How can I buy a week worth of groceries for ten people with only $100?
Question:My best friend made a bet that she can buy a week worth of groceries for 10 people for only $100 (not a penny more!), and I cannot. She contends that because she come from a poor family she can do it, and since I come from an affluent family I cannot. So I give her a $100, and I have a $100. She will go to Save-a-Lot, and I will go to either Winn-Dixie or Wal-Mart (which is cheaper?). How can I shop with $100.00 to feed ten people with a week worth of groceries? Please give me some insight on this. I spend a lot of money with just my father and I for a month ($1,000.00). I would like to learn how to be frugal with groceries with food people like. Thank you in advance.
Answers:
Seriously,
your best bet is to buy food that is not already prepared. Rice and red beans are good, you can get some chicken as well to mix in with it for a little something extra.
Pasta is very good and homemade sauce as well. Bread is a good filler, buying the boxes of Jiffy is a good way to get the filler. Also don't forget your eggs and cheese.
For drinking you would go with water for the week.
Some site to check out:
$70 Low Cost Menu for 4 to 6 for a month - http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/70doll...
Avoid meats, use alot of pastas, and avoid pre-made meals.
you need to get a cosco or a sams membership, you would really be surprized on how much money you would save
Isn't the idea to see if you can do it yourself?
Ramen noodles.
SNOB!!
you can buy 100 bucks of ramen noodles....
start cutting coupons
I dont think it can be done! I think you just bought her groceries...
Ramen noodles are cheap as hell. Huge bags of cereal are cheap too. Bread and lunch meat. Eggs, hash, canned veggies. Im in college in a frat house, so u gotta eat with little money (most goes on beer or other things)
Buy a crate of ramen noodles and have your 10 people eat it morning, noon and night. You'll probably have enough afterward to take everyone out to eat!
okay you go to walmart way cheaper ( I work for one). You go and get ramen noodles macoroni and cheese, lipton side dishes. and if you like microwavable stuff get the family size. I spend forty bucks for food every two weeks.
When I was in college I would have only about 100 - 150 dollars a MONTH for food. So I bought a lot of pastas and top ramen.
Another cheap meal that feeds a lot is tater - tot casserole. It has everything in it including veggies. I would also make homemade soups, like potato bacon. It lasts forever.
Also ghetto enchiladas. It is bean and beef burritos covered with enchilada sauce & some cheese.
Hope some of these ideas help.
If you buy ramen you will have cash left over! I think it is quite possibly the cheapest food available. There are different flavors too.
id do alot of sandwiches, or frozen pizzas,
hamburger helper, roman noodles.
buy in bulk so you can spit it up.
Generic everything, and no extras!
so easy,corned beef in the can and rice then thighs and legs are the cheapest,canned veggies,cookies,generic,spaghe... rules and cheese sauces,hamburger helper!
puddings,vanilla wafers the sticks,like buy noodles then add alfredo sauce good,lots of spanish foods the brands!!
mashed potatoes,frozen fries,wingettes in the bag!
Go to Winn-Dixie. Buy those big bags of generic cereal and 15 gallons of milk and only that. Feed them cereal every day for every meal.
spaghetti 1.00 a box feeds 5 or more
Chicken- a day of meat, although you could do better for your money, this is one of the best cheapest meats
Grilled cheese- bread, cheese
hot dogs
Spam
tuna
peanut butter and jelly
rice
potatoes- bag-o
Powdered drink mix
cereal in the bags
crackers
vegetables
Go to Aldi's. Don't buy brand names. Buy bulk. And buy as few "ready to use" products as possible. The more you have to cook it, the cheaper it will be. Again I can't mention Aldi's enough it rocks. Or you could try going to Sav-a-lot like your friend. It's very simular place. They charge half as much on the same items because they don't have extravagent advertising and labor expenses like most grocery stores do.
you need to change your diet to rice/potatoe based meals with very small quantities.
Get a 25kg bag of potatoes for next to nothing.
Go and speak to immigrants and find where you can get cheap wholesale food.
Try the 99 cent store
I have to do this for my family (seven kids, two adults). Here's how you do it: Mac and chse, spaghetti, grilled cheese, rice and chicken broth (bouillon cubes), eggs and toast, pbj, pot pies, beef broth (bouillon cubes) and veg-all cans, egg noodles and a couple cans of cream of chicken soup, oat meal (not the instant kind), grilled cheese again...
I recommend dollar stores and big lots for shopping. Wal mart can be great--watch the prices. Even the dollar store can have high prices ($1 for a can of soup, .33 at grocery). Basically, fill your meals with terrible fats and carbs from pasta, eliminate meat, and you're good. Husband and I have to feed our seven kids like this and its a terrible diet. Hubby had a heart attack at age 39, last year. But what else do you do? Can only work so many jobs as we are only two people and make too much money for help. Food banks provide moldy foods. My advice is do it if you have to on $100, but I would not suggest doing it for long. Very unhealthy.
growing up we were lucky at time to have very much more than 100 dollars for groceries a month and there were 7 of us. We ate a lot of rice fixed up like oatmeal with butter and sugar in it for break fast. Ramen noodles for lunch which you can get about 6 or more packages for a buck and pinto beans with bacon for seasoning in them with fried potatoes and cornbread. When we got meat it was usually chicken leg quarters for about 20 cents a lb sold in 10 lb bags. My mom would cook about 4 leg and thigh pieces and combine them with some sort of pasta and cream of chicken soup. just find the best sales and rember food is food. even if its not the greatest most appetizing thing or you are tired of the same thing at least your belly isnt empty.
you obviously have to shop wisely. Buy in bulk, things like potatoes or pastas,cheese etc. shop the sales and use coupons. Buy generic products, most are the exact same thing that you buy in the more expensive brands. Watch the highest and the lowest shelves in the market. And cook from scrath rather than boxed or ready made meals. Do not waste anything. When a jar seems empty to some, I can still get 3-4 more servings out of it. Use a spatula to get all you can from them. Buy things that you can create several different types of meals from. (like your pastas and potatoes). And make a list and stick to it. Dont buy on impulse.
i think that we can survive on what we store in our freezers plus a few vegetables for a couple of weeks so it will be easy for you to do it and it depends what your friend has in their freezer and fridge....less wealthy people may eat meat they have trapped or shot where you may buy all expensive convenience foods and also they more than likely grow their own veg and buy from farmer direct or in bulk..i think your friend is onto a winner here ..don't know how you are going to decide unless you do it for 10 weeks though to get a true picture
Ten people for $100.00? I think I'm frugal,but...unless you live on chicken, ramen noodles, mac and cheese and that's just supper.I don't know.Let me know how that turns out.Maybe I could use a lesson.
She's setting you up to fail.
We can sponsor a child somewhere for just "60 cents a day", so no doubt we could feed a family of ten with one hundred dollars for a long time.
Feeding 10 people on $100.00 seems impossible, and I suspect the meals will not always be healthy or follow any type of balanced diet.
In college, I bet most can remember living off 10 for $1.00 noodles, and any other type of cheap food.
The point is, feeding 10 with $100.00 can be done, but at what cost?
I would just let her win this one. This will allow her some sort of acknowledgment that you respect who she is, where she came from, and that she succeeded in a situation where most would fail.
You don't even have to say any of that, just by your understanding of what is really at stake, should be more than enough for her. If anything, I hope to see you both grow closer as friends from this experience.
Good luck to you both!
And speaking of food:
Why is it that bad for us food is cheaper than healthy food?
Adlies or save alot is the best place to buy Most But Not Fresh meat.You need to find a store that has double coupons and then buy all the stuff you need that is on sale with those coupons.I used to feed 5 people on 70 dollars a week so it can be done.
Plan all meals in advance before going to store!
Generic EVERYTHING POSSIBLE!
Also, no pre made anything (unless Mac & Cheese/raymen noodles)!
Find recipes for home made bread, (allrecipes.com)
Peanut Butter sandwiches (no jelly) for lunch
Lots of lettuce...Nothing pre cut or pre bagged...!
Potatoes..You can make all kinds of dishes with potatoes and they are pretty cheap.
Buy items that are past the sell date...You can get items that way for extremely cheap usually.
Don't buy any drinks..Everyone can drink water..
Buy powdered milk instead of regular milk.
No snacks!! Only essential meals.BIG bags of generic cereal.
Cheapest meats possible, chicken, lowest grade ground beef
Lots of meals can cut meats out of..ex..spaghetti
Buy tomato sauce and season with italian seasoning, pinch of white sugar (don't use brown!), maybe add some onion if already have onions for something else.
You definately may want to use only both ramen noodles abd mac and cheese for lunch
Even with everything I know...a weeks worth of grocerys for 10 using only 100 is extremely difficult. Good luck
Buy a lot of potatoes, macoroni and cheese, canned tuna, peanut butter. Buy the cheapest brands, not the name brands. Stay away from the fresh seafood and but whatever meat is on sale (probably chicken or hamburger). It can be done. Where there's a will, there's a way!
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