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How To Live (Comfortably) on $36 A Month For Food

andrewhyde.net

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Re: How To Live (Comfortably) on $36 A Month For Food

#31

Post by andrewhyde »

edw519 wrote: post #21

Big mistake. A better title would be, "How to sacrifice you health for money." No thanks. I can be cheap with a lot of things, but not with the food I put into my body. The kind of diet OP proposes may work OK for a while. The younger you are, the more resilient you probably are, so that can be quite a while. But sooner or later, especially if you're a little bit older, you will be trading quality of life for a few b…

Most of the meals I listed are actually pretty balanced. If I listed 'eat mac and cheese and dollar menu items' I would be right with you, but salads, eggs, PB&J and rice and beef are pretty good staples to build any diet off of.

I'm not advocating anyone goes near as far as I did, but something to keep in mind for that friend that eats like shit out every night spending 10x what you could by making a healthier option at home.

Re: How To Live (Comfortably) on $36 A Month For Food

#36

Post by edw519 »

andrewhyde wrote: post #31
edw519 wrote: post #21

Big mistake. A better title would be, "How to sacrifice you health for money." No thanks. I can be cheap with a lot of things, but not with the food I put into my body. The kind of diet OP proposes may work OK for a while. The younger you are, the more resilient you probably are, so that can be quite a while. But sooner or later, especially if you're a little bit older, you will be trading quality of life for a few b…

Most of the meals I listed are actually pretty balanced. If I listed 'eat mac and cheese and dollar menu items' I would be right with you, but salads, eggs, PB&J and rice and beef are pretty good staples to build any diet off of. I'm not advocating anyone goes near as far as I did, but something to keep in mind for that friend that eats like shit out every night spending 10x what you could by making a healthier optio…

I'm one of those "nuts" who insists that fresh produce comprises about 80% of what I eat, so that's my major source of disagreement. I have never found a way to eat like this for even 5x what you're recommending. Salads and frest fruit are definitely good staples to build any diet of. Eggs, PB&J, rice, and beef, OTOH are compromises. But that's another whole debate outside the scope of hn.

If I ate like most people then $36/month sounds difficult, but achieveable. But I don't and I wouldn't advocate changing away from eating excellence to save money.

Re: How To Live (Comfortably) on $36 A Month For Food

#37

Post by ryanwaggoner »

sound2man wrote: post #20
physcab wrote: post #12

Something 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.

I agree that it sounds like he ate pretty healthy, but stuff like this really freaks me out:

Lard is the highest calorie per cent food you can buy.

That just seems to be the epitome of penny-wise and pound-foolish for 99.9% of people, who would be far better off trimming their budget in other categories so they could eat healthier instead of viewing food as just a source of calories.

Re: How To Live (Comfortably) on $36 A Month For Food

#38

Post by lutorm »

TrevorJ wrote: post #32

I a lot of people are suggesting that this diet is not healthy, but I'm not convinced. Eggs, salads, veggies, fruits, rice, beans, cheeses, beef...As long as things are taken in the correct quantities I see very little problem here, am I wrong?

To me, I'd just be suspicious of anything sold at those prices. You're a bottom feeder on the dregs of the food-industrial complex, and that can't be good.

Re: How To Live (Comfortably) on $36 A Month For Food

#40

Post by jonknee »

physcab wrote: post #12

Something 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…

It's easy. You don't need to break a contract or lease to start it. You can learn how to cook which is a really valuable skill. And if you're not already cooking at home you will almost be assured to be eating better food (well once you get comfortable!).

I usually buy what protein is on sale and plan meals around that. It has a nice side effect of varying my diet.

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