$13.30 for three days of food

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  • Sara1791
    Sara1791 Posts: 760 Member
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    ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »
    mom22dogs wrote: »
    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.

    In the US taxes are like Frank's Red Hot. They, " put that Chit on everything!"

    I THINK "only" 14 states tax food. I'm in NYS. No tax on food.
  • Sara1791
    Sara1791 Posts: 760 Member
    edited March 2017
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    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.
  • dfwesq
    dfwesq Posts: 592 Member
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    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?
    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.

    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.

  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
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    ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »
    mom22dogs wrote: »
    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.

    In the US taxes are like Frank's Red Hot. They, " put that Chit on everything!"

    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.
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
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    dfwesq wrote: »
    cmtigger wrote: »
    Another thing to remember when you say to shop around. Often your transportation isn't dependable and you have to go wherever you can get.
    That's true. You may be able to shop the stores that are near you, or if you can travel to a store you can check printed or online ads.

    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.
  • ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken
    ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken Posts: 1,530 Member
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    Sara1791 wrote: »
    ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »
    mom22dogs wrote: »
    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.

    In the US taxes are like Frank's Red Hot. They, " put that Chit on everything!"

    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!
  • thewindandthework
    thewindandthework Posts: 531 Member
    edited March 2017
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    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!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,506 Member
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    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.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
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    savithny wrote: »
    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.
  • doittoitgirl
    doittoitgirl Posts: 157 Member
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    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.
  • NEOHgirl
    NEOHgirl Posts: 237 Member
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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).

  • ms_lea_
    ms_lea_ Posts: 3 Member
    edited March 2017
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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
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
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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...






  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
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    dpwellman wrote: »

    Also don't forget to deduct sales taxes.


    no tax on groceries where I live...
  • garber6th
    garber6th Posts: 1,894 Member
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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.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Lentils, sardines, potatoes, whole milk and oatmeal.

    Dry lentils.

    edited to make clear the cheaper lentils.
  • Verity1111
    Verity1111 Posts: 3,309 Member
    edited March 2017
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    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.
  • dpwellman
    dpwellman Posts: 3,271 Member
    edited March 2017
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    cmtigger wrote: »
    AgidGirl wrote: »
    mburgess458 wrote: »
    AgidGirl 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.
    Yeah, you have to know which ones are cost effective and which ones aren't.

    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"

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