$60/week isn't bad, though I'm not sure quite how that is in NYC. In the Chicago suburbs I feed two of us on something around that level (including the TP as we

$60/week isn't bad, though I'm not sure quite how that is in NYC. In the Chicago suburbs I feed two of us on something around that level (including the TP as well), and that's with dietary concerns as well. A lot of how much you can save like this depends on your situation. If you have storage space and decent cooking facilities, it's a LOT easier because you can have some reserve to allow you to take advantage of economies of scale and opportunities like that 20 pound bag of rice on sale for $6. Similarly, if you have a full-size refrigerator and freezer you can pretty easily make a week's worth (or more) of meals to take to work. It's also important to have a good grasp of how much each individual meal costs, because you may realize that some less-expensive options may actually be preferable. That gluten-free bagel plus cream cheese? That's $1.50+, or would you prefer oatmeal, a couple of breakfast sausages, and a couple of eggs over the top of that? That easily clocks in at under $1, including with your choice of rolled or steel-cut gluten-free oatmeal (and if you don't care about gluten it's even less), and it takes almost no extra time in the morning over toasting and cheesing a bagel if you've pre-made the oatmeal. It's worth not getting carried away with this though - for some things it's just worth getting the more expensive option because making it at home takes more time or energy than you want to spend. Knowing your cost of getting things is also important - don't drive 5 miles to save $0.50 on milk, because you're spending that much extra on gas. This is where shopping lists are important, as well as having a good feel for typical prices at different stores if you have multiple shopping options. If you know you're doing your shopping for the week at a store the cost of getting there is less of a factor, and conversely if you know cost of getting there is a concern then you'll want to avoid forgetting something that you have to run back out for (hence the list). Finally, if you can stockpile some things and have multiple shopping options it's well worth keeping an eye on sales flyers and per-store discounts. Using myself and Meijer as an example, in January so far I've saved $12.34 using electronic coupons through their "mPerks" app and another 6.25 using paper coupons (either printed at checkout or on product packages, I'm not a couponer), plus $47 off of the regular prices of items by getting them when they're on sale - and I've only spent $128 there so far this month. I rarely buy items just because they're on sale, so that's almost all savings on items that I'd have been purchasing anyway.