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Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

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Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#111

Post by anonuser123456 »

Retric wrote: post #84
wormseed wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most Americans live in a state where unemployment benefits is easily enough for food.

Personally unemployment insurance does not cover my rent. It’s enough to stretch out savings dramatically, but saving on food budget would then be even more important. Especially if you’re considering cashing in some 401k stocks in a down market.

Renegotiate your rent during the crisis.

It's extremely unlikely your landlord is going to be able to rent it to someone new in the foreseeable future. Most landlords are highly leveraged and need income.

Make an offer to cut it in half and see if they bite.

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#112

Post by Zenst »

dean177 wrote: post #104
Zenst wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's based upon normal metabolism and if you calorie reduce your metabolisim will also slow down, you also need vitamins to help the body work and some will be need to break down fat into energy. Vitamins and minerals are not something you can reduce without effect/impact. So do factor that into any calorie reduction. This and body fat only goes so far and as a metric is often flawed in measurement as any rugby or…

> muscle weighs more than fat On average, the density of fat is 0.9 g/mL, while the density of muscle is 1.1 g/mL. It’s just not that much

Sure on average but whilst that is often bounded about, most people are not average. Bit like having 10 people with shoe sizes of 4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13 so you go, the average size is 8.5 and proceed to make 10 pairs of 8.5 size shoes.

Gets down to knowing yourself and how much that differentiates from the average and adjusting accordingly. Alas many look at average and work with that, so somebody small who needs may think the average alcohol limit is X, so I can drink X and still be legal to drive and yet as they are smaller, find their blood volume less and the alcohol to blood level is higher than that average and tada, drunk drives without realising as they thought they had stayed under the average limit.

Averages used as a literal are dangerous, they need to be treated as a guideline by people when applying them to themselves, can't stipulate that enough.

[EDIT a grammar I spotted]

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#114

Post by joenot443 »

chantelles wrote: post #106

I left home at 15 and some adults who worked together let me move in with them and be their maid. I paid $150 a month in rent and got $10 a month to live on. I worked out how to live off Milo (a Jamaican malt supplement), Chips Ahoy cookies (1/2 a cookie a day for a treat) and dumpster dived vegetables (mostly cabbages and carrots). I lived like this for years, when I got my first real jobs I made sure to save at lea…

Wow, what a story! If you don't mind me asking, what was your path like going from dumpster-diving vegetables to retirement at 35?

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#115

Post by zxcvbn4038 »

captainbland wrote: post #7

Good list. The problem, at least here in the UK, is that these cheap foods/ingredients are exactly what we're seeing empty on the shelves now. Unfortunately for those who live cheaply, expensive things go last.

I bet all of the survivalist guys are sitting guys are sitting in their bunkers with their prime rib MREs and laughing at us right now.

At least people are panic buying a range of items, usually it’s just milk, eggs, and bread. What is the grand plan there? French toast three meals a day for a month? Custard? Really runny scrambled eggs on toast? You might want some raisins if your going all-in on bread pudding. I bet a lot of it ends up getting thrown away.

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#116

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

matwood wrote: post #52
bluedino wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We haven't reached shortages and such yet - and we also would have to have food scarcity for a long time to change the habits of Americans. This will be "real" food scarcity, not the stuff manufactured by the left and the media, with food deserts and all. I haven't seen fresh beef or chicken and the grocery stores for two weeks now. I doubt we'll get to the point of our grandparents and great grandparents, where they…

> I haven't seen fresh beef or chicken and the grocery stores for two weeks now. I don't know where you are located, but beef and fish was never an issue here. Chicken and pork sold out, but have been getting restocked every other day. Can you explain what about COVID-19 is going to cause food scarcity in the US?

What could cause it would be a very high rate of infection that knocks out 20% of the workforce operating in food harvest, production and/or distribution. Even if they all recover (likely, it seems), that would make it hard to keep the supply chains running smoothly.

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#117

Post by RobertRoberts »

chantelles wrote: post #106

I left home at 15 and some adults who worked together let me move in with them and be their maid. I paid $150 a month in rent and got $10 a month to live on. I worked out how to live off Milo (a Jamaican malt supplement), Chips Ahoy cookies (1/2 a cookie a day for a treat) and dumpster dived vegetables (mostly cabbages and carrots). I lived like this for years, when I got my first real jobs I made sure to save at lea…

I lived with my wife in a van for months. We dumpster dived behind bakeries, pizza places and ate very simple food. Even now 24+ years later we live a very simple life with few things. (I left home at 17, and lived on the streets for a time as well, so a van was luxury to me)

My hope is that if nothing else, the current situation opens people's eyes to past indulgences with no thought toward the future. I wish I had saved as much as you had, I would be better off now. (I simply never learned good financial sense until later in life)

More than anything though, I am not afraid of going back to nothing. (I am sure you may have a similar "mental safety net?)

It's not the end of the world and we can recover from this current state. Not sure it's comforting to those that face this imminently, but many people have survived far worse.

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#118

Post by gruez »

SpicyLemonZest wrote: post #29
SlowRobotAhead wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it’s just my area but I’m not seeing any rational panic buying anywhere. My stores have PLENTY of non-perishable items, but you know what’s missing for me? Russet potatoes, bottled water (which will last you like a week without a means to make more), frozen pizzas, bananas, bread, milk, eggs. I don’t get it.

That sounds like pretty rational panic buying to me. We can be confident at this point that the pandemic isn't going to sever the food supply; the threat model is that you might get a fever, and have to stay at home for a week or two without being able to re-up on pizza and milk and eggs.

>the threat model is that you might get a fever, and have to stay at home for a week or two without being able to re-up on pizza and milk and eggs.

Also, not wanting to make unnecessary trips to the supermarket where you can potentially come in contact with infected people.

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#119

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

AntonStratiev wrote: post #4

A significant portion of the population will be reduced to poverty, but at least we can keep as many elderly alive as possible.

If hospitals are faced with a massive influx of people suffering from COVID-19 in ways that require hospitalization, what do you think happens to the rest of medical care?

If 20% of the population are simultaneously suffering from "a bad flu", what do you think happens to supply chains?

Re: Eat for $1.50 per Day – Layoffs, Coronavirus Quarantine, Food Shortages

#120

Post by TallGuyShort »

mellavora wrote: post #98
TallGuyShort wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're literally commenting on an article called "Eat for $1.50 per day". If you can't, over years of plenty, build up a few weeks reserve then we're having a different discussion because a mere broken bone or car battery failure will then wipe out your independence. And yes there are people in that situation. But most people are a little beyond that. And even those WAY beyond that are helpless and dependent on rushe…

You might want to check official govnt stats on this. A surprising number of american households are not a little beyond that, they are exactly there, where a $400 expense would put them over the edge. Or, in this case, $400 in lost income. Looking at the person you are replying to, who for many months had to choose between utility bill or food, please show a little compassion for how difficult saving can be when you…

It sounds like you're making my point. A $400 expense will put them over the edge. If they can find a way to eek out 1 extra can or box of shelf-stable food a week and put it aside. Within a year they can easily absorb having to go a couple of weeks with no trip to the grocery store because of that expense.

I have compassion on all the people who felt absolutely fucked this week because they had never done that.

Also I did this on minimum wage for 4 years. I'm not judging I'm giving advice. If you disagree, I an my supply of toilet paper, rice and pinto beans will keep on truckin'.

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