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What’s it like to live on less than $2 a day?

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Re: What’s it like to live on less than $2 a day?

#131

Post by mikepurvis »

Eyght wrote: post #89
dluan wrote: post #75

I did this in college for a week as part of a $2 dollar a day challenge for a student microfinance club. I knew well enough that it was near impossible to do it accurately in the U.S. where costs are inflated for basic things, and I also was discounting things like my tiny rent and what not, but I wanted to just go through it once as an exercise. I had $14 and I used most of it to stock up on dry beans. I think I end…

For about a year I lived off ~$16/week(not including rent) here in Sweden (which is not known as a cheap country to live in). I could just about get by and put away some meager savings. But those savings were continuosly lost to random unforeseen expenses in the $20 range. In my opinion it's not possible to live like that for any longer stretch of time. As soon as an emergency presents itself, you're wiped out and en…

I wonder if this would get a lot easier with a group. Like, is it easier for 50 people to survive on $100/week of food than for one person to survive on $2. Obviously not practical for most western lifestyles, but I'm just imagining the various economies of scale around making a big pots of soup, chili, hummus, baking bread, etc. All of these things are labour intensive but can be done extremely cheaply if you're working from raw materials and your fixed costs (tools, equipment, etc) are covered.

Re: What’s it like to live on less than $2 a day?

#132

Post by proverbialbunny »

Broken_Hippo wrote: post #130
proverbialbunny wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The holy grail of cheap food is Italian. You can buy a large bag of noodles for pennies sometimes, and making sauce is cheap, but even pre made canned sauce is cheap enough to fit the $2 a day challenge. (If not $1 a day depending on where you shop.) If you're desperate or just old fashioned, peanut butter goes a long way. Cheap day old sandwich bread or bagels found at a bakery, and cheese, like cheddar cheese slice…

Ultimately, if you want to take on a challenge like this, be prepared to buy everything in bulk, and be prepared stop eating meat, or eating very little. Agree on the meat, however: Most folks that are poor simply cannot buy in bulk. If you are lucky you get paid once a month, but getting paid once a month also limits how often you can eat fresh vegetables. Canned might be your only option. If you don't get paid once…

Most of the foods I mentioned above you can't buy in small quantity. Eg, you can't buy a single slice of bread.

Bulk here meaning usually 1 weeks worth of food. Small enough the average person buys in that quantity, including people who are paycheck to paycheck.

>'ll mention that the unfortunate bit of $2 per day doesn't actually include only groceries, but other necessities as well. I don't know what the amount is in the states, but wherever it is, it doesn't leave a lot of room for anything but the most basic food. No spices. No chips since you can buy beans (or lentils!) and rice that last for multiple days cheaper than you can buy the bag of chips.

The $2 a day food challenge is just food, nothing else. It's a challenge, not a hypothetical for someone who is homeless. Food stamps give quite a bit more than $2 a day.

Re: What’s it like to live on less than $2 a day?

#133

Post by MuffinFlavored »

tobr wrote: post #83
inamberclad wrote: post #46

I'm kinda put off by the production of these videos. It feels like some artsy vlog or artisan type video, but instead it's highres slowmo shots of someone's sheet metal hut and the sunlight coming through smoke and dirt while they slog through another day with nearly nothing to show for it. I feel like the videographers missed the point by trying to make it pretty.

Maybe not surprising when you go to the world’s 2nd richest person, a person whose net worth keeps increasing by billions per year, to learn what it’s like to live on nothing.

What percentage of his time and net worth has Bill Gates given to those in poverty over the years?

Re: What’s it like to live on less than $2 a day?

#134

Post by Amygaz »

proverbialbunny wrote: post #128
mettamage wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you guys share some strategies? The parent talks about beans. I wonder what Eyght did.

The holy grail of cheap food is Italian. You can buy a large bag of noodles for pennies sometimes, and making sauce is cheap, but even pre made canned sauce is cheap enough to fit the $2 a day challenge. (If not $1 a day depending on where you shop.) If you're desperate or just old fashioned, peanut butter goes a long way. Cheap day old sandwich bread or bagels found at a bakery, and cheese, like cheddar cheese slice…

Pizza at Trader Joe’s are between 80 and 380 calories. And nutritional values are terrible. You might be able to survive on that for a few weeks, but you won’t thrive, you will get weak and sick easily.

Re: What’s it like to live on less than $2 a day?

#135

Post by segmondy »

mettamage wrote: post #116
dluan wrote: post #75

I did this in college for a week as part of a $2 dollar a day challenge for a student microfinance club. I knew well enough that it was near impossible to do it accurately in the U.S. where costs are inflated for basic things, and I also was discounting things like my tiny rent and what not, but I wanted to just go through it once as an exercise. I had $14 and I used most of it to stock up on dry beans. I think I end…

Could you guys share some strategies? The parent talks about beans. I wonder what Eyght did.

You can feed yourself for $2 a day in the US, not live on tho. But you can do that much easier if you have money upfront from the beginning instead of getting $2 every day. Let's say you have $60 in the beginning of the month. You can buy a 25lb of rice for $10-$15. You can then do the same for beans and you would have spent $20-$30. Some spices salt, pepper, thyme, onions and vegetable oil. Then if you're feeling really luxurious chicken. Buy multi vitamin to make up for what you're missing. Go to vegetable / farmers market while they are about to shut down and you can make out like a bandit for $5. Tons of vegetables or fruits they don't want to take home with them.

Re: What’s it like to live on less than $2 a day?

#136

Post by nroets »

sametmax wrote: post #121
amelius wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would be the equivalent of $2 in the US?

Compared to where ? $2 isn't even worth the same, depending of the place you are in the US.

Most people in the US are within a bicycle ride from a Walmart or similar discounter. (New York City is a notable exception). So $5 is has similar buying power throughout the US.

I know because I spent 5 months cycling through the US on a tiny budget.

For calories you would buy ramen noodles. Aim for 2000 calories per day or more. For Vitamins and fibre, buy apples ($1.11 per pound). At least one apple per day. An iceberg lettuce every 10 days or so is a good idea.

What does that average to ? Maybe $5 a day ??

Re: What’s it like to live on less than $2 a day?

#137

Post by proverbialbunny »

Amygaz wrote: post #134
proverbialbunny wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The holy grail of cheap food is Italian. You can buy a large bag of noodles for pennies sometimes, and making sauce is cheap, but even pre made canned sauce is cheap enough to fit the $2 a day challenge. (If not $1 a day depending on where you shop.) If you're desperate or just old fashioned, peanut butter goes a long way. Cheap day old sandwich bread or bagels found at a bakery, and cheese, like cheddar cheese slice…

Pizza at Trader Joe’s are between 80 and 380 calories. And nutritional values are terrible. You might be able to survive on that for a few weeks, but you won’t thrive, you will get weak and sick easily.

I didn't mean to imply only eating that every day and nothing else.

Also, most pizzas they sell are around 1050 calories. eg, https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/trader-joes/piz...

Re: What’s it like to live on less than $2 a day?

#138

Post by Retric »

nroets wrote: post #136
sametmax wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Compared to where ? $2 isn't even worth the same, depending of the place you are in the US.

Most people in the US are within a bicycle ride from a Walmart or similar discounter. (New York City is a notable exception). So $5 is has similar buying power throughout the US. I know because I spent 5 months cycling through the US on a tiny budget. For calories you would buy ramen noodles. Aim for 2000 calories per day or more. For Vitamins and fibre, buy apples ($1.11 per pound). At least one apple per day. An ic…

It really comes down to population density. I grew up about 1.5 hours from DC and it was a 25 mile trip to any big box store. In part this is because of how roads are laid out, if you need to get to a bridge that can be a significant detour.

Re: What’s it like to live on less than $2 a day?

#139

Post by 13of40 »

michaelmrose wrote: post #93
13of40 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My mother, for the last 30 years or so, has been a log cabin, raise goats, make Thanksgiving dinner over a propane fire kind of minimalist. Even so, she told me about this old guy who lived down the road who claimed to live on something like 8 USD per month. According to him, his secret was that he absolutely eschewed all vices.

Where are you legitimately allowed to live outside?

Actually you're allowed to live outside in most of the public land in the Western US. There are some rules about having to change watersheds every so often, IIRC, but throwing up a tent and staying in one spot for a few weeks is completely legitimate.

Re: What’s it like to live on less than $2 a day?

#140

Post by davchana »

segmondy wrote: post #135
mettamage wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you guys share some strategies? The parent talks about beans. I wonder what Eyght did.

You can feed yourself for $2 a day in the US, not live on tho. But you can do that much easier if you have money upfront from the beginning instead of getting $2 every day. Let's say you have $60 in the beginning of the month. You can buy a 25lb of rice for $10-$15. You can then do the same for beans and you would have spent $20-$30. Some spices salt, pepper, thyme, onions and vegetable oil. Then if you're feeling re…

I work in an Indian Grocery Store & none of the tens of types of rice are $15 for 25LB. The cheapest is $15 for 20LB.

Edit: Thanks for the price lists of Big Stores. I only have info about Indian Grocery Store.

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