Chook Me!

Help with food budget for eighteen year old kid?

Hi there! My boyfriend just moved out on his own and asked me to come up with a super-awesome budget for him. His rent is $475/mo, he has only $50 to spend on food per week, and he makes $175 per week without extra hours. I know to get the essentials, here's my list so far: Eggs Potatoes Pasta Bread Lunch meat Peanut butter Jelly Rice Ramen/Cup of noodles Tuna Macaroni and Cheese Hot dogs Fruit and veggies Pasta sauce Cereal Oatmeal Meats and poultry (when on sale only) Dairy Popcorn And I also know to cut coupons and sign up for savings cards an things like that. I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips as to anything else he should buy. He's a big guy too (six foot four and 260 lbs) and so he's gonna have an appetite between school and work. I'm just looking for tips on how to scrimp and save and what you would avoid. Also maybe the cheapest places to go to or the cheapest brands. Anything you think would be helpful. Thanks a lot! Hehehe, someone wrote that he was working eight hours a day. No, it's only for about four-five hours in the morning. It's a part-time job at Macy's.It was all that was left =/ Oh and also, he's an amazing cook. He can make pretty much anything from scratch and he's not a picky eater. Also, someone wrote that he wouldn't be able to pay for everything like utilities and stuff. That's no problem, his room for rent comes with everything.

Public Comments

1. have him apply for food stamps, he should qualify since he is under the poverty level. also look for nearby food banks and charities to get free groceries. as for purchased groceries, stick to beans, rice, ramen noodles, mac and cheese. For meats, buy only legs and thighs for chicken. for beef, buy, hamburger patties. the amount of money he is making is too low, he should reconsider going back to the parents home until he can get a better job.
2. Sounds good to me,hamburger goes a long way.Many different ways to fix to have leftover.Good luck.
3. i agree, there's nothing wrong with Food Stamps.. Since both of you are young adults, you may need help along the way. Go to your nearest Family and Children Services. Good Luck ;)
4. Your bf is working at a job and making $175.00 per week, and does he work 8 hours a day? if so then he is lying to some one. Because he would be making $2.17 per hour is he waiting tables? This what hw needs to do move back in with mom and dad and give them money towards groceries. With the amount of money he makes there is no way he can pay rent, lights, gas, groceries and a car if he has one.
5. If he really wants to save money he needs to skip things like popcorn, mac & cheese. Keep in mind, if you don't have to actually cook it, it's more expensive. Packages of Ramen are cheaper instead of Ramen/Cup o Noodles. Don't do your shopping at regular food stores. Go to places like Walmart or an Aldi. Here's an additional site for coupons: http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/offers.aspx?pid=13306&zid=iq37&nid=10
6. $50 a week is plenty of money for food for one person per week- but only if he can cook some basic dishes! I spend less than that on food for myself and my 17 year old daughter, we both have good appetites as we're very active in sports. The way to spend too much money is by relying on ready made foods, that are not very healthy anyway, and don't satisfy your hunger for long. Things like hot dogs and lunch meat are very poor nutrition, although they seem cheap. Why bother with ready made pasta sauces when you can fry up onion, garlic, herbs and canned tomatoes in 15 mins, and it costs a tiny amount? Part of becoming independent and moving away from home, is knowing how to feed yourself- it's a basic life skill.Take care that you don't end up replacing Mom- I'm sure he's not a fool, and is perfectly capable of learning some basic cooking skills, either by you, Mom, friends teaching him, looking at recipes on the net etc.Some of the most famous chefs in the world are men, so it's not like cooking is just a woman's thing. Essential carbs are cheap- pasta, rice, potatoes, noodles and bread- these should be at least a third of what he eats.Fruit and veg should form the next third, then add protein in the form of eggs, cheese, lean meat, fish, nuts, soya, quinoa, beans. If you do all the work for him, how is he ever going to learn to feed himself, and understand about managing a budget? You could be making him dependent on you .....