Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

andrewhyde.net

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 136 posts

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

#21

Post by edw519 »

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 bucks.

AFAIC, the best possible use for limited resources is excellent food. This first thing this means is fresh produce, which, frankly is difficult to find "on sale". OP's advice to eat at home is excellent, OTOH, I'd rather spend 7 bucks on a restaurant salad bar than 3 bucks for a home cooked highly processed meal.

Almost everything in life, including work, is a marathon, not a sprint. I intend to be just as strong at any point in that marathon with proper lifestyle, especially nutritional excellence. Saving $ intelligently is always smart. Sacrificing potential health and well being for a few hundred dollars per month is just not a good idea.

Pass.

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

#23

Post by TallGuyShort »

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…

I agree with you on the other ways people could cut back. However, I think people are used to not thinking about their food, and it's become a major problem, especially in America. People generally don't think of food as a necessity for survival if they're not focusing on a tight budget - and as such, they begin forgetting about things like vitamins, healthy serving sizes, protein, etc... The menu he described sounds very healthy to me. Nothing too fatty or processed. It's mostly natural, simple meals.

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

#24

Post by luccastera »

A trick I learned from a friend while in grad school. When they have football games, walk around the tailgate parties right before the game is about to start, people will almost pay you to take their extra food so that they can get to the game. And it's usually pretty good food...

For better results, go next to the ones thrown by corporations. They usually order too much food and the employees do not care and do not want to bring the food back home.

Oh.. and bring an empty backpack :)

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

#25

Post by andrewhyde »

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…

I wholeheartedly agree with you now, but at the time it just seemed like the thing to do (during a 25 credit term at college). I didn't have a ton of time to think about it, was just trying to get by.

Flip to now where I eat 5-6x a day and have a nutritionist. Time and a place.

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

#26

Post by andrewhyde »

pmichaud wrote: post #18

The 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 stran…

The numbers are very regional (cheese in the northeast is 1/2 what it is in Colorado, for instance) and were lower a few years ago (you are right). If you shop the right stores at the right times, I am sure you could come pretty damn close, even today.

Veganism can be spendy. I've only tried once (for a week). It didn't work out too well.

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

#27

Post by aplusbi »

rawr wrote: post #2

I stopped reading when he suggested dumpster diving.

I've gone dumpster diving on a couple of occasions with some friends of mine. I actually think most people should, at the very least, watch other people dumpster dive at least once. You will be absolutely amazed at the amount of perfectly good food that gets thrown out.

Go to a bakery right after they close. There will be garbage bags full of bread (and nothing but bread so it's relatively sanitary) that was baked that day. Even if you don't eat any, it will probably change your perception of waste.

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

#28

Post by andrewhyde »

luccastera wrote: post #24

A trick I learned from a friend while in grad school. When they have football games, walk around the tailgate parties right before the game is about to start, people will almost pay you to take their extra food so that they can get to the game. And it's usually pretty good food... For better results, go next to the ones thrown by corporations. They usually order too much food and the employees do not care and do not…

I remember carrying two flats of Gatorade from a football game back to my dorm room over two miles away to save some cash in college.

My arms hurt for a week.

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

#29

Post by edw519 »

rokhayakebe wrote: post #16
splat wrote: post #10

As 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.

"but it takes sometimes years before poor eating habits start to show effects"

Excellent point.

And then it may be too late to do anything about it.

The first clinical symptom of cardiovascular disease is often sudden death.

Many cancers are "discovered" after they've been growing for 20 years.

Poor nutrition is often a primary cause of both.

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

#30

Post by thras »

bendotc wrote: post #17
thras wrote: post #7

Too 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…

You'll be eating 2 grams of carbohydrate for every gram of protein that you get that way. Sure, getting your carbs from beans is not nearly as bad for you as getting them from sugar, but there are much higher quality, and more expensive, protein sources that one should prefer.

Then again, medical bills are expensive too.

Post reply on HN