When I was 26, my husband and I relocated, and after paying deposit/rent, utility deposits, etc. we had only $15 to buy food for the two of us to last six days until he got his first paycheck. This was 25 years ago, so prices were cheaper than, but still -- that was an extreme grocery budget challenge for sure! Bought it 'all' at Aldi (butter was .99/lb back then, those were the days!). We literally used the very last of the food to make breakfast and pack a lunch on pay day. We had steak that night to celebrate making it. Funny how what seems so tough at the time can be inspiring/good memories down the road. Blessings to you and your frugal fam!!

I love that you tell viewers not to be embarrassed if they need help. Let’s face it, most people need help at some point. No one should be embarrassed about it. Reach out if you need help.

i just discovered your channel, and it comforts me a lot in a way! i'm pretty young(barely in my early teens), and my mother has never once bothered to cook for me and my father is out of the picture. so i grew up on crummy fast food & whatever my grandma was able to make us. i've been trying to learn how to save money and cook for myself, school has been a major stresser so i haven't had the time to even try to figure out ways to save & earn money. unfortunately my family is poor (my brother doesn't want to work so that doesn't help either.) so with other cooking tutorials people would use expensive items that i can't get my hands on, but yours are a big life saver! thank you so much i just know your videos will help me in the long run. and i love how you talk to the camera as if were your friends and your teaching us, really warms me up considering my mother never cared enough to do so, i look forward to binging all your vlogs (: edit: thank you all so much for the recipes! i'll be sure to try them and i'm very grateful (: Another edit: I’m now 14 and will hopefully be able to get a job if my school permits me to do so! So I can buy ingredients myself and not rely on EBT cards. I live in California though, everything is expensive here ):

For a frugal soup broth: save all your vegetable scraps, including onion and garlic skins, carrot ends, etc in a bag in your freezer. When its full, put it all in a pot on the stove and put in just enough water to cover everything. Cover the pot and and simmer at least 30 minutes, longer is probably better. Alternatively put everything in a slow cooker and cook on low 6-8 hours. When done cooking, let cool, then strain out all the solids, and what you have left is a flavorful vegetable broth you didn't have to buy anything extra for.

When you're broke, food can be bland. Every meal should start with onions sauteed in oil and salt. Appreciate the power of salt and fat, people!

"Variety costs money" Exactly! Please help me explain this to my boyfriend! He always complains about the grocery budget but won't eat the same meal twice

Last year I was hardcore saving my $$ to pay off student loans. Your videos helped me and my boyfriend explore different stores than we were used to, and we were able to only spend $25/week on groceries almost the whole year! I was spending over $400/month on groceries for 2 people before. Thank you for your videos, they make food budgeting fun & creative rather than depressing lol.

In the upcoming months America is going to be needing more savvy providers like you producing such practical and informative videos. Your family is fortunate to have you as such a gifted provider.

I’m making your bean and potato tacos tonight for dinner! My husband lost his job a little over a week ago, I’m a stay at home mom! And these videos are the only thing that’s keeping the fear at bay, it’s my way of contributing, and handling what I can! ❤️ so many thanks!!!!

Pls don’t stop doing these challenges. I look forward to them. They are very encouraging. You rock!!

when i need to cover dough i use plastic shower caps from dollar store to cover bowl, wash then & i re-use them often over bowls

I love that you promote using food banks and encourage those who struggle to reach out for help 💓🙏

Always buy tomato paste and Italian seasoning instead of sauce, sometimes it is available for 4 can for $1.00. At 3 to 1 ratio (water to paste) you can have waaay more sauce and more flexibility.

I don’t know if this is a common practice but all across our town are these handmade, freestanding wooden pantries. Someone made a bunch of them and I guess they probably got permission from either the city or property owners and they placed about 20-30 all over. People all over the city keep them stocked and it’s really cool bc you can just drive up, fill up a pantry, then drive away and it’s the same for people who need it. They can drive up, take what they need with no questions asked. I know that some people really struggle with asking for help so it’s nice that they can just take what they need without having to fill out any paperwork or answer a bunch of personal questions. When the pandemic started, we all sort of banded together on our community fb pages and we all made sure those pantries were stocked at all times. It made my heart so happy to see the whole town coming together to help people in our community. Like I said, I don’t know if this is a common practice but it should be. :)

I grew up in an enormous Irish-Italian-Cajun-Polish family, and I learned to cook cheap immigrant food at my grannies' knees...potatoes, at almost every meal. Cabbage is nutritionally about as good as broccoli but much cheaper. Pierogi, gnocchi. Red beans and rice, split pea soup, lentil soup with whatever veggies are cheap at the moment. Black beans and rice, potato pancakes, beans and cornbread, colcannon, bubble and squeak. We always had a garden, and most of our veggies came out of the backyard.

Funny you mentioned tuna.... I was in my 50’s by the time I found out that my dad didn’t like tuna, but he ate it because my mom made it often!! My poor daddy! I miss him so much!

I'm glad that you could not find your pasta machine. It is not a common item in most homes and people in need , need to see how to make the pasta. Great job.

finally someone who isnt afraid of picking the cheaper brand items. I like this a ton about your channel, its honest and real world living/cooking.

When I first married decades ago, $20 would buy a week's worth of groceries. This would include ground beef, chicken, a chuck roast, fruit and veggies, bread, eggs, milk, etc. (I would make my own cookies.) I can't go to the grocery store now without sticker shock on how expensive food has gotten over the decades. Now, especially as a senior on a limited budget, I'll make a big pot of veggie and chicken soup once a week simply because I love a big bowl of warm, nutritious comfort food, and it's very economical per serving. Soup is a snap to reheat for lunches, and can be frozen for eating later in the month. And soup is so much fun to make! Go through the refrigerator and freezer and see what veggies you have and use them. Start by sautéing fresh some celery, carrots and onions. Add about 6 cups of water and chicken bouillon and your raw chicken. Bring to a boil then reduce to low, stirring occasionally. Add a little pasta or barley (or both). Add diced zucchini, diced yellow squash, some green pepper, some diced mushrooms and a couple of diced red potatoes (in place of pasta), if you wish. The more veggies, the better the finished product. After simmering for 30 mins., remove the chicken, shred it, and return the meat to the pot. Add more water, if necessary. Serve! You can (optional) add a couple of cans of diced Italian stewed tomatoes and 1/2 of a chopped cabbage when adding the other veggies for more soup bulk, nutrition and flavor. Season soup to taste as you go, if necessary. Voila! Heaven in a bowl!!! Not at all hard to make and even kids will love it. Of all the decades I've been cooking, I've never made a bad batch of soup. Just too easy and it doesn't cost much per serving! Great for lunches, and can be frozen for eating later in the month. And soup is so much fun to make!

LOL! Tortellini literally means "little bellybuttons" in Italian!

“Variety in your diet is expensive”.....many people don’t get that concept! When you have to scrimp on the grocery budget, pasta, rice and beans are life savers! I say ABSOLUTELY to anything that you have in your pantry, garden, fridge or freezer being fair game when meal extending!

When i was a child my dad would give my mom $25 a week for groceries and she had to make 3meals a day from that.And she did lol..Eggs,corn meal, Flour,white potatoes,dry beans,lard and rice.We got milk and ham from his friend.Lots of canning and garden picking in those time's.Thanks for taking my mind back to wonderful day's lol...

I love the fact you encourage people to get help! My daughters school sends home bags and boxes of food to all students homes. Even if it’s crackers, milk and cereal, they send stuff for all kiddos.

I grew up being told it was a major sin if you knew someone in your area was hungry. I live in a small, very rural area and it happens more than you might think.Also, strawberries are always worth it! Whenever I'm in the grocery I have to have a carton Sooo good.

Mayo is cheaper than butter for grilled cheese and it browns the bread perfectly and gives it a nice fat crisp

One thing i really long about these challenges is the fact you do lunch and breakfast along with dinner. Rather then other people who just do dinners. I love these challenges and it really helps in my household ☺️❤️

My frugal daughter has a family of 6. She raises chickens, never has used a paper napkin or towel. She taught me that buying only whole milk as a cost saver. She keeps a little of it whole for coffee or a richer recipe, and the rest she waters down by 50%, making almost 2 gallons of 2% milk. Here’s a yummy dish she makes. She adds equal portions of rice and lentils, then adds sour cream and salsa. Hot and chewy and yummy.

Many of us struggle with portion sizes. That's a big key to keeping on budget. I have been working on my pantry, and I get anxious at the store lately even though the shelves are well stocked.

Best thing I've figured out this year...place all your grilled cheese sandwiches on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for 12-14 minutes flipping halfway through. Perfect every time, saves a ton of time, and so much crispier!

First time viewer, I just want to say thanks for opening with a mention of food resources. Esp your comment, "Dont be ashamed to ask for help." There are so many in need and society needs to overcome the stigma of food insecurity. We are all in this together. ❤

Also I'm totally with you on the onions and garlic. I love using onions to bulk up a meal. If you chop them finely enough or grate them you can mix the onions (and mushrooms if you like mushrooms) with ground beef to stretch the meat, plus mushrooms have a lot of fiber so they help fill you up. For more nutritious mashed potatoes replace up to half the potatoes with turnips. Peel and chop them the way you do the potatoes, boil together (with garlic powder to combat that "old potato" flavor the leftover potatoes can get) and mash as usual. The turnips are wetter so you can't add as much milk, but they taste almost exactly like regular mashed potatoes. And if you buy carrots, beets, radishes, or turnips with the tops on those greens are all edible, so you get extra veggies.

That pasta would've been easier to cut evenly if you had floured it generously, then rolled the thin dough up before cutting with a knife (kind of like you would cut cinnamon rolls but thinner). You can dry it in nests as well, so just shake it a little after cutting to loosen and lay it out on the counter or on a sheet pan.

I love that you do these. So many people are struggling... Also, peeps need to stop with the serving size shaming of you! Your family is not overweight and half this country is. So...

Christine, sandwiches cut into triangles taste even better than just cut in half 😄

I LOVE your shows. You not only help us learn how get the food and stay in the budget.. But then you also tell us how make a menu and how to prepare and cook items for the best reults.. THANK YOU.

Wow a lot of work went into this video and feeding your family. What a great mom! I know you're keeping everyone healthy and happy with cooking like that

Can you do another one of the “food bank” challenge one you did before where you bought the things people would have gotten from the food bank that time and make as many meals as possible

Love your challenges! BTW, here's a way to make your garlic stretch. Get a whole bunch of garlic (several bulbs), peel and separate them, stick them in a food processor, and process them into a puree with vegetable oil. Stick the mixture in ziploc bags and freeze the bags. When you need garlic, break off a piece!

You may not be able to over-mix the noodle dough, but if you beat olive oil too much, it gets bitter. I think I learned that from the American Test Kitchen on PBS. It totally changed the way I make hummus. I add the olive oil close to the end.

Tomato and cucumber salad is absolutely not cheating. :) I am 100% Italian and every summer my mom would make "tomato salad" which was cucumber and tomato sliced up with some oil and salt and pepper. Delicious!!!!

My nephew called tortellini soup "turtle weenie" soup when he was little 😂

Although I am fortunate enough to no longer have to struggle, I just wanted to say I wished this was available to me when I was. It would have significantly helped me out of my financial struggle much, much faster and I wouldn’t have had to go hungry so often. These meals are plenty filling and actually look great!

Your extreme budget grocery hauls and meal preps are so great and so needed. Home cooked meals outdo fast food any day, so even if the meals are cheap, they have more nutritional value. ❤️

This episode was unmatched in its ideas! Thanks ☺️

For the fried rice you could hold onto the hot sausage grease for flavor.

Skim milk is not diluted milk. Milk as it come from the cow has cream in it, which rises to the top when you let it stand. If all the cream is skimmed off, it becomes skim milk, also called non-fat milk. Butter is made out of cream and is expensive. So the reason that whole milk is more expensive is that it contains the main ingredient for butter. The proof that skim milk is not diluted milk is the protein content. A cup of whole milk has 8 grams of protein; a cup of skim milk has 8 grams of protein. If skim milk were diluted with water, the protein content would be lower. It isn't. It's only missing the fat.

Christine is on here trying to start a rumble by not cutting those sandwiches diagonally! 🤣❤️

Love everything you had to say, excellent message to everyone needing help!!

Oh wow!! I've never seen anyone put another loaf pan on top to form a crust like that. That's super neat

I have a client that is allergic to tomatoes and garlic so she makes any pasta sauce with pumpkin, beets and bell peppers. Very tasty.

Thank you so much, Christine. You have made me feel much better about my tiny budget!

Dear Christine, My wife and I and all of us thank you so very much. I am 76 and my wife is 74, we have been married for 55 years, I am the luckiest guy alive. We just wanted to let you know how much appreciate you. God Bless you and your family and friends. Ron in Bakersfield, CA

I keep talking with my husband about how high groceries have gotten in the last 6 months. Your videos have encouraged me to start getting our grocery bill down. Thanks for the inspo.

Love these extreme grocery budget challenges!! My town has a little food pantry. A neighbor made a small cabinet thing with a glass door that latches. People add non perishable items to it when they can. Other people (not just from our town; all are welcome) can come when they have a need & take what they see. Across from the mini pantry is also a book cabinet made the same way but for books. Got extra books? Put them there. Find a good book in there? You can borrow it, bring it back if it's not for you or keep it. All books are welcome.

As a struggling college student in Idaho, I thank you

I love watching what you do even though my family can’t eat gluten, so a lot of cheaper options are closed to us. It does remind me to donate gluten free foods to our food pantry. I often wonder how we would get by if money got tight.

I live the tip for the grilled cheese sandwiches about using “any fat.” My daughter showed me to use mayo. It spreads well and tastes great! So, if butter is scarce or oil is being used for other cooking that week, think about mayo! You have more options than you might think on tight grocery weeks.

For the last couple days I keep thinking I have nothing to eat at home... and then I watch this and I have all the ingredients for everything already! In smaller quantities but still will have food for about 2 weeks 😊 there's only me and my 3 year old Thank you!

I really appreciate your videos, Christine. You share great information and ideas. Also really appreciate that you remind people in need that they're not alone in their struggle.

Your homemade pasta reminded me of my grandma. She always kept a few wooden clothes hangers in her kitchen to help dry out rinsed out towels and fresh made noodles. It was funny sometimes to walk into her kitchen and see pasta hanging from her upper cabinets and know right away what was for dinner.

I was today years old when I learned that red pepper flakes come from jalapeños!! 🤯

I love that you mentioned available resources and how to find them. You’re a good, genuine person. I appreciate the time you take to make these videos for us.

25:26 my great grandmother also made noodles by hand. She used to roll up the streched dough and then cut it with a sharp knife. I tried when I was abroad and all I had were my hands, a bottle to roll and a knife.

I like your energy so much. I also love that you beseech people to seek assistance if they're really struggling. Your methods are reasonable and attainable. Thank you for being you! ❤

Broke doctoral student in NYC...I've never seen prices like these! A gallon of generic slim milk in Queens is almost $5. God bless you and your family. Thanks for the vids.

The metal whisk on the non stick pan just hurts.

you're an amazing woman and mom for making food videos like this. I've been tight on food money but I was able to get a little help from my school's food bank and these videos help.

I love your comments about prices for groceries... here in New Zealand, I pay between $2.50 and $5 for a 1kg bag of frozen vege 😨 I also pay an average of $7 for a tray of 20 eggs. Grocery prices are going up every week... I wish we had cheaper prices!

I second the onions and garlic! When we were young newlyweds surviving on hubs very tiny Navy pay we used to make what we called 'day before payday pasta' basically just a couple sliced onions and some garlic caramelized in a little oil or butter and tossed with pasta,parmesan if we had it. It's still something we love and tweak with some extra ingredients now days. It was always delicious and helped out! Were finally getting a Winco and I'm so excited! We live in a very similar type town as you do and shopping options are slim. :) 18 eggs here are about 2.49 right now.

Your creativity in these videos is amazing- we simply wanted to cut our budget and you helped us do that. And yes thank you for reiterating that going to a food bank is OK. If you need help then please get it!

you are KILLING it! love this! so no-nonsense and real! thank you thank you

I love love love that you waste no time in these videos. You get right into the good stuff. Awesome videos

when making grilled cheese...try mayo on the outside of the bread and fry...it is so flavorful and amazing

Love, love, love, “I can’t find my pasta rolling machine.”

OH my gosh.. I love your shows. On being able to feed the family and be able to afford it. And the ideas of things to make.! 😲 I Am so glad to have come across this site. Thank YOU

For making thinner pasta...next time you can take that sheet of pasta and fold it in half from top to bottom, or in 3rds like a letter...THEN do the pizza roller (or a knife). The "folded" noodle will easily unfold when you pick it up and go to lay it over something. I just lay it on a baking tray with parchment.

Christine!! I have to tell you, that I did what you said and I looked in my area and I FOUND A BREAD OUTLET!! I wish I could send you a picture of everything I bough! I got, Thomas Bagels for $1.19, Ballpark hot dog double pack, and double pack of same hamburger rolls , nice sandwich rolls , large bag of the thick French toast bread, a bag of like sub rolls, all of those were 89 cents ea, oh and 100% whole wheat bread that my husband loves but it is like almost $4.00 so I got all that for $6.53!! I couldn’t believe it! So thanks for telling us to check if we had an outlet near us, because my daughter was driving me to my drs. Appointment cause my foot is still broken, and we stopped at the pharmacy and then! We were pulling out of the parking lot, and I helped STOP!! ( not a good thing to yell at a driver cause she thought she was going to hit something, (lesson learned). I saw it! I said is this new? She said “Well mom, it’s been there since I started driving, and I’m 29, so, no mom, it’s been there for a bit!” So, I was just so excited to share with you! I also just went to my delivery order from Walmart, and I was able to take about $12 off my list!!’ I hope you read this, I’m just so excited to share, and pretty much no one I’ve talked to is as excited as me!! Thanks, again, Karen 😊

A good emergency meal, if you stock up on onions and keep flour in your pantry, is onion rings. If you've misbudgeted and it's the last few days of the month, fry up some onion rings. A simple water-baking soda-vinegar or pickle juice- flour batter and just a smidge of your oil or lard and an onion: bam you have dinner for one.

You can make your soup instead of the Knorr: 5 carrots, 3 onions, a pice of cellary, half a cup salt, 1 cup of oil, blend and put in a glas in the refrigerator (holds 6 months, for a few pennys) Karin from Germany

I’d love to see you do this over a year later with the same items so we can see how much Covid has impacted the prices this year. I know in Illinois we are definitely feeling the pinch in the grocery stores

Yay I thought I would have Christine withdrawals with the end of Vlogust but here you are...Good Morning ☀️😁

I make a big batch of pancakes and French toast and freeze them. Super quick in the morning, just pop them in the toaster!

I love how you bring your garden up. It reminds everyone how valuable they are to our health and budget. On another note I totally wish I had the patience to make pasta from scratch. Thanks you for sharing. Great tips grocery prices are %50 percent more Feb 2021 Ohio

I usually don’t subscribe to people but you know what your down to earth style gets you all the points!

I love how she addressed college students in her video as her audience. when I was first moving out, I looked online for the cheapest food money could buy, as well as food banks and soup kitchens. I was so SO concerned about affording food. I still keep my budget tight and love a good cheap stir fry recipe, so thank you!

I like that you showed how making your own flour products is really the most frugal and versatile way to go

I love listening to you as I prep my meals on the weekend😊

Home garden tip: Grow RED NOODLE BEANS. They're pretty, grow to a foot long, DELICIOUS, and you can't make them stop growing! Save a few pods to replant the next year. Nutritious addition to meals.

Yep, more onion and garlic the better I say!

Wow your store has yeast! Haven't seen that since April. Loved this video. It's interesting seeing stores in other regions.

You are definitely helping the world! Thank you!

I always add a little (a tsp or so) of vanilla and a good sprinkle of cinnamon to my pancake batter. It takes it up a notch. Also, I have always shied away from making pasta, but now I am going to try it! Thanks for a great video!

I was in Walmart today and noticed that they have a food aisle that says Clearance. Shocking!!! However in the aisle was regular sized cans of diced tomatoes with garlic, olive oil for 32 cents. Expiration date 9/ 2021. We are a small family of 2 old retired grandparents. I couldn’t resist the price so I bought quite a few..During these days it is good to stock up a bit.Just in case..There were other surprising items in the aisle as well.: Tuna packets for 88 cents, can corn 50 cents, pasta boxes 77 cents..some miscellaneous dented cans fruits and vegetables for 10 cents..My thoughts were if only a large family in need were shopping while it was available. Great deals. It was an interesting row to see.Hopefully it is a new trend for Walmart. It could help out a lot of struggling families.

I have run out of eggs when I had planned for french toast, and I learned (thank you google) that you can make egg-less french toast using cornstarch. It taste the same and my kids loved it. its a great have in your back pocket kind of recipe!

I would love to see this kind of video with dairy free ideas! Usually I can easily sub butter and milk, but really struggle with recipes that require cheese, sour cream or “cream of” soups. I just haven’t found alternatives for those that we like! And sadly, so many budget meals I find lean a lot on those items!

So grateful for your ideas. Tysm!!!!

Watching all your videos has inspired me to clean out my freezers and take a look at what we have. We have been eating a lot of odds and ends that I was "saving" for whatever reason.

This makes me so nostalgic. My mom used to cook meals like these all the time since our family is big and we were on a tight budget. Cereal or eggs, sometimes pancakes or french toast for breakfast. Sandwiches for lunch. So many simple dishes for dinner, I swear every single one in this video I grew up with. It’s incredible looking at this video now as an adult and realizing just how inexpensive and easy this was for my parents, and how it could be for me.

Absolutely, garlic and onions are a must. Yes, peanut butter is a must too.

I’m not sure who this will reach, I’m in phx az and chicken is CRAZY cheap at Frys right now. 6 drumsticks at Frys for .87! 5 lbs of chicken tenders for $1! If you need a meat please take advantage of this. Stay safe and healthy 💗