Eating Well on a Budget for the Single Person

As I've moved out on my own from my parents and graduated from college, I have seen the economics of my situation change tremendously! The biggest difference is I have to pay for all of the food now, in addition to paying rent and other bills.

What used to be provided for me, when I was a child, were three reliable, nourishing meals a day. Even in college there was the dining hall, and I was on a meal plan. There were free bagels, cereal, fruit, and desserts, not to mention the main course dishes. No matter how bad they might have been, they were there.

Now I have to admit, my first impulse upon moving out was to throw aside all cares and indulge in a Bacchanalia of eating fast food and other expensive foods every single day! In a sense I didn't know any better, and it was fun.

I would start off the day with a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios drowned in milk, with a couple of Pop-Tarts, for breakfast. At lunch I would drive to McDonald's and pick up a Big Mac Combo with a Coke or Dr. Pepper. Delicious, and yet oh so unhealthy and expensive! For dinner I would pop a microwave dinner in the oven or order pizza. (If that seems bizarre, it's because I have no microwave.)

As I kept up this routine, I overcharged my bank debit card numerous times, incurring humongous $30 service fees each time, so it started getting really embarrassing. I began to think about ways to economize, and with the help of my good friend Thomas, I have actually taken some steps to cutting grocery costs; here I outline three steps to a wallet more replete with spare cash on the weekend:

Step 1: Cook grits or oatmeal instead of consuming mad quantities of expensive breakfast cereal.

I discovered these wonderful breakfast substitutes upon Thomas's suggestion. A 5-pound bag of grits (which he gave me) costs a few dollars, the price of a box of name-brand cereal. The difference is, it will last for weeks and weeks, maybe an entire month, whereas the Cheerios or Apple Jacks is good for a few days. Also, grits and oatmeal take WATER instead of milk to become palatable. This is an enormous difference as well, considering the price of a gallon of milk at Kroger's. I am now a grits eater. I sprinkle on a little salt or "Lemon Pepper," maybe add some cheese. On the oatmeal, add sugar.

Preparing the grits (for non-cooks): So you take a stove top pan, put maybe a cup of water in it, and set the burner on "Hi" for a minute or so until the water starts boiling. Then you take about a half or quarter cup of grits and toss them on in there. Stir the grits until the water gets in them good, turn the heat down to "Lo," and keep stirring. Now is the time to add the salt or cheese that makes it oh so tasty.

Grits are high in iron and folic acid. In general, they are nutritious and mineral-rich. And they do not have to be doused with milk to be tasty.

Step 2: Make your own sweet tea at home, and buy generic sodas.

I like sweet tea. And Cokes (i.e. "sodas") (In Georgia where I'm from we call it all coke, whatever brand it is. I know. It's weird. Just remember we live where they invented Coca-Cola.) I like my share of Dr. Peppers, Sprites, Mr. Pibb's, root beers..., basically anything with carbonation and acid. And for a while there, I was the most loyal customer McDonald's had ever seen for stopping by just to order sweet teas!

The problem with this is it's really expensive to buy sweet tea at restaurants on a daily basis. So Thomas told me about making your own tea. This is a super-cool procedure. Take an empty milk jug, fill it with water, and place about four tea bags in it. Replace the lid and place it outside in the morning, ideally on a back porch where there is sunlight. By the afternoon or in a few hours the sun's energy will have caused the tea to diffuse to a nice, drinkable concentration in the jug. Not too watery, not too bitter, just right! Now take some sugar and add it, and stir. Voila, there's sweet tea for a week!

An easy way to cut costs on sodas is to buy the cheap kind. Some of them actually taste as good or better. For example, "Big K" is a good find at my local Kroger's. You can get a case of 24 sodas for around five dollars, if you shop the Big K variety rather than a name brand.

Step 3: Take advantage of promotions and free meals.

Do you live near a fast food restaurant? Consider checking for promotions. I live near a Chick-Fil-A that had a wonderful promotion where they sold t-shirts that you could wear for the rest of the year and get a free chicken sandwich each time you visit while wearing that t-shirt. That's just one example. Fast food restaurants in my area regularly mail out coupons and promotions every month around the beginning of the month.

Even better than a promotion is a completely free meal. Some say this is the best argument for becoming a Baptist! Pascal's Wager says something like this. Well, while you may not base your eternal destiny upon it, you may want to base some of your social hours on going to places where food is served for free. Try church, for one. Wednesday nights tends to be a good night for potlucks. You can bring the sweet tea.

Go to houses of friends that are married, especially those who have children. Married people often have food in abundance. They have the raw materials, and they make more prepared meals. Single people tend to eat out more. Go to homes of older people, and family members. They will practically make you eat something before you leave. And they'll be glad to see you too.

If any of you has a suggestion for how to save more money on food, please leave me a comment, or send me a message. I'm all ears (actually mostly stomach)!