$13.30 for three days of food
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ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »
I THINK "only" 14 states tax food. I'm in NYS. No tax on food.1 -
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this free book. https://cookbooks.leannebrown.com/good-and-cheap.pdf
Also, The Complete Tightwad Gazette is a little dated now, but I got a lot of ideas from it back in the day.1 -
OP posted an explanation earlier, around the middle of page 1. It meant not buying a big package and only counting the fraction of it that she would use in 3 days as the price.kshama2001 wrote: »...What exactly is meant buy not buying in bulk? A five pound bag of rice? A 25# bag of rice? Purpose of this prohibition?
That may be a little artificial, because people on assistance aren't restricted like that, but it's the way her project is set up.
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ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »
Actually it depends on the state what is taxed. Some states tax nothing. Some states tax all non food items, some states tax non essential non food items. Some states tax junk food, some states tax all food.
It was a surprise when I moved from California, which only taxes a few foods, to Kansas that charges it's normal sales tax on food.0 -
If you have the time and access to those ads. When I was making the least money I was working full time as a temp, part time in retail, and going to grad school two nights a week.
Some low income people are working multiple part time jobs and using their spare time to take care of family and/or look for a full time job.
Shopping sales is something we say, but not always possible. Science is also finding that the way some people's brains process things can change when there is scarcity, such as poverty.1 -
ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »
I THINK "only" 14 states tax food. I'm in NYS. No tax on food.
Lucky me! I live a food taxing state! I never realized some states didn't tax groceries!1 -
joseccastaneda wrote: »Even if the project was agenda driven. Doesn't successful completion of the project negate the idea of the project?
Not at all. Many people in university have had lives privileged enough never to have lived on an amount that small. I doubt the professor's agenda is to prove it's impossible. More likely they're trying to make it clear that most people in the world have to think about where their food is coming from. I can tell you that when I was in my early twenties, this lesson would have been very good for me. With my job and money from scholarships, I would have blown $13 on a single meal without a thought, and I had no idea how fortunate I was.
I ended up learning it the hard way later on.
EDIT: In answer to the original question, I'm with the rice and beans crowd. Buy them dry, buy them in bulk. I eat them both every single day!2 -
Lol, being Asian I'd do: 3x ramen noodle packages for $1 (Safeway has this), 1 carton of eggs, 2 packages of deli turkey, and a bag or so of spinach.
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Yeah, I don't think the point of this is to prove its impossible.
The point, however, may be to demonstrate that it forces people to make choices that may not be comprehensible to the middle class until they've tried it themselves. Which I think is a great point to make, and an important one for anyone who is thinking of going into policymaking or social work or teaching or nursing or medicine - just about any job where you're serving a socioeconomically diverse crowd.
I'll repeat, for those who may have missed it: Buying in bulk is not always possible on assistance. There are limits on package sizes, you only get so much at a time, and buying in bulk, while it saves money ultimately, requires you have the money up front to invest, which people living paycheck to paycheck don't always have. People living in substandard housing also don't always have places to safely store large bulk purchases, and people living in precarious situations may not be able to stash food in their living quarters without having someone take it and eat it.
I'd add that there have been multiple attempts by states to limit what can be bought with food assistance, and its not just the usual "you can't buy shrimp or soda." Wisconsin tried to prevent recipients from buying potatoes, canned soup, and jarred spaghetti sauce. Oh, and bulk dried beans. The proposed regs allowed ONLY buying one-pound bags, nothing else.8 -
Yeah, I don't think the point of this is to prove its impossible.
I'd add that there have been multiple attempts by states to limit what can be bought with food assistance, and its not just the usual "you can't buy shrimp or soda." Wisconsin tried to prevent recipients from buying potatoes, canned soup, and jarred spaghetti sauce. Oh, and bulk dried beans. The proposed regs allowed ONLY buying one-pound bags, nothing else.
What in the world would the point of that be? Did they have a low carber writing the laws. That just seems so antithesis to what SNAP is supposed to accomplish.2 -
My husband and I usually only spend about $6 a day for food. Chili with beans can be cheap. Rice and pasta with sauce. Eggs, $1 bags of frozen veggies, bananas, bags of carrots, tuna sandwiches, bagged stir fry, soup, sometimes salad is less than $2 a bag in sale, yogurt, etc.0
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I am not a fan of Aldi's either - I've only been once. I bought some garlic that sprouted within 2 days. And I didn't know going in about the no carts or bags rule, and it was just an altogether unpleasant experience. I find shopping sales at my locally owned stores saves me more when I need to save, and more of the money stays in the local economy. I have fed myself on that amount per day, and could do it again if I had to. I even just did an experiment with one of the local stores weekly ads, went through & tried to put together 7 days' worth of nutritionally balance meals for under US$31.00. I could do it, but I would be bored out of my mind by the end of the week, and I don't usually mind leftovers.
This week's sales:
1 dozen large eggs, $.89 ea
chicken thighs, $.79/lb
24oz jar spaghetti sauce $1.25 ea
Shredded cheese, 6-8oz, $2.39
single serve yogurt, $.88 ea
Frozen veggies, 16-20oz bags, $1.00 each
whole wheat bread, $3.29/loaf
Baby carrots 1lb $1.50
Whole grain pasta, 1lb box, $1.99
By getting multiples of the veggie and eggs, This would be a full week's worth with just a little bit left over, at least with my portion sizes. Note there wasn't room for any snacks other than the yogurt, and for me I'd be able to used my existing staples (salt, olive oil, butter, spices).
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I would go meatless and hit up the dollar store. I know for a fact I can get all of these things there. Dried beans, rice, eggs, pasta, marinara, 2 bags of frozen veggies, a loaf of bread, oatmeal, cheese, butter/oil, peanut butter, pack of salt & pepper = 13 dollars
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Go to Dollar Tree, where everything is 1.00 (or less)
box of instant oatmeal=1.00
loaf of bread=1.00
carton of eggs=1.00
margarine=1.00
bag beans=1.00
box/bag of rice=1.00
pasta sauce=1.00
pasta=1.00
bag of cheese=1.00
3 cans of veggies @ .59 each=1.18
bag of 4 chicken breast patties 1.00
small Parmesan cheese=1.00
small jar mayo=1.00
day 1:
2 eggs and toast
chicken patty sandwich
rice and beans topped with cheese and veggie
day 2:
bowl of oatmeal and 1 egg
grilled cheese sandwich (use shredded cheese)
chicken patty with pasta, sauce, and Parmesan cheese and veggie
day 3:
2 eggs and toast
egg sandwich
spaghetti with veggie (with or without another chicken patty)
plenty left to carry over, too...
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I did something similar to this several time called the Live Below the Line Challenge, but I only had 1.50 a day for food and it was a 5 day challenge, so I had a total of 7.50 for those 5 days. It's totally doable. It got a little repetitive but the point was to see what it feels like for people who actually live on that amount. I bought a dozen eggs, rice, beans, an onion, some ramen noodles, and I was able to find inexpensive fruit so I was able to get a few oranges. I wasn't able to add a lot of protein though because it was cost prohibitive. You have a bit more money for a shorter period of time so with good planning you should be able to do this no problem.1
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Lentils, sardines, potatoes, whole milk and oatmeal.
Dry lentils.
edited to make clear the cheaper lentils.1 -
Eggs - $1 or less for a dozen on sale
Veggies - spend about $3 and get 3 types you like (an onion, a tomato, one head of broccoli or a thing of lettuce, etc)
Still have $9+ left (do you need to include tax??)
box of pasta for $1 should be good for 3 meals because youre not meant to eat more than that for a serving.
Jar of pasta sauce for $1 (dollar tree)
Cheese for $3 (mozzarella would be good because its decent in an omelet and good on pasta)
You have $4 left for protein if you eat meat so you could buy that and eat it with the veggies, eggs AND pasta (fry veggies on the side or as a little stir fry, toss the meat into the pasta or chop it up and make an omelet) or buy cheap bread + lunchmeat/peanut butter.
I drink water so I could use it all on food lol Plus being a vegetarian helps. No need for meat.0 -
Yeah, you have to know which ones are cost effective and which ones aren't.mburgess458 wrote: »Rotisserie chicken for sure, you can stretch that to feed you for 4+ meals! Shred all of the meat from the bird and then boil down that bones/carcass and make a soup base for another meal. Get a small bag of beans and rice and you can eat beans and rice w/chicken and then make a bean, rice, chicken soup for another meal.
Awful advice. You're trying to stretch your money, don't buy something someone else cooked... do you think they do that for free? It's going to be much cheaper to buy a chicken (or chicken pieces) and cook it yourself.
Precooked food is for convenience. Great if you have more money than time, not a good idea if you're super poor.
How so? I can get an entire chicken for $5 and it's already cooked (saves me $$ on my electricity bill) and seasoned. Not sure your logic is correct here.
But I don't think "hot" food can be bought with SNAP.
Correct. It used to be any prepared food, but that was relaxed some time ago. Steamed (at the seafood counter) doesn't count as "hot" either. Why yes, people on SNAP buy lobster and crab. . . I never did but I can attest to the disincentive to "shop around"0 -
Yeah, you have to know which ones are cost effective and which ones aren't.mburgess458 wrote: »Rotisserie chicken for sure, you can stretch that to feed you for 4+ meals! Shred all of the meat from the bird and then boil down that bones/carcass and make a soup base for another meal. Get a small bag of beans and rice and you can eat beans and rice w/chicken and then make a bean, rice, chicken soup for another meal.
Awful advice. You're trying to stretch your money, don't buy something someone else cooked... do you think they do that for free? It's going to be much cheaper to buy a chicken (or chicken pieces) and cook it yourself.
Precooked food is for convenience. Great if you have more money than time, not a good idea if you're super poor.
How so? I can get an entire chicken for $5 and it's already cooked (saves me $$ on my electricity bill) and seasoned. Not sure your logic is correct here.
But I don't think "hot" food can be bought with SNAP.
Correct. It used to be any prepared food, but that was relaxed some time ago. Steamed (at the seafood counter) doesn't count as "hot" either. Why yes, people on SNAP buy lobster and crab. . . I never did but I can attest to the disincentive to "shop around"
Yeah, you have to know which ones are cost effective and which ones aren't.mburgess458 wrote: »Rotisserie chicken for sure, you can stretch that to feed you for 4+ meals! Shred all of the meat from the bird and then boil down that bones/carcass and make a soup base for another meal. Get a small bag of beans and rice and you can eat beans and rice w/chicken and then make a bean, rice, chicken soup for another meal.
Awful advice. You're trying to stretch your money, don't buy something someone else cooked... do you think they do that for free? It's going to be much cheaper to buy a chicken (or chicken pieces) and cook it yourself.
Precooked food is for convenience. Great if you have more money than time, not a good idea if you're super poor.
How so? I can get an entire chicken for $5 and it's already cooked (saves me $$ on my electricity bill) and seasoned. Not sure your logic is correct here.
But I don't think "hot" food can be bought with SNAP.
Correct. It used to be any prepared food, but that was relaxed some time ago. Steamed (at the seafood counter) doesn't count as "hot" either. Why yes, people on SNAP buy lobster and crab. . . I never did but I can attest to the disincentive to "shop around"
I never understood why an occasional treat is a problem. $7-10 a lb at a store is not like the cost in a restaurant. I used to buy crab when my income was very low. It was an occasional treat, not everyday. And lobster tails occasionally go on sale for $5 each where I live.5 -
You're talking about people who are actually on assistance, not the OP - correct?
If you have the time and access to those ads. When I was making the least money I was working full time as a temp, part time in retail, and going to grad school two nights a week.
Some low income people are working multiple part time jobs and using their spare time to take care of family and/or look for a full time job.
Shopping sales is something we say, but not always possible. Science is also finding that the way some people's brains process things can change when there is scarcity, such as poverty.
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Two websites I really like for budgeting groceries are Poor Girl Eats Well and Budget Bytes
It's about double what you need, but PGEW has multiple $25 Shopping Cart posts that could be useful.1 -
I was at the grocery store earlier and I thought of this thread when I found a lost EBT card in the parking lot. It sparked an educational conversation with my child.2
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I have no clue. My lunch has been costing me 15 bucks.0
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I teach at a community college. I do not consider this cheating.3
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Yes, but many people in need of assistance would be likely to go to the internet to search for help, quite possibly here for suggestions.How is this cheating? It's brainstorming. Are you guys looking through adds for her, doing her cooking and shopping, or writing her paper? No we are just giving her ideas. No different then if she were to tell her friend about the project and her friend were to make some suggestions for her.
In fact, I would argue that the assignment is "what would you do if you had to feed yourself on $4.43 per day?" There are post on here all the time from people looking for cheap and easy food ideas. Therefore if OP were to have to feed herself on $4.43 a day, it would be reasonable to say that she would seek out guidance from sites like this one.
OP- you would want to look for things that you can use in multiple meals. Eggs, chicken breasts, tuna, rice, pasta, veggies, a loaf of bread, etc.
Apparently you've missed the multiple responses where people were literally picking up the circulars from chain grocery stores and/or posting links directly to recipes and other things. Also, OP has already clarified that it's not "what would you do to..." it's "how would you use this money to..." and the professor simply suggested doing research to gain information so that when they did the shopping, they'd be ready.
The fact that OP is taking at least part of their plans from the responses completely negates the purpose of the assignment... which is ultimately to teach the students how difficult the life is, particularly if you are on assistance and that's all you can use to feed yourself.
Exactly. There have been many posts of people on budgets needing ideas.3 -
Shop at aldi or similar
I would buy prices are estimate
1 dozen eggs $1
1 thing of tortillas$ 1.5
1 thing onions $1.5
2 cans black beans $1.5
1 bag shreeded cheddar$ 2.5
1 lb chicken thigh $2
1 jar hot sauce $1
1 lb carrots or other cheap veggie $2
Breakfast burritos, lunch bean quesadilla ,dinner chicken thigh roasted with veggie3 -
I've seen taxes mentioned twice on the thread - where are you that you are charged taxes on food? Where I live, we're not taxed on food.
Tennessee has a base state tax on food of 5.5%. Individual city/county taxes can increase that. Where I used to live in Tennessee there was an additional 2.25% in county taxes. So I paid a total of 7.75% in sales tax on food. The state I currently live in doesn't tax food.0 -
Well, at least at my local Aldi last week I bought organic blueberries for $1.29, pack of butter for $2.29, dozen eggs for $0.89, organic mac n cheese for the kids $0.89/box, and canned green beans for $0.44/can. CHEAP
I buy the rest of my groceries at Publix, but I refuse to pay $4.79 for the butter and $4.99 for the same blueberries that Aldi has at more than half the price.1
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