Best plans....sometimes change

There is a saying, failing to plan is to plan to fail.    Meal plans are a necessary part of saving money on food.    We don't get down to what to have specifically each particular day.mdexoding on the morning taking into consideration the weather and what our day is like activity wise,  

That being said, there is always room for change,    I discovered while cleaning the pantry yesterday , that we have yummy roasted red pepper and tomato soup.   I also have half and half on the fridge.   I think we will have tomato, basil and blue cheese soup and toasted  cheese or cheezy Bisquits instead of split pea soup.  

There is a good buy six,mace three sake at QFC.   There are coupons to go with the sales, so if you choose wisely, you can score big savings,   I am not going to go because our pantry is full and we don't need any more.    So, I will virtual shop.  

BBQ sauce ref 1.59. On sale for .99 a coupons for 100 off three.   Reg 4.77. Pay 1.97 savings 2.80

Cheerios regular  1.99.    On sale, coupons nets 199.  Savings in two.     1.98

Steam fresh veggies 1.99.  On sale with coupon.   .99.   Save 2.00

Total savings 6.78.   Retail 11.14.  

Savings 61 percent.  

Groceries on the cheap is looking at the "put the meal on the table train" from  a different perspective.
The emphasis is on purchasing good shelf stable or frozen food  for a RBP in quantity - enough to last you until ot goes on sale again or to keep a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you  use  on a weekly basis.

This means that instead of shopping daily or weekly for just the things you need to cook your meals for the week. You go to two stores and buy :
1) a protein that is a RBP - enough to make that meal for x number of days. (I.e.: if you eat it once a week, buy enough for 4 meals.)
2) produce and dairy you will need to fill in the meals for the week.
3) a stock item, if you need to and it is on a RBP - enough to fill in to your self imposed stock level.

You often are paying 1/2 price for your food.   This allows you to put well-balanced meals on the table consistently on a four dollar a day per person budget.   You spend more time on the locomotive ( planning and shopping ) end of the train, and less time in the caboose ( kitchen j) by cooking more efficiently.

 Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on 4 dollars a day, spending more is not difficult and you still get more nutrition for your buck.