YouTube Star Lisa Nguyen Entertains Millions and Feeds Herself on Just $150 a Week — Here's How

During the pandemic, Lisa Nguyen spent a lot of time cooking. She does have a serious platform to share her creations and inspire people around the world: She has nearly 3 million subscribers on her YouTube channel. There, she shares her inventive (and "random," as she calls them) food videos.

While she reaches an audience around the world, she lives in Kansas City, Mo., with just her cat. (She sometimes feeds her neighbors too, garnering millions of views when sharing those creations.) Because the pandemic kept her largely at home over the past couple of years, she characterizes her budget as not too tight.

"My food budget is my main budget besides rent," she explains.

She spends about $150 per week on food, "but that fluctuates depending on what food videos I intend to create," she explains. Here's how she spends that money on eating well and creating compelling video content.

Shopping Local and in Person

Nguyen prefers to shop in person at outlets like farmers' and meat markets that supply locally made or grown fare.

"I like to go in person since I can pick out which cuts of meat I want," she says. "It also gives me a good opportunity to scope out potential future video ideas."

A typical grocery list for Nguyen includes garlic, onion, Spam, instant noodles, a few cuts of steak, vegetables, some type of seafood, and kimchi.

"My grocery splurge is definitely steak," she says. "I used to buy cheaper cuts of meat, but now I lean towards whichever cut has good marbling."

While she acknowledges that steak is the most expensive item on her list, it works for her budget and her lifestyle. "It's fun to cook and is perfect for one person," she says.

Budget-Friendly Staples

On the flip side, Nguyen makes her money go far with frequent purchases of eggs, which are cost-effective and extremely versatile throughout her recipe prep.

"They're cheap yet you can use them on almost any dish," she says.

Similarly, she uses another extremely budget-friendly item in many of her dishes: instant ramen noodles.

"I find instant ramen so versatile," she says. "I can cook it in many different ways. You can add proteins, veggies, and leftovers. It's a fun dish to play around with!" (Her videos that cover experimentation with new and creative ways to use ramen garner millions of views.)

While she doesn't formally meal plan these days, she knows what she would certainly as a staple ingredient if she ever decides to do so: pulled pork.

"You can find great deals on [pork shoulders] throughout the year," she says. "I typically get the pork shoulder when it's $0.99 per pound. Then I would cook it to make tacos, nachos, and even sandwiches."

Reducing Food Waste and Getting Creative

Although her budget isn't super tight, Nguyen works to reduce food waste in her home as a matter of both principle and practicality. Plus, challenging herself to use up food that would otherwise go to waste allows her to get creative and experiment, resulting in dishes that taste great and excite her followers.

"My best tip for leftovers is throwing it in noodles or rice. It levels up the dish without too much extra work," she says. "My best overall money-saving grocery tip is planning out the one meal you really want for the week and then using the leftover ingredients the next day in another dish. Then use those leftover ingredients for the next day and so on. Planning is key so you don't waste any food!"