Not quite living on $31.50, but this is a neat article describing life on $50 a week:
College, unemployment, or an unexpected change in your life situation can mean that a major cut in spending is required as you plan how to survive from week to week. We found that it’s possible to take care of the essentials, with a dollop of comfort thrown in, for less than $50 a week by shopping at the local dollar store.
Sure, the dollar store is a pit stop for cheap snacks, cooking supplies, toys, and other small items, but it’s also a source for food at one very low price. And yes, there may be a stigma attached to dollar store shopping for all your needs, but can you afford to be snobby at a time like this?
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Our suggested menus and shopping list below presume you have some staples on hand, such as mayonnaise and condiments like pickles. Remember, inventory will vary at every dollar store:
Suggest Grocery List:
1 box cereal — $1
1 6-ct pack oatmeal — $1
1 bag coffee — $1
1 loaf bread — $1
1 box pancake mix — $1
1 bottle imitation maple syrup — $1
1 jar jelly — $1
1 jar peanut butter — $1
1 12-ct. carton eggs — $1
1/2 gallon shelf-stable milk/1 gallon fresh milk — $1
1 32-oz. jar apple juice — $1
1 2-ct. pack pre-made pizza crusts — $1
1 jar pizza sauce — $1
1 container grated Parmesan cheese — $1
2 boxes Hamburger Helper — $2
1 bag pasta — $1
2 cans meat sauce — $2
5 5-oz. cans tuna — $5
1 box instant oatmeal — $1
3 1-lb. cans soup — $3
4 10-oz. cans vegetables — $4
1 box crackers — $1
1 pastry crust — $1
1 box New Orleans-style rice — $1
1 can beans — $1
1 box dehydrated mashed potatoes — $1
2 packages frozen chicken — $2
1 pack Country Time Iced Tea Mix — $1
1 bag potato chips — $1
1 6-ct box granola bars — $1
1 bottle barbecue sauce — $1
Total: $43
Not bad. Combined with my list and I’ll bet it’s even less expensive.
🙂 That might work for an overactive college student,, but would probably condemn anyone over 40 to some health ‘issues’. Nevertheless, point taken. For some reason I’ll never understand, food and shelter are, I belleve, two items never calculated by those who calculate our inflation rates. And as anyone who has visited a supermarket over the last few years can attest, food prices march steadily up every single week.
It’s almost a cliche when we end up filling four grocery bags during a visit to ‘just pick up a few things’. Only a very few years ago that brief shopping stop ended up costing $30 instead of the $10-15 worth of stuff we meant to get. Today, I can’t do the small ‘few things’ stop for less than $60. For the same stuff.
By the way pino, there’s no way here to ‘like’ a post without going thru facebook. Or am I missing something?
That might work for an overactive college student,, but would probably condemn anyone over 40 to some health ‘issues’. Nevertheless, point taken.
If we contain our diet to healthy foods, it’s remarkable how inexpensive we can live.
By the way pino, there’s no way here to ‘like’ a post without going thru facebook. Or am I missing something?
Thanks for the tip – I’ll look into it. Currently fighting an RSS ad injector hack.
If you are referring to the above list when you say “If we contain our diet to healthy foods, it’s remarkable how inexpensive we can live”, I want to have a talk with you lad. 😆
If you are referring to the above list when you say “If we contain our diet to healthy foods, it’s remarkable how inexpensive we can live”, I want to have a talk with you lad.
HA.
Nope.
I mean fruit, veggies and nuts.
Okay, I’m relieved. Some years ago I changed my diet entirely to fresh produce, fish and chicken, light dairy, nuts, beans etc. Nothing made with flour or sugar – except of course when I need a treat or a pasta fix!
Within two years I’d lost 40 pounds. Never gained it back. It changed my life.
It changed my life.
Awhile back Ii went totally raw – fruits, nuts, beans veggies and what not. I cheated occasionally but it was amazing. Lost 20 in 6 months. However, with the demands of a very busy life and a family that didn’t wanna sacrifice the same way, I gave in.
I gained much of it back, which is fine, I’m a buck 80 at 5’10” so not bad. But yes, healthy eating is key.
Plus, it’s as much about how we feel as how we look. And when you get to my age, how you feel starts being everything. And I feel great.
I’d never be able to do raw food. That’s one hell of a leap.
I’d never be able to do raw food. That’s one hell of a leap.
Well, to be sure, only food that can be eaten raw: Fruits, veggies and nuts. The diet did allow us to cook beans.
Aaaahhhhggghhh! If I had to give up roasted chicken . . . I’d rather to put a needle in my eye!