Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

1) Use coupons (go to www.thegrocerygame.com; they have a great program that matches what is on sale in your area grocery stores to what coupons are in the paper each week, helping you maximize your savings, and encouraging you to "bulk buy" items on sale, and then shop from your pantry for staples...)
2) Only buy what is on sale that day. If it isn't reduced, don't put it in your buggy. This goes for meats and snack foods and produce.
3) Rice, pasta & potatoes are your friends.
4) Look for "manager's specials" or "reduced for quick sale" produce and meats. Freeze them immediately or cook them immediately.
5) Stay away from pre-packaged lettuces or pre-diced veggies. Get the stuff you have to prepare yourself, and save over half the price.

Bake your own bread. Egg dishes are a great, cheap source of protein. The same goes for dried beans. Use meat as more of an accent rather than the main show. And all of juliebugs advice, too.

Is your chronicle on line? Love to read about your experiences if so. Wow, $30/week...

* Check out Asian and/or Mexican markets in your area. Especially, for rice, beans, noodles and grains.
* Read your supermarket circulars. I found that coupons pertain, for the most part, to processed foods that I don't buy anyway, but weekly circulars are significantly more helpful because you may find some really good deals there -- like a large tin of extra virgin olive oil for $9.99, etc.
* Definitely stay away from "convenience" foods, like @julie said.

If you eat meat, buy and use whole chickens. Much less expensive per pound and if you carefully pick over the carcass after you cook and eat from it the first time you'll likely end up with enough leftover meat for another application. And, of course, you can make a simple stock from the carcass as well. For two people, a whole chicken can be two full dinner from the basic pieces (two breasts, legs, thighs and wings). Add the stock and the meat you can pick from the carcass and you might get enough soup (once you add some other things) for a third meal for two.

I am pasting my response to the same question from another forum:

- Lots of frozen veggies. I keep on looking for $1 sales at Safeway and Giant (local grocery chains), but I haven't found any so I've been getting stuff at Trader Joe's.
- Veggies from the discount bin. You have to use it right away, but you can save a lot. I also sales shop. I bought 3 pounds of onions for a $1 yesterday.
- Cheap veggies. For fresh stuff, I get kale (.79 cents a pound) or cabbage (.59 cents a pound). Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and winter squash are also really cheap. I try not to buy any veggies over .99 cents a pound.
- Fruit. I don't eat very much fresh fruit anymore, but apples, bananas and (for now) oranges are reasonable.
- Bulk bins. Buy dried grains and beans, they're incredibly cheap. I have lots of spices to keep things interesting.
- Look for gift card deals. Pharmacies and grocery store pharmacies sometimes will give you cash back or gift cards if you transfer prescriptions. Last week, I transferred a $15 dollar prescription and got a $25 dollar Giant gift card, so I ended up with free grocery money.
- Lose the little luxuries. I only drink coffee outside of home if I have a gift card. I don't eat out, except for special occasions.
- Cook from scratch. I make my own seitan and soy yogurt and don't buy too much processed stuff, although I admit to a weakness for tempeh and fake cheese. I eat oatmeal instead of boxed cereal and halve my dinners so I can eat them at lunch, too. Stews and soups are easy and really economical. I also do many variations on beans and rice (or any other grain).

I used to plan my menus and then shop. Picking up whatever I needed.
Now, I shop what's on sale (meat section, produce, canned tomato products, pantry staples, etc. trying to avoid things that are overly processed) and THEN plan my meals. It's definitely more economical.

I find that soups can be made from anything. Stirfries and salads are great. Creative sandwiches to use up leftovers is my new favorite. Husband made rack of lamb on Sunday. On Monday, I made paninis with the leftover lamb and braised kale. A new favorite...wish we always had leftover lamb.

I'm a super broke freelance writer who never eats out. Yesterday I bought my groceries for the week at the 99 Cents Store. I actually do this often. They don't have any protein, unless you consider bologna and hot dogs protein, but they have bread, milk, eggs, cream and tons of produce.

During these times when work is slow and not much is coming in, every dollar literally counts. I went grocery shopping at the 99 Cents Store yesterday and spent like, 50 bucks. Spending 30 is super easy there, I probably would have spent that much, but I bought Diet Soda and a case of water and other house stuff that doesn't include food. I've heard it's not like this everywhere, but the 99 Cents Stores here in California are great. I've talked about this endless on Serious Eats before, so I won't get into it too much, but I was able to buy shallots, potatoes, chorizo, milk, eggs, cream, bread, bagels, cream cheese, organic mixed greens, baby spinach, organic tomatoes, broccoli and a ton of other stuff yesterday.

It's worth looking into!

Oh, and for all of you looking for bang/buck, I recommend quinoa, millet or groats instead of brown rice. Those grains have great nutritional profiles and can change things up once in a while. An added bonus, you can use them for breakfast, like oats.

Another suggestion is to talk to friends (that are hopefully good cooks) and do a pot luck or progressive dinner with them once in awhile. Of course, having your own garden is great if you can. You should also learn to can fresh fruits and veggies while they are in season if you don't already know how to. If you're able to frequent farms to pick your own fruit and veggies, you should because it is much cheaper and, of course, fresher.

I bargain hunt so that I can splurge on other things. Let's not talk about my recent visit to the olive oil store. Sigh.

Trying to spend $30 -- or whatever the budget amount is per week -- might be easier if the time period was longer. Because you might find a great deal on a single item that's going to cost $20 but will be eaten over the course of a month or more. For example. I buy my bread flour in 15 or 25 pound bags, but it lasts me a while. I buy yeast in 1-pound increments, but it might last six months or a year. Some weeks I spend a lot on food, other weeks I might buy milk and eggs and that's it.

Another tip is to use up every last bit of whatever you buy. If you're a meat eater and you buy a whole chicken, you can get a lot of meals out of it if you cook the bones for soup. And if you like chopped chicken liver, it's in that chicken. Might as well use it.

Also, you need to be flexible in meal planning, because a bargain at the store might be too good to pass up. Sometimes those bargains require you to buy in bulk, so the ability to package and freeze things properly is essential. Either that, or you have to plan on eating it all pretty quickly.

We're lucky enough to live near allotments (for non-UK readers, strips of land, about 3x8 meters that are available to rent for a low sum, about $15 a year for us) and we go in for produce sharing. The idea is, it's easier to grow one or two crops rather than dozens. So we divide the duties among a dozen of us, and all share in the rewards. We're on potato, onion and garlic duty, but we share everything. Need carrots? No problem. How about some leeks? Here you go. And one of our group is a genius with berries, so in season, we stagger under the weight of all the raspberries, blackberries and blueberries we get. We've taken to having a 'fruit night', where we get together in my landlord's kitchen (she has an Aga) and cook fruit down for jam. Several bottles of wine are consumed, everyone has a great time, and we end up with lots of beautiful jams.

Next year, we're doing a canning and pickling night as well.

I was reading a book about various healthy populations around the world and realized that none of these people ate a huge variety of foods -- only what was indigenous to their areas. These groups of people ate a total of about three dozen foods (ingredients), including various herbs and spices. Many of those were only available seasonally.

I've been trying to limit the foods we eat to those indigneous to our region of the country as well as the Italian foods we like.

A few other points: First, for those in the UK, check out supermarket 'value' brands for produce. A lot of farmers send their misshapen veg to be sold under that label, and a lot of new organic farms that have not yet been certified organic do as well.

Second, I find I spend less and waste less when I buy more versatile ingredients, rather than try and plan a week's worth of meals in advance. If you have a job and/or kids, there are nights when--admit it--you don't feel like slowly simmering a stew for two hours, or hand-rolling dough for pasta. Come up with a list of recipes everyone likes (or at least will eat) that can be done in under 30 minutes, using things you have on hand. Here are the staples at my house (me, wife, one child who will eat anything, one child who is terrified of the concept of food):

Sausages served on (skin-on) mashed potatoes with gravy
Spaghetti with meat sauce (sauce made in advance and frozen in small containers)
Jacket potatoes with various toppings (tuna, baked beans, cheese)
Quesadillas

Also, if you have a dozen nice eggs and any veg and cheese, you can make a great omelette, or fried or scrambled eggs on toast.

I'm not saying this should be for every night, but always having a go-to meal in the cupboard is a huge relief.

eat less meat... buy less processed snack food... forget about sodas or canned goods... buy what's on sale and in season... try to buy only what you'll cook soon and prepare/cook only what you'll eat that day.

Cook smaller portions... I have always been amazed how in cooking shows they make a whole pound of pasta for 4 people and the same amount yields me for 6 and we still have leftovers...

Madelyn
KarmaFreeCooking

@rockchick: I bet you could get some tips from Rebecca Blood's "Eating Organic on a Food Stamp Budget."

Granted, her budget is quite a bit higher than yours, and she was in California in the summer rather than NYC in the winter, but she does have some interesting recipes and trips. And she and her husband are vegetarian and shopped at a co-op also.

(Also I believe we have a connection via your old bandmate, Bryan aka subinev.com! Small world).

Read the weekly ads - don't buy on impulse. Make a menu and your list from that. Skip things like soda and bottled water. I do Costco every couple of months. Tomatoes, for instance, are much less if you buy them in an eight can pack. We eat lots of rice, beans and potatoes. A big pot of potato soup is really good and costs pennies compared to more expensive produce. Don't stint on the items that give you sound nutrition like fruits and vegetables. If it has a wrapper and a label - it's going to be less economical than something out of a bin.

My super market has a bin of meat that's close to the sell by date at 30 and 50% off. I check that out first. Bake your bread even if it's from a machine. Cooking from scratch takes more effort and time, of course, but saves lots of dollars if you can spare the time.

I buy in bulk. Everytime I can buy in large quantity I do. Cases of things, family packs, Costco, BJs, local produce places. In summer I buy everything local. Local produce here is plentiful. The only food coop near me is more organic than cheap. There are two supermarkets that I read their circulars and look for good buys. We keep a lot in the house. The basement has an area for my overflow. We have a deep freeze and an extra fridge in the garage.
When you have more storage space you will be able to buy your staple items in large quantity and enjoy the savings from that.
I am not looking to save money as much as I am looking to get good quality and quantity for a better price. When I was young I used to look for a great price and that was real work. I admire your efforts.

My husband and I have been trying to do this for a while. His hours have been severly cut recently, so we're using all of our Wal-mart gift cards to buy groceries. I know it's an evil company, but it's all we have. Last week, we were able to buy almost two weeks worth of groceries for 45 bucks!
We have also cut out red meat to save and we don't really even miss it. Here are my tips:
1.) Plan out a menu first, with what meals you'll make on which days. Make a LOT of the meal the night you cook so you can eat on leftovers. I make a big pot of soup when I have the day off and we use the leftovers for lunches throughout the week.
2.) Weigh all the veggies you buy and keep tabs of exactly what you're spending, minus the tax. Sometimes they'll advertise grapes as beeing 2 dollars a bag, but package them in 2 lb. bags. Stores are sneaky like that. My husband carries around a notebook, pen, and calculator and writes everything down. This way, if you overspend, you can put some items back if you need to BEFORE you get to the cashier. I always feel silly asking them to take items off. This takes a lot of time, and I'm sure people think we're crazy, but we enjoy it. It kind of makes a game of everything: How cheaply can we buy groceries THIS week?
3.) Buy dry bulk items: a 1lb. bag of dried beans stretches a lot more than a few cans of beans. Beans get a lot bigger when you cook them. Yes, they can take a while to cook, but that's why there are crockpots! I love making my own refried beans and they taste SO much better than stuff from a can. I also buy a big bag of brown rice every few weeks. I used to use Boil in the Bag stuff, but you only get 4 bags of that per box, and I was spending so much money! (We got a rice cooker as a wedding gift last year, and it has saved our lives!)
4.) Things that are easy to make, make. For example, a small 6 oz. container of hummus costs over 3 dollars at Walmart. We make around 2 lbs. of hummus from a 2 dollar bag of garbanzo beans, and we already had the garlic and olive oil on hand. We don't use tahnini, but a big jar of it is only 6 dollars, and you only use a tiny amount per batch. We'll have a hummus and veggie night some weeks, and I bring some to work to give to a hummus-loving friend. We also make our own polenta instead of buying a lb. of it for 3 dollars. Corn meal is cheap!
5.) We don't ever use coupons because they're always for brand names, whereas I find it's easier to just buy store brands instead.
6.) Every once in a while, I'll slpurge on a whole chicken and make roast chicken, chicken soup, and chicken stock all in one week. I also freeze vegetable clippings per week ( there are a ton!) and make vegetable broth on Sundays.
Good Luck!

What a challenge! I am a fan of Jeff Smith, although his personal reputation certainly suffered before he died. He is the "Frugal Gourmet," frugal with time, procedures, and budget. One of his wonderful recipes is for poaching a whole turkey, using a soup pot. Turkey meat is cheaper than chicken, pound for pound, and you get LOTS of meat and broth from a whole one that are interchangeable with chicken for your recipes. And as many have said before me, there are many variations of beans and rice that are delicious and filling. I buy large packages of corn tortillas and make mystery enchiladas. I also save by making no fewer than six-serving recipes, ever, and practice portion control to be sure I have all six servings for dinner, lunch, etc. I buy large flats of eggs--my local store sells eggs in boxes of 6, 12, 18, or 36 and the 36-flats keep a long time. Eggs are fantastically versatile; I boil 12 or so to have on hand to make a quick lunch or sandwich or salad garnish. Our budget has been tight for a long time and we enjoy drinking more tea and iced tea, and less of other drinks, but I occasionally buy generic bottled drinks in 2 or 3 liter bottles. To make this more interesting try thinking in ethnic terms month to month: try Mexican rice, beans, tortillas & combinations; then Chinese; then rural Russian; etc. The foods of working people the world over are economical, satisfying, delicious, and most are not too difficult to make. Last, I try to make each meal attractive. It doesn't cost any more to make a beautiful plate, set the table with care, and make the meal an occasion of social as well as nutritional value.
PS I also save a bundle by making and canning my own chutneys. My husband adores them and they are significantly cheaper to make than to buy in silly little 4-oz. jars. We love Indian foods and the chutneys also dress up any roast, sandwiches, and even plain rice.

@brooke29:I try to shop at as many ethnic markets as I can. Great food at much less. And most times, the products are exactly the same at a fraction of the price.Nice to know I'm not alone.

So I"m confused is it you only spend $30/week after you stocked up your pantry before starting this? Or do you only eat $30 worth of food per week? Did you figure in the cost of joining a co-op into your weekly budget? How about a CSA? I used to obsessively read posts about people who fed a family of 6 on $100/week with four growing children and then I realized they didn't count non food items or they didn't count what they had in their pantry, or they didn't count their CSA pickup, etc., etc.

We do things to save money like buying in bulk where possible, buying cheaper cuts of meat, stocking up on pantry items at Trader Joe's when we go to Massachusetts. We could save a lot of money if we didn't drink beer or coffee. We go picking strawberries, blueberries, raspberries during the summer and freeze a bunch. I freeze tomato sauce as well and make my own stock so 1 chicken feeds a family of 3 for usually 2 dinners, a lunch and then whatever I use the stock for. Make breadcrumbs from old bread, etc. A lot of good suggestions I've gotten have come from The New English Kitchen by Rose Prince.

I would be interested in seeing more of a study on how much people spend on food and food related items over the course of an entire year, including CSA, co-op membership charges, etc I always got the feeling reading those virtuous posts that in the end they didn't really spend that much less money than I did if you actually factor everything in.

I spend more than the UK equivalent of $30 a week, but I make lunches for us to take to work most days and factor in the money that saves into my budget. I shop at Borough Market in London which has the most fantastic produce. It is a joy to eat with such ingredients. We do eat meat but often the cheaper cuts and not every day. Also get lots of rice, beans, lentils, noodles, spices and herbs from Asian and Middle Eastern stores - cheaper by far than a supermarket.

I write a blog about it - http://practicallydaily.blogspot.com - it's an interesting way of keeping track of what I spend and what we eat and see how the patterns emerge.

@latenac - when I started the $30/week project we didn't stock up our pantry or anything. We just started it. I mean, our pantry wasn't barren or anything, but we didn't stock up on sugar, butter, flour, oils, etc. We use what we have. The start date of the project was 9/9/08 - http://thirtyaweek.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/hello-world/

We're still going strong.

As for shopping at ethnic markets, I'm all for it, but I find that sometimes the produce comes from sources that utilizes pesticides and are not local at all. Which is something that is hard. How do you balance the cost effectiveness of a Chinatown mango when you probably be eating mangoes in January anyways? Tough one.

@rockchick I was actually addressing the person above me with the only spending $30/week b/c they have a well stocked pantry.

Looking at the past few entries of your blog though you don't appear to include the food the people give you or you scavenge from your offices or the meals that you eat out whether you pay for them or someone else does. Or the stuff you appear to find deep in your freezer.

I'm all for stretching dollars and making sure that every bit is used up of produce or meat or whatever one eats. In fact I'm a big proponent of that. It's just in the grand scheme of things Americans already spend less on food than anyone else in the world. I don't like the idea that food is an evil necessity that we should spend as little on as possible. I'd rather we just return to whole foods (not the grocery store), maximize what we do buy and buy good food that's good for us.

I'm sorry, but i'm a few weeks away from being 80 years old and I'm not going to skimp on food. There are a few good things in life and one of them is fine food (another, wine -- another story) I really enjoy planning and cooking great meals, savoring every bite. Last night we had my son and his wife over for dinner so at eight in the morning I'm in the kitchen making a roux for gumbo. Most of the ingredients for seafood gumbo don't come cheap, but if you want it to taste good, use the best. Dave