Dollar tree haul

I went to Costco for vitamins and wound up spending twenty dollars. I bought dairy and produce as well as the vitamins and a thirty percent off magazine on cooking,  

I also went to th dollar store.   I bought a handful of snacks and things with coupons-- not exactly a no spend trip , but well worth my while.  I spent eight dollars including tax.    I got four boxes of pronto pasta.   The cost at the regular grocery store would have been six dollars alone.   I spent 2.90 for the four.    I also got two muffin mixes for a dollar each - a major name brand.   A wax paper for my studio---I ise the insides of cereal boxes in the kitchen.    I also bought a bag of pretzels.    It is a good cheap snack.    And, two pounds of pinto beans.  

Eight dollars including tax ( almost  ten percent on non food ) 

Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 Perspective . The  emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable / freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will 

need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals 

on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the 

planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.