“Well, you’ll only be on rolls and Wi-Fi for a week,” the editor tells me regretfully shortly after approving my food experiment. Spending only 120 euros a month on food is unimaginable for many people living in larger cities – especially in times of inflation, when food prices are rising at a rocket pace and you’re more likely to come across a unicorn than a lunch menu under 7 euros. However, it is a daily reality for many people, they often have to fit into an even smaller budget. I decided to put myself – at least partially – in their shoes for a week. When determining the amount, we were guided by the minimum living wage for one adult, i.e. 234.42 euros per month. We reserved about half for groceries, which came to about 30 euros per week. My goal was not only to “survive”, but also to try to prove that even with a limited budget it is possible to eat relatively healthy and balanced. I therefore tried to include as many vegetables and fruits as possible in my diet, as well as high-quality proteins such as meat and tofu or dairy products. Even cheap food can be used to make interesting dishes. Source: Refresher/Ema Stanovská This article can also be an inspiration for anyone who wants to reduce their food budget (even by a few euros), but doesn’t know how to start and doesn’t want to give up their favorite foods. At the end of the article you will find a summary of the most useful tips and knowledge that could help you. The experiment had the following rules: I start on Wednesday morning and finish the following Wednesday evening. I can spend a maximum of 30 euros on food/food per week. I do not include drugstores or household goods in this budget. I can’t accept free food from anyone – even if they offered me, I’d be hungry, at a party, at my mother’s house, etc. I live a week of a person who depends on himself. If I want to buy groceries/food for someone else, I can, but I can’t take any of it for myself (I treat it as an item outside of my own grocery budget). Another small warning at the beginning: the following photos and descriptions are not intended for gourmets or lovers of good food. If you like to read about food, don’t forget to follow the topic of gastro Bratislava, gastrotests or the gastro industry. You will support us when you become a member of the Refresher+ club, the first 7 days will cost you only 0.33 euros. Goodbye, grates, hello, flyers Before this challenge, I was used to shopping and eating whatever I felt like. I usually went to the store on my way home from work to get the ingredients for dinner, sometimes even every day. I cooked lunches only occasionally and mostly ate in the canteen of our administrative building. I could hardly imagine a week without food from a restaurant or a cake in a cafe. Although I didn’t spend a lot, most of my income was definitely spent on food (if I don’t count taxes and rent). I know that I need a solid plan to fit within the set amount. I start by downloading the Lidl Plus and Clubcard Tesco apps, in which I have a collection of loyalty cards, current flyers and promotions or discount coupons for specific products. The next step is to decide what I will eat and write a menu for the whole week. My plan is to cook meals that I can eat for several days in a row, that fill me up as much as possible and that I like as well. My springboard is discount flyers. I look in the store apps to see what foods are on sale this week and figure out what to cook based on that. I study the flyers for a very long time and compare every penny. I’m thinking: “What if it doesn’t work out or I miscalculate?” What if I get there and the discount isn’t there?” I’m starting to feel the same anxiety as people who live hand to mouth. I finally have a shopping list and a finished menu, but I have no idea if I will actually be able to follow it. I go on a painful quest for food. 24 euros on the first day… My bargain hunting starts in Tesco. I find all the products from the leaflet, the prices on the labels are correct, but I still feel uncertain whether they are up to date. The last stock potatoes have expired and they don’t look very nice, so I decide to process them as a priority. Thanks to the Clubcard, I can save up to 1.90 euros on chicken cutlets, and at the same time I “picked up” a 26 percent discount. I also grab a 50 percent off pumpkin to make my favorite concoction (spoiler: after this week it’s no longer a favorite). I need spices for the chicken, but I find that everything is kind of expensive, and I want to leave some room in the budget. To be sure, I take the cheapest and most practical alternative – a mixture of spices for potatoes, which I can also use for meat. The composition is very similar. Many a pensioner would not be ashamed of the contents of my shopping basket in Tesco. Source: Refresher/Ema Stanovská I throw a creamy yogurt in the basket for 0.35 euros, even though I hate creamy yogurts from the bottom of my heart. However, I also need breakfast, or something to spice up my breakfast porridge, and creamy yogurts are clearly the cheapest. I want to make porridge for breakfast, because I like this food very much and it is also great in terms of price-performance-satiation ratio. Although I would normally take oatmeal, this time I take a mix of oat-wheat-rye flakes because they have a few grams more fiber. So I suppose they will fill me up more. I have a basket full of promotional products and I am quite proud of myself. But when I pay, I get scared – 16.54 euros? That’s over half of my budget and I haven’t bought everything yet. I am beginning to doubt whether I will be able to complete this experiment. Incredibly low price Try a subscription for €0.33 and read everything without restrictions JOIN A SUBSCRIBER I HAVE A SUBSCRIPTION: LOG IN or Unlock the article via SMS Send an SMS to 8877 with the text ARTICLE 123808 and read this article. The SMS price for opening the article is €3.50 including VAT. How does it work? SEND SMS What will you find out after unlocking? Did I complete my challenge without a single failure. How many euros did I actually spend on groceries in a week. How did I manage a hike, a visit and an evening at my mother’s with this budget. How did I feel at the end of the experiment. Which food item was (surprisingly) the most annoying to me. List of the most useful tips on how to significantly save on food. Report an error. If you found a shortcoming in the article or have comments, let us know. Preview image: Refresher/Ema Stanovská