A San Diego mother of two has developed a system to feed her family of four on a $100 weekly grocery budget, navigating the financial challenges of rising inflation in Southern California. Alli Powell shares her strategies for cost-effective grocery shopping and meal preparation on her Instagram page.
Powell's approach involves shopping at discount grocer Food4Less for vegetables and pantry staples. She spends approximately $116 per week on groceries for her family, which includes children aged seven and nine. Despite the expense of living in San Diego, Powell has found ways to keep her food costs down.
She has experimented with early morning shopping, noting that while she sometimes finds limited markdowns, particularly in the meat section, her local store offers deals throughout the day. Arriving at 8:20 am on one occasion allowed her to complete her shopping in 25 minutes without encountering crowds or long lines.
Powell's weekly menu is varied and does not involve repetitive meals. It has included dishes such as chicken cutlets, rib eye, scalloped potatoes, copycat Chicken-Fil-A sandwiches, orange chicken, and BBQ chicken chopped salad. She learned to cook at age 23, as cooking was not a routine part of her upbringing. Her budgeting journey was influenced by Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps program.
Powell began sharing her money-saving tips and grocery hauls on Instagram in October 2019, initially as a creative outlet while working in a corporate job she disliked. After being laid off, she focused on her hobby, which has since grown into a community of over 77,000 followers.