How to Feed a Family for $5.00

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By Mrs. Christina
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(11 Ratings)

Sound unrealistic? Not so. Even in this market, there are ways to feed a family on a very tight budget. Here's how:

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Shop selectively. Learn where and when to shop for groceries. Some items are best purchased in bulk such as rice, flour, sugar, bananas, milk, eggs, ground beef and other items from Costco. Note: divide meat into portions and freeze.

Others can be picked up at discount stores such as the 99 cent store. For example, baking soda, vegetables, etc. These items may or may not be available on a regular basis, so familiarize yourself with the inventory.

You can also find very inexpensive and fresh produce from Mexican Markets.

Also, the WalMart super stores offer various items at affordable prices.
Step 2

Use coupons when available and accepted.
Step 3

Cooking at home with these base ingredients is the most cost effective way to feed your family. Pot meals such as spaghetti, stew, soup, etc. will feed a family on average for two days minimum.
Step 4

Collect recipes. This will help to offer a variety of meal selections.
Step 5

Store and serve leftovers for an average of up to one week.
Step 6

A few examples of $5.00 meals that I fall back on are Generic Spaghetti made with large can tomato sauce (Costco), ground beef (Costco), spices, and spaghetti noodles (Can be purchased in bulk from most stores).

Another is burritos: large can beans (Costco), pre-shredded cheese (Costco), Pace Picante (Costco), lettuce (Costco).
Step 7

Keep a mental note of how much your meals cost to prepare; how many portions they serve; and how long they last. With this information you can determine the approximate meal cost.

If you have inexpensive recipes that you'd like to share, be sure to post url below.

Comments

blaquetweety64 said

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on 11/20/2008 great article 5*

HorseTender said

on 9/30/2008 Great tips - yes it IS possible to eat on a very tight budget.

Susanh said

on 8/15/2008 I save a lot of money shopping at Aldi's grocery store. Wal-Mart will honor name brand item sale prices if you bring in the flyer from another store. Well-written article!