Tonight we had some friends over from our small group at church. After they left I was wondering how much I saved by stocking-ahead like we do. So, I just tallied up how much it cost me to feed the four adults here (there were 3 kiddos under 2 who ate very little!). We have been seeing all these ads on restaurant billboards “Feed a Family of 4 for $9”. That just seems like a lot to me. Well, according to what I did tonight it was!
I get asked quite often if entertaining is included in our food budget of $200/month. Most people can’t imagine being able to eat on that amount, much less entertain friends and family on it too! If you plan your grocery trips, use coupons with sale items and meal plan, you will be amazed at what you can do.
One of the concepts we stick to is a principle we call “stocking-ahead“. Stocking ahead is purchasing your staple items when they go on sale, usually at around 50% off. But, we don’t just purchase one, we buy enough to get us through until it goes on sale again. So, the goal is to never pay full price. In doing so, I try to prepare meals ahead and have Kitchen Prep Days to make meals to put into our freezer for later. Tonight was a night when I got to take advantage of all the great deals I found to bless our friends and to eat a great very inexpensive meal.
Here is a breakdown of what we had and the approximate cost:
Roasted Sticky Chicken – @ $.59/lb a 5-lb chicken, and we ate about 2/3 of it = $2.00
Sweet & Savory Sweet Potatoes – @$.69/bag at Christmas, I made ahead and froze them, we at half a bag with our meal = $.35
New York Ciabatta Bread – $.40 on sale, we ate the whole thing = $.40
Lettuce – $1.68/ea, we ate 1/3 of the bunch = $.50
Avocado – $.77
Strawberries – $1.66/lb, we had three in the salad, so approx $.50
Homemade Salad Dressing = $.25
Tollhouse Brownie Cookies – FREE w/ a sale and coupon!!!
Breyers Ice Cream – $.25/gallon on sale with a coupon, we only had a few scoops = $.10
Total Meal Cost = $4.62
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So, do you think you could feed four adults for under $5? Tell me your tips and tricks to save money while entertaining friends and family on a budget.
Amazing!!! I am blown away.
I love seeing this. I have to explain to people all the time how I fix dinner for 3 and have leftovers (I always try to prepare two leftover plates for hubby) for less than $5. And believe it or not, I am always between $4-$5 and it's so easy! Thanks for sharing!
This is amazing…and inspiring! I never learned how to properly plan meals and prepare food economically (my mother worked when I was growing, and we either ate frozen meals or ate out and I continued that into my adult life), so your information is so helpful and appreciated! And I also love knowing about the free magazine subs!
One of my cheapest meals is my spaghetti and meatballs; I'll use a jar of spaghetti sauce (usually one that I've gotten on sale for around $.60), a can of diced tomatoes with garlic ($.30), a 1# bag of meatballs from a sale ($2.00), a pack of spaghetti noodles (maybe $.40 on sale), and a package of garlic bread (free – $.50 on sale). So, the meal is already only about $3.80, and I feed my family of four (2 small children) twice on that meal. Our splurge is freshly shaved Parmesan, which is about $3.50 for 6 oz, and we use half of it per meal. So, each meal only costs about $3.60. We do this meal once every week or two.