Brown rice, budget brand pasta, tins of pulses, sometimes $1 a can. Cabbage, carrots, frozen veg. Dried pulses are cheap, split peas are the cheapest, make a soup for lunches. Flour, sliced budget bread. Noodles. Fruit, fresh is best but tinned will do. Do you have any basic food items.
daarhn,
Oct 25, 5:28pm
Go co-op. a group of you pitch in and go local for your fruit and veggies and meats and other bulk items.
Avondale markets near closing gets you boxes of fresh fruit and veggies for fraction of price compared to Spacks & Slaves (Pack & Save) or Comeon Down (Countdown) stores.
Mad Butcher for bulk cheap meats.
Other essentials bulk buy from Spacks & Slaves. I found them to be the cheapest for all basic essentials when running a house full of students. Loo paper, washing liquid, personal toiletries, bulk sauce, milk, bread etc.
There are free student budgeting lists online to help with spending and saving as well.
Some other tips on a student budget.
To save your dollars as a student in other areas, condoms are free from your local sex clinic as well. Save your money get free regular sexual health check up and a goodie bag. Get all your student friends on board.
Always get on well with your slumlord/landlord or property manager. Communication is important if you're renting.
Any income you get in start saving 5-7% of that every time. It may be small but soon adds up as savings. Be realistic.
Many great recipes online under student meals, easy ingredient meals etc. Get a few going as your go-to recipes when you all get together or cook in bulk to freeze in portions.
Look for student discount places.
Student life does not have to be all about noodles and beer.
And if you are really stuck, be good to your ma and pa.
I am getting a bit worried about your posts. Have you got enough money to eat well and heat the house?
Surely vegetable pikelets, a piece of fish with veges or Cottage cheese and mixed bean stuffed potatoes which is $2.09 a serve would be affordable to anyone?
If you cannot afford this even for a Christmas dinner then please seek some budgeting help. This is not good at all.
If you chose not to eat these things that is different of course.
sarahb5,
Oct 27, 9:36am
Is she living alone or flatting? My daughter lived in a flat of 5 girls in her last year at uni - their individual budget was $30 a week for food but they put it together and ate really well, roast at least once a week, even takeaways once a week! First one home made dinner. Of course their budget also included household items that were shared - laundry powder, cleaning stuff, etc.
lilyfield,
Oct 27, 4:45pm
Ha ha uli, nothing to do with not being able to afford it. I simply have other prioreties than food, and eat very healthy indeed, but very cheap.
Heard of the saying- eat to live, not live to eat? That is me to a T.
uli,
Oct 27, 4:48pm
So what will your Christmas dinner be then? If the above recipes are too expensive?
Surely the OP would be interested in your experiences of cooking cheaply (and maybe lots of other people too).
awoftam,
Oct 27, 5:02pm
No. I haven't. Work to live, not live to work, yes. I love cooking and food too much to view it the way you do. I do get what you have said tho - I would just hate to see food looked en masse as a fuel as opposed to a fuel and a delight. Doesn't mean I am right and you are wrong of course and loving food and cooking doesn't make it unhealthy. Just a different view on things. Interesting.
motorbo,
Oct 27, 5:25pm
dried chickpeas, beans, unhulled millet, rice, lentils are all good for you and add a few flavours, some vegs/seeds/nuts/eggs you have a good meal - pasta is cheap but not good for you, and too much dairy isnt too - the unicef i think it is cookbook is a good one
marte,
Oct 28, 12:10am
Sounds familiar.
sticky232,
Oct 28, 7:06pm
Bacon eggs cheese potatoes. You can make omelette quiche toasties pasta bacon and egg pie so need pasta and pastry
kindajojo,
Oct 28, 9:43pm
mIlk and A dozen eggs. over a week, boiled and added to salad, scrambled, omelette, French toast, rice pudding. Quiche, with a tin of salmon, leek, or asparagus, broccoli. whatever is cheap . Few meals there. Buy sliced meat at the deli, 200 grams of the budget ham or roast beef costs about $2 to $3.00 . sandwiches with egg, ham quiche, baked potatoe and a can of creamed corn, use a couple of tablespoons on the potatoe and make the rest into corn fritters and add cheese parsley, sweet chilli sauce. . if you go to a popular takeaway food joint, help yourself to the sachets of sauce, freely available, also sugar, etc etc. Reduced to clear have some good bargains. Buy seasonal or seconds, dark bananas are cheap, peel, freeze and a smoothie for breakfast. Porridge is cheap and filling and the Flatting favourite was always apple crumble. The crumble formulas is etched in my memory 6,3, 2. 6 parts dry ingredients so flour or rolled oats, or mixture of both or substitute cornflakes or weetbix, 3 parts butter and two parts sugar. brown or honey. it's a rough guide eye balling is ok, spread over a large bowl of apples, peaches, apricots or any stewable fruit. And bake til top is golden and serve with ice cream. . and on the bad days , fried boiled rice with luncheon chopped through it. disgusting. but filling.
ruby19,
Oct 29, 5:26am
Grow your own herbs, and in summer tomatoes and courgettes grow easily. Budget tinned toms can make a multitude of dishes. Chilli, curry, pasta sauces etc. Buy spices from the asian stores way cheaper than the supermarket. Pick up end of day specials at the supermarket, especially in the meat department.
cgvl,
Oct 29, 11:31am
Don't buy meat from the supermarket unless they do packs for 1-2 people or have an over the counter butchery. Find a butcher that is reasonable they do exist. We pay no more that $10 per kg for mince so for 2 adults I buy between 150-200g for $2 max. Sausages we get for $2 for four pure beef or pork. Bread buy the $1 l;oaves or even the cheaper budget stuff but get wholemeal/wholewheat. Cereal for brekky is a great filler, porridge if liked or find a cheap one ie ricies or muesli. Milk buy 2l at a time, use marg instead of butter and get the cheap one. Buy one different spread each shop. Finally just buy enough vegies and fruit for that week. Its not hard but does require patience and practice.
uli,
Oct 29, 1:53pm
Sounds sad to me, as sharing good food around a table is a great way to be in community - but if you like it that way - great for you!
However it would be nice if you would give some cheap recipes rather than just saying "this is too expensive". After all it is thread designed for a student with not much money and from what you have posted so far you have a host of cheap recipes available.
anne1955,
Oct 30, 6:23am
I wish I could get use to cooking for one, been alone 10 yrs plus now and still dislike it intensely. Always loved cooking still do and with no one else to cook for I don't eat anywhere as well as I should, but I do know it. And many friends call me 'the feeder' lol. I have to say there is only a few things I will eat second time around, and don't have a microwave so that doesn't help. Mine blew up due to old age sometime ago and can't afford to replace it. My cat eats better than me but that's fine by me lol. I didn't wonder if I should place an advert in a few places advertising meals available for a set price? Not for sale as such just a donation to ingredients no extra costs really for me to cook for 4 as there is one, power costs same and I live in an area with a lot of older people. As to living with a very, very limited budget, I have written a book "101 of living on dog ones" a friend said I should self publish it. I know what being hungry is, been there done that and never want to do that again. And no I didn't have a clue back then about benefits or 'social' help. Unlike now where it is I think known to everyone in NZ whether or not it's used by all. The book includes a section on eating like a King on very little money, and handy hints on many things. I so loath the Countdown adverts and I have told them :) 'feed 4 for 15.00' I can do that make it 2 different meals and even in summer or winter make it 2 course. For me if that's what it costs to feed 4 it too damn much.
uli,
Oct 30, 9:06am
Anne check out the online book selling. You can print on demand or sell via download. it would be great if people like you would want to share. This is so much better than to simply state "This is too expensive" for me and not giving any recipes.
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