I'm from Australia and over here we pay top dollar for everything, I am just wondering how you people over in America survive week to week especially people on welfare. I only get paid once a week and I only get say around $281.00 to pay the rent, utility bills, food etc.
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Wow!! Your prices are very high. Gas here has gone up considerably & today I paid $3.87 per gallon which puts a dent in my budget!
As for good reasonable food.......pasta is filling & good when topped with tomato sauce of some kind. Eggs are a good food and a cheese omelet makes a nice meal. You can make quiches with veggies of all sorts ( things such as broccoli, carrots,potatoes,etc. will need to be steamed before putting in )but that makes a good & filling meal.
I eat very little meat ( for budget & health ) and I am very healthy...chicken is pretty reasonable & when they are on sale I buy a few & freeze them for future use. Macaroni & cheese is a favorite of mine..cheap & easy! Hope these ideas help.
get family , friends and go in together to buy bulk.
swap food items, plant a gardengo out to the farms
and see if you gather your own if it is cheaper.use coupons and if all this fails come up here . we would love to have you in Alabama. i have a friend
Ok, here we go... I'm an Aussie and I know how much dearer things are, but there are alternatives.
Regarding groceries: Buy generic. Black and Gold/Retailers Own/Savings brand Tuna is just as good as the other brands. I never pay more than $2.50 for my tinned tuna.
I used to live in Adelaide so I roughly know the rents and rates, but believe me when I say that $550 is cheap compared to what we pay in Western Australia. My rates just came in and they were in the vacinity of $750 for a modest size block and house. As we are on the West Coast, we pay more because of freight being so far from the east coast... and because petrol (gas) has gone up that has taken fresh produce prices up sky high.
Things need to change in our houses. We need to walk more or take the bus/train etc.
Veggie patches used to thrive in most suburbs but now they don't seem to be so common, but I think the days of growing our own will become a necessity.
I'm planning on a no-dig garden so that I can offset the cost of my fruit and veggie bill. In my last house I planted fruit trees. We need to start become more self-sufficient in our back yards and utilising what we have.
Co-ops are a great idea. Fruit and veg can be bought together. The power of the group is fantastic. Buying meat in bulk as well, with a group. I would love to do it here, but haven't found a group of people who want to buy any meat... It would have cost us $500 for a whole side of beef... which ended up being something like $7 a kg for everything... and the mince (ground beef) was excellent quality... and not the fatty stuff that you pay $5-$6 a kg for.
The Central Markets in Adelaide are fantastic, if you're not too far out. My parents are in the southern suburbs and too far to utilise the markets but there are several growers' markets on the fringes as well.
I don't know about South Australia, but in WA we have charity run cheap food outlets that are solely for government Health Care Card Holders. I used these shops for a few years when our income was very low. Some items were half the price of retail prices.... and they were not about to expire.
I would ring up your government departments and find out what exactly you are entitled to.... In WA we had discounted utility bills and telephone (Telstra only) for pensioners and people with HC cards.
Menu planning, and only buying what you need for that plan. It helps going to the supermarket with a list and if you have the opportunity to get or you already have a freezer, use it when produce is cheap. I buy vegetables whent hey are cheap and blanch and freeze them. It turns out to be cheaper than buying frozen vegetables myself from the supermarket. I always go to my local growers' market and buy fruit and veg in season and only making meals that suit that season.
This is all I can think about at the moment apart from walking instead of driving (which I have been doing at the moment). By doing that I've only been spending what I used to spend. Imagine if I had done that before when petrol was cheaper
I have been working on a Ebook for low income earners showing them how to survive on the income they have rather than getting further into debt. An aid agency asked me to work on it after I lectured a group on feeding their families on a shoestring budget.
It's not easy, but the alternative is worse. So many Australians are livng beyond their means and our national debt is spiralling out of control. Credit Card debt in Australia seriously needs to be looked at. I think we need to get back to basics again and blow these debts away. I'm not talking from the top of my head either. My husband and I are at the moment getting out of debt. We are not there yet, but we are using whatever means we have to become debt free.
I hope this helps
Cheers
Bev in Rockingham, WA
Since others have already given instructions that I would have given, I'll mention what has saved us in buying household items. Go to Freecycle.org. It's a Yahoo group with about 1.6 million people all over the world. It was started to keep from putting unwanted items in the landfills. Other people might need what you no longer want. You can offer to someone else - for free - something you don't want or need and you can ask for something you need or want. Everything is free, no one pays for anything. Aside from a few nuts, everyone on Freecycle are good people. The nicest thing is, sometimes, if you're in trouble, you find out how kind and decent people can really be. Things offered can be anything - and I do mean anything. Someone once asked for a goat and got it. Someone else might offer car parts or food or furniture, a vase, a coat, children's clothes . . . And the list goes on and on. Anybody reading this might also check in with Freecycle.org. It's a great organization. Each town has it's own chapter. Adelaide, for instance, has 1,817 members. (Just look under International for Australia) My group in Spokane, Washington has 1,783 members. Check into it. It's a great way of sharing.
I have been in he same situation in the past. I was a single Mom with a teenage daughter. I coped by getting very creative with leftovers and eating vegatarian a couple times a week. I have a great recipe for lagasna that would feed us for two days or more. I am sure you can change it a bit to omitt or change the more costly ingredients. I will also include a couple of chicken recipes that I used to make with leftover chicken.
Vegetarian Lasagna
1 Small Zucchini
1 Clove of Garlic
1 Cup Mushrooms
1 Green Pepper
1/2 Cup Tomato Paste
1 tsp. Oregano
1 Cup Cottage Cheese
Lasagna Noodles
1 pkg. Frozen Spinach
1 Chopped Onion
Oil
1 Red Pepper
1 Cup Tomato Sauce
1 tsp. Salt
3/4 - 1 Cup of Water, or red wine.
1 Egg
Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
Sauté Onion and garlic. Blend in mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, liquid, sauce, paste, salt and oregano. Simmer for 15 mins.
Cook spinach, Drain well and squeeze out moisture. Mix in cottage cheese, beaten egg and parmesan cheese with spinach.
Boil Noodles.
Arrange layers of noodles and spinach mixture and sauce.
Continue layering ending with sauce. Top with grated mozzarella, bake at 350 for 1 hour.
Mulligatawny soup
4 to 5 lb. roasting chicken, cut up
1/3 cup unsifted all purpose flour
1/3 cup butter or margarine.
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped, pared tart apple
1 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon mace
1 1/2 teaspoon pepper
1.4 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 cup canned flaked coconut
1 cup apple juice
1 cup light cream
1 1/2 cup hot cooked white rice
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1. Wash chicken; pat dry with a paper towel. Roll chicken in flour, coating completely. Reserve remaining flour.
2. In hot butter in a large kettle or Dutch oven, saute chicken until browned on all sides. Remove chicken, and set aside.
3. Add to kettle the onion, carrot, celery, apple and any remaining flour; cook, stirring, 5 minutes.
4. Add curry powder, salt, mace, pepper, chilli powder, coconut, chicken and 6 cups of cold water; mix well. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat.
5. Skim fat from soup. Remove skin and bone from chicken. Cut chicken meat into large pieces.
6. Return chicken to kettle with apple juice and light cream. Reheat, stirring.
7. To serve; Place a heaping spoonful of rice in each of six to eight bowls. Add soup. Sprinkle wit parsley. Makes 21.2 quarts; 6 to 8 servings
Chicken Pie
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion chopped.
1 stalk celery chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 cup flour
2 carrots finely chopped
1/2 cup peas.
1 can chicken broth
1 cup milk.
1/4 tsp. thyme (optional)
Leftover chicken meat
salt and pepper to taste
Pastry for one deep dish pie.
In a small pot cook the carrots and peas in boiling water until tender. Drain and put aside.
In a pot saute the onion celerry garlic in the butter. Do not brown. When vegatables are tender add the flour .Cook stirring 5 min. This will be crumbly. Slowly add the broth and milk. Stir until thicken slightly. Add the carrots and Peas and whatever left over chicken meat you have. Season with salt and pepper and thyme if using. Pour into pie shell and bake in a 400 oven for 40 min. I serve this with fries.
When I was really desperate I would make this into two pies. I have also made this with shocking little chicken( one thigh and a couple of wings). It always taste good.
I hope this helps you out . Good Luck
I see there are already a lot of good recipes posted. Do you have freecycle groups there? They are for things no longer needed, always free. I have even seen food on the ones here, Here in the valley ( I live in Phoenix, Az, in a desert valley with a lot of other cities). I have given many things away and even have some food for a friend who collects for people in need. Do you have food banks, food stamps, local farmers markets? I like stir fry dishes for stretching meat and use a lot of rice, which we love and is good for you. I understand how things are, I raised 9 children, mostly by myself. There were no food banks, food stamps or much of any other kind of help. It's really hard, my thoughts are with you.
Pat
galphoenix @ yahoo .com
(remove all spaces)
Well, all my ideas have just been posted by these great folks. Victory Garden. Bean sprouts. Corn and bean combination=necessary amino acids equivalent to meat.
Sounds like it is time for a town meeting. Agenda: community garden, barter system, labor for labor or goods, carpool to the grocery. Does your church or neighbor have something like a big dry basement where people can drop off stuff they don't need, pick up things they do? Might be worth renting a place and share doorkeeper time. I know I would pay someone to cart off stuff, if I knew someone could use it--a lifetime of stuff that I could not throw it away because someone could use it.
I think I can speak for all of us--your letter staggered us! In a crisis we can depend on hard boiled eggs and peanut butter. Your situation in Australia is 4 times harder than ours. You warrior on, girl!
Freecycle is a good option. In a group where I am from, your family can be adopted by people, and they will help you with certain things from time to time. I have seen people help give cars or help find low rent homes. Its worth checking out. I am on it and I love it. Some of the people are amazing. Look for a box store such as an Aldi's. They are cheap because you have to use a quarter to get a cart that you get back when you return it. And you bring you own bags and bag your own stuff. Sometimes they have boxes. Look for those options. Use coupons. Look for the coupon swap on here. I love it. Use rebates. Those things are worth your time. Look for the sales.
Our canned tuna (170g) is the one that runs us anywhere from .33 to .79 cents a can, depending on the grocery store. The larger size tuna is much more, can't tell you the price as it's cheaper for me to buy several of the smaller sizes than those. About what other meats, you might could choose for your family, I'm not up on your prices there. But my husband talked with one of your fellow Aussies, recently, on a job, here in the U.S. The fellow said that he missed mutton the worst as he's not been able to find it in the U.S.A. Several years ago, I worked in a barbecue restaurant in Western Kentucky. The owner didn't carry mutton as it was so high priced. I'm sure that's why most places don't carry it. As for your meats you could serve your family, are there not any places you could go fishing, to catch your own meal? Or canned mackeral, salmon, if not tuna? How about bartering with some farmers in your area? How about offering him/them to do farm chores for return of fresh vegetables, fruits, maybe some fresh goat meat, or fresh goat milk? Do you have deer there? Hunt your own venison. If nothing else, other forms of protein are beans, peanut butter, or a handful of nuts per meal, cheese.
Best of Luck!!!
Wow, your prices are high, but I think the rate of exchange is higher too. I know I sent a friend of mine $20.00 for Christmas three years ago, and she said that it came out to about $40.00 in Sydney.
However, I will tell you how fed 4 people on less than 300.00 food stamps when I had to do it. My mom raised 5 kids on this food and we came out well.
Chicken: good buy. You can make: Chicken and dumplings, (a chicken stew with fluffy dumplings), Chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes, (a favorite of mine from the Pennsylvania Dutch), the thighs pounded out make good Chicken Parmesan. The bones make great broth for the soups mentioned above. Even after they have been cooked once, save the bones, brown them in the oven and make a good broth. Fried Chicken, There are a lot of good chicken recipes. If you want, contact me personally, I will give you the names of some good sites to be found on the computer.
Iced tea is a drink, easier and a lot cheaper to make than soda pop or packaged mixes like Kool-aid or Freshie.
Left over beef roast can be made into hash, or a great vegetable soup. Potato soup is a great idea and can be stretched by adding some diced and cooked bacon and some cheese. Split pea and bean soup is a great way to use up ham bones. I used to get a shoulder ham and have it cut into three pieces to use one piece to make these soups. One would go to make a meal of ham cooked with green beans, onions, corn and potatoes ( cheap when the veg's are in season) and serve with corn bread or muffins. Add a touch of hot sauce.
Check into Lentils, good food, cheap and makes some really good soup. Like an Italian Sausage and Lentil soup. Or make it into a Mujhadar, which is rice and lentils with carmelized onions on top. There is also rice and beans, good for you and not expensive to make.
In order to eat cheap but well, you will have to cook from scratch, shortcuts are not cheap. You can learn to make things like your own mushroom soups for sauces, etc. for instance. Your library should have cook books you can go through for recipes. I would suggest you get and use a depression era cookbook. It is full of ideas for inexpensive meals. A lot of convenience foods used to be made from scratch and cheaper, too.
For your tuna, put it in some homemade mac and cheese with a can of peas and bake it or even make it on top of the stove. Not elegant, but cheap and filling. Make your own bread or biscuits. There are a lot of recipes on the net for homemade Bisquick. If you make a chicken salad for sandwiches for a meal, put in some peanut butter. It perks up the chicken and stretches it a bit. Tuna salad for sandwiches can be made with hardboiled eggs and a can of peas, drained, to stretch it quite a way.
Another idea, if you go to the time and effort to make one "Sunday Dish" from scratch, make enough for 2 dishes, eat one and freeze one. The freezer can be your best friend when cooking cheaply.
Good luck to you and contact me if you need some help.
Jaxi3
I have tried to obscure my email address a bit, but I am sure you can figure it out.
I live in KS right smack in the middle & our prices for gas/electric & rent are just as high. Elec per month $267 Gas per month $127 Rent per month $550 Our petrol price is currently $2.37 per gallon.
We ride the buses & my husband car pools to work. We share trips to the store & everyone on our block is in a food co-op program.
We've got 6 girls & work very hard to keep everone fed including my husband who can out eat me & the girls.
Here's my tricks
buy in bulk
something good on sale buy it now.
buy the cheapest form of meat you can.
Use food vouchers if you can get them.
rice, potatoes are fillers, Use them daily if you need to & they are cheap enough!
Make a menu & stick to it.
skip lunch & have earlier supper with snack popcorn..etc later
try soy bean recipes. You can grind your own to make patties & other items.
research it on the internet or ask people to send you information through post mail.
I would be happy to do internet searches for you through post. contact me here- bluechillies @ gmail.com (remove spaces)
Diana
I know what you mean, Here is what help me out. I grew my own vegs. and made pie crust and put all the vegs in the pie and made soups and casseroles. is your cheese cheap? use this too in your dishes. how about noodles.. grow your own tomatoes and make your own sauce. pizza with veg. you can do it but it takes will power to do it and created dishes. Best of luck.
I live in western australia too, I work part time and receive a single parent pension. I have 3 kids at home, one is a 17 year old boy who eats like you wouldn't believe. he fills up on cheap bread, free eggs that we get from friends with chooks and 2 minute noodles. I buy as much generic stuff as i can. I wish we had food stamps and coupons here.they would make things easier. Our bananas are $13.00 a kg at the moment, they are the only fruit my 3 year old will eat so he has to go without until the prices go down. I always buy my fruit and veg from a growers mart or markets, much cheaper and when it comes to meat I try and buy the best simply because there is no wastage and you need less to go round, I use skinless chicken breasts unless I am doing a roast and I buy the best quality mince as 500g is enough to go round and your not paying for fat. we only have meat a couple of times a week and I make vegetarian meals, fried rice or soup with damper on the other nights, I try to bake bikkies and other treats for the kids lunches and snacks. I also search the net for cheap meal ideas and always plan my weekly menu before i shop. I also find it better to shop late on a saturday cause thats when everything gets marked down, or early monday morning
I live in the united states and I get welfare, I never knew how to shop until i met my husband, he's always tried to shop cheap but our bills always seemed to leave us kinda tight on food around the end of the month, about three months ago we had a baby, and he got laid off of work the same week. I didn't know what to do. we live in St. Clair County michigan and the unemployment rate is so high its hard to find a job at all, so i knew it would be a while till he got a job. I also knew that the government had recently cut back welfare so i only get about $484 in food stamps ( can only be used on food) and $300.00 cash ( everyone's case is different) i pay 300.00 in rent and then my husband does odd jobs for our landlord and family to pay bills and our bills are expensive! i get wic for my daughter which buys milks and things she needs being a baby and fresh fruits (which can be made into baby food) i also stock up on meat first and foremost then rices, noodles, potatoes and vedgies i don't buy junk food or soda we eat very healthy and we don't struggle at the end of the month, when we go to the store i have a limit on how much i can spend and i can only spend that much so i bring a calculator, it makes it very easy. Stock up on canned foods i use cream of mushroom with rice and chicken or i'll use cream of mushroom with beef and noodles ( i add seasonings ) but its an easy meal to just add soup, the other night i used a can of split pea and ham soup mixed with pork bits ( from save a lot if boiled they make ham if fried bacon) i added milk to make more soup let it thicken up and added rice it tasted like a bean or split pea and ham soup it was pretty good
join the above group they have some fantastic cheap recipe meals on there!
I am from South Australia and have a 10 year old and a 5 month old... my husband works part time doing carpentry so we bring in a pay every 3 weeks I also recieve the parenting payment partnered our rents $195 per week and with all the other bills as well as nappies, formula, clothing ect it doesnt leave allot.... but i do try make sure we always have good food on the table.... since coles has taken over our local bilo my food bill has hit the roof you get half of what you used to for the same price. I always look at whats on special and buy as much meat as I can while its on special.... A slow cooker ( crockpot) is also a great thing to buy you can buy cheap meat and veggies and make a good hearty stew thats tasty as well as tender and cheap, And freeze any left overs ie stew ect you can use it again and add more vegetables or spagetti to it to make it feed a family.
Heres a recipe I make once a week it does freeze also and its a one pot meal which is great for me and cheap I usually make it with 2 min noodles to make it go further. You can add other vegetables if you want.
Kizey Ming
500g of mince ( ground beef)
1/2 cup of rice or 1 pckt of 2 min noodles
1 onion
2 carrots
2 sticks of celery
1/2 cup of frozen pea's
1/2 cabbage
1 tsp of curry powder
1 pckt of chicken noodle soup
1 cup of water or chicken/ veg stock
Oil or water for frying
Chop up your vegetables and using a electric fry pan or a wok brown your mince in a little oil or water, drain off any excess fat and place the meat back in the pan adding the onions, carrots and celery add your cabbage and fry add your noodles/rice chicken noodle soup and 1 tsp of curry powder and stir through add water and cook covered until the vegetables are tender 10 mins before serveing add your pea's and then enjoy...
Heres another cheap recipe my son likes this and its one those meals thats quick and easy as well as cheap ! great for weekends or any time and it freezes you can add veggies but my son prefers it without. I made this for my sister in law in NSW while staying there and at first she didnt seem keen on it but once she had tasted it she liked it she now makes this for her 3 year old.
Easy spagetti bol
500g of mince meat ( ground beef)
1 onion chopped
1 or 2 cloves of garlic ( crushed or minced)
2 family tins of spagetti in a tomatoe sauce
oil for the pan
In a electric fry pan add your oil and brown the mince add your onion and cook until the onion is softened place in your garlic and stir then put in the tinned spagetti heat through and serve.....
Hi, Beside food, the next biggest expence for parents is clothing , school supply's and sports equipment. my idea is to start a swap meet with other local parents. My daughter has been in a scouting group for years, And i have often Given her out grown clothes and uniforms to younger kids.I have also recieved the same. Talk to your friends, get together and trade,School supply's craft items clothing books e.c.t. Start small and dedicate your spare time. Network around where you live and work. Meet in the local park, Find the time. Believe in yourself and your community.Start small and don't overwhelm yourself. We Can make a difference! One love!!
Hi, Beside food, the next biggest expence for parents is clothing , school supply's and sports equipment. my idea is to start a swap meet with other local parents. My daughter has been in a scouting group for years, And i have often Given her out grown clothes and uniforms to younger kids.I have also recieved the same. Talk to your friends, get together and trade,School supply's craft items clothing books e.c.t. Start small and dedicate your spare time. Network around where you live and work. Meet in the local park, Find the time. Believe in yourself and your community.Start small and don't overwhelm yourself. We Can make a difference! One love!!
Hi I live in Queensland and am a single mother of one. Things get tough for me too, and for some reason food is the first cut back we all make. I would suggest shopping at Aldi, if you have one close by. The prices are heaps cheaper than coles! I also find their mince to be good quality at only $5.00 a kilo. They also have all your basic needs such as shampoo and conditioner for $1.99 per litre. It does the job. The other tool I used to get me out of debt was a book called 'Cashed up and Laughing', I bought this book from the Warehouse and I love it! So many great savings tips.
My recipe tip is Porcupine Casserole:
500gm mince
Half cup of uncooked rice
800gm tin Tomato Soup
Grated cheese for the top
Mix mince and rice together and form in balls about the size of a 20 cent piece, place into a lasagne dish or whatever dish all of the balls fit into one layer.
pour over tomato soup. Cover with foil and place in the oven at 160 degrees.
Cook for about one hour. Checking after about 45 mins (each oven varies)
take off foil and sprinkle desired amount of cheese on top. Put back in the oven without foil until cheese is bubbling.
Beautiful! Very filling and keeps very well in the fridge or you can freeze it too.
Hope things get better for you.
If anyone is looking for cheap recipes and many other budget minded hints then please feel welcome to visit my web site at www.cheap-and-easy-recipes.com
how about vegetable soup use
1 can green beans,corn,carrots,peas and 1 can tomatoe juice
I add shredded roast to mine but in case of hard times.elimanate the meat
growing your own garden is worth the time invested and one can freeze or can the veggies.can you own chickens for eggs and meat?
pasta is very filling and one doesn't have to add meat to it if they don't want to
homamade bread is another idea.
there are a lot of cheap meals listed on the site and tons of wonderful people to give out ideas. good luck
This is jaxi3, and I have submitted earlier, well, it is now 5 years later and I am back in the earlier position. Difference now is I am alone, retired and living in a senior citizens building. My income is now 617.00 Social Security and 57.00 food stamps. Not a lot but I am surviving. I thank my frugal ways otherwise I could not make it from month to month. Also, our food bank is a great source of food for me. I have learned so much more on how to feed myself. My bills total 537.00 and I use the rest to supplement my grocery bills, get the goods that food stamps do not cover and survive. I have learned to live on less meat and to stretch that meat. Just wanted to give an update. I have learned to buy 2 large pieces of meat a month and make it last, chicken is my most purchased meat. In fact, having chicken livers for dinner. If you can get your hands on them, there are lots of chicken liver recipes on line that will help you make meals. I hope you are doing better now and that life has been good for you.
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