How much $$ do we spend on dinner?

[ssbean]

Love this thread! Wish I found it sooner.

Thank you all for the great meal ideas!

[Craiger]

Tonight is a very cheap meal...we are having homemade hamburgers and macaroni and cheese with fresh cucumbers

The hamburg was free (bought with a coupon from taco kit)
The hamburger buns were .62 (bought for $1.99- .75 coupon and just used 4 out of 8 buns)
The macaroni was catelli for .13 (bought for .99 - .75 coupon and just used 1/2 the box)
The cheese was $1.60 ish (bought for $4.27 - .75 coupon and just used 1/2 the brick)
The cucumber is free, fresh from my dad's garden

The whole dinner costs a mere $2.35!!!!

[vibrantflame]

How much does the rest of the world spend a week on food? Check it out: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2RW23n...d-in-one-week/

What an interesting article! One thing to keep in mind though is that the article doesn't show their income so we can see the percentage of it that is being spent on food. For example, the family in Bhutan spends an average of just over $5 per week on food. That seems so cheap, but actually the average income there is $450 per year, so if they are average earners, they're spending over half of their yearly income on food!

[Chantel]

If we can buy premade meals of some sort, that really cuts down our costs if we can get them half price. RCSS has lasagnas and fettuccine that go on half price for $5-7. For our family of four, we can usually get 2 dinners out of one, or at least dinner and lunch leftovers. That's $1 per serving, which is quite decent.

My lunches I try to make for $1 or less. I love Primo Beef Barley. When it goes on for a dollar, we stock up. One can is two servings for me, so 50c/serving plus I eat an italian roll with it that we've gotten off of the discount rack. A 24 pk usually costs something like $2.50, so like 10 cents a piece for the rolls. 60c lunch!

We also regularly make stir fry. The bags of noodles are almost $4, but we only use half a bag per big wok full, so $2 there, plus $1 worth of chopped slaw on for half price at superstore, plus part of a bag of Artic Gardens (used BOGO when on sale, so maybe $1 worth of the bag) and 20c worth of bean sprouts, and for under $5 we have dinner for four, and lunch the next day.

We also repurpose leftovers, and stick leftover already-'paid'-for meat like chicken and steak or pork into the stir fry.

[integrative123]

Actually it depends on with whom we planned to have dinner We spend more with our friends and loved ones.

[gracesmommy]

i just looked at the article of how much food is eaten around the world and wow. it's amazing at what is 'needed' in germany and the states and when you get to bhutan and chad what's exactly 'needed'.

[Craiger]

That is so true.

i just looked at the article of how much food is eaten around the world and wow. it's amazing at what is 'needed' in germany and the states and when you get to bhutan and chad what's exactly 'needed'.

[BC Gal]

Another Yahoo article on $$$ of food. This time someone blogs about "surviving" on only $21.00 for a weeks worth of food. We totally have her beat in not only price, but actual amount and variety of food. The comments at the bottom of the article are a real kicker. If only they knew http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/survived-2...160000249.html

[blueeyetea]

So how do you manage to keep you food tab down to less than $20 a week?

I personally couldn't survive on $21 a week, let alone feed both my husband and I. We can't even get one chicken for less than $10 let alone the vegetables to keep us fed throughout the week. Looking at that post on Yahoo, I can't even imagine someone calling toast and jam breakfast. Cheap yes, but zero nutrition that will cost you in the long run.

[harbie]

Another Yahoo article on $$$ of food. This time someone blogs about "surviving" on only $21.00 for a weeks worth of food. We totally have her beat in not only price, but actual amount and variety of food. The comments at the bottom of the article are a real kicker. If only they knew http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/survived-2...160000249.html

Funny thing is she seems to add the statement * "I already had that in the fridge, or pantry" a lot. Of course you can spend little $$$ BUT you have to have a well stocked pantry first.

[BC Gal]

So how do you manage to keep you food tab down to less than $20 a week?

I personally couldn't survive on $21 a week, let alone feed both my husband and I. We can't even get one chicken for less than $10 let alone the vegetables to keep us fed throughout the week. Looking at that post on Yahoo, I can't even imagine someone calling toast and jam breakfast. Cheap yes, but zero nutrition that will cost you in the long run.

I think there are several SCers that do even a bit better than her. Lol, like you said toast and jam everyday is not breakfast. I grow veggies, so that really helps keep the nutrition high and the cost low. And with couponing, chicken cost can be lowered to a couple dollars. Trust me, I have not compromised health for cost, I've just made sure that I buy when the prices are good and coupon for everything possible. Not trying to brag, but I've had weeks under $20 in groceries for two adults. It just takes a bit of work and pre-planning.

[Abby5]

There is no way I can spend under $200 a week for the four of us. That is with meal planning,coupons etc.. But that also includes cleaning, cat litter, bathroom stuff etc..
Plus I am not sure why anyone would want to only spend $20 a week on food?? They would spend more on fuel for their car then their bodies?? Priorities are a little out of wack in my opinion

[2010ontest]

So far I managed to have an annual weekly average cost between 75-90$ per week for a family of 6 with some pets.
This average included also the cleaning supplies, TP, health and beauty, soap, cat food, act.

We eat alot of fruit and veggies here and I'm sure I have no compromise in food quality and have healthy stuff for the long run.
But I managed to do my homecanning with good stuff, pack the freezer in season, buy meat at lowest price. I'm lucky enought to have alot of good friends and neighbor that grow some fruits and veggies, so I get alot for free in season and I take time to preserve it (freeze, homecanning, dehydrating, ect). As soon as spring is there I go pick in nature some stuff edible and go like this all the good season long. In winter I do sprounting myself and this didn't cost that much.

So based of my weekly average, for breakfast, lunch and dinner I'm somewhere between 3.57 and 4.28$ for each all year long.

[Abby5]

I do not canning, do not have a garden etc.. My spending is for everything....My kids and dh eat meat so they buy that--usually Costco. We eat gluten free and I eat vegan. And there is no cardboard boxes in my house (or cans)lol

[2010ontest]

my point was just that we can have a low cost and eat well.

Some people have the pre-conception that people who spend not alot of money on grocery stuff have a bad alimentation.

So far this is not true, we may just have an other way to get our stuff. This is what it is for me.