hen I was a military wife, family of four, I fed us all on 363.00 a month-- and NO, the commissary isn't always cheaper. We ate well, because I did a lot of home cooking-- filling nutritious foods, crock pot meals, casseroles. My other half and I now eat on about 250 a month, and it would be less if he weren't addicted to steak. It does take some planning-- and when my kids were little it also took some coupons and saying no to tv dinners and sugared cereals.
You're absolutely right, however, the commissary, where I do most of my shopping, is less costly for almost all items in my area.
Most people in the US simply don't understand what "cooking" means anymore. They open a box of "Hamburger Helper," or they heat up a TV dinner and they call that cooking. That's not cooking and with those kind of women, going out and getting fast food is the cheapest and easiest way to feed your family. It will also make your family fat, but nobody seems to worry about that either. Give your kids Coca Cola, Ice Cream and lots of other sugary "treats." The fattest kids I've seen anywhere on the planet, and the women here are absolutely repulsive, even the younger ones.
My mother, my ex-wife, and my present wife all cooked from basic ingredients. Peeling potatoes, boiling rice, nothing deep fried. It takes more time, but it costs a lot less and it doesn't make you fat. My wife is 40 years old, has a good appetite, eats whenever she wants, is just over 5 feet tall and weighs about 98 pounds. No problem eating all you want if you eat the right foods, you'll never have to go on a diet.