store cost cutting card

skip sodas...

remember dried beans...inexpensive, nutritous, easy to mix other foods in...

buy veggies that are going and are marked down..use for sauces and soups.

make your own salad dressing....

buy in bulk with other families and divide what you buy..this is great!!!!

pick your own at orchards, in the woods and vegetable farms....

chezisle @ May 28, 2009 21:51:06 PM

7 dollars a day tio catherine of oh.

want to start using your crock pot? welll the first thin I ever made was a beef stew I would buy inexpensive stew beef and cooked it about 8-12 hours I like my beef ready to fall apart, so sometimes I start in one day and finish it the next day. Just add some canned carrots(I use the juice) and s few potatoes . its just me and my husband so Ihave a very small crock pot. But with a biggercrock pot you can eat it again in a day or two or freeze a meal. Also, spagetti sauce try this 1 large can of tomatoes, 1 can of pureee, 3 small cans of paste, I cant make meatballs, so I ground up my ground beef and make some saugage (cut it up) add it all to the sauce deason as you like takes about 3 hours to cook. But for one person you probably have enought o put in freezer for 4 or five mealsMy husbands job is such that we only eat together two nights a week.

kathleen in Naz. PA of PA @ May 28, 2009 12:29:50 PM

food costs

FOOD COSTS ? STOP ..... THINK ABOUT IT ..LOOK AT

THE SOAP, VITAMINS, CANDY AND ALL THE OTHER EXTRA THINGS YOU ARE ADDING TO YOUR GROCERY CART AND YOU WILL FIND THE ACTUAL MONEY YOU ARE SPENDING FOR HEALTHY FOOD IS LESS THAN YOU THOUGHT !!

SPEND THE MONEY YOU ARE PAYING FOR CANDY, ICE CREAM AND OTHER

UNHEALTHY FOODS FOR FRESH PINAPPLE, GOURMET FRUIT AND ETC.

YOU WILL BE HEALTHIER AND NOT FEEL SO DEPRIVED OR DEPRAVED ,

SPEND WISELY ON FOOD. THE MONEY YOU SAVE IN HEALTH CARE COSTS WIL BE MORE THAN WORTH IT !! YOU WILL BE SLIM AND TRIM AND HEALTHY . FORGET ABOUT THE PASTA, WHEAT AND FATTENING RECEIPES

TO SAVE MONEY. EAT THEM IF YOU WISH OR NOT .. REMEMBER THE SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY SAVED BY THESE FATTENING RECEIPES ARE SIMPLY NOT WORTH THE COST . WATCH FOR ALL THE NON-FOOD ITEMS YOU ADD TO THE GROCERY CART . HOW ABOUT THOSE "SCANDLE"

MAGAZINES ? ..WOW ... DON'T GET ME STARTED !!

d. lacy of NH @ May 28, 2009 08:56:30 AM

$3/day or less

What's all this about $7/day? When I was paying for food, that was far more than I spent, in today's dollars. Eat rice as the main source of carbohydrates. Then one tin of vegetables. For meat, buy a package of cheap sausages, the cheapest in your supermarket. This can be split into 2 or 3 day's meat.

Daily cost:

rice = $0.50 [buy large 4kg packs and you can reduce your daily cost to this]

vegetables = $1

meat = $1

preparation = $0.50. [Mainly for boiling rice.]

I did the above for over 20 years. Then I discovered how to do even better. In my town, there are several places that give out free food to deserving people. Like me! And I'm not talking about prepared meals at a homeless shelter. The food is often tins of vegetables, bread at the end of its shelf life [and so donated by supermarkets], and some meat. These places do not require ID and do not require proof of [minimal or no] income. In practice, I would satisfy the income requirements.

Since 2005, I have been getting free food. I only wish I had been doing this for the prior 20 years.

J. Baudville of CA @ Mar 06, 2009 21:21:53 PM

Partial Vegetarian Diet

Because of health reasons my wife and I started to eat more vegetarian meals a few years ago. I was a red meat guy and it took me a bit to get used to it, but I have come to enjoy eating vegetarian meals. We used to eat a vegetarian once a week, but not we eat that way two or three times a week. In addition, since our cost living has increased we have been leaning more toward Mediterranean style meals where meat is used as a sideline and not the main fare.

remaras of PA @ Feb 16, 2009 12:43:32 PM

Just like TK of OH

This past August I deliberately spent as little as possible and got away with spending $100 on food for the whole month! Granted, I don't eat three meals a day, but it is fairly easy if you're willing to be creative. I averaged $3.22/day on food, and that's including splurging a little on restaurants.

But let's face it, eating on $7/day is not the same as LIVING on $7/day. When you add up those monthly or weekly expenses of rent or mortgage, utilities, transportation and divide them out, you'll find you're spending a lot more everyday than it appears.

Lauren of TX @ Feb 04, 2009 10:57:07 AM

LIFE ON $ 7 A DAY

MY KIDS HATE SCHOOL MEALS SO I GO TO THE DOLLAR STORE, AND BUY CHIPS AND LUNCH MEAT AND SNACKS FOR THE KIDS I HAVE 3 KIDS.SO EACH ONE WANTS SOMETHING DIFFERENT,AND YOU CAN GET BIG THINGS OF JUICE AND PUT INTO WATER BOTTLES AND FREEZE THEN AND BUY THE TIME THEY DRINK THEM FOR LUNCH THEY ARE STILL GOOD AND COLD.EVERY MONTH I SPEND 50 DOLLARS A MONTH AT THE DOLLAR STORE AND I SAVE 300 DOLLARS. IF I WENT TO SAVE MART AND DONE THE SAME THING SO SOMETIME SHOPPING AROUND HELPS AND MOST OF ALL I LOVE COUPONS MY AUNT SHOWED ME HOW TO USE THEM WHEN I WAS A KID I DO THE SAME FOR ME KIDS.I SAY ALWAYS PASS THE OLD THINGS DOWN TO THE NEXT.

DANA of CA @ Jan 21, 2009 19:47:50 PM