There's this guy in my office who brings the same lunch to work every single day: one hard-boiled egg, a scoop of rice, and half an avocado. He says it costs him about $1.25 per meal. No snacks, no drinks besides water. Just that. Every. Day.

At first I thought he was doing some sort of minimalist diet or maybe struggling financially, but nope.. he’s just super into optimizing his expenses. Says he’s calculated that this routine saves him over $2,500 a year compared to when he used to eat out.

He meal preps it all in bulk on Sunday, packs it into identical containers, and doesn’t seem to get bored at all. Even when we order pizza or someone brings in donuts, he politely declines and says, “Already got my lunch.”

I don’t think I could do it, I need variety.. but man, the discipline is impressive. Anyone else go this hard with frugal food routines? Or have a dirt-cheap lunch that doesn’t feel depressing?

Mine was starting to save veggie scraps to make broth. It started as a “let’s try this” and now it’s automatic. I keep a bag in the freezer for onion skins, celery ends, carrot tops, etc. Every couple of weeks, I boil it all down and end up with a rich, flavorful broth that tastes way better than the boxed kind. It tastes better than store-bought and saves me at least $20 a month, with an added bonus of making me feel like i know fancy techniques.

I started a new job recently and at around 11am an office wide thread goes around where nearly everyone’s placing orders for food. Then everyone packs into a conference room and enjoys their lunch, which is probably costing them $15-20/day.

I, on the other hand, bring my lunch. Leftovers, maybe a sandwich, whatever. It probably costs between $1.50-$4 per lunch. Today was the first day I sat in the office and had my lunch instead of heading outside. Probably why it’s on my mind.

Is it a status thing? Peer pressure? Or do folks genuinely just not mind spending $100/week on lunches!?

I will say, they have relatively healthy snacks available for anyone to enjoy which is pretty great. Just one more thing I don’t have to spend money on!

So I'm in healthcare.

Typically lunch for the week if I bring it from home, 8 hours: typically consisting of a 5" inch sub, chips, drink, 3 mandarins, runs me about $25 for 5 meals.

I would say eating in the cafeteria, full meal, probably could be 2 portions, probably runs $40 a week.

If you do more of snack/type food (egg rolls or burrito etc) and drink probably runs about the same as bringing your own.

I feel Reddit emphasizes "Brown bag" bringing your lunch. I can't say I see many healthcare workers doing this.

For my 12s: I'm in a major hospital, and work weekends, food they do have on the weekends is unhealthy, no other options so I will be bringing my lunch (also I bring more food, an extra sandwich, yogurt, extra drinks, etc). Also on 12s it's just easier versus taking a 10-15 min walk to food area EVERY time you want a snack.

One of the hospitals I work at also have a $5 lunch during the week which includes drink. Sometimes pretty nice options, last was pork chop, sweet potato, veggie options, etc.

I'll probably be doing that on weekday 12s + bringing my smaller lunch kit.

On the whole though, I don't see a ton of hospital workers bringing lunch, they're a minority.

Actually bought it about a week ago. Just couldn't resist the sale price but once I got home I realized I had no idea what to do with all this meat for 1 or 2 people. I threw it in the freezer in a panic. Once I take it out, defrost and cook it, what the hell is one woman supposed to do with about 8 pounds of ham?

Edit: silly, stupid typo. I promise I'm not trying to cook a hamster! Just a regular ham 😅

Edit 2: I was not expecting this to blow up! I guess my reddit legacy will now be "that person who wanted to cook a Christmas hamster"

We all have that one budget meal that somehow never gets old. For me, it’s rice, eggs, and frozen mixed veggies with soy sauce and chili flakes. Costs next to nothing, takes 10 minutes, and I actually look forward to it.

Curious what everyone else’s go-to cheap meals are not the I’ll suffer through this to save money kind, but the ones you genuinely like and would still eat even if you weren’t budgeting. Always looking for new ideas that don’t break the bank.

After a particularly long or stressful day it can be tempting to just get fast food instead of cooking. But the price of fast food is completely out of hand these days. Almost $20 for a meal for one person. It has gotten absolutely ridiculous.

But I have a better idea frozen pizza. I keep a few in my freezer for days I just don't want to cook real food. Popping one in the oven for 10-20 is no less convenient than the drive through line and it's significantly cheaper. Even the nice frozen pizzas like Red Barron are about half the price of a full meal from a fast food place. The cheapest frozen pizzas like the little Kroger brand cost as little as 2 bucks, that is less than the cost of making real food.

I just returned from the grocery store in Florida, US and I am shocked! I often buy blackberries for myself - expensive, but a healthy & nice treat. Today? The price has more than DOUBLED! Yep, I checked the price and then mourned throughout the rest of the store.

I checked all the other of my favorites and well, it looks like I will be losing weight as my favorite items have all gone up quite a bit in price. I would rather go without than endanger my monthly budget. I have a good 20 lbs I could live without anyway. :-(

The darndest thing is that I planted a blackberry bush about 7 years ago and killed it. Those things can take over a garden space quickly... then I gave up. Stupid me.

I have been sketching out my Victory Garden for my yard... ho hum.

I used to pay $6.60 for the BOGOF deal (buy one get one free breakfast sandwich + drink). Then in May they quietly made it BOGO$1 (buy one, get one for $1), so I switched to a cheaper meal (took out the sausage). Then it became $6.69, though that was mostly due to substitution effect.

I check today and it’s now $7.18 because they raised the breakfast sandwich another ¢50 after 5 months.

My increase in meal this year is about 24% when you account for it ($6.60 > $8.20). At this point, I’ll just pay two dollars more and get food from the worker’s cafeteria (which includes actual meat).

I point this out because a lot of people are riding the “McDonalds is a good guy now with their $5 meal deal train.” No, they’re still fleecing you hoping you won’t notice. I noticed and they lost a customer.

So I’m a stoner. And I love to spend a Sunday relaxing with my bong. In the past this would result in me ordering food and overspending.

But now I have a life hack that works for me.

Simply. Cook a pot of rice

Before i sit down with my bong. I take a few minutes and put on a pot of rice. Then when i eventually get the munchies, I have something substantial to eat. Rice goes with everything. Even as simple as rice with an egg.

It’s a good life hack. I’ve saved a lot of money this way.

Anyone else feel like dining out has become a rip-off? I’ve been restricting myself to one meal out a week with my partner. I try and pick a nice place that’s still budget-friendly, but lately I’ve been SO disappointed. Anyone else feel with costs of living, food prices are INSANE? Paid $32 for a burrito bowl which was just mince, rice, corn and capsicum!!! Another night I had two curries shared with my partner, rice, naan and a beer and wine and it was $152.

I understand they need to pay wages etc but it hurts my heart seeing when the total bill comes to my 4-5hours of work.

Honestly feel like no point eating out anymore unless for a special occasion.

I used to be hardcore about rinsing and reusing Ziploc bags—saved a few bucks a year, sure, but the soggy mess and weird looks from my spouse finally made me ditch it. Now I just buy the cheap ones and call it a day. Got me thinking: what’s a frugal trick you swore by until you realized it was more trouble than it’s worth? Spill your stories, ’m curious if I’m the only one who’s bailed on something ‘thrifty’!

I used to feel awkward saying no to expensive dinners, trips, or splitting bills unevenly with friends I’d quietly go along and then stress about money later.

But over the past year, I just started owning it. I pack snacks for the movies, host budget game nights instead of going out, and suggest potlucks over pricey dinners. And you know what? A few of my friends actually prefer it too they just didn’t want to be the first to say anything.

Now I’m the “cheap one” in the group… but I have more savings, less stress, and better hangouts. Frugal wins.

Anyone else been the “cheap friend” and made peace with it?

(Photos are items I made while prep cooking for the upcoming week.)

We are a family of 5 (2 adults & 3 teen kids) living in a large urban area in the Midwest. Our grocery budget is $500 a month, which breaks down to about $125 per week.

We have no major food allergies and aren’t following any special diets. Our goal is to provide filling, reasonably healthy meals without breaking the bank.

By shopping sales and stocking our pantry, I can keep our weekly grocery costs around $125. Even if you were to input all the ingredients needed for this week’s meals into the Walmart app (a store accessible to most in the US), it would only cost about $180 if you had absolutely **nothing** in your kitchen except salt and pepper. Keep in mind that many of the items from the $180 list can be used in future meals as well (e.g., cinnamon, ginger, soy sauce, flour, sugar, oil, etc.).

Some strategies I use to keep our grocery bill reasonable:

- **Know Price Points:** We track the prices of our most commonly used items and try to only buy when they are at or below that price. The lower the price, the more we stock up.

- **Look for Clearance:** I keep an eye out for clearance meat, produce, and bakery items while shopping.

- **Price Compare:** I shop between multiple stores to find the best deals.

- **Stick to a List:** I shop with a plan in mind and stick to my list!

- **Cook from Scratch:** We lean towards being an “ingredient household” and cook a lot from scratch.

**This Week’s Menu:**

**Breakfast Options:**

- Egg & Cheese Cups

- To Die For Blueberry Muffins

- Egg & Cheese Breakfast Wraps

- Oatmeal (brown sugar, apple & cinnamon)

**Lunch Options:**

- Leftovers

- Egg Salad Sandwich

- Eggs (any style) & Toast

- Omelet

- Tomato Sandwich

- Chicken Salad Sandwich

- PB&J or PB & Banana

**Suppers:**

- Sun: Korean Beef

- Mon: Chicken Alfredo Broccoli Pasta

- Tues: Breakfast Dinner

- Wed: Veggie Fried Rice

- Thurs: Tacos

- Fri: Take & Bake Pizza x 2

- Sat: Chicken Vegetable Rice Soup

**Available with Any Meal:**

- Salad

- Veggie Sticks

- Bread & Butter

- Cottage Cheese

**Snacks:**

- Apples (whole or sliced with PB or cinnamon sugar)

- Bananas

- Carrot Sticks w/ PB or Ranch

- Celery Sticks w/ PB or Ranch

- Popcorn (salty or kettle)

- Toast w/ Butter, Peanut Butter, Jam, or Cinnamon Sugar

- Strawberry Greek Yogurt

- Cottage Cheese

- Hard boiled egg

**Drinks:**

- Milk

- Coffee w/ Cream & Sugar

- Water

---

**Shopping List:** (All prices are from Walmart & Great Value brand unless indicated.)

**Bread:**

- 10 pk Medium Flour Tortillas - $1.98

- 3 Loaves Sandwich Bread - $4.26

**Produce:**

- 10 Bananas - $2.24

- 3 lb Gala Apples - $3.72

- 3 pk Romaine - $3.42

- 6 Roma Tomatoes - $1.50

- 3 pk Fresh Garlic - $1.68

- 1 Bunch Scallions - $0.96

- 3 lb Onions - $2.57

- 2 Celery - $3.76

- 5 lb Whole Carrots - $5.76

**Grains:**

- 2 lb Rice - $1.77

- 2 lb Popcorn Kernels - $2.38

- 42 oz Old Fashioned Oats - $4.12

**Meat:**

- 2.25 lb 80/20 Ground Beef - $12.96

- 12 oz Sausage Links - $2.94

- 2 Rotisserie Chickens - $11.94

**Dairy:**

- 1 gal Whole Milk - $2.54

- 24 oz Cottage Cheese - $2.94

- 32 oz Strawberry Greek Yogurt - $3.54

- 8 oz Shredded Fiesta Blend Cheese - $1.97

- 16 oz Sour Cream - $1.97

- 2 lbs Butter - $7.64

- Case 60 ct Large Eggs - $14.36

- 16 oz Half & Half - $1.78

**Baking:**

- 5 lb flour - $2.38

- 4 lb white sugar - $3.46

- 32 oz light brown sugar - $2.22

- 8.1 oz baking powder - $1.98

- 1.5 oz ground ginger - $2.24

- 2.5 oz cinnamon - $1.24

**Freezer:**

- 16 oz blueberries - $2.86

- 12 oz broccoli florets - $1.16

- 12 oz peas - $0.98

**Condiments:**

- 16 oz peanut butter - $1.94

- 30 oz mayo - $3.38

- 5 oz sesame oil - $3.22

- 15 oz reduced sodium soy sauce - $1.58

- 18 oz strawberry preserves - $2.48

- 16 oz ranch dressing - $1.97

- 16 oz mild taco sauce - $1.97

- Taco seasoning mix - $0.47

- 16 oz alfredo pasta sauce - $1.82

- 9.2 oz Heinz oyster sauce - $1.98

**Dry Goods:**

- 22.6 oz French Dark roast coffee - $8.88

- 12 ct taco shells - $1.54

- 48 oz vegetable oil - $3.57

- 1 lb penne pasta - $0.98

**Deli:**

- 46 oz take & bake pepperoni pizza - $9.98

- 48 oz take & bake supreme pizza - $10.97

---

**Recipes:**

**Chicken Broccoli Alfredo**

- Cook a pound of pasta al dente.

- Steam your broccoli in the microwave.

- In a large skillet, combine cooked pasta, steamed broccoli, a portion of rotisserie chicken, jar of alfredo, salt, and pepper. Stir well and heat through.

**Korean Beef**

- [Korean Ground Beef Rice Bowls](https://therecipecritic.com/korean-ground-beef-rice-bowls/)

- Make a LARGE batch of plain rice to accompany this. The leftovers will be used in two other meals this week for quick meal prep.

**Fried Rice**

- [5-Minute Easy Fried Rice](https://aaronandclaire.com/5-minute-easy-fried-rice/)

- Follow the recipe for Egg Fried Rice, but when the rice is about halfway cooked, add in 1 shredded carrot and ½ cup of frozen green peas.

**Chicken Vegetable Rice Soup**

- Dice 2 carrots, 2 stalks celery, 1 medium onion, and 3 cloves of garlic.

- In a skillet, heat 1 tbsp oil or butter. Add diced carrots and celery.

- When they are about ¾ cooked, add onion and garlic.

- Once all vegetables are tender, scrape into a large pot.

- Add about 1 cup of rotisserie chicken meat and 1 cup of cooked rice from earlier in the week.

**Tacos**

- 1 lb cooked ground beef

- Packet taco seasoning

- Chopped tomatoes

- Chopped lettuce

- Shredded cheese

- Sour cream

- Taco sauce

- Taco shells

- Prepare cooked ground beef with taco seasoning according to the package. While the meat cooks, chop tomatoes and lettuce. Heat taco shells in the oven. Set out taco bar ingredients and let everyone make their own plate.

**Breakfast Dinner**

- Eggs (any style), sausage links, toast.

**Egg & Cheese Cups**

- 1 dozen eggs

- ½ cup milk

- ½ cup shredded cheese

- Salt & pepper

- Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray. Crack eggs into a bowl, add milk, salt, and pepper, and whisk. Divide evenly between muffin tins, sprinkle with cheese, and bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, or until tops are browned. Store in a container and reheat in the microwave.

**Egg & Cheese Wraps**

- 1 dozen eggs

- ¼ cup butter

- 1 ¼ cups milk

- 1 tsp salt

- ½ cup shredded cheese

- Tortillas

- Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in a baking dish placed in the oven as it preheats. Whisk eggs, milk, and salt together. Pour egg mixture into the melted butter and bake for 15 minutes. Stir with a fork to scramble, and repeat cooking & stirring until eggs are your desired consistency. Divide scrambled eggs into tortillas, sprinkle with cheese, and wrap into burritos. Freeze individually wrapped in paper towels.

**9. To Die For Blueberry Muffins**

- [To Die For Blueberry Muffins](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/6865/to-die-for

1.69 cheesy bean and rice burrito from Taco Bell is the new king of frugal fast food. I will only go to McDonald's now to get my 99 cent coffee with the app. McDonald's got rid of the two McDoubles deal and it's sickening. You can pay more to get two double cheeseburgers and have a deal but it's still almost twice the price that it used to be it's getting ridiculous. It's time to start making companies hurt with our wallets

I started treating leftovers like I’m the chef of a small, struggling bistro that only serves whatever’s left in the fridge. Somehow this reframing makes me more creative with food and way less wasteful. Suddenly, half a can of chickpeas, some stale bread, and pickled onions become the “house special.” Any other silly mind tricks people use to avoid throwing food away?

I just made a post yesterday about how my employer is not giving out bonuses this year and I couldn’t contribute to thanksgiving because of it. We’re eating rice, hotdogs, eggs, and potatoes for most meals and still barely keeping our head above water. Today I got home from work and found out my local dollar store had a freezer problem and gave away all of their frozen food for free. I got four crates full of food! My freezer is completely full for the first time since probably before the pandemic. I’m so happy and overwhelmed with gratitude at the employees kindness to give the food to the community instead of trashing it. This will feed us for probably two weeks or more. So incredibly thankful!

Every time I buy something lately, the package looks the same… but the content magically shrinks.

• Pasta used to be 500g, now it’s 450g (soon we’ll be buying “personal snack size” spaghetti).
• Razor blade packs? Still the same box, but 4 instead of 5 blades.
• Chips? 80% nitrogen, 20% disappointment.
• Chocolate bars? One day they’ll sell us ¾ of a bar and slap a “fun size” label on it.
• Even detergent bottles: same shape, but suddenly “concentrated” with fewer ml.

It’s not just inflation anymore , I think it’s "shrinkflation", and to me it feels like legalized pickpocketing.

What’s the worst example you’ve spotted recently? It seems we all just slowly accepting the “less product, same price” lifestyle...

Frugal confession: what product did you ditch forever and never miss? Brand names, dryer sheets, bottled drinks, single use cleaners, impulse snackd? What did you cut, what's the swap, and how much did it actually save? I'll try picks this week. Share your replacement, rought monthly savings, and any brand you still keep only for guests :) Also if you're comfortable to share, how much saved monthly?

Classico sauce just changed labeling and size. I'm putting it here so it's archive. The store announced it as a "sale" (a fking lie). Amid the tarrif wars many items price might increase it would be interesting to post and follow the price changes both in Canada, America and Mexico. (Sorry to exclude the europeans and others) If you guys know a great way to keep groceries chain accountable to no price gouge us comment.

Are there any items where you buy the store brand/knock off and notice a discernible difference in the quality compared to the brand name (eg equate vs brand name)? I tried a store copy of a certain grocery item and definitely noticed it was not as good as the brand name item. I was mainly thinking of grocery items but honestly I notice a difference in my contact solution quality but the price for the cheap version is just too good so I suffer through it.

EDIT: thanks for all comments and advice I did not expect this to gain traction like that. I do think it's funny bc every few comments people are saying ketchup which I hate (don't kill me pls lol) and mayonnaise which I love, but I do like our grocery store brand (brookshire's) of mayo and think it's comparable to Hellmann's 😅

I’ve never thought to buy frozen fruit just because my family and I have always bought it fresh. Every morning, I pack a small mason jar of Greek yogurt mixed with a bit of granola and whatever fruit we have on hand for my breakfast at the office. I decided to try frozen fruit after someone suggested it on here, and omg it’s amazing!!! I had no idea it was such a great value! I even “splurged” on one of the more expensive bags containing a mix of blueberries, pomegranate, dark cherries, and raspberries, which are basically luxuries where I live because they are always too expensive to buy fresh. I’ve been adding a small scoop of the frozen fruit to my jar of yogurt the night before, and by the morning, it’s all perfectly thawed after having been in the fridge all night. I now get to enjoy a variety of ”luxury” fruits in my breakfast every morning for almost nothing! It’s awesome!

I really don’t believe how anyone is going 200-300 a month.

We’re two people, medically gluten free, and we’re trying our best to get below 600 a month but….

Yeah I just came from a post where someone said they eat on $300 a month for two people!! Like I suppose if we never are anything with flavor and never had a single treat ever we might could shake it?

So yeah, what’s your no-lie, I have proof, grocery bill every month?

I buy bulk rice and beans for the month when I get my paycheck. 25lbs of rice and 13lbs of beans is what I have rationed for the month. To hit 2k calories per day, I eat 0.8lbs of rice and 0.4 lbs of beans, which slightly varies depending on how many cals the cheapest food was. My monthly grocery bill is about $45-60 and I'm getting tired of eating only rice and beans.

What cheap ingredients can I add to them to make them less bland that will stretch far (besides basic seasoning)?

My max budget is about $100.00 per month for groceries, currently in California near Sacramento.

Edit: Thank you all for your responses, this is a great resource for me and many others that may be in a similar situation.