Kay so I'm broke. And I'm trying not to be broke. part of trying not being broke is going on a food budget. I get paid every two week so I do all my grocery shopping after payday and it needs to last me 2 weeks. I currently spend about $120 on food every 2 weeks. I need ideas of food I can get that will last more than one meal (other than sandwiches, sooo sick of sandwiches). Can't be cold, due to limited fridge and freezer space. (I only have a mini fridge... my living situation is weird). Any ideas on what food i can get? Also any ideas of how else to save money? I have a (major) spending problem.

Soups/stews/? You can make a big pot of these and they tend to be alright if you just cover them with a lid on the stove and reheat when needed or in the slow cooker Things like spaghetti bolognaise...you can make the sauce and leave covered on the stove for 2-3 days and just cook the pasta when your ready to use the sauce...

I batch cook alot and reuse dinners for work lunches, not because I'm broke but I'm cheap and hate spending money these days xD

Ideas for saving money...well I don't know what your budget looks like but what helps me is when I get paid, I figure out my budget - How much I'll need to pay the bills that come out that fortnight (I also get paid every 2 weeks) how much I want to save and my, what I call 'personal spends' and this is stuff I want, not need - things like going out, buying csc etc...I put this into a basic cash account and pretty much when it's gone it's gone and I have nothing for the next week or so...so this makes me conscious of literally every penny I spend (you can keep a spend diary to see where you 'fritter' money away...like coffees out, a chocolate bar here, a magazine there...they all add up) I used to spend tons on lunches at work, coffee when I got here, one mid morning, another on my lunch, a ton of magazines every week...Now I buy a jar of coffee, sugar and milk which lasts much longer and a TON cheaper, I've limited myself to my two favorite magazines a week and I used to smoke cigaretts, now I smoke roll ups which is £8 per week compared to £60 before I got some great advice that if you want to buy something, think on it for a few days before impulse buying...usually you'll find after a few days you don't even want it anymore..

you should check out budgetbytes for ideas. She uses a lot of dried or canned ingredients in her food and it's crazy how inexpensive the meals she makes turn out to be. And her recipes are DELICIOUS.

I have rent that comes first, (every two weeks), student loans (every month), and those are the two that kill my paycheck. Food is next.

I've done better at not buying things at work (I work in a craft store and I do jewelry making and I crochet, two expensive hobbies and I can't even sell my crafts because it's a conflict of interest).

I should try the spend diary. I should also take out spending cash (though it will be a while before I can spend anything on anything fun. My student loans are a bit behind and i have to put everything towards that right now, part o the reason i'm looking for cheap eats). but that's a really good idea, thanks.

thanks, I'll check it out.

I know it's a little cliche, but one thing that's super inexpensive is ramen. If you buy it in bulk it can be lie 40 cents a serving. To add variety, I like to crack a raw egg into the broth (around the same time the flavoring goes in). The egg cooks instantly and it makes the broth thick and creamy and delicious. (Just make sure to stir it and pop the yolk.) It also adds protein! Some other things you can do to ramen are add meat (like pieces of chicken breast) or fresh vegetables.

Good luck!

-Soup and bread: would only need to refrigerate butter. -Pancakes: would only need to refrigerate syrup. -Pasta: all Italian type stuff is refrigeration free, and you can make macaroni and cheese by buying the Great Value/Kraft boxes and then adding Velveeta which also doesn't need to be refrigerated.

And I don't know how much it counts as food, but brownies only need canola oil and no refrigerated stuff.

I hadn't thought about adding things to ramen. that might actually work. (I usually buy yakisoba which comes with veggies and stuff already in it... freeze dried but still ok.) I'll have to try that.

Brownies are just good in general. I do love leftover mac n cheese too. thanks for the ideas.

@ Soleena It might depend on where you live, but I agree with on ramen. I know cup noodles (Nissin/Maruchan) can be as low as 25cents each on sale at Asian or Mexican supermarkets.

Off the top of my mind, my cheap go-tos are spaghetti, bagels, and yogurt.

I'm not sure how stuffed your fridge is, but hopefully enough for a jar of spaghetti sauce, a container of cream cheese, etc etc.. I try to not store leftovers if I can prevent it, so that definitely helped make space in my mini-fridge. The things above won't require you to batch-cook food and they're just super quick to make if you can forego a heartier meal..

These are kind of no-brainers but I thought they should be mentioned. For spaghetti, all you need is a can of sauce and maybe a salad on the side (or you can be cheap and just shred some lettuce/buy a bag of spinach, put a bunch on the bottom of the spaghetti, and call those your source of veggies). For yogurt, you only need to buy a tub of vanilla yogurt and a bag of granola. Then you can just add fruit to it as you wish :')

I hope you find something that works for you!

, when I was in college and trying to save, my first go-tos were peanut butter and hummus. Both are high protein and can be used in a variety of ways. Peanut butter doesn't even need to be refrigerated!

Eggs can be kept out as well, if they need to be, for a few days. I like to hardboil them for lunches. Quinoa is also high protein and has a lot of nutritional content for a small serving. Canned beans and vegetables too- though I prefer frozen veg, that's not an option for you right now.

I splurged on a bag of chia seeds, then added them to all kinds of things because of the protein (I obsess over protein a little bit, but I had a year and a half where I completely ignored it and my health TANKED) and the fact that it gels up juices, tea, and really any liquid, which makes a fun dessert.

great ideas thanks. I love spaghetti.

I've never heard of chia seeds. I will have to try them. My Doctor keeps telling me I need vitamin D... or to go outside. I'm not a huge fan of peanut butter, but my cupboard does have it.

for food storage I have a mini fridge, and a closet (amoir? I don't know how to spell it sorry grammar nazi's, it's meant for clothes but we use it for food because we have limited space.... like i said my living situation is weird).

, almond butter or sunflower butter might suit you better. Both are high in protein and have different tastes.

When I was in the dorms, I kept most of my food in a mini fridge and a desk. It required weekly shopping trips for the fresh stuff, but I kept staples I could buy in bulk in my closet. A sack of rice from a local ethnic grocery cost much less than smaller bags and boxes from a typical chain store. I took advantage of case sales too- some grocery stores will have sales in which you can buy a case or a flat of something for less than the individual packages would cost. I often got beans and tomato products this way. Keep an eye out for dented cans too. Dents rarely cause any harm to the food inside, but people don't want the because they're not 'pretty'.

As for vitamin D, more of the right kind of dairy would help, but yeah, time outside would help more. A multivitamin could be the solution if you can't spend time outside, though. I take a women's multi in gummy form just to keep my bases covered.

My go to cheap meals are: Chicken with rice and gravy

• For this I take approx 1 lb chicken and cook it how I wish (baked, chopped into pieces, shake and bake ect ect) for that night. For rice I tend to use the rice a roni boxes (again whatever strikes your fancy) and then either brown gravy or turkey gravy. The chicken you can buy in small packs as you want to make this, so you can get it cheaper if you don't mind buying it a day or two before it's best by dating. Gravy comes in packets that only need water to make for under a buck. If you don't like the flavored rices you can always get a big storage container and buy enough minute rice to fill it and just cook that as you wish for any meals as well. Though if you are making it for just you there will be a good 2-3 meals from this so would need some fridge space.

Spaghettio-s

• Enough said roughly $1 a can and most times I can eat two meals from one can so only temp fridge storage would be needed. You can get cheese to add in or french bread to have with it too.

Pasta dishes -Easy to make most dishes in portions and save the rest of the bag/box for more food options later. You can buy sauces in smaller containers to save fridge space once you open it. Or even buy the tiny cans of tomato paste and add seasonings and a bit of water to think it out for use on noodles.

For the most part if you can come up with a pre planned list of meals you want to eat and just buy 90% of it (the dry/canned parts) to bring home and grab like meats and such on the days you want a meal with it that can save your budget a bit. Not to mention if you have a good bulk of rice and noodles stashed up you can make many meals or even just eat those when times are tight for food. Also check your local sunday paper (if you get one) for food coupons. If you also have a walmart near you they will ad match. So say store A has tillamook cheese on sale for $4 for a big brick, walmart will match that price as long as it's in a non store exclusive ad. But say store B has 1/2 gallons of milk for $1, but it's an in-store only offer, walmart would not match that. If you don't have a walmart near you ask your fave grocery shop what their ad/ coupon match policy is. This can save a few dollars for you in the end.

I also must ask have you looked into getting a food card or are you "lucky" like me a and make just that -tiny- bit too much to get one? If I got one it'd be for a whole huge $16 a month... that might buy 3 or 4 pounds of hamburger if I buy it bulk packaged XD