Yes! SRSLY. So let me borrow their premise for one person. Just one. Okay. Let's see how cheap it is. A Cheeseburger from McDonalds value menu is $1. Assuming you only eat 1 burger at lunch and 1 burger for dinner with no fries, just water to drink, and it's just you. For breakfast we'll choose a sausage biscuit cause they're only $1.19 and we have to watch our pennies. Now I'm also assuming these choices. In fairness to Micky "D"s", they do have healthier choices. The yogurt parfait and 2 bags of apple slices will cost you $2, But that might be more than budget. So I'll take the absolute cheapest version of this scenario. I have $3.19 x 1.07 (for sales tax in my area) which comes to $3.41. We won't factor in the travel expenses it takes to make daily trips to the restaurant to eat your meal. So $3.41 x 7 (days)= 23.87. Times a month (30 days) and you have $102.40. What can I do with $102 dollars for a month of meals for one person at home.
Breakfast
Eggs- 2 a day for 30 days is 5 dz- $5
Apple- (since apples are what is offered at McDonalds, we'll go with that, though there are cheaper food options)- 30 lbs for the month. I'm figuring 3 medium apples a day for snacks and such. FYI still cheaper than McDonald's 2 pks of apple slices for $1. - $30
*** some cheaper options would be Bananas at .55 lb, or get whats on sale. Go half and half Banana's/ Apples and you are only at $23.25 for total fruit needs with $8.25 of your total in bananas FOR THE MONTH.
Now before you say "That's not a lot for food. might I point out that you're only getting one sausage mcmuffin for breakfast at 400 calories. I've just given you in snacks and such 359 (not counting if you mixed in some Bananas.
Lunch/ Dinner
Chicken - 7 fresh whole chickens. Estimated 4 meals per bird maybe more. $35.00
Carrots- 25 lb ORGANIC whole carrots- bought in 5lb bags $18.45.
Potatoes- 20 lbs bought in 2 10 lb bags - $8
Option A
Eggs $5
Apples- $30
Chicken- $ 35
Carrots- $ 18.45
Potatoes- $8
Plus 7% sales tax = $103.20. OH MY GOODNESS! I went over by .80. Sorry to break the bank.
But!
Option B (should you mix in Banana and apples (highly recommend just for variety anyway)
All of the above, but replace half your apple weight with banana weight- $95.98. Under budget! You could splurge and by a little something extra like 1 pound of butter in which to roast/cook all your stuff.
Now I know the menu I have set before you is unrealistic, but how realistic is the McDonald's menu I started with. Who goes to McDonald's and buys a cheese burger and nothing else. In actuality, my menu can be more realistic. Especially if I have a pound of butter to cook my eggs in. I only need 4 gms.
I can cook up and debone just one of those birds, reserving the broth (seriously reserve the broth). Put the broth in the fridge over night. In the morning remove AND SAVE the fat you skim off the top. Keep the fat in the fridge. Want something good? Melt a little of that fat (not a lot!!!) and use it to roast your potatoes and carrots in the oven with a little salt. The broth can be frozen or used immediately by taking some chicken, potatoes, and carrots and making a soup or casserole (if you have the makings).
Banana's can be frozen then blended in the blender with a little water and make the best tasting banana soft serve ice cream. Make sure you get bananas that are a little ripe. They are sweeter and usually marked down cheaper than .55 lb. More savings! You can use those savings to add something else to your cart.
Look for meats marked down or on sale. Right now turkeys are .59 lb. Do you know what I can do with turkey! The same stuff I can do with chicken. You can totally switch it out.
Replace some of your chicken with dried beans and lentils. Very cheap per pound and very good for you. You can soak them over night, add a tsp of salt per cup of dry beans and cook during the day. Cook a bunch at a time and freeze what you aren't using. Again, with the savings from this one thing you can add something else, maybe fun, to your cart.
My grocery budget for the month is $350-$400 dollars. That includes pet food for a dog and cat, Chicken feed, all cleaning, and toiletries. Plus I keep a pantry in case of emergencies. I make my budget low because I grow a lot but not all of our veggies. I also make a lot of stuff from scratch. I purposely kept the menu set before you minus anything that has to be grown. In fact the menu contains items I have to buy myself. There's nothing on this menu I grow or make from scratch. That being said, my budget is for 4 grown adults, 3 of which are men. Multiply the Mcdonalds menu I started with and I would have a $410 budget to start with. I can do a lot with that.
There's nothing special about me. My trick is education. In a google world, anything you need to know is at your finger tips. In addition to that, many of the things I do now came from those old ancient paper filled things called books. Available in any library or thrift store. In fact, find cook books from the 40's and you can get a lot information on making due with less. Rationing during WW2. My other trick is "Want to". A willingness to do what it takes to save money and eat right.
My prices came from Kroger, a grocery store higher priced than Walmart or Aldi, but less than a convenience store.
I end with the caveat. Yes McDonalds is cheaper than buying highly processed, really bad for you diet foods in the name of healthy eating. It is not cheaper when you eat honest to goodness real food in normal portions that you cook and prepare yourself.
Well this has run on longer than I thought. Sorry. I'll vent about workout routines later. So how do you keep costs down when buying groceries?
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