How to eat healthily on £1 a day • Hacker News Board

Re: How to eat healthily on £1 a day

#31

Post by hexonexxon » Sat, Apr 27, 2013, 5:14 PM UTC

jiggy2011 wrote: post #21

shubb wrote: post #3

The problem with this article is that a lot of things that are cheap for one serving go stale before you eat the second. For instance, on day one, he adds some mint which cost ~50p to buy, but he calls 1p because he only eats a little. He does not eat the rest of the mint that week, so it cost him ~50p, i.e. half the days budget. I am poor and eat very cheap. I do that using dry bulk foods and frozen veg. This is imp…

Entirely agree, when you are poor your biggest problem is not actually quantity of money. It's the flow of money. So the problem is often not "I have £50 to plan food for the rest of the month" but "I have an unexpected expense and now I have £2 I found behind the sofa and a bare cupboard/fridge to feed myself until I get some more money". I also found that when I am poor I am much more reluctant to go out and buy in…

The poor also make bad financial emergency decisions like using payday loan companies and loansharks, so a significant amount of their actual income just goes to paying off debts.

I lived in the "poorest postal code in Canada" and it was full of guys who traded food to each other like they were still in prison. If you didn't pay the huge interest payments you found yourself assaulted, unable to work, and deeper in the hole

Re: How to eat healthily on £1 a day

#32

Post by robertskmiles » Sat, Apr 27, 2013, 5:14 PM UTC

GigabyteCoin wrote: post #9

elmuchoprez wrote: post #4

This reminds me of a project I did in November of 2006 when I decided to eat for $1/day for the month. The whole thing is chronicled here: http://www.hungryforamonth.blogspot.com/ I wouldn't say what I did was exactly healthy though.

In the bbc article the woman's diet for day one consisted of: Breakfast: - one piece of toast and margarine (6p - cost of tea) - one cup of tea (6p - cost of toast - cost of margarine) - one "unethical" egg (8.7p) Lunch: - one ham sandwhich, presumably just bread and ham (29p) Snack: - one "value" scone with jam (6p) - one apple (free?) Dinner: (37p combined, I imagine there are some more "free" ingredients in here)…

> I would be a bit worried to eat one that cost over 10x less and the seller was still able to make a profit.

A lot of supermarkets, at least in the UK, sell various basic foodstuffs as loss leaders[1], so they are making a significant loss on each one they sell. They do this to get you into the shop, in the hopes that you'll buy other more profitable items once there. Also, in university towns supermarkets are prepared to take a loss in order to secure the long-term brand loyalty of students who are shopping at supermarkets for the first time and forming their opinions, and will go on to become professionals who can afford the more profitable products.

If you are smart you can take advantage of these to get food very cheaply indeed.

[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader

Re: How to eat healthily on £1 a day

#33

Post by sengstrom » Sat, Apr 27, 2013, 5:20 PM UTC

elmuchoprez wrote: post #4

This reminds me of a project I did in November of 2006 when I decided to eat for $1/day for the month. The whole thing is chronicled here: http://www.hungryforamonth.blogspot.com/ I wouldn't say what I did was exactly healthy though.

I found your blog engaging and also a more honest attempt to try this out.

Re: How to eat healthily on £1 a day

#34

Post by hobbescalvin » Sat, Apr 27, 2013, 5:20 PM UTC

rwmj wrote: post #6

shubb wrote: post #3

The problem with this article is that a lot of things that are cheap for one serving go stale before you eat the second. For instance, on day one, he adds some mint which cost ~50p to buy, but he calls 1p because he only eats a little. He does not eat the rest of the mint that week, so it cost him ~50p, i.e. half the days budget. I am poor and eat very cheap. I do that using dry bulk foods and frozen veg. This is imp…

If you're on a budget and you're buying fresh mint, then you're doing it wrong. Mint grows like a weed, in a patch of garden, or on a windowsill. Herbs like rosemary, thyme, mint, coriander, basil you should always be growing.

Mint literally is a weed in the meadow behind my house.

Re: How to eat healthily on £1 a day

#35

Post by SoftwareMaven » Sat, Apr 27, 2013, 5:21 PM UTC

The amount of highly processed carbohydrates is frightening and far from "healthy"[1]. It's unfortunate, but to eat healthy costs more, because healthy food spoils.

I look at it like this: if a food doesn't spoil[2], it is most likely because bacteria and fungus can get no nutritional value from it. Do I want to eat that?

1. http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Controversial-Scienc...

2. There are some exceptions, of course, but surprisingly few.

Re: How to eat healthily on £1 a day

#36

Post by rgbrenner » Sat, Apr 27, 2013, 5:22 PM UTC

GigabyteCoin wrote: post #9

elmuchoprez wrote: post #4

This reminds me of a project I did in November of 2006 when I decided to eat for $1/day for the month. The whole thing is chronicled here: http://www.hungryforamonth.blogspot.com/ I wouldn't say what I did was exactly healthy though.

In the bbc article the woman's diet for day one consisted of: Breakfast: - one piece of toast and margarine (6p - cost of tea) - one cup of tea (6p - cost of toast - cost of margarine) - one "unethical" egg (8.7p) Lunch: - one ham sandwhich, presumably just bread and ham (29p) Snack: - one "value" scone with jam (6p) - one apple (free?) Dinner: (37p combined, I imagine there are some more "free" ingredients in here)…

So I wasn't the only one that noticed the free apple... Around here a single apple is $0.50-$1 depending on the size. I too can eat for less than a dollar by simply not counting the expensive parts.

Re: How to eat healthily on £1 a day

#37

Post by jiggy2011 » Sat, Apr 27, 2013, 5:28 PM UTC

hexonexxon wrote: post #31

jiggy2011 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Entirely agree, when you are poor your biggest problem is not actually quantity of money. It's the flow of money. So the problem is often not "I have £50 to plan food for the rest of the month" but "I have an unexpected expense and now I have £2 I found behind the sofa and a bare cupboard/fridge to feed myself until I get some more money". I also found that when I am poor I am much more reluctant to go out and buy in…

The poor also make bad financial emergency decisions like using payday loan companies and loansharks, so a significant amount of their actual income just goes to paying off debts. I lived in the "poorest postal code in Canada" and it was full of guys who traded food to each other like they were still in prison. If you didn't pay the huge interest payments you found yourself assaulted, unable to work, and deeper in th…

I don't think it's necessarily poor financial decision making that leads to payday loans. If you are poor you are unlikely to qualify for a regular loan and you might not have family who can lend you the money you need.

If you find yourself with a week until payday and £0 in the bank it may be difficult not to consider the option.

Re: How to eat healthily on £1 a day

#38

Post by hexonexxon » Sat, Apr 27, 2013, 5:29 PM UTC

shubb wrote: post #27

jiggy2011 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Entirely agree, when you are poor your biggest problem is not actually quantity of money. It's the flow of money. So the problem is often not "I have £50 to plan food for the rest of the month" but "I have an unexpected expense and now I have £2 I found behind the sofa and a bare cupboard/fridge to feed myself until I get some more money". I also found that when I am poor I am much more reluctant to go out and buy in…

Yeah, this is an important point. When I said bulk, I meant £10 of stuff, rather than the massive quantities you can get from Amazon. I think instant pay day loan companies like Wonga have done a lot for the cash flow problem. Personally, I've never used them, but if you have a bill and need to avoid a £50 late penalty, you can get a $100 loan at 1% interest a day, which is a brilliant value proposition if payday is…

1%?? Lol they charge 150% where I live until the regulators clamped down on them and class action lawsuits happened. Now it's $50 maximum per week they can charge, but they get around this with NSF fees and late charges.

They also hit bank accounts with EFT withdrawal up to 3x per day if the first one didn't clear, which is $40 NSF charge each time. Unfortunately because these lenders signed a piece of paper allowing for automatic withdrawal, the payday loan company then steals all your money the day before you are paid, so your account will be debited -$200 for a $100 loan you missed a payment for, factoring in all the NSF and late charges. Since most people are paid with direct deposit nothing they could do to stop this. Bank will also charge interest on the overdraft.

So on payday you have nothing, and are forced to go back to the payday loan company just to survive but are now paying even higher interest, because you defaulted once. Sounds like they are well regulated where you live but not here they are still loan sharks.

Re: How to eat healthily on £1 a day

#39

Post by gnosis » Sat, Apr 27, 2013, 5:30 PM UTC

hexonexxon wrote: post #28

cbhl wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article also excludes the cost of electricity/gas to power the stove/microwave, the cost of water to cook e.g. pasta and clean the pans after, the cost of the pans amortized over your meals, the cost of plates and utensils... If someone else is paying utilities (say, your local university, or your landlord), and you already own kitchen equipment (say, hand-me-downs from your mum) perhaps this is a reasonable assu…

true, I also don't like these articles when the guy magically has a rice cooker, strainer, pots/pans and all cooking utensils ready to go. these articles should be done starting in a single room occupancy hotel with a hot plate and nothing else, because that's what you get when you are poor: nothing.

That's if you're lucky enough to be in a hotel, and not out on the street, where you'd be lucky to have access to even a hot plate.

Re: How to eat healthily on £1 a day

#40

Post by claudius » Sat, Apr 27, 2013, 5:33 PM UTC

Samuel_Michon wrote: post #12

dobbsbob wrote: post #8

A loaf of bread where I live is $4. Blew his daily budget with one purchase. Cant buy single eggs even from a local farmers market here so thats another $4-6. Cheese is probably the most expensive item at $10. If you bought everything this guy ate youre looking at $60 or so and it will last about 5 days, which is 7gbp per day. Must be cheap food in the UK

Well, the author bought everything in larger quantities while conveniently not taking into account limited shelf life. He also makes trips to 5 different supermarkets to get the cheapest prices, which takes a lot of time (research & shopping) and gas. One of the best ways to cut costs is to not cook for one, but to cook together with others. Then you can buy in bulk like the author suggested. I live alone and I do co…

You can get by basically anywhere in Europe without a car. Sure, you might have to walk 20 or 30 minutes or so (one-way), but the wear on your shoes from that is absolutely negligible.