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

andrewhyde.net

121–130 of 136 posts

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

#121
post #98

I wish. I'm in the "eat well to avoid (huge) medical bills" crowd.

I don't see what the problem is with my comment. It's a sincere comment. I wish I could substantially cut my food bill. But I have a serious medical condition and have gotten off multiple prescription drugs in part by changing my diet (and doing a lot of research on what works for my particular condition). I know lots of people with my condition who are taking several thousand dollars a month in prescription drugs -- more than my monthly income in some cases. What I spend on food is high but it's cheaper than the alternative.

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

#122
food is very expensive those days, i live in tunisia and i estimate it (my spending) to $100/month

I like to eat and spend on eating, i think it's better than spending it on some kind of mobile phones; isn't eating better.

so $36 only if you don't have money: the poor, however a hacker can write few articles or code few lines and get an easy $150 a month and feed himself well;

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

#123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, you're just buying the wrong things. If I walk out of the store with $100 of groceries for my family of 3, it's an entire shopping cart full of food and lasts for weeks! 4-5 lbs of "on sale" meat, 10 lbs of bread flour, 5 lbs of sugar, 2 lbs of cheddar, a gallon of milk, cereal (from local mill, not the national brand stuff), vegetables, butter and lunch meat will cost around $60 here in the Upper Midwest. But if…

This is pretty much what I mean. You buy fairly average food, but I wouldn't touch most of what you mentioned with a barge pole. Meat? No. White Flour? No! Sugar? Hell no! Chedder? Maybe a little. Milk? Maybe, but expensive. Cereal? Probably not, unless it's real like granola or muesli, in which case it's expensive. Veggies? of course, but those also cost. Butter? Maybe a little. Lunch meat? No. Try doing without whi…

In both Berlin and Mountain View (two cities where I spent a lot of time of late) I can go to the local market and get a huge bag of fresh veggies for $5-10. If you're really spending $100 on a couple bags of fresh food, you're doing something very wrong.

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

#124
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try replacing some of that with seasoned brown rice and beans. It will be cheaper, healthier and (depending on what spices you use) tastier.

That's a good idea, I'll try that. Thanks!

My favorite thing to add to rice is curry powder. Gives the rice a completely new flavor. If you have peanuts add those, too.

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

#125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In spite of the faux-documentaries like Super-Size Me , eating McDonald's food doesn't actually make you fat and unhealthy.

Care to provide some more details for your statement? I've never seen the film in question, but I've seen (and eaten) McDonald's "food". Fast food has been implicated in weight gain and insulin resistance by numerous studies. Hopefully your argument isn't that you can just exercise more.

> Fast food has been implicated in weight gain and insulin resistance by numerous studies.

Care to point to even a single one where the problem of fast food was not that people tend to vastly exceed their calorie requirements when eating fast food?

I'm genuinely curious. If you eat a "supersized" meal a day, you can easily exceed your calorie from that single meal depending on what you choose and how active you are. Of course you'll get fat and get other health problems in that case, but all that tells you is that eating too much is bad for you.

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

#126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Super-mega-lol at $20/night as bar costs. Maybe if you and your date have a drink each.

I live in Gainesville, Fl which is pretty much the cheapest place to live and drink, and $20 is still the norm. $4 cover + 3 beers x $4.00 a piece + $4 tip = $20. Now, recently I found a good bar without a cover charge and if I drink straight Old Milwaukee then I can do 4 x $2.00 + $4.00 tip = $12.00. Even so, doing this once a week is about $48.00/month which is more than the OP paid in food costs per a month.

3 Beers = Getting Trashed?

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

#127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In spite of the faux-documentaries like Super-Size Me , eating McDonald's food doesn't actually make you fat and unhealthy.

super size me did include a guy who ate mcdonalds every day for decades and was perfectly fine

Genetics might be in it for something. You'll always find people who can do huge amounts of unhealthy habit X without consequences.

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

#129
post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Gainesville, Fl which is pretty much the cheapest place to live and drink, and $20 is still the norm. $4 cover + 3 beers x $4.00 a piece + $4 tip = $20. Now, recently I found a good bar without a cover charge and if I drink straight Old Milwaukee then I can do 4 x $2.00 + $4.00 tip = $12.00. Even so, doing this once a week is about $48.00/month which is more than the OP paid in food costs per a month.

3 Beers = Getting Trashed?

Hey, I'm your stereotypical thin and tall, nerdy hacker. However, when my bi-monthly stipend allows me, I will indulge a whiskey on the rocks and build my tolerance :)

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

#130
post #38
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.

Yes and no. I mean, if your argument is to hold water than you'd have to buy homegrown or local produce. A loaf of bread marked down 50% isn't any different than the one at full price other than the fact that it will go bad sooner. It isn't as if stores sell recalled items or anything.
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