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My $50-a-Week Food Expense

March 23rd, 2014 at 11:17 am

Buying whatever I wanted to buy, I spent $420 on groceries and other food items for the 2 months of January and February. That's an average of $50 per week for 8.4 weeks (59 days). And that's not as a food "budget", where I set out to limit my spending to $50 a week. No. That's $50 a week buying what I wanted and practicing what I call "frugality without sacrifice."*

I kept my costs down by stocking up on storable items when they went on sale, and staying flexible on my weekly choice of vegetables, fruits and other perishables. Since I only ate out 5 times during that two-month period, the $420 I spent paid for 172 meals plus a robust amount of snacking. Here are the details on how I eat on $50 a week.

My breakfasts consist of oatmeal with milk, strawberries and bananas. My lunches include a ham, turkey or salami and cheese sandwich, a pickle, some beer, and fresh apple. Between lunch and dinner, my snacks may be yogurt, apple and cheese, shredded wheat with milk, or toast with peanut butter.

My dinners are heavy on meat and vegetables, low on starches. Neither rice, pasta nor potatoes form part of my usual daily diet. Instead, on my dinner plate you will find either steak, pork chop, country rib, roast beef or chicken along with large helpings of 2 fresh steamed vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower. To this I add a large mixed salad and fruit for dessert.

After dinner, I will do more sporadic snacking on crackers with cream cheese, chocolate, or more fruit or yogurt. And I will indulge my extravagant coffee habit.

I am a Keurig K-cup coffee fanatic. My absolute favorite is Tully's French Roast, and I will go through 2 K-cups of that coffee each day. These normally cost 64 cents each in packs of 18. But I manage to get them at a hefty discount. By using store coupons and leveraged cashback redemptions**, I keep my cost down to 40 cents per K-cup. And I keep my food expense down to $50 a week without making any sacrifices on what I choose to eat.

# # #

*Playing the Frugal Game is Fun:
Text is http://retired-to-win.savingadvice.com/2013/12/14/playing-the-frugal-game-is-fun_106129/ and Link is
http://retired-to-win.savingadvice.com/2013/12/14/playing-th...
**Leveraging Up Cashback Redemptions:
Text is http://retired-to-win.savingadvice.com/2014/03/18/leveraging-up-cashback-rewards_107816/ and Link is
http://retired-to-win.savingadvice.com/2014/03/18/leveraging...

8 Responses to “My $50-a-Week Food Expense”

  1. Mooshocker Says:
    1395577662

    I think your breakfast regimine has a type............SOME BEER????? LOLOLOLOL Please verify this as I can't stop thinkings it doesn't fit with your description....

  2. Retired To Win Says:
    1395587294

    Read the post again. The beer is with lunch, not breakfast.

  3. rob62521 Says:
    1395600952

    Mooshocker made me look again! LOL

    Glad you can buy things you like and bargain hunt at the same time. Good job!

  4. Retired To Win Says:
    1395602253

    Thanks, Rob!

  5. Mary Ann Says:
    1395673237

    Sounds like you have a good plan!

  6. Retired To Win Says:
    1395680216

    It works for me, MaryAnn! Smile

  7. curious Says:
    1395855224

    On your "about me" page you mention that you are married. What does your wife eat? Is she included in this budget? Or are all of her expenses separate from the ones you are mentioning here?

  8. Retired To Win Says:
    1395873701

    Hey, curious...

    During the months of January and February, I had the opportunity to see what my "solo" food expenses would be because I went snowbirding by myself in Florida (and had to supply myself from scratch). So that is where I got my data.

    My wife and I eat mostly the same things, and I think any differing choices we might have balance each other out. So I figure our 2-person food expense is twice what I reported for me alone. (I am gathering data for March now, and it looks like the month's food expense for the 2 of us is going to come in much lower. But a lot of the meats we have been eating have been coming out of our overstocked freezer!)

    I hope that makes sense!

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