A family of 4 who have 1 soft drink a day are burning through up to $15 a week, and many have much much more than that. Its not uncommon for a family to churn through 4+ drinks of soda a day each which can really add up, here it would be upwards of $60 a week!! Soda and soft drinks do nothing for you, and are essentially just water and sugar with virtually no nutritional value, so giving up the soft drink is going to save you a lot of money you could be spending on other things (and you might just lose a few pounds to boot!).

Generally in most places a litre of soft drink or soda costs at least $1. If you are in the us its probably more like $.50. Heres a little exercise, have a jar, and for each time you empty a bottle of soft drink put $1 for 1 litre or $2 for 2 litres into a jar. At the end of the month count how much is in the jar, and you might be surprised… that was all wasted money you didn’t need to spend.

Food for thought!

My favorite quick italian meal that can be made for 1 or more easily and with little or no prep. It also stores well either in the fridge or freezer so doing a big cook-up can last you a long time. Of course the following recipe serves 2, halve it if alone, increase it if cooking for the family.

Included are the prices I pay here in New Zealand Dollars, if in the US you can probably halve the price, and of course if you have your own herb/vege garden then knock off the costs of whatever you had..

Ingredients:
3-5 cloves of garlic (depending on taste) finely chopped ($0.20)
1/2 cup fresh basil chopped ($0.50)
1 x 400g (14oz) tin diced/chopped italian tomatoes ($1)
300g long life pasta (I prefer fettuccini but any type) ($1.50)
1 large brown onion diced ($0.40)
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese freshly grated ($0.60)
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
1 tbs olive oil

Cost for basic - Approx $4.20 for 2 people

Optional extras:
Substitute long life pasta for fresh pasta
Add 200g pork/beef mince
Add 1 cup fresh halved cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil instead if you love olive oil
1/2 cup white wine (if you like it to have more flavor)

Lets cook:

1. Add oil to the pan/pot (can use either) over medium heat
2. Add diced onions to the pan occasionally stir and cook for 3 mins stiring occasionally (add beef/pork mince too if using and stir in adding a dash of water)
3. Add garlic and diced tomatoes, reduce heat and simmer for 10 mins (add white wine too if using)
4. Add basil, salt, pepper and reduce heat to mild simmer (and add cherry tomatoes if using)
5. Meanwhile pasta to pot of boiling water with a pinch of salt, cover and cook as per packet instructions checking every minute. (if using fresh pasta it cooks within 2-3 mins and you need to cook it right at the end checking every 20 seconds after 2 mins as its easy to overcook).
6. Once pasta is cooked drain pasta and add pasta to the sauce tossing it through to coat. If you don’t toss the past through the sauce after draining it will dry and clump up.
7. Serve, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese (usually best to buy a small handheld grater and grate over the served plate)

Doesn’t take long, tastes fantastic, and is probably one of the cheapest meals you can have, especially good for feeding the family, only just make sure you use a large pot if doing this dish in bulk.

At around $2 a serve you simply can’t eat cheaper!

Anyone serious about saving money on their cooking should have at least a small herb garden even some herbs in pots. Some herbs you may want to consider that go in a huge number of dishes are : Coriander, Basil, Parsley. Oregano, rosemary, Sage, Thyme .. all very easy to grow, and can easily be potted.

A quick little tip if buying pots is to look on your local online auction site whether it’s ebay or a local version .. you will probably get all the pots you need for a fraction of the price you will pay in a garden store.

Your choice of vegetables will be greatly influenced by whether you are growing in pots or have a garden, and how much space you have, also what the weather is like where you live. Vegetables are also largely seasonal, and knowing what to plant and when, plus also knowing when to pick your veges and use them is something you will need to research. A small bit of work, but homegrown vegetables and fruits not only taste better, but in the long run are much cheaper!

If getting seedlings instead of starting from seeds then check out your local farmers market, the seedlings are usually much cheaper. I will try to bring you some more advice about starting your garden in future posts, but for now check out what you may like and think about starting your garden or at least a few herbs in some pots!

Oh and its fun!

I particularly enjoy this series of videos following some of the cheapest and most incredibly crappy food you could possibly find, and it’s no shock that similar products are found at attractive super cheap prices in supermarkets around the world. Very enjoyable and rather light hearted but he makes his point. Enjoy!!

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

So next time you are in the supermarkets and see those super cheap pies, sausages, rolls, frozen pizza etc .. make sure you find out what is in them before you go bananas over the price. There are heaps of just as cheap options if you put a little planning into your meals without these nasty things in them.