While food is one of the largest categories in any budget, it’s also the category we have the most control over. I will be listing some of our lowest cost per calorie favorite foods that keep our budget in check, as well as how they compare to store bought alternatives.

The Rankings

The cheapest foods in the list don’t always provide the greatest savings compared to store-bought alternatives. While homemade tortillas are a fraction of the cost of anything else in the list, a 4 cent item can only save you so much.

Methodology

We live in the Denver area, and we shop primarily at Costco and King Soopers. At Costco we buy in bulk for savings, but only if we can consume what we buy. Everything else we buy at King Soopers, in a lower quantity, to avoid wasting food. The costs listed are based on the full retail price without coupons or special discounts.

The prices are dated in each post, and I am only including prepared foods that a person would want to consume. I’m not interested in how cheaply I could drink vegetable oil.

Why I Track This

It’s a rite of passage as a young adult to run out of money, and then need to find creative ways to eat at a low cost per calorie. When I was in college, reducing my grocery spending didn’t occur to me.

In my sophomore year of college I worked three jobs while going to school full time. It was 50-60 hours of work between the three jobs, one of which was overnight from 2am-7am loading packages onto a delivery truck. I was falling asleep during class, and came to realize it was unsustainable. The outgo side of the equation had to be addressed, and the largest of my expenses was food spending.

I wish I could have saved myself that year of exhaustion by spending a week working on a cheaper grocery cart.