How Christina Musgrave Feeds Her Household Well on Just $40 a Week

As thefounder of food blog Tasting with Tina, Christina Musgrave is a home cook turned recipe developer who spends a lot of time at the grocery store. She lives with her husband in Columbus, Ohio. He's a medical student, so they rely on her income alone.

"Our budget is tight," she explains. "We watch everything we spend since we have to start paying off his student loans soon." Their grocery budget is about $40 to $60 per week.

But that doesn't mean they skimp on quality or nutrition. "Food is extremely important to us, so even though we have a tight grocery budget, we still eat very healthy, delicious meals," she explains. Here's how they do it.

Prices Dictate Meals, Even Unexpected Ones

Musgrave primarily shops at Aldi and Costco, choosing each for the particular bargains it consistently offers in certain categories.

"I love buying fresh produce, dairy, and fish at Aldi — it's all extremely affordable," she says. "I mostly buy meat at Costco because it's a great price, and I'll freeze most of it. I especially love Costco chicken packages due to their freezer friendliness."

Knowing that meat and fish are her most expensive purchases, she makes sure to price check at different stores to confirm she's getting the best deal. To keep expenses down, she also plans for two to three meatless days during the week.

When she's at the store, she only visits the aisle containing products she knows she needs. "This keeps me away from the deals aisle where a lot of unplanned spending happens," she says.

Typically, she sticks to a list, but she's comfortable splurging on a good cheese that wasn't on it: "I love cheese boards, and I can't pass up a good cheese!"

Regularly scanning local grocery ads, she once discovered a deal for $5 lobster tails. "When I find a deal like that, I can't pass it up," she says, "even if the item wasn't on the grocery list for that week."

And despite a strict adherence to budget, Musgrave says she'll simply never compromise on food quality; she'll just find another way to make it work.

"Since I have a food blog and I attract readers and clients through images of food, it must be high quality," she says. "But that doesn't mean expensive. If I can't find an item that meets my standards, I'll go to another store, or regroup and remove it from my grocery list."

Budget-Friendly Staples Earn Regular Rotation

Pasta is one of Musgrave's favorite foods — and one of her budget-shopping secret weapons. "Pasta is so cheap and so versatile!" she says. "My blog contains mostly pasta recipes, so it's no surprise it's my favorite food."

She explains that it can be "incredibly cheap per serving," noting for example, "a lemon pasta with spicy breadcrumbs will taste gourmet, but is less than $1 per serving."

Another budget-friendly, go-to recipe in Musgrave's home is a cilantro-lime salsa. It's very affordable to make, using only cilantro, onion, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and lime juice.

"I make it almost every week and put it on everything," she says. "I use it on tacos, salads, chicken, fish, or steak. It's super easy and so delicious!"

Not only is her liberal use of this signature sauce a budget (and effort) saver, but it's also a major flavor booster, too. "Making a sauce that you can use throughout the week can spice up otherwise boring meals," she says.

Budget-Friendly Make-Ahead Ingredients Keep Meal Planning Streamlined

Prior to COVID, when Musgrave was leaving the house every day for work, she considered herself an avid meal prepper. "But now I like to look at it as meal planning," she says.

For her, planning now involves making a big batch of a recipe and then using it multiple ways throughout the week. For example, if she makes a whole package of sushi rice, she will likely turn that into:

• Sushi bowls with rice, salmon, cucumber, and avocado
• Hawaiian breakfast with rice, scrambled eggs, and soy sauce
• Tacos with leftover salmon, rice, and cilantro-lime salsa

"That's three totally different meals with just one batch of rice!" she says. "If you meal plan before the grocery store, you will find yourself utilizing more items that you may already have, shortening your list, and saving you money."

Shop Your Pantry and Fridge First

If you don't know your own inventory, you're bound to waste. That's why Musgrave says she "shops" her own home once a month.

"I clean out the pantry and find the last bits of grains, baking mixes, or spice blends that need to be used, and brainstorm recipes that effectively use what I have on hand," she says. "This helps reduce food waste, and I decrease what I spend that week — a win-win!"

Another culprit for food waste — and budget waste — is any bulk buy you never actually use in the end. "Buying in bulk is not always cheaper, and if you don't have a lot of storage space, it's definitely not the most convenient," she says. "It's not the norm, but many of my trips to Costco are only for two to three items because that's all I can store in my small townhome."

Plant Leaves to Save Green

To anyone with the space at home to do it, Musgrave recommends planting an herb garden. "These can be expensive at the grocery store for a small pack, but a $3 basil or rosemary plant will produce for at least four to five months," she says. "Once you're comfortable growing herbs, challenge yourself to grow tomatoes or peppers to save even more money."

Christina's Sample Grocery List

"I break down my grocery lists by food category type. For example, diary, pantry, produce, and meat/fish," she explains. "I'll also do separate grocery lists for different grocery stores."

Here's an example sample grocery list for a week at Aldi:

Dairy

• 1 carton of eggs
• 1 carton coconut milk
• 1 package shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 block Parmesan cheese

Pantry

• Panko breadcrumbs
• 1 pound spaghetti

Produce

• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 bunch Italian parsley
• 1 bag lemons
• 1 bag limes
• 1 bag apples
• 1 bag white onions
• 1 package whole mushrooms
• large container of mixed greens
• 3 green peppers

Meat/Fish

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 large salmon filet