A Danish family of four has cut their grocery bill to just 380 DKK ($55) per week by embracing creative, budget-conscious habits. Despite inflation and rising Danish food prices, the family has found a sustainable way to live affordably without sacrificing nutrition or comfort. Find out more on their budget-conscious choices and ideas here.
Living on a Tight Budget With High Danish Food Prices
Kristine Melgaard-Mani and her family live in the coastal city of Helsingør, Denmark. Like many Danes, they once budgeted about 1,000 DKK a week, just under $145, for all their household needs, from groceries and toothpaste to cleaning supplies. However, rapidly rising Danish food prices pushed Kristine to reevaluate how her family could live more economically.
Today, their weekly food budget has dropped to just 380 DKK, the equivalent of around $55. They’ve managed this through extensive meal planning, food preservation, swapping ingredients, and a commitment to minimizing waste.
How They Make 380 DKK Stretch for a Week With High Danish Food Prices
Each week, Kristine prepares a seven-day dinner plan based on their pantry, freezer stock, and what’s on sale. The meals rely heavily on inexpensive and long-lasting ingredients like lentils, beans, root vegetables, and homemade sauces from scratch.
Here’s an example of a typical weekly dinner menu for the family:
- Monday: Cauliflower curry with toppings
- Tuesday: Hokkaido pumpkin soup with crispy rye bread sticks and bacon
- Wednesday: Leftover curry
- Thursday: Fried rye bread sandwiches with spicy tuna salad
- Friday: Savory pancakes with refried beans
- Saturday: “Million lentils” with mashed potatoes
- Sunday: Leftovers from earlier in the week
Meals are not only planned carefully, they’re prepared in bulk, reused, and optimized for cost. For instance, even leftover slices of rye bread or spoonfuls of pasta are frozen until they can be reused in another dish.
Beyond the Kitchen: Saving in Everyday Life
Kristine’s cost-saving approach isn’t limited to meals. She stocks up on items like toilet paper from hardware stores where prices are lowest, purchases day creams for 20 DKK ($3) at supermarkets, and avoids food waste at all costs.
Family activities are equally thoughtful. Instead of expensive outings, they keep costs down by packing homemade lunches during trips, frequenting libraries and playgrounds, and hosting at-home movie nights, with homemade snacks, in their living room.
Any small savings at the end of each month, including refunds from bottle deposits and leftover grocery money, are transferred to savings accounts earmarked for vacations, birthdays, Christmas, or their long-term goal: purchasing a home.
Reducing Meat, Boosting Legumes
The largest savings, however, stem from one major dietary change: the family has drastically reduced their meat consumption. Once focused on meat-based meals, they now prepare dishes centered around legumes, especially lentils, chickpeas, and beans, which are both nutritious and affordable.
Ground beef has been entirely cut out of their grocery list. Instead, Kristine now makes “burger patties” from kidney beans and has reinvented the traditional Danish dish “millionbøf” (ground beef in gravy) as “million lentils.” This reinvented dish, including mashed potatoes, pickled beets, and chopped chives, costs just 15 DKK ($2.10) per serving.
This protein swap not only saves money but has also opened the family’s palate to new recipes and a more plant-based lifestyle. Although they are not vegetarians, legumes now dominate their weekly diet.
From Experiment to Lifestyle
Originally prompted by inflation, these changes have since turned into a permanent lifestyle. Even if food prices were to drop again, Kristine says they would continue these new habits, having discovered a healthier and more cost-effective way to live.
The family’s experiences are now shared with others through their Instagram page, @familieliv_paabudget, and Kristine has recently published a cookbook titled “Bælgfrugter på Bordet” (“Legumes on the Table”), highlighting her most affordable and family-approved plant-based meals.
Smart Living Amid Soaring Prices
As Denmark continues to grapple with inflation, Danish food prices have risen by nearly 11% on average over the past two years, innovative families like the Melgaard-Manis are proving that it’s possible to maintain quality, comfort, and even joy on a reduced budget. Their journey offers inspiration not just to Danes, but to families across the globe confronting the rising costs of daily living.
