Where I live you die from eating deeply discounted ground beef a month after buying it :)
How To Live (Comfortably) on $36 A Month For Food
11–20 of 136 posts
Re: How To Live (Comfortably) on $36 A Month For Food
#12Something that always amazes me is how people are willing to sacrifice quite a bit when it comes to monthly food costs, when in reality these costs are incredibly low compared to the benefits you get (nutrition and health). Why don't people reconsider getting trashed on Friday and Saturday nights, where bar bills can run up to $20/night or find less convenient housing and save themselves $50/month. Or how about getting rid of the non-essentials like cable, internet, or a car. IMHO food is the one monthly cost that you should not cut corners, because the long term effects have actual measurable detriments to your personal well-being.
Re: How To Live (Comfortably) on $36 A Month For Food
#13Where I live you die from eating deeply discounted ground beef a month after buying it :)
Do you live in a place without freezers?
Re: How To Live (Comfortably) on $36 A Month For Food
#14As a poor college student I'm currently on a food budget of < $40 per month. I rarely buy anything but bread, bacon, peanut butter, cheese, bananas, eggs, yogurt, and butter. It's a bit monotonous, but I was surprised how quickly I got used to it.
Try replacing some of that with seasoned brown rice and beans. It will be cheaper, healthier and (depending on what spices you use) tastier.
Re: How To Live (Comfortably) on $36 A Month For Food
#15It is important to think about eating in terms of return on investment. You can spend more money on better food (you can also spend more money on worse food) and get better overall fitness and alertness and performance in general from your body. The important thing to know is what is the cost and what is the benefit.
Nutrition is a vast science.
* All carbs are not equal.
* All fat is not equal.
* All protein is not equal. Beans are not meat.
Re: How To Live (Comfortably) on $36 A Month For Food
#16As a poor college student I'm currently on a food budget of < $40 per month. I rarely buy anything but bread, bacon, peanut butter, cheese, bananas, eggs, yogurt, and butter. It's a bit monotonous, but I was surprised how quickly I got used to it.
Frankly I would suggest working an extra 4 hours per week and use the 30-40 dollars you will make and buy extra food. When we are young (like I used to be 10 years ago) we tend to think we can handle going with the least amount of food. Well, No. It definitely looks as if you are fine, but it takes sometimes years before poor eating habits start to show effects.
Re: How To Live (Comfortably) on $36 A Month For Food
#17Too many carbs, not enough protein and fat.
Easy to fix: buy dried pinto beans and lard. Soak the pintos in water over night. The next day, pour off the water and simmer them in fresh water for about an hour. Strain your beans, put them in a pan (or cast-iron skillet), and pour liquid lard over top of them until the fat is about half-way up the beans. Cook over medium heat until the beans have exploded out of their skins. Now, take a potato masher to them. If they're too dry, add more fat. Season to taste.
Refried beans are a great source of protein, fat, and flavor, and are one of the cheapest foods around. Pair it with some rice and vegetables and you've got a pretty nutritious meal (assuming you need all those calories).
Re: How To Live (Comfortably) on $36 A Month For Food
#18The numbers you're using sound wrong now. In the last year or maybe 2 years food prices have skyrocketed. I'll go to store to pick up a few things and end up with a bag or two of groceries, and the bill is like $100 -- I know I could scrimp and figure out ways to spend less, but it wasn't always like that. The same stuff costs way more now.
If you want to talk about really healthy food, especially if you have a strange diet like veganism, then forget it, your bill will be huge.
Re: How To Live (Comfortably) on $36 A Month For Food
#19executive summary: base your meals around cheap food staples, such as rice, beans, oats. buy other cheap things, use coupons and buy expiring food in order to spice up each meal.
Re: How To Live (Comfortably) on $36 A Month For Food
#20Something that always amazes me is how people are willing to sacrifice quite a bit when it comes to monthly food costs, when in reality these costs are incredibly low compared to the benefits you get (nutrition and health). Why don't people reconsider getting trashed on Friday and Saturday nights, where bar bills can run up to $20/night or find less convenient housing and save themselves $50/month. Or how about getti…
With the audience on here, I doubt that internet is considered "non-essential". It sounds to me that he ate a pretty balanced diet. Not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, but plain, and for the most part, healthy food.