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The three most difficult things to get non-GF 
eaters to accept are GF bread, GF past and GF pizza.

Prices for these three things have a wide range.
The key is to find the least expensive ones that a
non-GF eater will accept. From that perspective:

GF bread: Udi's white or whole grain are the best.
Lowest price is directly from Udi's at $4.50/loaf- they ship for free.

GF pasta: 'La Veneziane', can't tell it's GF, even if you eat it plain! They have penne, spaghetti and eliche (cork-screw pasta). They come in 8oz packages (two servings) at $4.00/package.

Pizza: Surprisingly the toughest thing to make GF.Your best bet is to make your own crust. Here is a recipe to try:

       1-1/3 cup water
          1    cup rice flour ($1.00)
          1    cup potato starch ($1.00)
          1    cup corn starch ($0.50)
         1/2  cup corn flour ($0.35)
         1/2  cup tapioca starch ($0.35)
         1/4  cup olive oil ($0.20)
          4    tsp xanthan gum ($0.50)
          2    tsp dry yeast ($0.20)
          3    tsp sugar ($0.05)
          2         eggs ($0.20)
      
At $4.35 this dough is good for:
            - One 12-inch, thick-crust, pizza crust
            - or two, 10-inch, thin-crust, pizza crusts
            - or one large loaf of bread 

A wacky, very thin-crust, personal pizza alternative: use a 6-inch Mission, yellow corn tortilla for the pizza crust !

An alternative for sandwiches - less expensive than Udi's bread or for when you run out of Udi's: wraps using Mission yellow corn tortillas. Just warm the tortilla in the microwave, layer on some cheese and cod-cuts and roll.

If the family is into pancakes or waffles, Pamela's mix is the only way to go ... you might be able to find something cheaper, but if the non-GF family members won't eat it it's not worth it. Pamela's is close enough to the real thing to satisfy most people.

For the rest of your cooking:
- Soy sauce - La Choy Lite is GF
- Thickener for sauces - substitute corn starch for flour
- Dessert pie crusts - depending on what would best complement the filling - assumes there's no nut allergies in the family:
              In a food processor chop almonds and pecans
              (or just almonds or just pecans) with some sugar and
              some butter. Chop/mix until you have a spreadable mix.
              spread on the pie tin, pat it down and bake at 350 for
              five minutes. Let it cool, pour in the filing and bake as
              usual.

Does she have a food service store near her?  We have a place called 
"Cash and Carry" that has recently started carrying 25 lb bags of Bob's 
Red Mill GF Flour Mix.  It costs 29.95!  You use it just like regular 
flour and make all your own stuff, although I haven't tried it for 
bread.  I made pancakes, waffles, cake, etc.  Works like a charm.  If 
you buy this flour at Walmart, it's $2.95 for 22 oz.  And at the health 
food store it was $4.49 for the same little pkg.  It requires that you 
add xanthan gum, which is pricey, but it is cheaper than anything else. 
Some people don't like it because it has bean flour, but that makes it 
hold up better and have better structure (I'm a food scientist) and also 
adds protein.

Avoid buying the processed GF foods, particularly baked goods, as much as possible.

mix up your own whole grain GF waffle or pancake mix for breakfasts - easy to do a much healthier alternative to starchy GF packaged mixes. - top with fruit and yoghurt or syrup

Corn tortillas! Brush a little oil in the pan; spread a little mashed pinto or black beans on a corn tortilla, add a little grated cheese. Cook in skillet until cheese is bubling and tortilla slightly crisp. Top with grated lettuce, tomatoes, whatever salad-type items, salsa, guacamole. Fun finger food for kids, too!

eggs, beans, peanut butter and canned fish are all good, relatively inexpensive protein sources.

As a homemaker, she likely has time for more home cooking - a plus for saving $$.

Aim to cook cuisines that are naturally GF or easily adapted - i.e. GF soy sauce for oriental stir fry; mexican w/ corn tortillas, thai, Mediterranean (hummus, salads, rice), 
Persian, Cuban...

I would suggest going to Mexican or Asian route. Perhaps her family enjoys those foods? Make your own taco seasoning and use corn tortillas or shells. Gluten can be hidden in sour cream, but Walmart's generic brand is gluten free. Walmart has a contract with the Celiac Foundation, so you can actually find a lot of affordable items there, including pastas. With Asian food, La Choy soy sauce is gluten free and not expensive. When I first went gluten free in 07, I ate a lot of meat and veggies with either rice or potatoes. Now, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Instead of buying gf flours, I grind down nuts in my blender and coat my chicken with that. I also use crushed tortilla chips. We have a Lowe's grocery here which will order gf items if I request it. It never hurts to ask the manager of her local grocery store if they can do that as well.

I built a lot of our meals around naturally gf foods.  For example,  Rice in the rice steamer, and then topped with chili or stir fry.  

A good basic dinner menu in our house would be :  1.  protein such as chicken, steak or fish  2.  carb such as rice, risotto, potatoes, or corn 3.  salad 4.  veggies.

When I did pasta I would cook one sauce, and then make two pots of noodles. To prevent cross contamination I would keep separate spoons next to each pot for stirring, and time it so the gf noodles would be done first, so they would go into colander first.

A nice cheap alternative to gf pasta, and naturally gf is spaghetti squash. It can be served simply with butter and cheese (like parmesan) or served with pasta sauce or pesto.  I make a kind of poor-man's mac-n-cheese by sautéing onion in butter and olive oil, adding cottage cheese and cooking on low heat til smooth (stir with whisk) then put over cooked spaghetti squash. Can bake like that or for variety can add more cheese - parmesan, grated cheddar or other hard cheese.  Bake in oven about 20  minutes til bubbly - yum!

I avoid prepared gf foods partly due to expense, and partly due to the fact that they tend to be high in fat and calories and low in fiber and nutrition.   Also many taste really bad.  I have found it cheaper and healthier to do a lot of home baking.  For example,  I bake a lot of muffins for lunch boxes - make big batches and then freeze in ziplock bags.  When kids were younger I always had home-made gf pizza and cupcakes in our freezer for birthday parties.  The pizza I would cut into individual slices, wrap in saran wrap, and then put into ziplock bags to freeze.  The cupcakes I would freeze un-iced, and then thaw one and ice it for the party.  I had little cupcake sized tupperwares just for parties.

We eat a lot of corn tortillas - mostly as quesadillas which are quick and easy with refried beans and cheese.  For years these were a standard afterschool snack in our house.  Or can be made fancy with chicken or beef, sautéed veggies.  Or we make them into burritos. 

I had one picky eater who wouldn't touch veggies.  To make sure he got vitamins and plenty of fiber to prevent constipation, He got home-made fruit smoothies 4 - 5 times per week as snacks.  Yogurt, oj or other juice;  fresh or frozen fruits - blended til smooth.  Frozen fruits such as berries and mango provide lots of nutrition and fiber, are cheaper than  fresh and keep a long time in freezer. 

we have found GF flours and mixes cheaper to buy from amazon.com (especially when they have a gf promotion of 10-25% off).  have to buy in bulk and be able to store in freezer.  easiest flour substitute we use is 1 part brown rice flour, 1 part garbanzo bean flour, 1 part tapioca flour + xanthum gum (depending upon what baking, around 3/4 tsp per 1 c flour).

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