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I feed just myself. All 6’ 2”, 330 pounds of myself...:)

I love to cook (and I have the belly to show it - my grandmother, a German immigrant who taught me how to cook, told me many times never to trust a skinny cook), so that really cuts down on the costs. I can’t remember the last time I bought a loaf a bread (versus making my own), or ordered a pizza, or bought a burger.

Last night’s dinner was chile verde with my own tortillas, tonight will be chicken tikka masala with a salad and homemade naan bread, and tomorrow night I’ll make a curried shepherd’s pie using the remnants of the chile verde and chicken tikka I didn’t eat.

I love making all kinds of food, and if you buy in decent bulk (10 pound bags of flour and sugar, bulk-packs of chicken and beef - grind your own hamburger!) and cook for yourself you’ll end up spending $3-$4 per day for food.

I don’t spend little because I’m cheap (I do eat out 2-3 times a month at nice restaurants because I’m always on the lookout for new dishes to try/savor - I don’t mind spending $50-$80 for a meal if it’s a good meal), but because it simply doesn’t require a lot of money to cook for yourself.

I have been feeding my entire family of 5 for under $200 per month since January of this year when our family income dropped significantly and we are still eating very well. See my prior post at #159 for lots of ideas. If you or anyone else would like any more detail I would be happy to share recipes, meal plans, and other budget saving ideas with you.

Please feel free to freep mail me if anyone wants to know how I have done it. Believe me, we eat very well and all three meals plus snacks for all 5 family members are covered by that $200, and I actually don’t have the opportunity to use a lot of coupons, although I do try to use them when I can. I have also managed to increase our pantry stores as well on that $200 per month.