$13.30 for three days of food

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  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
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    dpwellman wrote: »
    It's definitely doable (I've done it). But the parameters of the exercise are unrealistic and seem skewed to maximize rate of failure. The premise is flawed: it's "assistance" not "subsistence." It's an important distinction and I would include that in my report.

    Also don't forget to deduct sales taxes.

    ^^^ Yes, the exercise is designed for failure. Nearly impossible to do for a couple days but easy if buy food for a week or more.

    Eggs and oatmeal will keep you full, with some salsa.
  • pennygm72
    pennygm72 Posts: 179 Member
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    brandi8484 wrote: »
    My family of 3 survives on $10/day for our meals. Total. For all 3 of us.
    Chicken, beans, eggs, and veggies are a way of life for us now. lol.
    That's what I was thinking here in the UK, I don't spend much more the the equivalent of $13.30 for our meals for an entire weekend, homemade veggie soups, cereal and milk, chicken and rice, tomato based sauces ( with red lentils for protein) and pasta, there are 3 of us too
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    dpwellman wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    $13 for 3 days for me is completely doable, and I'm in Australia (everything is a lot more expensive here, dollar for dollar).

    Hell, when I was in Uni, a 500g bag of pasta ($1), a tin of tuna ($1.50), a can of cream of mushroom soup ($2) and a cup of milk ($1) made a casserole which would feed me and the cat for 5 days. And often did.
    In AUD you get a bit more than $17 to spend.

    Hell, $17 for 3 days food is low, but totally doable. It wouldn't be a big stretch at all.
  • Cortelli
    Cortelli Posts: 1,369 Member
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    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.

    Didn't get through the whole thread, but several pages without a key link (and embedded link therein) on why this post seems to make so much sense on a casual reading, but is actually so, so wrong: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2014-07-24/everyone-wins-when-you-buy-a-rotisserie-chicken
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,203 Member
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    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.

    I take it you've never heard of the term 'Loss Leader'? A loss leader is an item sold at a loss to attract customers. There are articles all over the internet about how Costco sells their $4.99 rotisserie chickens at a loss because they know that most people will buy other things while they are in there grabbing that chicken. If you already have access to Costco, grabbing a chicken there is in no way awful advice.

    fortune.com/2015/05/29/costco-chicken-prices/
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
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    SueSueDio wrote: »
    I wish I could buy eggs for less than $1 per dozen! I'm in Alberta and the cheapest I've seen them locally (on sale) since I had to start worrying about costs was still over $2 (CDN).

    I'm liking some of the ideas in this thread, though, so thanks everyone! :)

    They're 62 cents a dozen here right now. It's causing a lot of trouble for the egg producing farms.
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
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    sarahaflood wrote: »
    Hello everyone, OP here!

    I am sorry I haven't been around in a few days, I have been very busy with midterms and wanted to check with my professor about this forum (it's not a problem).

    I have since begun the project and this is what I bought:

    $0.97 Harris Teeter Thin Sandwich Bread
    $0.57 Harris Teeter Rotini
    $0.97 Harris Teeter Margarine
    $0.98 Premium Hunt's Pasta Sauce: Traditional
    $0.37 Harris Teeter Garbanzo Beans
    $0.37 Harris Teeter Light Right Kidney Beans
    $1.50 Harris Teeter Frozen Mixed Vegetables
    $1.77 Jamestown Brand Mild Pork Sausage
    $1.87 Highland Crest Sharp Cheddar Cheese
    $1.25 Harris Teeter Grade A Extra Large White Eggs
    $0.75 Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup: Chicken Flavor (3)
    $1.00 Justin's Classic Peanut Butter Packets (2)

    $12.37 Pre-tax Total

    $12.62 Taxed Total (grocery tax is 2% in my area although, SNAP users do not pay sales tax)

    While it is not a part of the assignment, I am also tracking the nutritional information and recording how I feel compared to my normal diet.

    At the end of each day, I will be posting what I ate and the nutritional information information for each meal, if anyone is interested.

    Thank you so much to everyone who commented suggestions and thank you to everyone for being respectful of each other's opinions!

    5s5lswnq2buh.jpeg

    That looks a lot like my grad school diet, except I don't eat pork much because it often triggers migraines.

    I hope your teacher gives you credit for the extra tracking you are doing.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited March 2017
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    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.

    If nothing else, this thread shows how insanely cheap food is in the US. Where I live, that rotisserie chicken would consume virtually the whole $13.30! (Less than $10/bird means it's on sale, and I've never seen one below $8.99.)

    When I was a student, my weekly grocery budget was $25 (which included replenishing pantry staples, but there was an initial outlay of ~$50 to get those set up). I was pretty much living on rice and beans, pasta, homemade lentil soup, etc. shopping at the cheapest grocery store around. Very very little meat. So, it could be done twenty years ago. Given inflation, I doubt it could be done today (in Alberta, Canada; admittedly, the food prices here nearly gave me a heart attack when I first moved from Ontario - which was where I had the $25/week grocery budget).
  • dfwesq
    dfwesq Posts: 592 Member
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    I think it would be fun for anyone who wants to, to do a experiment like this. Maybe we could have have a special thread for it.
  • dfwesq
    dfwesq Posts: 592 Member
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    kenyonhaff wrote: »
    You also need things like pots, pans, a working stove/microwave/hotplate, fridge, freezer, washing up facilities, and the like. For a person living out of a car this is problematic. If your electricity is turned off you may not be able to cook pasta. People in dire straits may lack the facilities others take as given. It's more than just food.
    Someone in that position would need a different kind of assistance (low-income housing, a shelter, a soup kitchen, and/or assistance with utilities). Given the restrictions on how food assistance can be spent (can't eat in restaurants or by prepared foods), a bigger food budget might not help much.

  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
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    dfwesq wrote: »
    I think it would be fun for anyone who wants to, to do a experiment like this. Maybe we could have have a special thread for it.

    Fun?
  • nikkibay8
    nikkibay8 Posts: 23 Member
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    Eggs, Bread, Oats, Beans, Bananas. Find a store selling chicken breast on sale (can be found between $1.79-1.99 per lb. on sale).

    Make bean & egg breakfast sandwiches. Make pancakes out of eggs and bananas (one banana, one egg, mix together, cook like a pancake). Use bananas for snacks.
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
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    dfwesq wrote: »
    cmtigger wrote: »
    dfwesq wrote: »
    I think it would be fun for anyone who wants to, to do a experiment like this. Maybe we could have have a special thread for it.

    Fun?
    I think learning things is fun. :)

    I love to learn things, but I don't find playing at being poor fun.
  • Deadlifting_Away_Doritos
    Deadlifting_Away_Doritos Posts: 93 Member
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    nikkit321 wrote: »
    I'd suggest a dozen eggs, a carton of old-fashioned oats, a bag of dried beans, and a box of rice. Then add fruit and veg with whatever money you have left. You'll eat similar meals all three days, but it would also let you cook once and then reheat. Good luck!

    That was a cheat meal for me in college. I usually ate snack Ramon

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