Dried goods. Beans and rice especially. I have black beans soaking right now to prepare with dinner tonight.

1 side order of black beans at a restaurant is $3-$5.

1 can of black beans from the store is $1 (per serving).

1 package of dried black beans is $0.24 (per serving after cook).

Cutting waaay back on meat helped us quite a bit

Start shoplifting.

Sounds strange, but: don’t go shopping with an empty stomach. That easily leads to impulse purchases.

Make a shopping list, and stick to it. But be flexible: If you planned a cucumber salad and find tomatos are on sale, change your menu: tomato salad it will be. Leave the cucumbers in the shop.

Many herbs can be grown on your balcony or even your windowsill.

• A lot of the “pre-made” stuff, we cut down on. Cheaper to make breakfast burritos rather than spend $2 per burrito.

• finding when they mark down prices. My supermarket always throws 50% off stickers on hot food around 3pm on certain days. I can get a whole 10pc fried chicken for $6.

• eat more staples. Most of my meals are now rice + protein + vegetables. Or bread + veggies + proteins.

• Asian supermarkets sell things cheaper

• mostly vegetarian diet. Meat is expensive AF. But lately, the meat alternatives are getting pricey too.