by Jared Jeannotte

Created on: December 26, 2008   Last Updated: November 02, 2011

Cooking for one under $40.00 a week is not only possible, it can be tasty and filling. The first steps would be to plan meals and price ingredients. Leftovers for lunch and simple breakfasts are the key to a successful meal plan. There are plenty of cost effective meals accessible to anyone with a love for food.

Breakfasts: Simple and efficient is the key to a cost efficient meal budget. For under $5.00 a week there are several options.

~ Eggs, toast, bacon. Total cost is around $5.00 with $1.50 allotted to eggs, $.99 for bread and 2.50 for the bacon.

~Milk and Cereal. Total cost is around $5.00 with $2.50 allotted toward cereal and $2.50 for milk.

~Bagels and Cream Cheese. Total cost is around $3.50 with 2.50 allotted to the bagels and $.99 for cream cheese.

These combinations are all very simple and cost effective. The only drawback to low budget breakfasts is lack of options. Having cereal every day can become boring as with each of the other choices. Adding oatmeal or cream of wheat for a change can add another $2.50 a week in your breakfast budget.

Lunches: Taking lunches from home to work will save you money. The average cost of a lunch out will be approximately $5.00 to $10.00 a day. While the cost of taking lunch from home can be done for under $10.00 per week. The following options are all excellent ideas for lunch from home.

~Deli meat sandwiches. Total cost is around $10.00 per week. Fresh lunchmeat is available at the deli counter in a variety of flavors. The average price per pound of lunch meat is $7.00. Instead of ordering one pound of turkey, try getting a third of a pound each of turkey, roast beef and bologna for the same cost. This will keep you from burning out on the same flavor. $.99 is allotted for a loaf of bread and $2.00 for a fresh fruit or vegetable such as celery or carrots. If you are planning on using leftovers from dinner for lunches, less meat can be purchased and cheese or chips could be added to the lunches.

~Soups. Total cost of between $5.50 and $10.00 per week. Simple soups can be purchased for $.75 cents per can or $1.25 depending on the type of soup. If you use an inexpensive soup, add in some crackers or fresh fruit to go with your meal.

~Salads. Total cost of between $5.00 and $10.00 per week with $2.00 allotted to two heads of lettuce and $3.00 to $8.00 to garnishments. With the cost of fresh vegetables constantly rising and falling, it's difficult to estimate the cost of produce. Generally tomatoes run around $2.50

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