It may seem like everything is more expensive nowadays and you wouldn’t be wrong. Inflation is up 8% this year.
If you aren’t getting more than an 8% raise in your job this year, you’re making less than what you earned a year before.
In this article, we’re going to talk about the 10 cheap foods that you should buy if you want to save some money on your food budget.
Let’s go!
Table of Contents
1. Flour
You can get a whole bag of flour for under $10. You can use flour to make all kinds of things.
All you need is some yeast, sugar, flour, water, and an oven to make some delicious baked treats. You can also just use your pan to cook and fry the pasty if you want.
The possibility is endless with flour. It’s quite filling and you can create healthy cheap meals with it. Each costs you less than $1 per person per meal.
You should make sure to store the flour in a cool damp place to prevent it from going bad, however.
2. Pasta
A whole bag of 900g pasta is only $1 and you can cook several meals out of it. A lot of people who worry about a war breaking out in their countries would stock up on pasta because it’s cheap and easy to store and cook if needed.
Again, store anything you buy on this list in a damp cool place to increase shelflife.
There can be so many different types of pasta that you can make. Tell me, what’s your favorite kind of pasta?
3. Rice
Go to your local Asian supermarket to get cheap rice. Your local Walmart won’t carry the varieties of rice at a price point that makes it worth it.
Personally, I love sushi rice. It’s super delicious. It’s rounder and chewier and tastier than the long kind of rice that most retail stores only carry.
A whole huge 8000g of sushi rice cost about $15–20. You can feed a family for a few months with it.
4. Oatmeal
Oatmeal is getting more expensive too. If you do buy oatmeal, buy the unseasoned kind. Buy the kind of oatmeal that doesn’t have any flavors. Buy a huge bag of plain oatmeal because it’s cheaper than buying the packet kind.
5. Ground beef
Are you not a vegetarian? Do you eat meat? If you do eat meat, the cheapest kind of meat you can buy is ground beef.
You can make it into a patty, or meatball, or add it to your stir fry and it would taste good. You can make so many different kinds of meals out of ground beef you can search up ground beef recipes quite easily on the internet.
6. Instant noodles
Instant noodles are super delicious. Are you a fan of instant noodles? If you are, then stock up! Instant noodles are typically cheap and easy to cook.
It’s perfect for a lazy Wednesday night when you don’t want to cook and don’t want to order takeout.
7. Onions
You can get a whole bag of onions for about $4.99 sometimes even just $2.99. Do you know how many onion soups you can make out of that? A lot.
I know some of you don’t like to eat onions but onions can be a rich source of folate, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and potassium. Don’t know what that is? It just means that onions are healthy for you!
8. Sliced bread
A loaf of sliced bread is only $2 and you can make a lot of different sandwiches with it. You won’t have to worry about your lunch for a week! Just add some avocados, peanut butter, fried egg, chocolate, jam, butter, cream cheese, etc (not all of those at once lol) to your sliced toast and your lunch is done!
I don’t know why people overthink lunch so much. There are literally so many possibilities with sliced bread. You can cover your whole week’s worth of lunch for less than $5!
9. Bananas
Bananas are rich in potassium and they are generally cheap. You can get a bunch of bananas at the store for less than $3. It’s enough to feed a whole family or just yourself.
Banana is generally some of the cheapest fruits out there but there are certainly other fruits that deserve a spot on the list. Just go check it out at your local store.
10. Hot dogs
Hot dogs are another type of cheap meat you can get at the store. It’s much cheaper than steak for sure. You can cut up hot dogs and add them to your noodles or rice.
Hot dogs aren’t very healthy because of the nitrate in their system. Nitrate is linked to stomach cancer. If you do choose to get hot dogs, don’t make it a daily eating habit.
Hot dogs certainly can be a cheap and filling food!
11. Canned beans
You can get cheap canned beans for $1 each. There are so many different kinds of beans that you can get.
I know not every one of those beans tastes good but if you shop around I’m sure you can find some that you don’t mind eating sometimes.
Having some canned beans around is always a good idea in case of emergencies. At times when there isn’t working electricity, you may just have to do with canned beans.
By the way, I’ve always seen this kind of canned beans around, it’s maple syrup flavored (I love maple syrup) and they even made an animation out of that. Tried it with high hopes but ended up disappointed. I don’t want to point out any names but just want to say this because I know many of you look at canned beans with disgust. If I have only ever eaten that kind of canned beans, I’d think the same.
It’s good to try out different kinds of beans and try out different ways to cook them. You may find some that you like a lot. It may surprise you!
Do you have a favorite kind of beans? Tell me in the comment below!
Final thought
Eating cheap and healthy is a lot more doable than most people think. You can oftentimes find vegetables on sale for less than $3 per cabbage for instance. You can cook so many meals out of that. Compared to paying $3 for a hamburger that you can only eat for one meal, you know which food you should eat instead.
I hope I have given you some good ideas. Did I miss any? Tell me in the comment. 🙂
