Here’s My $50 a Month Grocery Bill at Walmart
Written by
Josephine Nesbit
Edited by
Maria Concepcion
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Grocery prices have remained stubbornly high since the pandemic four years ago. Luckily, there are still ways to cut back on your grocery bill at discount stores like Walmart.
Based on data from the Federal Reserve, grocery prices have risen by 25%. In February, Walmart announced that consumers should expect lower prices, according to Food & Wine. Doug McMillon, Walmart’s president and chief executive, said the price for certain items were lower than in 2023 – including eggs, apples and deli snacks – but higher for other products, such as asparagus and blackberries.
On Reddit, Travel_Junkie5791 shared how one person can feed themselves on a very limited monthly budget. The Redditor chose Walmart and claimed that it only costs about $50 per month.
“I am in a urban area in the Midwest. Yes, I understand grocery prices vary greatly depending on your location. This is just what I came up with from the info available to me!” wrote Travel_Junkie5791. “Please seek out food pantries, shop sales & clearance bins, apply for SNAP/WIC if you qualify, shop at small ethnic markets, buy bulk, or whatever else you need to do to stretch your food dollars!”
Travel_Junkie5791 also noted that they purposely did not go hunting for sales or factor in coupons. These are just everyday prices in stores. Here’s the weekly grocery list:
- 1 lb pasta
- 2.25 lb potatoes
- 1 loaf of bread (22 slices, or 3 slices/day)
- 1 lb chicken drumsticks (about 3 per week)
- 1 lb frozen veggies
- 1.25 lb apples (about 4-5)
- 1 lb carrots
- 15 eggs
- 1/2 lb margarine (2 sticks)
- 1 qt milk
- 1/4 lb (4 oz) peanut butter
- 8 oz unpopped popcorn
Travel_Junkie5791 also provided a sample menu, including breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
Breakfast
Two eggs with a slice of toast. You can use a ½ tbsp scoop of peanut butter, butter or cinnamon sugar. For a drink, a ½ cup of milk.
Lunch
A peanut butter sandwich with two slices of bread and 2 tbsp of peanut butter. On the side, an apple for one day, carrot sticks the next day and salted popcorn for the remaining days.
Dinner
Three times a week, prepare one chicken drumstick, one baked potato with butter and steamed vegetables with butter. For the remaining four days, cook up ¼ lb of pasta, and use 1.5 oz tomato sauce with Italian seasoning and garlic powder. For the side, use carrot sticks.
Travel_Junkie5791 recommended cooking the entire bag of drumsticks at once and dividing them into even portions. Keep one portion out and freeze the rest. You can also cook the full pound of pasta and set the rest aside in the fridge for dinners later in the week.
Snack
Travel_Junkie5791 recommended popcorn, carrot sticks or 2 tbsp of peanut butter. You should also have one extra egg and one extra slice of bread that you can add to snacks or another meal.
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