about how money does it take to feed 1 person per month

[SuperPickle]

Yep, pretty much what the others have said. Don't automatically stear away from ramen noodles though, because there are things you can do with them to augment a meal on the cheap. For example, I've been throwing in a package of ramen sans the packet of flavoring sh!t into a meal of chicken breasts or pork chops. A breakfast consisting of a package of ramen (1/3 package of flavoring), some shredded cheese and an egg or two makes for a really cheap, power-packed breakfast that isn't altogether crappy.

Stay away from:
Vending machines
Fast food
Most things at a deli/convenience store

 

[3chordcharlie]

You can eat healthy and tastey for well under $10 a day. You can even do it for $5, but you'll lose some variety.

That means cooking everything from scratch though.

 

[notfred]

I spend about $250/month on food.

 

[Anonemous]

for my family of 4, we spend about 1000$/month and that's eating well (sushi/eating out/etc...)


if I was going solo I could prolly live around 100/month but that's with mac and cheese/tuna/budget gourmet/salads in a bag/ramen/pb&j

 

Originally posted by: SuperPickle
Yep, pretty much what the others have said. Don't automatically stear away from ramen noodles though, because there are things you can do with them to augment a meal on the cheap. For example, I've been throwing in a package of ramen sans the packet of flavoring sh!t into a meal of chicken breasts or pork chops. A breakfast consisting of a package of ramen (1/3 package of flavoring), some shredded cheese and an egg or two makes for a really cheap, power-packed breakfast that isn't altogether crappy.

Stay away from:
Vending machines
Fast food
Most things at a deli/convenience store

I'd rather eat sand than eat ramen more than once a year.

 

[edro]

$200 is a good number. How old are you? For some reason, I always thought you were like 30.

 

[Howard]

With things like a rice cooker or a GF grill, you can make do with a lower budget.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: MaverickBP
i had a budget of $150 i wanted to spend on food. with pb&j, hot dogs, tuna fish, pepsi, juice, and even eating out twice a week i was no where near that $150. now of course i make more and eat like a filthy pig so its gone up...cant gain weight though damnt

Can't gain? Poor baby.

Pass on your secret.

 

[Anonemous]

it also depends on how well you are at clipping coupons. Buy the sunday paper and clip coupons religiously and keep them organized so you can 'stock' up when certain items go on sale.

It's also hard to eat healthy if you don't know how to cook and if you are on a tight budget. Along with the other things I mentioned:

cereal (onsale) + milk = breakfast (~1)
sandwich (deli/cheese/lettuce) + drink (water) +apple= lunch (~1.50)
salad + dressing + tuna or just ramen = ~2/~.25

hehe you can eat @1/4 the price of what Rachel Ray eats in a day!

Good luck and try to mix it up.

 

[dderidex]

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
You can eat healthy and tastey for well under $10 a day. You can even do it for $5, but you'll lose some variety.

That means cooking everything from scratch though.

You realize a month has 30 days in it, right? A MONTH.

$5 a day is $150 a month. $10 a day is $300 a month.

I can't fathom how people are living on $50 a month of food - that's JUST over A DOLLAR A DAY. That's insane, man!

Counting beverages and alcohol, eating out, organic food shopping, and, yes, farmer's markets (which, btw, are MUCH more expensive than grocery stores - but really, really fresh), we average $600-$800 on groceries a month. Just two of us, and both well in the middle of our 'ideal weight' range.

 

[Anonemous]

Originally posted by: dderidex

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
You can eat healthy and tastey for well under $10 a day. You can even do it for $5, but you'll lose some variety.

That means cooking everything from scratch though.

You realize a month has 30 days in it, right? A MONTH.

$5 a day is $150 a month. $10 a day is $300 a month.

I can't fathom how people are living on $50 a month of food - that's JUST over A DOLLAR A DAY. That's insane, man!

Counting beverages and alcohol, eating out, organic food shopping, and, yes, farmer's markets (which, btw, are MUCH more expensive than grocery stores - but really, really fresh), we average $600-$800 on groceries a month. Just two of us, and both well in the middle of our 'ideal weight' range.

yeah I know, the food budget takes a huge chunk out of monthly expenses.

 

[MetalMat]

Ramen Noodles
Mac & Cheese
Pasta
PB&J

And drink water, you can live off of less than 50 bucks for that. Lets say that you buy a bulk of multivitamins for 10 bucks, this should last you many months. So 3 bucks a month for multivites.

Lets say you buy the jugs of water in case you are afraid of your tap water. Jugs run for around 40-50 cents here, but lets say you get ripped off and have to pay $1.00. 2 jugs a week should be fine.

4 weeks x $2.00 a week = $8.00

Ok, now food. Lets say you get ripped off on Ramen and can only get 5 for $1.00, each pack has around 400 calories in it. So following the FDA recommendations, every day you would need to eat 5 packs to et 2000 calories.

30 days x $1.00 a day = $30.00


Multivitamins = $3.00
Food = $30.00
Water = $8.00

Total = $46.00

And this is worst case scenario patna. Now how broke are you really

 

[cavemanmoron]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
You could do it on $50 a month, if you really tried and you liked ramen noodles.

LOL you better not like Pepsi,or Coffee,especially with Sugar and Milk


I am lazy,and spend too much buying stuff
for lunch instead of bringing a lunch.
I spend an average of $5 for lunch at work,
and $2.60 for morning break,{Large coffee,bagel,and cream cheese.}

I buy a gallon of milk a week,$2.19-$3.00 depends where.
A loaf of bread,$1.19-$2.99 depends what bread,
a jar of peanut butter is like $2.,jelly/jam is like $2-3.
etc......

 

[dderidex]

Originally posted by: MetalMat
Multivitamins = $3.00
?Food? (Ramen) = $30.00
Water = $8.00

Total = $46.00

And this is worst case scenario patna. Now how broke are you really

Yeah, but don't forget to average in the cost of a funeral after your suicide from out-of-control-depression after 3 months of eating water, ramen, and multivitamins.

 

[Landroval]

I spend more about 320 for two people, but food costs a lot more (than most places) where I live.

 

[MetalMat]

Originally posted by: dderidex

Originally posted by: MetalMat
Multivitamins = $3.00
?Food? (Ramen) = $30.00
Water = $8.00

Total = $46.00

And this is worst case scenario patna. Now how broke are you really

Yeah, but don't forget to average in the cost of a funeral after your suicide from out-of-control-depression after 3 months of eating water, ramen, and multivitamins.

Well this is just an example. It is really easy to get a quick calorie fix, you can go buy a bag of ho-ho's for 25-50 cents and that has like 500 calories at least. As far as I know, the multiviatamin should keep you alive if you take one every morning.

I was in college unemployed and broke in 2003, but I still managed to get by. I was eating mac & cheese just using just water, and ramen noodles all the time. Now that I have a job I can afford to eat way better.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
$200 will do it. I think if you start trimming much from that you'll be going towards ramen noodles and away from real food.

Are you implying that ramen noodles are not "real food"? You have shattered the innocence of my palette, sir.

(I admit it, I actually like the "Cajun Chicken" flavored 'Top Ramen'-brand noodles. Plus, they're cheap, plus the cardboard boxes that a pack of 12 comes in, is the *perfect* size for holding two rows of CD-ROM jewel cases. So a free CD holder with every case of ramen! How can a geek go wrong?)

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: dderidex
Yeah, but don't forget to average in the cost of a funeral after your suicide from out-of-control-depression after 3 months of eating water, ramen, and multivitamins.

Ramen noodles cause depression too?? Damn, now I've heard it all. And it all seemingly applies to me.
I dunno, I figure $40/week at the grocery store (lots of Mt. Dew, have to stock up while it's on sale), that leaves some headroom in a $200/mo food budget for some mild "eating out" episodes.

 

[sharkeeper]

I have no idea but you can live onboard a cruise ship with oceanview cabin (stateroom) of 181 ft² for roughly $1300 a month.(including gratuity!) Not bad for everything in one.

Of course if you demand more and want to explore poc's then you need more cash.

 

[everman]

About 50 cents a day according to those commercials.

 

[Tiamat]

In boston, I spend 25$ worth of groceries each week, and 20$ misc. meals when im out during the typical week. Sometimes up to 100$ in misc meals if I go out to real restaurants - happens 1x per month. So, 100$ + (20$x3) + (25$x4) = 260$. This is Boston mind you. So, if you are living in a place with cheaper standard of living, 200$ should be enough.

Depends on how much you eat also. I eat anywhere from 3 to 7 meals a day (2000 Cal - 7500Cal) due to my high metabolism and going to the gym.

If you are scraping for pennies:
Loaves of bread, bottle of peanut butter, boxes of cereal, can go a long way and be inexpensive.

 

[opticalmace]

i live on about $200 canadian per month. maybe 230?

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: opticalmace
i live on about $200 canadian per month. maybe 230?

I've lived on half that.

- M4H

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I'd say you could eat for about $50 a month. You could spend roughly $10 for a few loaves of bread, $5 for a bucket of mustard, $5 for a tub of margarine, $5 for four gallons of milk, $10 for water, and $10 for a large amount of beef jerky or chicken.

 

[Anonemous]

Originally posted by: HamburgerBoy
I'd say you could eat for about $50 a month. You could spend roughly $10 for a few loaves of bread, $5 for a bucket of mustard, $5 for a tub of margarine, $5 for four gallons of milk, $10 for water, and $10 for a large amount of beef jerky or chicken.

where'd you go to buy milk that cheap? around here it's like 3.19 for a gallon.