<prompt> Human: Hello, Im trying to get my finances sorted out a little better because I have been frivolously spending away my savings. Im currently in the middle of making a budget, which should be relatively simple as Im only 18 and have few expenses. However Im currently in the process of joining the air national Guard and have a hard time maintaininggaining weight to stay above the minimum weight for my height. How do you reliably budget for food other than tracking how much you spend on food over time? Are there any good resources for food prices for your area? Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated, so thank you in advance!  <response>: Budgeting for meals isnt super difficult, but it does take a bit of patience. My wife and I tried for years to try and find a magic number for weekly food spending and just could not make it work, so heres what were doing now:We plan 120week for groceries for the two of us. With that number in mind, we make a weekly menu complete with recipes every friday or saturday. For inspiration, we hit the weekly food ads and look for outrageous deals. Note: We do not try to reach our budget. 120 is a lot for two people every week.After weve got our meal plan laid out, we go to the stores for the groceries. We do most of our shopping at Sprouts because theyve got some amazing deals on raw meats and fruitsveggies. After that, the Kroger for canned goods, baking items, spices, and whatever seemed overpriced at Sprouts. Last stop is Sams or Costco for any bulk items we might need four, rice, tomato sauce etc. Dont buy perishables in bulk unless you plan to eat all of it in a short period of time.So, remember that 120 was a lot, right? We usually spend 80 on a big spending week, 45 if weve got some leftover bulk items that can be cobbled into a few meals. We take whatever was leftover and roll it into another category on our budget sheet.If you want to save money, dont eat out so often. Before I started taking an active role in our finances, my wife spend all of our entertainment and some of our food money on restaurants.Finally, as a fellow skinny guy that served in the Army, I can tell you that they will fatten you up in Basic and anything they missed there will be made up in AIT. I went in at 511 105lbs, came out of AIT at 163, all lean muscle. My Drill Sergeants made sure my plates were full and gave me plenty of time to eat. 