AZIZ...LIGHT!
As an addendum to what Mike was saying, look for vegetables and fruits that can be used in a lot of different meals. Green/red peppers, red and yellow onions, garlic, ginger, lemons, limes and oranges can be used to make lots of different meals, you can get a lot of mileage out of them, and they're pretty cheap.
Eggs will take you a long way, and cost like .69c per dozen. If you're worried about the cholestoral, seperate them, or mix 1 egg and 1/4c egg substitute. Be warned that you'll pay out the ass for the fake eggs though.
If you've got a wholesaler down there (Sam's Club, Costco, etc), hit those up for the household goods, and even bulk buys of meat and chicken.
Find a natural food store where you can buy spices in quantities you want, rather than spending $5 per tiny bottle in the grocery store. Most of those stores, and even some larger grocery stores, allow you buy spices in bulk at prices that'll leave you wondering why you'd buy them in the grocery store.
Captain Kirk, can you save me?
I back that learn to cook. Also, plan your meals ahead, and don't go to the grocery store when you've got the munchies. Otherwise, you'll just end up spending as much as you would eating at restaraunts. If you have an Aldi or something in your area, you can save a lot that way.
To boldly go where lots of men have gone before...
Can you dig it?
Join BJ's or Costco (you know, those big bulk wholesale places). Compared to shoping in a supermarket, you get 3-4 times the volume of product for your money. And these guys carry just about everything.
Good exmples: A small package of Tyson chicken cutlets'll cost you about 6 or 7 bucks at a supermarket. That amounts to probably maybe 3 or 4 cutlets if you're lucky. At BJs, a bag of Tyson chicken cutlets is 10 bucks- that's for about 16 of 'em. The other day I bought a huge case of Quaker Oatmeal that'll last me for months (and I eat oatmeal for breakfast just about every day). The cost? 6 bucks. A case (24 bottles) of Diet Snapple Iced Tea? $14. Two loafs of Arnold whole wheat bread? $2.99. An 8 can pack of Bumble Bee tuna? 7 bucks. And so on. I usually only go to a supermarket for the very few items BJ's doesn't carry, like frozen berries.
Dolemite, the Bad-Ass King of all Pimps and Hustlers
Gymkata: I mean look at da lil playah woblin his way into our hearts in the sig awwwwwww
Find a Bent N Dent. Just don't buy the candy.
The Remix
Last semester I managed to get my weekly food purchases down do $40 a week max, usually it was around the $25-$35 range. I think the max I'll spend on any item is like $5, unless it is something really important. I got my budget this low because I would only buy the same few items over and over again, here's what I learned, which will pretty much echo others:
- Scout around your area to see which places are cheaper. There are some super markets in my area that charge outrageous ammounts for stuff while others are far more sensible.
- Learn to cook, this is priority #1, do not waste your money buying $5 subs or whatever. Being able to cook your own food is cheaper in the long run and a lot healthier for you as well. Do not waste your money on premade shit like tv dinners that are covered in frozen chemicals.
- Get yourself a George Foreman Grill. The Foreman Grill really is the best invention of the last 25 years, and it will literally save your life. It has so many uses, my personal favorite is to use it as a make shift panini press to heat sandwhiches on it. I've heard tales of people cooking shrimp and other random things on it.
- Learn to love rice. Fuck ramen, rice is the ultimate cheap staple food because it actually has nutritional value. I bought a big bag for I don't know, $10 or so, and it lasted me the entire semester. Get yourself a small rice cooker while you are at it, it is worth it. I come from a hispanic family so I pretty much grew up eating rice and beans every day, and now I can see why people choose to eat it all the time, it's a really cheap thing to make and it tastes quite good.
- Buy fruits and vegetables. As lame and cliche as it sounds, instead of snacking on some unhealthy shit, eat an apple or something. Bannanas are very filling.
- Buy the generic store brands of everything.
- Whole Wheat bread is better than white bread. Skim milk is better than whole milk.
- Always buy water, you literally can not live with out it. I've stopped drinking soda and only buy water and whatever cheap juice is on sale (Ssips - $1.60!).
- If you're only buying for yourself don't buy more portions of perishable foods than you need for the week. For example: A pint of milk is a perfect portion for me, because I don't like to drink milk (ugh), I only use it with cereal, and I usually just eat it right out of the box, so there are times in which the pint of milk will go bad.
- Always have a can or two of tuna fish lying around, they could save your life in a tight spot.
- Buy foods that have multiple uses such as lettuce and eggs. I used to make salads all the time but now I only buy lettuce to pad my sandwhiches (I literally live off of them). Eggs have multiple applications, but I've stopped buying them because they are a bitch to clean after you are done with them.
- There are certain items out there that are %100 worth spending that extra cash for such as medicine, but the most important one of all: Toliet Paper. Do not buy 1 ply toilet paper, splurge on the good stuff, your ass will thank you.
- If you smoke, quit. Of course that is no easy thing to do, and I don't want to get preachy on you, but it is a really expensive habit and that money could be spent towards better things.
Last edited by Regus; 13 Jul 2005 at 01:41 PM.
Whats funny is that I have been buying things here and there and Target is having there dollar day sales and got like a 12 pack of Charmin for less then $10 thanks to my 10% discount.Originally Posted by Regus
Thanks for all the tips everyone, very helpful. Keep them coming.
While he is at it, he should get a pack of wetnaps too. It will help the toilet paper go farther.
lol miyamoto
They're ok, but these things always seem to dry the living hell out of my meat. If you can, try something cooked on it before picking it up.
However, I may have to steal my mother's old one for that panini idea.
The holiest of believable news.There are certain items out there that are %100 worth spending that extra cash for such as medicine, but the most important one of all: Toliet Paper. Do not buy 1 ply toilet paper, splurge on the good stuff, your ass will thank you.
Wetnaps? Why waste the money when you can just wet the toilet paper. Especially if it's HQ, a little water won't make it completely weak.
vs. GoRuck Challenge
Maybe the wiping technique is not up to snuff.
R.I.P. Paragon Studios
Get all of the grocery store "loyalty programs" or whatever (the cards). While it may be annoying having to whip out a card everytime you need to buy something, you'll get an ad every week of what's on sale, and this can help you in the long run. For example, at WD, we oftentimes run cheese (8 oz packages 3 for $5. Shredded cheese has a decent shelf life, usually at least 3 months, so it should last you a while.
This brings me to another point: always check your dates on dairy products. Some items last a while, while others may last a week or two. Also check out the discount bins. I'd never buy marked down cheese, but yogurt is good up to a week or so beyond the date stamped on it, so if you're into yogurt, get that. Anything that you don't use can be frozen, which also offers a healtier alternative to ice cream.
When cooking, always try to use olive oil whenever you can. It has a lot less saturated fat than other types of oils, and usually has a slightly lighter taste than vegetable oil or crisco. Also try to use more white meats than red meats. Chicken and pork are both cheaper than pretty much any form of steak, and are healthier as well.
As others have said, buy in bulk items that can stay good for a long period of time: dried spices, rice, flour, etc.
If the water at your appartment isn't very good, don't get multipacks of the 500 mL bottled water. Instead, get the gallon jugs, which are about 70 cents each, and refrigerate them. You get over twice as much per dollar amount versus buying a multipack.
In most areas, generics are almost always as good, or even better, than name-brand products. The only exceptions are cookies and chips, iirc. Name-brand diapers are probably better than generics, too.
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