How to Feed a Family on $50 This Week: A Practical Grocery Budget Plan
One of the things I love most about home cooked meals is how they bring a family together. There is something pretty special about gathering around the kitchen table, eating something delicious and talking about what happened during the day.
Unfortunately, feeding a family can get expensive quickly.
If you're trying to stretch your grocery budget this week, though, there are ways to make $50 go further. It won't necessarily be easy, and prices vary depending on where you live and what is on sale, but with some planning and creativity, you can make a small grocery budget stretch a lot further.
One important note: when I talk about how to feed a family on $50 for a week, I'm assuming you have at least a few pantry, refrigerator or freezer staples already on hand. You don't need to start with an entirely empty kitchen!
Here's how I'd approach a $50 grocery budget.
1. Take Inventory Before You Shop
Before you even think about going to the grocery store, shop your own kitchen.
Check your:
- Pantry
- Refrigerator
- Freezer
- Baking supplies
- Spices and seasonings
Write down everything you already have that could be used to make meals.
You might have pasta, rice, potatoes, canned tomatoes, frozen vegetables, eggs or a package of meat hiding in the freezer. Maybe you have half a bag of tortillas or a can of beans that you forgot about. There is no need to buy tomato sauce if you already have some in the pantry!
The less you need to purchase, the further your $50 will go.
2. Check the Flyers and Build Your Meal Plan
Once you know what you already have, check your local grocery flyers and look for the best deals. I like to use Flipp to compare prices.
This is where I think a lot of people go wrong with meal planning. They decide what they want to eat first and then go shopping for all the ingredients.
When you're working with a very small budget, I'd do the opposite: Look at what you already have, see what's on sale and then build your meals around those ingredients.
If chicken thighs are on sale while chicken breasts aren't, chicken thighs might be the better choice. If ground beef is expensive but another protein is on sale, adjust your plan. If potatoes are a great price, find several ways to use them throughout the week.
You don't have to stop eating the foods your family enjoys. You just need to be a little flexible about which ingredients you use.
This is also where a meal planner can really help. I like having everything written down so I can see the entire week at a glance and make sure I'm not planning meals that require a bunch of ingredients I don't already have.
If you want to make meal planning easier, I've created a printable meal planner that you can print and use week after week.
Use it to plan your breakfasts, lunches and dinners, then build your grocery list around what you still need. When you're working with a specific budget, having everything planned out before you shop can help prevent those little “I'll just grab this” purchases that add up really quickly!
The goal isn't to plan the fanciest meals. It's to create a meal plan that uses what you already have, takes advantage of what's on sale and keeps your grocery spending under control.
3. Use Budget-Friendly Meal Stretchers
When money is tight, inexpensive staples can be your best friend.
Rice, beans, potatoes, pasta and oats can all help stretch meals without adding a lot to your grocery bill. Beans can be added to tacos, chili and soups. Rice can bulk up a stir-fry or serve as a side dish. Potatoes can turn a small amount of meat into a more filling meal. Pasta can stretch a sauce and feed more people. Dry beans are generally one of the most economical options if you have the time and desire to prepare them, but canned beans can also be convenient when they're on sale.
These are simple ingredients that can help you get more meals out of your grocery budget.
4. Make a List of Cheap Family Meals
I believe that most meals can be frugal meals when you buy the ingredients at the right price.
For example, if chicken thighs are on sale, I'll choose those instead of chicken breasts. If pasta is on sale, I'll work it into the meal plan. If a big bag of carrots are on sale, I'll look for ways to use them throughout the week.
I also have a 20 meal rotation that I've been using lately. I'd consider most of the meals on that list simple, inexpensive family dinners.
Some other budget friendly ideas include:
- Spaghetti with tomato sauce
- Homemade soup
- Chili with beans
- Tacos with beans or a small amount of meat
- Fried rice
- Grilled cheese and soup
- Pancakes or French toast
- Baked potatoes with toppings
- Pasta salad
- Egg sandwiches
- Rice and vegetable bowls
You don't need fancy recipes to feed your family well.
5. Keep Breakfast and Lunch Simple
In our house, I have a pretty predictable breakfast rotation: oatmeal, pancakes/waffles, French toast, peanut butter toast, scrambled eggs and cereal, always served with fruit.
That might sound boring, but honestly, it makes life easier! I'll also make pancakes/waffles or French toast for dinner sometimes just so I can freeze the leftovers. Then I can pop them into the toaster on a busy morning for a quick and filling breakfast.
I take a similar approach with lunches.
Sandwiches, grilled cheese, soup, leftovers and simple wraps can all make inexpensive lunches.
Save your meal variety for dinner. You don't need to reinvent breakfast and lunch every day of the week.
6. Use Store Rewards and Loyalty Points
If you have grocery store loyalty points, don't forget to check your balance before you shop.
I like collecting PC Optimum points because I can redeem them toward my grocery bill. I recently redeemed $30 worth of points, which made a pretty noticeable difference at checkout!
If you regularly shop at a store with a rewards program, it can be worth learning how the program works and watching for opportunities to earn extra points.
When you're trying to stick to a $50 grocery budget, $10 in rewards can make a big difference!
7. Look for Grocery Rebates
Grocery rebate apps can be another way to squeeze a little more value out of your shopping trip.
I personally like Checkout 51 and Caddle because I can upload my receipt after shopping and claim eligible offers easily.
Ampli is another option if you're comfortable connecting your cards to the service. (I haven't tried this one.)
The important thing is to check the offers before you shop rather than buying something simply because there's a rebate. A rebate isn't a deal if it causes you to spend money on something you didn't need!
8. Be Willing to Shop Somewhere Different
If you're used to doing all of your grocery shopping at one particular store, this might be the week to step outside your usual routine.
Different stores can have very different prices on the exact same products. Depending on where you live, you might find better prices at stores such as Walmart, No Frills, FreshCo, Food Basics, Giant Tiger or a local discount grocer.
You don't need to shop at five different stores, either. If the time and transportation costs aren't worth it, choose the store that gives you the best overall value. I like to use Flipp to compare prices so I can get a general idea of what store will provide the best value each week for what I need.
The goal isn't to spend your entire day driving around town to save $3. It's to be strategic about where you shop so your $50 buys as much as possible.
9. Look at a Sample $50 Grocery Haul
So what could a $50 grocery trip actually look like?
Your exact prices will depend on your location, store and what's on sale, but here's the kind of shopping list I'd build around a tight budget:
- Oats
- Eggs
- Bread
- Bananas
- Potatoes
- Carrots
- Onions
- Pasta
- Rice
- Canned tomatoes
- Beans
- Frozen vegetables
- Tortillas
- One sale priced protein
- Cheese or another inexpensive topping
The key is that these ingredients aren't just for one meal. For example, potatoes can become a side dish, breakfast potatoes or part of a soup. Beans can go into chili, tacos or rice bowls. Eggs can cover breakfast, lunch or even dinner.
Think in ingredients, not individual meals. That's how you make a small grocery budget work harder.
10. Don't Forget the Leftovers!
Who wants leftovers?
Well, maybe not everyone. But leftovers are one of the easiest ways to stretch your grocery budget because you've already paid for the ingredients and done the cooking.
If your family doesn't enjoy eating exactly the same meal two nights in a row, change it up.
Taco Tuesday can become taco salad Wednesday. Leftover chicken can become sandwiches or soup. Roasted vegetables can be added to eggs, rice or pasta.
I also love freezing leftovers whenever possible. For example, I'll freeze leftover spaghetti sauce so that I have an easy meal waiting for us on a busy night.
Don't think of leftovers as yesterday's dinner. Think of them as tomorrow's shortcut!
11. Don't Be Afraid to Repeat Meals
There's something about the idea of eating the same thing twice that makes people feel like they're failing at meal planning.
You're not.
If you make a big pot of chili on Monday and eat it again on Wednesday, that's not boring. That's smart grocery budgeting.
You can also freeze portions so you aren't eating the same meal several days in a row.
When you're trying to feed a family on $50, repetition is your friend.
What Would I Actually Do With $50?
If I had exactly $50 to spend on groceries this week, I'd start by shopping my own kitchen.
Then I'd check the sales and look for inexpensive proteins, produce and staples that could be used in several meals.
I'd use my meal planner to map out the week and build a grocery list around what I actually need.
I'd keep breakfast and lunch predictable, make several inexpensive dinners, use rice, beans, potatoes and pasta to stretch meals, and plan to eat the leftovers.
I'd also check my loyalty points and available grocery rebates before I went shopping.
And most importantly, I'd leave some flexibility in the plan.
If I got to the store and discovered that chicken was expensive but pork was on sale, I'd change the plan. That's one of the biggest advantages of meal planning around sales instead of being stuck to a particular recipe.
Final Thoughts
Feeding your family on $50 for a week isn't necessarily going to be easy, especially if you're starting with an empty pantry. Grocery prices also vary considerably, so your $50 may look very different from someone else's.
But if you have some staples at home and are willing to plan around sales, shop strategically and get creative with your ingredients, you may be surprised by how far a small grocery budget can stretch.
To me, frugal living isn't about making every meal as cheap as possible. It's about using what you have, buying things at the right price and finding ways to make your money work harder.
And sometimes, that means a pot of chili feeding the family twice. 😉
What are your favourite ways to stretch a $50 grocery budget? I'd love to hear them!
