Eating on a budget

[MizzMarr]

We are two adults and a cat. We also pretty much exclusively eat at home, with exception for the occasional (and I do mean occasional) dinner out with friends. It's been awhile since I've closely tracked our spending, but I'd guess that we spend approx. $2200/mo on food. We buy chicken (I tend to buy pricier cuts of meat as I don't enjoy dealing with bones, so supremas and churrasco, and know I could save by buying whole birds), small amounts of pork, lots and lots of fruits and veggies, campo eggs, juice, water (we live in a place with lead pipes, joy), dairy products, beer and wine. We buy all this stuff at neighborhood verdulerias, granjas, and then coto and chinos for the rest of it. We also usually make a run to barrio chino monthly to stock up on our foreign food essentials (fish sauce, sesame oil, etc.). We cook a ton of Asian/Indian/Mexican varieties of food, so that's definitely where a big portion of our money goes!

 

[nikad]

My god Nikad, can I come and live with you? I could be your mucama and bff!

Sure thing! Seriously, I suppose most expats are used to buying more processed stuff, nicer packages, and crave imported goods. I believe the secret is to actually cook from scratch ( and by that, no offense, I mean, you are making waffles, use the damn egg and milk and flour, do not try to get a mix! ) Same for cake mix, cookie mix, etc. Processed items are very expensive when compared to the US. Also for meats, buy wisely, if you are looking for the super top quality beef, organic chicken, imported fish, etc, it will just not work. You have to go for the intermediate, medium quality. Fish and seafood have always been very dear. Same goes with packaged veggies and fruits. The nice milk bottles are a lot more expensive than the regular bag ( packaging and containers do make price differences here ). Try less known brands apart from the ones you see at supermarkets, you will find good quality stuff much cheaper. Wines are tricky unless you are going for the really expensive, sometimes you find a particular wine ( mid range 25-30 pesos ) that is actually very enjoyable, such as Valmont, or Ventus. This being said, I HATE to think, compare, analize, and not get the tempting stuff that I like, but I refuse to spend 1k usd monthly on groceries. And if it was closer and I could drive, I would go to Mercado Central and see what they have to offer there. I indulge myself and my family a couple of times a month, but that is it, I really try to stick to a budget in times of inflation.

 

[nikad]

We are two adults and a cat. We also pretty much exclusively eat at home, with exception for the occasional (and I do mean occasional) dinner out with friends. It's been awhile since I've closely tracked our spending, but I'd guess that we spend approx. $2200/mo on food. We buy chicken (I tend to buy pricier cuts of meat as I don't enjoy dealing with bones, so supremas and churrasco, and know I could save buy buying whole birds), small amounts of pork, lots and lots of fruits and veggies, campo eggs, juice, water (we live in a place with lead pipes, joy), dairy products, beer and wine. We buy all this stuff at neighborhood verdulerias, granjas, and then coto and chinos for the rest of it. We also usually make a run to barrio chino monthly to stock up on our foreign food essentials (fish sauce, sesame oil, etc.). We cook a ton of Asian/Indian/Mexican varieties of food, so that's definitely where a big portion of our money goes!

That sounds similar to my shopping, I guess we could say that in a family home you spend around 1000 pesos per adult (?)

 

[eva_rgentina]

I agree that it's a question of smart shopping. Go around to your local grocery stores and chinos and compare, and then keep it in mind. For example, I find that milk is exclusively cheaper in big supermarkets (like Coto) and eggs are exclusively cheaper in chinos.
Other things I keep in mind:
-Frozen vegetables are always overpriced and simply not worth buying
-Vegetables in general are usually cheaper at the Verdulerias.
-I only shop for things that are not available elsewhere at a place like Disco/Jumbo, and when I go to Disco I get everything together, if you spend over $100 pesos they give you a discount coupon for the next time, so I go when I have the coupon.

-I try to go out to eat at lunch time. I know that's not possible for everyone, but many nice places have cheap lunch menus and if you stick to them (and don't sit around ordering extra drinks), you can get a 3-course meal for $40 pesos.

I'd say I spend about 250-300 pesos per week on food. And if I cut out the 'luxury' items like the occasional jar of pesto, I suppose it would be less. If I go out to a fancy meal, that obviously tacks on another 100 pesos.

(Side note, I take advantage of *not* eating empanadas when I eat at home, as when outside in a pinch it could well be the only food available.)

 

[marksoc]

- Chicken leg and baked batatas in my near-by supermarket, for one people: ARS 18.

- Restaurant meal outside Buenos Aires, at night, well-to-do patrons, entrance, main dish, dessert, non-alcohol beverage, finish full like a pig, ARS 45.

- Full lunch menues in Buenos Aires: between ARS 30 to ARS 45.

Buy veggies from your local verduleria, look for the daily offer, look for discount days in supermarkets, eat Chinese sometimes, buy meat in Mataderos in bulk, or select your cuts in your local carniceria, eat empanadas sometimes, don´t go to overpriced tourist/expat traps.

 

[MizzMarr]

That sounds similar to my shopping, I guess we could say that in a family home you spend around 1000 pesos per adult (?)

Yeah, I would say that's a good approximation. Some months more, some less.

We did well to stock way up on cans of refried beans (processed, yes, but I need to not have to prepare for a day to get a midnight quesadilla when I need one! ) well over a year ago when there was a threat that they were stopping importation. They cost around $8/can then, now they're nearly double that.

I think as long as someone knows they'll be around for awhile it's a good idea to stock a pantry and take advantage of buying in bulk for sales on storable goods like tomato paste and the like, as the prices are always climbing.

 

[Ashley]

I agree with Nikad and Mizzmar that 1,000 pesos per adult is about right when shopping wisely (and not eating pasta every day).
Still, that is a massive chunk of my salary and there is no way I'd be able to pull that off if I were single so I'd hardly call it eating on a budget (certainly not an Argentine one).
If I were spending the equivalent percentage of the UK salary I would most likely be earning if I did the same job over there, on food...I'd have to dine out in nice places every day to spend that kind of money.
If I were single, I think that the only way I'd get by would be by eating lots of pasta, soups and stews...I wouldn't be able to afford anything else!

 

[mhenna11]

I just try not to eat out, this is how I am saving. I spend so much on other things (classes), I cut down on the food. I fill myself up before I leave the house, I usually drink a green smoothie to fill me up,( flax seeds, bananas ( overriped bananas are cheap! Just put them in the freezer when you get home) chicory and cold water.) Fills me up, and I avoid eating out. We are sort of a vegan household, we are not strict about it, but it just happened that we are not into dairy products, eggs, and def, not into any sort of meat. I am not into drinking wine either. My personal expenses are in Quinoa ( I make milk out of this grain so it last longer) , oatmeal, flax seeds and brown rice. These are sort of our expenses, I am not saying we don't eat out at all, but it's once in awhile now and it has saved us a lot of money.

 

[AngelinBA]

The trick is to go and see what the specials are - don't just buy chicken because you've got a craving for it. Sometimes what was terribly expensive last week is the cheapest thing this week. Make menu plans and stick to them (how boring! I sound like my mother!) and most importantly, don't take hubby to the supermarket with you - you'll find the trolley filled with salamis, chocolates and jumbo sized bags of sweets!
As an aside, can't wait for youngest child to be out of diapers, our grocery budget will go way down then!!

 

[PhilipDT]

I agree that if you like to eat well at home you can very easily spend much more than it'd cost to eat very unhealthily at restaurants.

I personally try not to eat too many carbs, which I think causes my budget to be much higher than it would be otherwise. I'm not a strict atkins fanatic or anything, I'm mildly hypoglycemic and I find I'm a much happier person if I avoid carbs. I eat a lot of salads (5-6 times a week) and while the lettuce is cheap at about 2-4 pesos, everything else is fairly pricey. While this is healthy for my body, its not for my wallet. Pine nuts are nearly 240/kg!!!! Walnuts 110/kg!!! On of my favorite domestic cheeses, queso montañes, $90/kg, Virgen Olive oil $50/kg. Good quality domestic "prosciutto" 120/kg. Real prosciutto $170/kg! I could go on and on.

Eating well costs a veritable fortune here, I can't imagine that it'd be attainable for the general multitude.