“Cheapatarian” has been cited since at least 1999 and has been infrequently used to describe someone who likes cheap things (not necessarily food).
 
“Cheapatarian” (cheap + vegetarian) has been cited in print since at least 2009, meaning someone who does not eat meat because it’s too expensive. “It’s just too expensive to buy responsibly raised meat. Does this make me a cheapatarian?” was cited on Twitter on December 30, 2009. “Cheapatarianism: The vegetarian’s £20 store cupboard” was a news story published on October 17, 2015.
 
 
Google Groups: alt.sewing
Advice on buying a serger or sewing machine as a holiday gift…
Kay Lancaster
12/1/99
(...)
Should you consider a used machine?  Here I’ll toss in an enthusiastic “YES!” (I’m a cheapatarian!)
     
CraftBanter.com
Help with Roman Shades???
Kay Lancaster
December 9th 04, 10:42 PM
Well, because I’m a cheapatarian, I’d probably skip the velcro and cover a mounting board with a piece of fabric that had a flap to which I could sew the top of the actual blind
   
InspirePoint.com
Kay Lancaster
posted on August 9, 2006, 5:41 am
Re: Serger gift: comments solicited
Ok, I’ve got no dogs in this fight—I’m not a dealer, I have two sergers I learned pretty much from scratch, and I’m a devout cheapatarian.  I’ve not tried any new sergers in the last 4-5 years.
 
Twitter
Cassie Johnston
‏@casslovessports
Kinda, accidentally, stopped eating meat. It’s just too expensive to buy responsibly raised meat. Does this make me a cheapatarian? #fb
9:16 PM - 30 Dec 2009
   
Letty’s Kitchen
july 13, 2010
Roasted Golden Beets and their Greens with Garlic Orange Dressing
(...)
Make this recipe as soon as you get the beets, because beet greens deteriorate more quickly than other greens. The cheapatarian in me hates to see them go to waste.
   
pixelperfectdotwordpressdotcom
New Year’s Resolutions
Posted on December 30, 2010
(...)
Continue with my “eat less meat” or as my vegetarian sister fondly calls it “cheapatarian” routine. Attempt to go fully vegetarian (and possibly vegan? Better take this one step at a time).
 
Twitter
Charlotte Neales
‏@charlotteneales
Stuffed butternut squash for dinner #cheapetarian
Embedded image permalink
3:35 PM - 31 Jan 2012
 
Twitter
Cait Espinoza
‏@TheGlobalBlonde
Meat is expensive, so I’m a cheapatarian! Can’t be morally smug but is cost effective:
What kind of vegetarian are you?http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/jan/28/what-kind-of-vegetarian-are-you …
6:33 AM - 28 Jan 2013
 
Twitter
laurie Kay
‏@qlkl
@HeyZeus666 I’ll just have a salad. (can’t afford meat anymore) a “cheapatarian”.
8:48 AM - 9 Nov 2014
 
Daily News Service (UK)
Cheapatarianism: The vegetarian’s £20 store cupboard
by Rae Story - Oct 17, 2015
Every cheapatarian needs a £20 pound store cupboard. Cheapatarianism is a portmanteau between cheap and vegetarianism, and it niftily highlights one of the diet’s often ignored benefits. Veggies and legumes are really economical tucker. Though meat can be bought cheaply from frozen or budget supermarkets, it is not of the best quality , and even a pack of frozen ‘reconstituted chicken bits’ are still not as cheap as a crunchy bag of carrots. If you bend towards flexitarianism, one of the benefits is that you can eat predominately plant based foods and save meat consumption for when you have the spare pennies for the organic, free range, locally sourced stuff. Perfect.