One of the most difficult parts of eating on a budget is figuring out what you should actually buy and try to keep in stock at home.
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Before getting started, you need to remember that eating anything, even “unhealthy” food, is better than eating nothing! If your cheapest options are all highly processed options, and it’s all you can afford, then you should buy them — rather than buying something “healthier” that will force you to skip meals.
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Please note that local availability means that prices for any specific items recommended below will differ between regions, sometimes substantially. It’s always important to do research yourself, if possible!
Once you’ve decided on what you need to buy, see Food Storage for information on how to store your foods, and how you can tell whether they’re still safe to eat.
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As a general rule, buy what you can afford with your budget, with a goal of eating three meals a day. Ideally, we recommend buying unprocessed whole foods if there’s room for them in your budget, but this does mean you’ll have to do a lot of cooking. However, if you can buy those foods and have the time, energy, and skills you need to cook often, then they will provide you with better nutrition and more energy over time.
If you’re on a tight budget, you may be tempted to prioritise nutrition over flavour. While this is a necessary reality for many folks, it’s a good idea to stock a few basic herbs and spices if you can. This will add some variety and interest to your food, and that can make eating less of a drain on your mental health — even if you can only rotate between two pre-made spice mixes. Salt is also an important flavour component, and large containers of it are available cheaply pretty much everywhere. You may be surprised how much adding a little salt can improve your cooking!
The following lists may be a little overwhelming. Remember that you don’t need to buy everything on this list, but you should try your best to have one item from each group in every meal if you can afford it. If not, there’s no shame whatsoever in bulk-buying rice and beans, and adding whatever else you have on hand — the goal is to keep you alive and energised.
Shelf-stable foods are foods that are meant to be stored out on shelves or in cupboards, and won’t go bad even if you don’t refrigerate them.
Most staple foods are shelf-stable and will keep for a very long time if you seal them properly. Canned foods are also considered shelf-stable, but remember that you’ll usually need to refrigerate the contents after opening, and use it within one or two days.