Oh my! My twitter peeps, aka, my tweeples, have been buzzing about this blog, Thirty Bucks a Week. A Brooklyn couple is spending $30 total per week on food. Let's just say that the lovebirds even create NEW soups out of the soups they've already made. They are a member of a food cooperative which makes it much easier on them. A few bloggers, such as The Broke Socialite and Running with Tweezers, are doing the challenge.
I noticed that the couple, Tina and Phil, use lots of lentils, soups and vegetables. The photos of the food look pretty yummy.
When I launched The Frugalista Files in 2008, I didn't know how to cook. We'll, I've worked on that quite a bit, but I never have opted for a $15 per week budget. I'm not sure I'm going to join the challenge, but I will get some recipe tips.
Could you eat on $15 per week? What is your food budget? What is your favorite, least expensive meal? Would you take the challenge? I think No-Buy Month is plenty for me!
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I dont really have a food budget, if I see it and want it, I buy it……not good..LOL
I like the idea of 15 bucks per week but in NYC that’s not easy. I see that this couple is in NY so maybe I will follow their lead.
PJd
$15 per person seems way too meager. I’d go with at least $40 a week, per person (about $160 per month [a little more in longer months]). That’s only about $2,000 for the year, and well within reason.
I think $15 is just making your whole life about food. Every meal has to be made at home and stretched to the very end. And you get very little meat on $15 bucks a week, if you like meat. It sounds like you’d be living on peanut better, lentils and canned goods. I’m not sure you could even get much fresh fruit and vegetables that way. I think $40 is reasonable (fewer than $6 per day for three square meals). It’s interesting to see if you could do it. But certainly not something someone should try to do as a standard of living.
The good news is, it is cheaper to cook for two than one, so you get a little benefit there in the $30 is split between two people, not a true $15 per person.
I think Rasheeda makes an excellent point. Getting by on $30 bucks a week isn’t too difficult provided the couple can do without meat. But beans every day would get pretty old.
I’m single and a meat freak, however I HAVE done this and managed to eat pretty well. Lasagne goes a long way when you’re single…as does a whole roasted chicken and a crock pot of red beans and rice w/sausage. I can still afford veggies and fruit and use PB & J when I need a snack.
For the past four months, I’ve been able to keep my food bill to 60-70 dollars per month. That’s about 15 dollars a week. I cook a LOT!
Our budget is less than $100 a week…sometimes we spend $60, sometimes $80, rarely do we go over $100. That’s fresh fruit and vegetables for me, my husband, and our 3yr old son. We go meatless a few times a week, which cuts the costs way down…beans and rice and pasta, but also plenty of veggie dishes: eggplant parmasean, portobello fritters. What about pets? We have 2 cats…and their food & litter are included in our under $100 a week budget. I don’t think we could do the $30 a week…I’d have to give up Nutella! ; )
I’m not a big meat eater, so I think I could do it if I cooked all the time. Since I don’t, I average about $15/day.
Oh yes, I love that blog. They are eating very well, not just beans. They are vegetarian, but they are very creative and I use a lot of the recipes.
Also, their budget is groceries only, it doesn’t include eating out or alcohol. And they do allow themselves those things. So it’s entirely reasonable if you consider that, plus they buy lentils and staples like that in bulk at their coop.
We spend about 80/week for two, and I think that’s pretty good, but going meatless is cheaper. Also, it’s easier to feed 2 for 30/wk than one for $15.
There is some great stuff on their site, so even if you can’t do it for that amount, you can learn a trick or two.
I’ve done $15 a week back in my scraping college days, but I wasn’t very creative, so it was very very boring. Beans, pasta, and canned veggies from Save-a-lot. Bleh.
I do about $50 dollars a week right now, after stocking up on all the staples. Not bad for 2/3 people, and I’m getting fresh fruits and veggies in.
The tricky part has been weaning the roommates off of having to eat meat every meal, every day.