How to Have a Grocery Budget of ONLY $30 per Week

Are you on a REALLY limited budget every week? Or maybe you have something you would like to save towards?

Maybe you are on a fixed income and need to establish a 12-Month Emergency Fund?

Whatever your situation, if you were forced to spend ONLY $30 per week on ALL of your groceries, could you do it?

We think it IS possible – if you are single, and finding it hard to get started with your Emergency Fund because your money is tied up in other areas, reducing your grocery budget is one of many ways to free up some cash.

A little sacrifice now will yield to bigger payoffs later. 

Here in Arizona we are lucky enough to have the $.99 store – which helps us stretch our dollar MUCH farther than most other stores. 

If you are having trouble sticking to a budget in the grocery store, keep these FOUR things in mind.

Buy what you need

It’s MUCH better to go often to the store, and get what you need, than buy a HUGE cart load and have things rot in your fridge.

Remember… that in most cases, if you leave the house daily, you are usually going to drive by any grocery store.

Cut your Behaviors

This is HUGE: if your downfall is buying lunch at work, then MAKE IT the night before. You will be more inclined to grab & go from the fridge if you know it’s in there.

It’s easy to cut your junk intake … just don’t buy it in the first place.  We find that for us, that’s soda, sugary snacks, cereal, and alcohol, so we just avoid buying them altogether. Your body and kids will adjust.  

Keep a Well Stocked Pantry

KNOW what staples you need to create easy meals ~ ie. Pasta can be so versatile, Rice, Canned Beans, and Canned Vegetables, Tomatoes are key.  If you have the staple items in your pantry, you can just accessorize your meal with the produce that’s cheap for the week.  

Use our Pantry Checklist to help yourself out.

Learn to Cook

Cooking is rather easy. It’s just not what some of you want to do after working a long day. Think of it as an investment in yourself and your finances. Learning how to cook the basic things will help prevent you from going and eating out every night, or eating out at work. 

Just remember that the shocker price of a Big Mac Meal, Soda & Fries can be as much as $7 (or more…) — picture what you COULD have bought with that $7 — a bag of Frozen Chicken breasts that could have stretched ALL week.   It’s all about perspective.

Do you think you could survive on $30 per week?  Here are some ideas… for a $30 Grocery List and Menu we detailed some ideas below.

$.99 Store

• 1 loaf of Nature’s Own Bread $.99
• 1 bag of Rice $.99
• 1 bag of Dried Pinto Beans (16 oz) $.99
• 1 Box of Post Cereal $.99
• 1 Box Pasta $.99
• 1 Doz. Eggs $1.99
• 1 Jar Pasta Sauce $.99
• 2 Bags Salad $.99
• 1 – 3 lb bag of Apples $.99
• 1 Jar of Jif Peanut Butter $1.99
• 1 Bottle of Salad Dressing $.99

Regular Grocery Store

• 3 lbs Frozen Chicken Breasts $7
• 1 Gallon Milk $1.99
• 1 bunch Cilantro $.50
• 1 Jar Salsa $1.50
• 1 Store Brand Sour Cream $1
• 4 bags of Frozen Veggies $.99

Incorporating these items into meals is SO easy!   Sure.. you might get tired of the SAME things, but a little sacrifice will yield to BIG payoffs – if you can do a similar plan below, for a few weeks or even months, you might just be able to save enough to start your 12-Month Emergency Fund.

For Breakfast:

Cereal with Milk
Hard Boiled Egg
Toast with Peanut Butter & an Apple

For Lunches:

Salad with Hard Boiled Egg & Dressing
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich, 1 Apple
Or leftovers from what you make in the evening

For Dinners:

Pinto Bean Bowls with Cooked Rice, Cubed, Cooked Chicken, topped with Salsa/Sour Cream (think El Pollo Loco)
Baked Chicken with Buttered Pasta & Stir Fry Veggies
Cubed, Cut Up Chicken in Stir Fry with Rice
Seasoned Chicken Breast Atop Green Salad
Cubed, Cut up Chicken in Pasta with Pasta Sauce, Veggie Side

 By now.. some of you are probably saying “well, this is GREAT, but I am a family of SIX. How in the world can you do $30 for a family of six?

Believe it or not, the same logic applies ~ if you REALLY had to stick to a budget, you need to narrow down your list to those things that can be used for multiple meals (ie. Beans, Chicken, Pasta, etc).  AVOID packaged snacks, learn to cook, meal plan your weeknight meals, and avoid buying those things that are empty calories.

Learn to make do with the things you have, instead of finding a reason to buy (perhaps switch to reusing dish towels instead of buying paper towels.  You MAY have to increase the weekly budget to $50, but it’s VERY doable, even for a larger family!

What would be YOUR tips to save?