if you had $15...

if you had $15 to spend at the grocery store and ONLY $15, what would you buy to get you through the week?

enlighten me.  PLEASE.

wow...thats kinda hard considering i dont buy my own groceries(usually) but ill give it a shot:

1) box fiber 1 cereal- 3$ ?

2) potatoes- 2$ ?

3) a turkey- ummmmm ...... 6$ ?

4) jar of peanut butter- 2$ ?

5) diet coke! cant survive without it!  - 2$ ?

Honestly, i think id die with only 15$ to spend. Id probably be forced to go to fast food... spending maybe 5$ a day?....but then id run out in 3 days!!! id have to live off 2 dollars a day!!! isnt that impossible?

Check out this similar thread for good suggestions.   http://caloriecount.about.com/eating-poor-ft1 22966#2

I'd go just before closing time and pick out seasonal veg that are just on their sell by date, and ask for a discount.

Get freezer bags and par-boil the veg and freeze in portions.

A bag of rice

A bag of oatmeal

Own brand tins of tomatoes

And look for the aisle with the stuff they want to get rid off. Usually its tstuff you have to eat that day, but any raw meats can be cooked that day and frozen.

If you don't mind eating the same thing every day it's do-able.

A 1kg bag of porridge oats (oatmeal) and 2 litres of full-fat milk would sort out breakfasts for a week.  Make up the oats with half milk, half water. $5 total

If you got a 500g bag of dried bean/lentil/split pea 'soup & broth mix', some carrots, onions and other root vegetables plus a can or two of tomatoes you could make big amounts of very filling, nutritious tomato, vegetable and lentil/bean soup and have it every day for lunch and supper.  Some bread on the side every day?  $8 total

With the remaining $2 treat yourself to a bar of chocolate and have a small square every day to cheer yourself up.

so yes.  i found that $15 didn't go very far at the grocery store last night.  hahaa.

see.  i had a gift card to use at walmart that only had $15.88 left on it.  i was REALLY going to try and get the things i needed for the week and not go over. 

this is what i got:

1 loaf of earth grains whole wheat double fiber bread
1 loaf of sara lee whole grain white bread (for tha spouse)
1 lb. of smoked turkey (shaved...so it'll last forever)
3 bags of frozen vegetables that steam in the bag
1 bag of lettuce trio bagged salad
1 package of grape tomatoes
1 4-pack of regular tomatoes
3 pickle size cucumber (mini)
1 box of store brand instant maple brown sugar oatmeal
1 gallon of fat free milk
1 pack of yo plus strawberry yogurt
1 pack of yogurt drinks (for tha kid)
1 bag of pre-sliced apples (for tha kid...but i'm sure i'll eat some too)
5 bananas
2 bars of soap
1 bag of cotton balls
1 pack of q-tips

ummmm.....my total was like $53! hahaa.  but the $15 helped, because i only had to pay $37 with my debit card.  still.  i went way over. 

With a husband and kids, 53$ is really low for a week.  If it's straining your budget, than maybe you qualify for food stamps or something?

We just about get by on £70 (104$) a week with 2 adults, a six year old and a 9 month old. That includes nappies and formula. We buy own brand stuff and hunt for bargains and bulk deals.

bread and PB would do for brekkie and lunch :P - i could live of the stuff - $3 + $4

dinners...???

uummm i'd go satay stirfry lolol go PB, meat way expensive and i suppose PB is protein :P (did you know baked beans + bread have all the essential amino acids to live, not sure on vitamins and minerals though) stirfry veggies would be whatevers cheap and on special preferably mushroom

but yeah bread, PB and veggies is good for me.

but seriously if me and my friends were on camp together we'd go and buy jars of PB, cookie dough, ice cream and other awesome foods with the $15 they all high-cal so should keep us going :P besides its only a week!

the only thing that would bother me about it is that, you wouldnt be eating enough with just $15, i'd starve and loose weight! not good. and i'd feel deprived

but yeah, me mum and brother spend about $150-200 a week! they both big eaters so...and we get cat food + litter....

actually 9 of us friends went on a picnic together, we brought;

12 white rolls, a ready-to-go-cooked chicken, packaged salad, slices of cheese, a box of 24 soft drink cans and then 2 logs of cookie dough :P :P :P XD

ssssoo awesomely fun!

it was at beach, doing beach cricket truth or dare and everything.

now we spent ....nearly $40 on 9 of us and we were full (and sick thanks to cookie dough), so 9 meals for $40, not accurate im not sure on whether the first batch we got was $28 or 38....and we had left overs too.....

omg so much fun seriously try it, and im sorry, i manage to say it on nearly all of my posts but i need to say it again, thank god for ED recovery, moments like these are what i live for :)

Original Post by littlebeep:

With a husband and kids, 53$ is really low for a week.  If it's straining your budget, than maybe you qualify for food stamps or something?

 it's not straining my budget, and i'd get laughed at if i even applied for food stamps.  i was just TRYING to see how much i could get for $15 on a gift card that i had. 

$53 just basically bought me breakfast and lunch for the week.  none of the things i bought, except for the turkey (which will mostly be eaten by me, but shared with the spouse) and my husband's white bread, and the yogurt drinks for my kid, were for anybody in the house BUT me. 

everything i bought two days ago is almost already gone.  hahaa. 

- Bananas

- Tofu

- Eggs

- Wholemeal bread

I love these stuff and they're healthy too. :D

new socks or stickers or soap or something not edible.

then i'd scam food off of everyone or dig through trash bins. voila.

I would definitely buy alcohol and maybe some own brand value noodles (I'm a student).

• Chicken breast; on sale this week for me! - $3.50 for two pounds
• Corn tortillas - $.99
• Bananas - $1.10
• 2 "Family Size" bags of frozen mixed veggies - $3.00
• Box of oats (from my generic store) - $.99
• Small jar of natural generic-brand peanut butter - $1.99
• Gallon of skim milk, to make yogurt with (sale again!) - $2.00
• Three cans of beans (store-brand) $1.30
• No salt added canned peas and green beans - $.80 for both
• Can of diced tomatoes - $.40
• Can of corn - $.40
• Package of store-brand tofu - $1.50

That's just about $15.00 I think, and it covers all your basics. Oatmeal made with milk, peanut butter, and bananas would be a nice breakfast. Two pounds of chicken can easilly stretch out over the course of a week, and the corn tortillas can act as wraps for all kinds of things - try chicken, beans, corn, and tomatoes together. Tofu is cheap, easy protein if you buy generic store brands. And don't forget frozen veggies - you can buy large bulk bags and keep them for months and months. 

cereal - around $3

loaf of wheat bread - also around $3

milk - $4 

peanut butter - $2

with the other $3 get fruit. Fruit is so cheap usually. 

wow its hard to shop with only 15, crap lol 

A loaf of whole wheat bread

Baby carrots

Soy milk

Trail mix/bars

Yogurt

nuts

fruit

I'd buy store brands so I can get a lot.

definitely loaf of bread! (3??)

Many banquet chicken nugget meals >_< it was a dollar

some salad greens (60 cents on sale)

salad dressing? (1.50)

banquet chicken pies (1 dollar!)

rice (60 cents)

sausage? (3-4 dollars)

cans of tuna (80 cents each)

ramen and there u go :)