What are the cheapest items to buy at the market?

catsareniice1 · May 2013

I am able to afford my bills. However, I am not a very smart grocery shopper. What is the cheapest one can spend per month on groceries and have all staple items (for one person)? To be honest I am not sure what I spend. What I spend is all over the place but I do know my bills are always high.

What is the least a person can spend per month and have all the necessities and healthy food choices?

hamsterdance · May 2013

It kind of depends on where you live and what exactly is available. I can get by on. 100 a month if I have to, but it's kind of monotonous and maybe not the healthiest diet ever. Lots of beans and rice, eggs, pancakes, baked potatoes, peanut butter or tuna sandwiches. Maybe a bag of apples and some salads with whichever veggies are cheapest. I get bored with that pretty fast though.

For more variety and a diet that is not mostly carbs I need at least 200 a month. With that much I can still do some of the meals I mentioned previously, and also get a big bag of frozen chicken, maybe some inexpensive cuts of fish, or shrimp if I catch a sale. I can do meals that use a smaller amount of meat like salads, stir fry, soups, tacos or burritos. Always buy seasonings in bulk too. They cost next to nothing that way, and when you are cooking for one person you don't need a whole jar at once anyway.

Sue-n-Kevin · May 2013

That's a fairly loaded question because it depends on a lot of things:

- geographic area

- your likes and dislikes

- your cooking skills or interest in cooking

- your budget

Here's what I have always done:

- make a list, shop once a week, and stick to those rules. After shopping at the grocery store enough times, you'll be able to make your lists in the order of the store aisles, making it easier

- clip coupons from the Sunday flyers for things you like. It's not a bargain if you clip a coupon and buy something at a great price, but will never eat it

- Sometimes you have to shop at more than one store. For example, I love the frozen food choices & prepared foods and prices at Aldi's (if you have one near you, they are awesome), but they don't have a large selection of fresh fruit or veggies. When possible I go to a fresh foods/farmer's style market for fruit and veggies because the quality and choices are better, and usually so is the price

- make one meal and eat it more than once. For example, if I make chicken breasts, turkey breast tenderloin, or pot roast, the first night we eat it as is. The next night I might use the cooked meat in a dish with rice or pasta, a casserole, or soup. If anything is left, we eat it in sandwiches or another recipe. You can also freeze the leftovers and use them later if eating the same type of meat a few days in a row is monotonous to you. If you need some assistance with recipes, Rachel Ray does a lot of them for "cook once, eat several meals".

Generally frozen vegetables are much cheaper than fresh, and I use them all the time in my recipes. I buy bags of chopped peppers and onions and use them in pasta dishes and stir fry. I buy bags of frozen peas for various recipes. Frozen is better than canned for most types, and retain more of their nutritional value.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

JNL$LSM · May 2013

I agree with PP, however, to add just little things. Make a grocery list and stick to it. Do meal planning so you know what you need prior to going to the store. Look at what is on sale and based your grocery list and your meal around it. Coupons, some stores allow you to load savings to your rewards card. Never go to the grocery store hungry, LOL.

brij2006 · May 2013

I find that making things from scratch really helps stretch our grocery budget. I buy rice in the bag instead of can, and cook them myself. Then buy ingredients for muffins, pancakes, etc to make from a recipe. We really try to shy away from ready made food or the add 2 ingredient meals. They seem to be a higher price than cooking from scratch, and they are higher in calories and sodium.

This really cut our grocery budget and our waistline.

jeapplegate · May 2013

If you stay way from prepared food and "meal kits" you save a lot. Meat is expensive so as a general rule cutting back on meat will save you money. You can get protein from eggs, peanut butter and canned tuna and they are all cheaper and better for you. One thing I did when we were both still in school was to always mix ground meat with 1/2 TVP.. That way we could make a lb of hamburger last 4 meals. Another trick is to watch the sale bin. There is nothing wrong with the meat, it just needs to be used or frozen right away. I portion everything out to what we will need for one meal, then put in the freezer. I can frequently get a whole chicken for $4 or a huge pack of chicken legs for $2.

Focus on buying in season fresh fruits and veggies as they will be a better buy than things that have been shipped in. If we aren't going to finish something or there is a good deal on it I will prep and freeze what we don't need. For example my grocery store will sell big bags of zucchini for 79 cents when they are about to go bad. I will buy those, carefully inspect and throw out any bad ones then chop up and freeze the rest in meal portions to use in stir fry, pasta or whatever. It works well as long as you use or freeze it that day.

Buy your grains in bulk. I always get big bags of rice or beans etc... It's much cheaper that way.

Always have enough room in your budget to take advantage and stock up an things that you normally buy when it is a good price, on sale etc, but never buy something that you would not normally buy just because it is on sale. That does not save money. This especially goes for coupons.

I use powdered milk for baking and cooking. It tastes weird imo to drink, but when cooked it doesn't taste any different.

bparkhur · May 2013

Where do you shop for groceries?

BBear13 · June 2013

Question on freezing veggies - how long will most stay good for in a freezer bag? And do they give off a lot of liquid when you cook them, or do you defrost them as you do meat?

We freeze our meat, but I've noticed with produce it would save a lot of time if I could chop it all up and make into ready-to-cook portions.

What are the cheapest items to buy at the market?

Re: What are the cheapest items to buy at the market?

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