How to save on food ?

[Biofact]

Hello everyone, I hope some of you more experienced can give me a few tips based on my current situation. So I will give a bit of a short background that won't bore anyone hopefully, and sorry for any mistakes since English is not my native language.

The quoted part below is not necessary to read, I just write it naively and in detail since I don't know what the community is like here, and in hope that someone might have some constructive input..

I am 31, single, and come from a very poor country, but have moved to Germany last year for work at mcdonalds which is probably my only option for now, and it has good savings potential (i chose mcdonalds because I have no degree, nor any valuable skilled trades, and my German is beginner level)

Last year I was splurging (and had 0 savings by the end of the year) and decided that for this year I will live on my December's salary for the whole of 2023. I started reading a lot about investing, watched dozens of videos on saving strategies, frugal practices, how others have succeeded etc, learned basic accounting and started recording everything to the last cent in gnucash, 2 weeks ago I discovered Jacob's book and after having read it, I was even more inspired and motivated.

So my current financial situation looks like this

I earn 12.3€/h (13.1$) and have a work contract for 168h/month. My monthly gross salary is at least 2066.4€ (2200$). Yearly 24796.8€ (26,405$). On top of that working for holiday, night shift, paid holiday, vacation bonus and christmas bonus can push it to 30 000$ (other factors include free lunch at work and tax return at the end of the year). But of course, I have to pay taxes, mandatory public pension, health insurance etc. and my actual net salary is much lower. Approximately net salary is 1500€ (1,597$) of which 253€ (269.4$) are automatically subtracted for rent.

My expenses per month that I have to pay myself (those that are not subtracted from my salary automatically):
-6.12€ (6.5$) Public broadcast (18.36 per month obligatory payment for almost everyone in Germany per apartment - we divide it by 3 in ours)
-4.94€ (5.2$) Liability insurance (almost everyone has this non mandatory insurance, its the most recommended thing to have)
-4.99€ (5.3$) SIM and 6GB data for phone (this could have been avoided if I didn't sign up for the contract last year)
___________
Why I didn't mention rent is because at the moment moment my rent which is 253€ is directly deducted from my salary, because the apartment is leased by the the company. And in that every other utility bill is included.

16.05€ (17.1$) Total semi-mandatory expenses per month, I can stop the liability insurance and maybe try to cancel my phone contract. The only thing which I couldn't do without is monthly internet DSL connection which I currently have a 2 year contract of which the first 10 months (until the end of this year) are free.

I don't have many posessions, all of the stuff I own is very cheap, except the smartphone (nord2) and PC which I custom built and a upgraded through the years (I took it with me to Germany, knowing full well that I could buy the latest and best hardware when I moved here).

I don't really need anything that costs money except food, which became very expensive in the past year or so.

I think the most I can improve is to adopt this method of "cooking for myself" (I have never cooked myself), but started learning a bit, and successfully managed to fry scrambled eggs, cook rice. I got inspired by this sentence

"One will get used to eating just a few different kinds of meals surprisingly quickly and be as happy about eating as someone who eats out all the time. The great thing about this is that being invited somewhere for their regular dinner is a real treat. Those who eat a standard diet require much more to be happy about eating something they don’t usually eat."

I wanted to ask what is that, what are those same meals that I can eat everyday, its probably rice and beans, is there an elaborate post on the forums or guide on how to eat on ERE. I have 1 meal for free at work, and for breakfast I always eat the same (either yoghurt, oats and blueberry which costs 70cents, or milk and musli which costs 55cents). I have read about the warrior diet, fasting etc, but I am more inclined to not overcomplicate or experiment too much, I would rather have something that is fast and healthy to make, I am really curious if jacob ever posted what he recommends to eat specifically, I know he mentioned the pressure cooker and he probably uses it to save on gas.

[mathiverse]

Here are a few related threads:
viewtopic.php?t=9315
viewtopic.php?t=10730

Also here is a recent post from user seanconn about the issue:

Yea sure [I'll talk about how I eat on $120 per month], I mostly rotate between recipes that are based on dry goods, but can also have any miscellaneous vegetables added, so I can normally get whatever is cheap, or on sale, or use what I already have. Flexiblity is cheap.

I also normally buy bulk ingredients, and get the cheapest versions within reason. All beans are dry, vegitables not pre chopped, 10lb bags of rice, etc

Example ingredient lists are:

dal ( any lentils (preferably red), tomatoes, onions, spices, butter (for ghee), rice) (at so much dal at some point I rarely eat this anymore, but all the ingredients are dry so its always there)

ragu (some kind of bean (preferably a lentil), some kind of tomato, any pasta, garlic, any saute-able vegetable (namely zucchini), onion, spices)

chili (beans, tomato, garlic, misc peppers, onions, spices, can also add rice or pasta (egg noodles are pretty good))

hot bean soup (garbanzo beans, rice, onion, home made harissa paste, can add leafy greens like spinach)
...

Also soup + toast = fantastic

About twice a year I compare prices between local stores, but mostly I keep a mental note of prices of things and their substitutes every week at the store. In case you didn't notice, I eat a lot of the same stuff in different configurations, so this makes a big difference. For example, green lentils have doubled in price for some reason, so I buy split peas now. They require some pre soaking but then cook the same as lentils.

I split a Sam's club membership with a friend, which pays for itself with frozen fruit and onions alone (25$ a year).

I have also noticed, sales don't mean lower prices very often. Just lower than last week. For example, apples in season are quite cheap, but out of season it will go on "sale" for twice the price. I have in season charts for fruits and veggies that I keep track of. This is especially important for fruit, which generally I need to eat more of.

I also don't really eat meat or dairy, except cheese and butter. I could never abandon cheese.

Also I think most of this is in the ERE book? There's a food section somewhere. Also, the recipes in "Good and Cheap" (free pdf online) are all good.

I hope these posts help you!

Another thing that might be useful is for you to post a list of everything you bought to eat this past month and get comments and suggestions based off of that list. How much did you spend last month? What's your goal for food spending per month?

[Sclass]

You work at MacDonalds?

My cousin worked there in the 1980s. He said they would throw away food. they look more efficient now. Do they still discard uneaten food? In the 1980s they’d cook extra burgers and keep them under the heat lamps. Uneaten cold burgers got thrown away. My cousin said he’d eat them when he dumped the trash. He was a hungry high schooler.

I’ve always been tempted to gather the half eaten burgers at my favorite restaurant and make chilli with them. I try to snatch up stuff I see left on tables for my friend’s dog. She hates me for spoiling the dog but I love that mutt. People stare when I grab stuff off empty tables waiting to be cleared.

As an older person I don’t really feel like repurposing waste MacDonalds food. But I guess if I needed to cut corners on food costs and I worked there I’d make the place work for me.

[take2]

If I did the math correctly it appears to be c. €1230 net post listed expenses and rent. If your goal is to live on that (for food only?) for a full year it’s about €102 per month.

I think that’s very doable - when I was single living in London I could get monthly groceries down to about £100/month, taking advantage of free food at work and cooking all meals.

Some practical suggestions:

- Eliminate breakfast altogether. Intermittent fasting (not eating for 14-16 hours, and then eating in a 8-10 hour window) has some health benefits, but also makes it easier to plan meals by not worrying about breakfast. I usually just have black coffee in the mornings at work (maybe an option for you?)

- When you say you get a free meal what does that mean? McDonalds is definitely not healthy, but if you have the self-discipline to not eat the fried or heavy-carb foods and stick instead to ground meat (e.g. just a burger, no bun and no heavy sauce), their salads without any heavy dressing, and water I don’t think that would be so bad. It may get old after a while but ultimately I wouldn’t rely on unhealthy food to improve your financial situation for an extended period of time - in the long run it will be counter productive.

- (+1) to Sclass suggestion. If there’s any way to get ground meat for free in addition to your one meal (without it risking you get fired) that would be a huge economic boost as you otherwise don’t have to buy meat when shopping. If you’re a vegetarian or willing to go vegetarian this is a non-issue but not all of us are so it’s a consideration.

- Buy staples in bulk. I suggest to find an ethic grocer (perhaps of your own origin if there’s a community nearby) to buy rice, beans, pasta, and spices. Onions, potatoes, and lentils should also be bought in bulk. As a rule of thumb (obviously not always applicable!) try and avoid whenever you see native Germans shopping and search out Indian, Pakistani, Turkish, Indonesian, etc communities that should have larger bulk quantities of these items.

- Now the fun part; learn to cook! If you’re serious about it, this is a whole world to learn. Search YouTube for ideas and follow your favourite chefs (I like Gordon Ramsey for instance). Swap out expensive ingredients for alternatives, or eliminate altogether. Don’t beat yourself up if it’s not good initially. Just keep trying. Soon you’ll find it’s an easy and fun skill.

I would also flag that the above will help you save money, but also consider working to increase your income. Practice German as much as possible, and see if you can either move up the ladder (if possible), or build a separate skill that will allow you a higher income. This is all assuming you want to stay in Germany and not just earn and leave ASAP.

Every incremental euro you save will go straight into your pocket, but once you have the lifestyle down then every incremental (post-tax!) euro you earn can then also be saved. Best of luck!

[M]

I used to work at mcdonalds.

They would give us one free meal per shift. But they would let us make the meal ourselves. sooo..

I would make a big mac, but use 2-3 pieces of quarter pound beef, plus 3-4 slices of cheese, plus all the other things. Then I would grab the largest fry available and a large pop. So it wound up being like a 1 lb burger.

In addition several of us would randomly eat chicken nuggets throughout the day, and drink pop all day...and eat any sandwiches we accidentally messed up, etc.

Our managers were aware and very lenient about this because they struggled to find people to work there for the low pay at the time. So they used free food to retain employees.

I worked there 5 days a week, and on those days I only at mcdonalds, for free. Sometimes even on my days off I would go eat there and the manager would approve free food.

Not very healthy at all but food cost was very low.

[Salathor]

Cook for yourself.

Buy things in bulk.

Buy nothing that comes in a package that contains more that 2-3 ingredients (this means it's been processed and is therefore more expensive (and probably worse for you).

Most of your macronutrients (calories, protein, carbs, fiber) will come from bulk staples. These are basically free. Whole wheat flour, beans of all kinds, brown rice. If this was all you needed to live, it would cost you only $30 a month to survive or so.

Buy bulk extra virgin olive oil. This is cheap, tasty, and a healthy fat. It should cost virtually nothing since it will last a while. You're now at maybe $35 a month in groceries.

Figure out your budget. Let's say you want to spend $150 per month on groceries. You've got ~$115 left. That's just about $4 per day. Spend that on whole milk, eggs, greens, spices, fruit, meat, to taste. Buying in bulk still helps here, sometimes (find chicken for $2 per pound on sale and freeze it). Congrats!

[Biofact]

First of all thank you everyone for the helpful comments, most of you were spot on about some things.

I can eat up to 4.48 € per day at mcdonalds. It's good for one meal, but, as many have already suggested I can eat a few nuggets when the shift leader is not looking or if he is in a good mood. But its forbidden. Also the same applies for when the restaurant is closing, they throw food away, and its not allowed to eat it. I have protested against this, and have not yet heard a reasonable explanation (the best I've heard is that if they permit this, it encourages even more food loss because it gives inclination to workers to make fries or wings or nuggets before closing time, just so they can then take it home since you are supposed to throw all food away when the restaurant closes)

@take2 Thank you for the suggestions. I particularly liked the idea of searching for ethic grocers, and I have found a few, and I am surprised they have many things that are cheaper than the big markets like Lidl, Aldi, Kaufland etc. My goal is to stay and find higher paying job as soon as possible, I have still not decided what is the right choice here, as there is ton of choice here in Germany. But the most important thing is to learn German as much as I can. And as for which skill to get proficient, I have no idea which skill, I had so many different interests over the years growing up, I wish I could find a way that tells me which skills I am most competent and actually like doing.

Another thing that might be useful is for you to post a list of everything you bought to eat this past month and get comments and suggestions based off of that list. How much did you spend last month? What's your goal for food spending per month?

Okay ill list everything that I have bought as food since the start of this year until today

Code: Select all

Memo	Amount With Sym
Bread		€1.49
Bread		€1.49
GoatChees	€1.99
Butter		€2.09
Milk		€1.15
CanBean		€1.59
Eggs		€1.99
Bacon		€1.29
Bread		€1.49
Lard		€1.19
Butter		€5.99
Milk		€1.15
Bananas		€1.26
Milk		€1.15
Cottg Chese	€1.49
Muesli		€2.29
Eggs		€1.99
Bread		€1.49
Salt		€0.75
Pizza x2	€3.29
Tuna x4		€5.49
Bananas		€2.16
Pickles		€1.49
Milk		€1.15
GoatChees	€1.99
Eggs		€1.99
Chil.Pepprs	€1.19
Olives		€1.39
Crisps		€1.39
Bread		€1.49
Kefir		€1.89
Lasagne		€2.49
Mushrooms	€0.99
Bananas		€1.20
Milk		€1.15
Oranges		€0.58
Bananas		€1.46
Bread		€1.19
Oranges		€0.61
Chic.Brest	€4.89
Eggs		€1.99
Yoghurt		€1.49
Chil.Pepprs	€1.19
Olives		€1.39
Mushroms	€0.99
Kefir		€1.89
Bananas		€1.69
Oil		€2.69
Bread		€1.19
Tuna x4		€5.49
Bananas		€0.64
Oranges		€0.62
Mandarine	€0.36
Eggs		€1.99
Oranges		€0.62
GoatChees	€1.99
Bananas		€1.35
Oranges		€0.65
Mango		€0.99
Milk		€1.15
Muesli		€2.29
Tuna x4		€5.49
Eggs		€1.99
Pfand		€0.08
Kefir		€1.29
Bread		€1.49
Bananas		€1.41
Milk		€1.15
Bread		€1.49
Bananas		€2.29
Oranges		€0.72
GoatChees	€1.69
GoatChees	€1.99
Bananas		€1.08
Kefir		€1.89
Yoghurt		€1.35
Yoghurt		€2.45
Yoghurt		€1.49
Oats		€0.79
Blueberry	€1.11
Eggs		€1.99
Bread		€1.49
Milk		€1.05
Mushroms	€0.99
GoatChees	€1.99
Penut Buttr	€2.29
Eggs		€2.29
Oats		€0.79
Blueberry	€1.11
GarlicPowdr	€1.09
Penut Buttr	€2.29
Beetroot	€0.79
Yoghurt		€1.35
Cornichoncs	€0.79
Sausages	€3.79
Fro.Mix.Veg	€1.79
Fro.Blubery	€4.49
Eggs		€1.99
Yoghurt		€1.76
GoatChees	€1.99
Butter		€1.11
Butter		€1.69
Kefir		€1.89
Rice		€2.49
Red Beans	€1.47
Carrots		€1.49
Fro.Broculi	€1.99
Fro.Mix.Veg	€1.79
Bread		€1.49
Yoghurt		€1.35
Bread		€1.49
GoatChees	€1.99
Milk		€1.49
Eggs		€1.99
Yoghurt		€1.35
Milk		€1.15
Oats		€0.79
Bread		€1.49
Pepper		€1.19
Eggs		€1.99
	€204.47
	
	

My goal on food is to treat it almost like fuel, and to eat only a few meals, but at the same time also get all the necessary nutrients (this is the part that worries me the most). I don't have any food preferences, I can eat almost anything though I have some specifics - I would like if possible not to do any fasting or adhere to any specific diets like vegan or keto, and also I would like not to have to eat any form of pasta (even though it's cheap).

[mathiverse]

@Biofact: Can you confirm how much you want to spend each month? Is it a specific number of euros you want to come under?

I created this list of food items by money you spent on them. The item you've spent the most on are at the top of the list. If you want to cut back on spending, then you can focus on replacing those with cheaper alternatives.

A few potential tactics based on this list:

• Can you find a cheaper source of eggs or tuna?
• Can you bake your own bread? (Would a free or cheap, used bread maker make sense if you have no oven access? You can do the math there.)
• Can you limit your cheese intake?
• Can you make your own yogurt? (There are a few threads on the forum about that.)

For strategy, you can look at how many calories per dollar each thing on your list cost you and see if you can prioritize things with better calorie per dollar values. Also moving to a diet that is less dairy based would probably save you money. Replace those calories with beans and rice and cheap produce?

But I'll also note that you already spending very little. Well below the normal amounts that are considered low even here. You spent 205 euros so far this year. That is already quite good. Is your goal is to spend as close to 0 euros as possible?

Code: Select all

Eggs		22.19
Bread		18.77
Tuna		16.47
GoatChees 	15.62
Bananas		14.54
Yoghurt		12.59
Milk		11.74
Butter		10.88
Kefir		8.85
Chic.Brest	4.89
Penut Buttr 	4.58
Muesli		4.58
Fro.Blubery	4.49
Oranges		3.80
Sausages	3.79
Fro.Mix.Veg	3.58
Pizza x2	3.29
Olives		2.78
Oil		2.69
Rice		2.49
Lasagne		2.49
Chil.Pepprs	2.38
Oats		2.37
Blueberry	2.22
Fro.Broculi	1.99
Mushroms	1.98
CanBean		1.59
Pickles		1.49
Cottg Chese	1.49
Carrots		1.49
Red Beans	1.47
Crisps		1.39
Bacon		1.29
Pepper		1.19
Lard		1.19
GarlicPowdr	1.09
Mushrooms	0.99
Mango		0.99
Cornichoncs	0.79
Beetroot	0.79
Salt		0.75
Mandarine	0.36
Pfand		0.08

[Sclass]

I would be really tempted to stuff as many nuggets or broken up frozen beef patties into one of their biggest drink cups and smuggle it out as my value meal. Stuff a straw in the top with a few drops of coke in the tube for looks. Not that it would save much, I’d just want to stick it to MacDonalds for being douche employers.

I did this at my college cafeteria. Sorry. We had these big reusable plastic mugs for soda that were refilled for a discounted price of $0.50. A lab partner showed me how to stuff a whole slice of pizza in one and snap the top down. I used to fill mine with clam chowder and say it was a large coffee.

Starving broke student days.

Cups looked similar to this.

[loutfard]

I did this at my college cafeteria. Sorry. We had these big reusable plastic mugs for soda that were refilled for a discounted price of $0.50. A lab partner showed me how to stuff a whole slice of pizza in one and snap the top down. I used to fill mine with clam chowder and say it was a large coffee.

Starving broke student days.

My hippie uncle told me one way he and his friends used to save up beer money in his student days. Fries refills were free at the university student restaurant. He or one of his three best friends would buy one plate of fries. They'd eat them together from the same plate. Then they'd take turns returning for more, for free. The money saved would buy them six cheap beers each at the supermarket.

[shaz]

Your free McDonald's meal can give you most of the calories you need for the day as well as most of the protein you need. So I would be looking to add fiber and as many nutrients as possible from the other meals.

One swap you could do is to have oats with seeds, nuts, fruit, berries (whatever you can find cheapest). If you really enjoy yogurt you could add a spoonful or 2 of plain Greek yogurt. That should have more nutrients and be less expensive than a full serving of yogurt for breakfast. Look up how to make overnight oats if you don't want to have to heat anything in the morning.

Your diet in general appears to be heavy in protein (eggs, tuna, chicken, cheese, peanut butter) and light on fruits and vegetables. Maybe try making salads out of whatever vegetables are least expensive each week for your other meal of the day. That should save some money and help you get a wider variety of nutrients.

And of course lentils.

[Biofact]

Your free McDonald's meal can give you most of the calories you need for the day as well as most of the protein you need. So I would be looking to add fiber and as many nutrients as possible from the other meals.

One swap you could do is to have oats with seeds, nuts, fruit, berries (whatever you can find cheapest). If you really enjoy yogurt you could add a spoonful or 2 of plain Greek yogurt. That should have more nutrients and be less expensive than a full serving of yogurt for breakfast. Look up how to make overnight oats if you don't want to have to heat anything in the morning.

Your diet in general appears to be heavy in protein (eggs, tuna, chicken, cheese, peanut butter) and light on fruits and vegetables. Maybe try making salads out of whatever vegetables are least expensive each week for your other meal of the day. That should save some money and help you get a wider variety of nutrients.

And of course lentils.

I stopped eating tuna altogether because its really expensive per kg. Eggs have many nutrients and are really tasty for me. Out of one month I have 21 days free lunch, and in the morning I always alternate this 2 breakfasts

Code: Select all

Breakfast 1 grams, calories		0.566166667 €
F. Grain Oats	50	182	0.079000000 €	
Pro Jogurt	150	141	0.337500000 €	
Blueberries	25	14	0.149666667 €	

Breakfast 2				0.516500000 €
Musli	100	365	0.229000000 €	
Milk	250	160	0.287500000 €	

For 30 days they cost me 16.24 euros (17.4$). The only thing I need to figure out is what to eat when I get back home from work, and what to eat when I have a day off. Thats about 40 meals. I always eat bread with whatever I am eating, its just how everyone was raised back in my home country and I cannot imagine not eating bread. I eat bread with almost anything, bread and meat, cheese, rice, especially stews or soups etc.

What I want to learn now is maybe something like a soup, stew with lentils and maybe rice, (I don't know exactly what) cook it, and have enough servings (with bread ofc) for 4-5 days worth of eating. Maybe I am even completely wrong about my approach, and from what I have read on other people's threads is too general, I hope I can find something that can be simple and more precise like my breakfast.

[sky]

Here is a video on how to prepare vegetable-bean soups for maximum nutritional value:

https://youtu.be/mMbq9PQ5yfU

He discusses using a juicer and blender, I use a stick blender, which I find simpler and easier to clean.

[conwy]

A few habits I follow:

• Buy some of my vegetables in frozen form, e.g. frozen brussels sprouts
• Buy all fruit in frozen form, specifically, big 1 kg bag of berries, which I spread over the week
• Buy canned forms of certain vegetables, e.g. mushrooms
• Keep dry food such as rice in sealed containers to prevent spoilage by insects, worms, etc.
• Buy cheap bread and keep it in the freezer, toast pieces whenever I want to eat some
• Buy dried herbs to top vegetable dishes with
• Steam-cook vegetables for dinner; it's fast (15-20 min) and healthy
• Use the whole of the vegetable including fibrous parts; e.g. with cauliflower, I also cook the leaves and stem, I just put them in earlier than the rest, so that they cook for longer and soften up; those parts of the plant are also very healthy
• A tiny amount of crushed garlic and ginger and sliced pepper can go a long way for adding flavour
• You don't need to eat much yogurt to get the digestive benefits, just buy a small tub (e.g. 120 grams) each week