And no, I certainly don’t think there is anything shameful about dumpster diving. I’ve done a bit of it myself at apartment dumpsters around move-out time, though not yet for food. Who knows, though. Perhaps I’ll give it a shot. I’m already getting back into foraging (“back into” since I did try a few things as a kid).

Also living in a condo, it can be difficult to grow food. Plus I’ve looked for old food and asked for it where I live, but was told they do not allow people to buy it cheap.

I’ve gone and still do dumpster dive. I have no shame about it. But having been broke before (not poor), it really is cheaper to use coupons to shop and “buy” food. You can live not well on mac and cheese and hamburger helper. Or others beans and rice. Or canned goods.

Also more or less free sources of fresh food:
Hunting
Fishing
Foraging

Even in the wilds of suburbia, you can find a lot of free stuff to forage that can at least supplement the processed stuff. I’ve started reading http://www.eattheweeds.com and I’m really impressed by how much of the stuff in my own yard is edible, i.e. beyond what I’ve put there intentionally.

No, there may not be anything cheaper than free. However, there are also a lot of ways to get free or nearly free fresh produce if free is your budget. For example, I have the start of a veggie garden which I’m populating with free seedlings from neighbors and family (I know not everyone can grow stuff where they live, but neither does everyone have grocery stores that double coupons nearby). Plus, many people take advantage of the fact that grocery stores throw out lots of free produce because it doesn’t look quite perfect enough for picky consumers.

Now, I’m not saying that everyone should go dumpster diving. I haven’t because I feel no need to. However, if it came down to eating mostly processed foods or eating a good diet by dumspter diving, I’d dumpster in a heart beat because I have seen the long term costs of a diet of “cheap” processed foods. I grew up in a very poor county where that was typical fare and have seen what it has done to my family and friends and I can tell you that the end result is not cheap, whether you measure it in dollars or years or quality of life.

So… um… yeah… coupon shopping for processed foods certainly does not rule.

And they make the processed foods FREE. If I were broke again, I’d be eating it with coupons because you can get boxes of mac and cheese free, boxes of sugar cereals free, boxes of hamburger helper, fruit rollups, tv dinners ALL free. With sales, coupons, and $ back from your next order, you can easily roll a couple of buck into A LOT of food. NOT food I would consider eating or quality food, but food.

I use coupons and got most of my oatmeal free. I have used coupons and occasionally buy DH free cereal (not often because I don’t want him to want sweets). Or I can get free chips but I don’t. Or just free junk food like cookies, snack mix, etc.

If you read Hotcouponworld, they have great tips for buying all those foods free. And they’ll tell you it’s not the greatest food but if you want to eat a family of 4 for $10/week you can!

So no way does eating non-processed foods ever come out cheaper. Coupon shopping for processed foods rule.

I’ve also cut back my grocery bill — a lot. I used to spend about $150 a week for two people. Now we spend about $15 -$75, which still a lot of that going to splurges like my fancy dark chocolate and his coke and steak. But what I find interesting is what you said about eating so much processed stuff. I know it seems cheap and I’ve had a lot of friends eat that way trying to save money. However, it is very easy to eat healthy for cheap.

The main thing I try to remember when I go grocery shopping is to think in terms of single ingredient items. You end up paying a lot for packaging, processing, cutting, mixing, etc. Like fruit with your oatmeal? Get the oatmeal in bulk and supplement with fresh or frozen fruit. Like mac and cheese? Get the cheese and pasta separately (or even make the pasta yourself if you can — something that I admit that I haven’t done yet). And of course, always buy generic when possible, check unit prices, buy fruits and veggies on sale or at a produce stand, and cut coupons when applicable (though I find that they rarely are when you buy stuff like generic carrots).

Here’s some things to look for:

For the bulk of your meals, look for the big bags of rice (especially brown), beans, lentils, peas, etc. Get the generics and they’re dirt cheap. Then head over to the produce area and get some veggies. Potatoes, onions, and carrots are usually super cheap. Supplement that with whatever is on sale, but keeping unit prices in mind. I like to eat lots of eggplant when it’s on sale.

Sure, beans and potatoes sound bland, but don’t be afraid to get some good seasonings (though good doesn’t necessarily mean expensive). Get some olive oil for cold stuff, some peanut oil for high temp cooking, some balsamic vinegar, and some other seasonings (though not pre-mixed if you want to save money), and maybe some nuts or meat. Grab some bananas on sale as a cheap snack and freeze what you don’t eat to cook into oatmeal or fry up with flour into some bananas fritters (along with any other things you can make into fritters).

Another thing… make your own hummus to eat with flat bread or carrots. It’s soooo much cheaper to make yourself and really easy, too.

Oh, and try to just drink water whenever possible. Treat yourself to some tea, but get the loose leaf type since even the gourmet varieties tend to be cheaper than the worst bagged tea.

Anyhow, I’m sure you get the idea.