I personally know some folks who spend all their money on fast food, and then online it seems pretty common folks not knowing how to cook causes massive financial problems.
My super duper cheap meal that takes no effort is “lazy rice veggie soup”: Can of peas and carrots cooked with a bouyon cube until cube is dissolved Add cooked rice to mix, and heat until rice is flavorful with absorbed broth
I do a cup of dried rice, and a can of peas and carrots which means the soup has 800ish calories and I think it’s pretty good as it’s either 2 small meals that you can have sides with, or one large one!
So what are your cheap meals you like to make? The less well known, the better!
Chilli is s great thing to learn to riff with. You almost can’t go wrong adding things to it. What you list here is a good starting point, but I’d almost certainly add onions and peppers to it.
Farro or cracked wheat can add a little meaty texture to a veg chili. The best veg chilli I ever had had sweet potato, something I’d never have thought of.