I have Type 1, so I know what you mean about grocery bills. I eat eggs or a high protein (14g) yogurt with no more than 12 carbs for breakfast. Snack on nuts, peanut butter, cheese, small hummus, carrots, celery. Salad and meat for lunch, meat and 2-3 veggies for dinner. Very very limited fruit (I space berries out throughout the day so my blood sugar doesnt rise) and dairy. I eat almost NO beans, rice, potatoes, pasta, grains, corn, peas, etc. Nothing that is a pure carb, and no more than 50 carbs/ day.
My A1c is under 6.5 and I have had no complications for 26 years! But it is time consuming and expensive, especially if you can't shop around. I eat whatever veggies and meat are on sale. :-). Even if it isn't purely MMM, stick to the low carb - moderate protein diet with the highest quality food you can afford. I think he would understand that preserving your health is critical to financial security.
I am also in Phoenix- the job market is tough and you can barely rent a studio for $800 plus utilities. If you can save up the money, you might be better off buying a $5000 mobile home in a nice park, then you just have a few hundred dollars in lot rent. OR- get the heck out of here.
Do you have a good endorsed here??