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

http://andrewhyde.net/how-to-live-comfortably-on-36-a-month-for-food/

by markbao • 17 years ago

137 132 17 years ago

rawr2• 17 years ago

I stopped reading when he suggested dumpster diving.

andrewhyde6• 17 years ago

I don't, but my neighbor does, and brings back an amazing amount of food. Not my cup of tea, but if you are really bootstrapping...

rawr2• 17 years ago

Fair enough. It looks like you aren't advocating vitamin deficiency so I can approve.

I knew someone in college who ate nothing but mac and cheese. After a few months his hairline started to recede. When this happened he started eating cheeseburgers every now and then and it grew back.

pavel_lishin• 17 years ago

There's hobo dumpster diving, and then there's grabbing a loaf of bread that was on a store shelf 5 minutes ago.

sound2man2• 17 years ago

I stopped just shortly after that -- the end of the article.

aplusbi• 17 years ago

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.

vuvtytivlui3• 17 years ago

When I was a poor starving student and worked in a supermarket the managers had to put all the expired cakes and cookies in the trash compactor to stop workers taking them. Not sure if this was so we would buy from the store instead or in case we sued if we got ill

jpcx01• 17 years ago

Same here

truebosko• 17 years ago

$36 a month is a nice number. It peaked my curiosity but he goes through a lot of work and his food suggestions basically mean you're going to miss out on a lot of delicious flavours.

I understand the premise but .. meh :)

alanthonyc• 17 years ago

"piqued"

...sorry...

thras3• 17 years ago

Too many carbs, not enough protein and fat.

bendotc4• 17 years ago

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 they're too dry, add more fat. Season to taste.

Refried beans are a great source of protein, fat, and flavor, and are one of the cheapest foods around. Pair it with some rice and vegetables and you've got a pretty nutritious meal (assuming you need all those calories).

thras3• 17 years ago

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.

yan• 17 years ago

Wouldn't exactly call it 'Comfortably'

splat2• 17 years ago

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.

RyanMcGreal• 17 years ago

Try replacing some of that with seasoned brown rice and beans. It will be cheaper, healthier and (depending on what spices you use) tastier.

splat2• 17 years ago

That's a good idea, I'll try that. Thanks!

pbhj• 17 years ago

Brown rice gives me severe abdominal cramps - YMMV. Rice is good for bulk and brown rice gives more fibre but whilst it's a staple for many it's not great nutritionally.

rokhayakebe• 17 years ago

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.

edw5193• 17 years ago

"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.

Xichekolas• 17 years ago

Ditch the bacon and throw in rice and beans (since you can have more variety that way, while not spending any more).

Also, experiment with cheap veggies. I get sick of PB&J, so I stick things like cucumber slices or mushrooms in there, and it seems totally different to my taste buds. Cucumbers are dirt cheap, mushrooms less so, but either way, not breaking the budget. I also enjoy a zucchini sandwich (between buttered toast).

Another way most people could cut their budgets is to look seriously at their portion size. I realize this doesn't apply to you, but if one's definition of a 'meal' is what fills up a 15 inch dinner plate and involves at least four different colors, then yeah, it's hard to eat cheaply. Most restaurant 'meals' are really at least two.

potatolicious• 17 years ago

Ever since I moved to the US I've gotten into the habit of packing half my restaurant dinners for tomorrow. If the average American actually finishes these things regularly, then you guys have got a real problem.

(Exception runs for certain restaurants of course. The more "mainstream chain" it is the bigger the portions get...)

Hell, I've even had to cut down on my portion size. Find good, nutritious food that is filling, and go for stuff that is slower to digest. I've now just about halved my carb in take and replaced it with vegetables, and I haven't felt better.

HeyLaughingBoy3• 17 years ago

Buy one container of good yogurt and use it as a culture to make your own from then on with fresh milk. It's easy (google home made yogurt) and tastes infinitely better. Best of all, as long as you have a little yogurt, you can use it to make more.

fauigerzigerk2• 17 years ago

Where I live you die from eating deeply discounted ground beef a month after buying it :)

bendotc4• 17 years ago

Do you live in a place without freezers?

fauigerzigerk2• 17 years ago

No, but I bought my freezer for $36 ;-)

physcab3• 17 years ago

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 getting rid of the non-essentials like cable, internet, or a car. IMHO food is the one monthly cost that you should not cut corners, because the long term effects have actual measurable detriments to your personal well-being.

sound2man2• 17 years ago

With the audience on here, I doubt that internet is considered "non-essential". It sounds to me that he ate a pretty balanced diet. Not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, but plain, and for the most part, healthy food.

ryanwaggoner4• 17 years ago

I agree that it sounds like he ate pretty healthy, but stuff like this really freaks me out:

Lard is the highest calorie per cent food you can buy.

That just seems to be the epitome of penny-wise and pound-foolish for 99.9% of people, who would be far better off trimming their budget in other categories so they could eat healthier instead of viewing food as just a source of calories.

metachris• 17 years ago

yes! i'd much rather save $30 somewhere on food than cutting off internet, if i had to

TallGuyShort• 17 years ago

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.

andrewhyde6• 17 years ago

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.

mchristoff• 17 years ago

i'm interested to hear more about having a nutritionist. would you mind expanding on that a little?

where exactly do you go about finding one? how much does it cost? what exactly do they do for you - plan meal by meal?

jonknee3• 17 years ago

It's easy. You don't need to break a contract or lease to start it. You can learn how to cook which is a really valuable skill. And if you're not already cooking at home you will almost be assured to be eating better food (well once you get comfortable!).

I usually buy what protein is on sale and plan meals around that. It has a nice side effect of varying my diet.

kingkawn3• 17 years ago

Super-mega-lol at $20/night as bar costs. Maybe if you and your date have a drink each.

socratees• 17 years ago

Seriously man I don't even know how far can 20 bucks take you. How much you're goin to tip the waitress? 2 bucks?

SirWart• 17 years ago

This depends a lot on where you live.

physcab3• 17 years ago

I live in Gainesville, Fl which is pretty much the cheapest place to live and drink, and $20 is still the norm. $4 cover + 3 beers x $4.00 a piece + $4 tip = $20. Now, recently I found a good bar without a cover charge and if I drink straight Old Milwaukee then I can do 4 x $2.00 + $4.00 tip = $12.00. Even so, doing this once a week is about $48.00/month which is more than the OP paid in food costs per a month.

chez17• 17 years ago

I agree with what you're saying. It's amazing me to how people won't support art or politicians that they agree with or any other important thing because they are broke but will have plenty of money for beer.

I have to laugh at one thing:

"where bar bills can run up to $20/night"

Man, you should hang out with my friends for a night. :)

babul• 17 years ago

For people who have little money, and are able to do so, going "freegan" may be an idea...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6933744.stm

...it is better than subsistence on what is often very low quality (i.e. nutritional value) food.

billswift• 17 years ago

Here's an interesting book on US dumpster diving: http://www.amazon.com/Science-Dumpster-Diving-John-Hoffman/d...

notaddicted• 17 years ago

It is important to think about eating in terms of return on investment. You can spend more money on better food (you can also spend more money on worse food) and get better overall fitness and alertness and performance in general from your body. The important thing to know is what is the cost and what is the benefit.

Nutrition is a vast science.

* All carbs are not equal.

* All fat is not equal.

* All protein is not equal. Beans are not meat.

WilliamLP• 17 years ago

> Nutrition is a vast science.

It ought to be treated as a science but often it isn't. If you ask 100 nutrition experts how much protein a person should get in a day, you're not going to get a consensus based on empirical evidence, but drastically different answers and emotional passions bordering on the religious.

jeremymims2• 17 years ago

Beans are not meat. But beans combined with many types of rice, bread, pasta, or oats can make a complete protein (the same as you'd find in an animal product).

pmichaud2• 17 years ago

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 strange diet like veganism, then forget it, your bill will be huge.

andrewhyde6• 17 years ago

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.

jeremymims2• 17 years ago

This doesn't have to be true. Purchasing mock meats and the like will probably get to be expensive. But cutting out meat and cheese are two of the very easiest ways to lower your monthly food costs and improve your overall health.

Rice, beans, pasta, and (frozen) veggies combined with different spices and sauces isn't a bad way to go when saving money and trying to stay healthy.

I'm much more skeptical of the health consequences from a diet including large quantities of eggs, cheap ground meat, and inexpensive cheese.

I also think the key to living this cheaply would be a multi-vitamin to help replace whatever you're invariably missing from your diet.

As a vegetarian who eats like a vegan 98% of the time (and for several years lived on no more than a $60.00/month food budget), you don't have to let budgetary constraints keep you from participating in a healthy and environmentally friendly way of eating.

HeyLaughingBoy3• 17 years ago

No, you're just buying the wrong things. If I walk out of the store with $100 of groceries for my family of 3, it's an entire shopping cart full of food and lasts for weeks!

4-5 lbs of "on sale" meat, 10 lbs of bread flour, 5 lbs of sugar, 2 lbs of cheddar, a gallon of milk, cereal (from local mill, not the national brand stuff), vegetables, butter and lunch meat will cost around $60 here in the Upper Midwest. But if I spend that $60 on mostly processed food, I will barely get two grocery bags full.

With a bit of land you can go further. I keep chickens for fresh eggs, but I realize most people can't do that. However, my potatoes, corn, carrots, broccoli, squash, pumpkins, salad greens and some herbs come fresh out of the garden so for summer/fall at least, I don't buy those things.

pmichaud2• 17 years ago

This is pretty much what I mean. You buy fairly average food, but I wouldn't touch most of what you mentioned with a barge pole.

Meat? No. White Flour? No! Sugar? Hell no! Chedder? Maybe a little. Milk? Maybe, but expensive. Cereal? Probably not, unless it's real like granola or muesli, in which case it's expensive. Veggies? of course, but those also cost. Butter? Maybe a little. Lunch meat? No.

Try doing without white rice, sugar and pasta, and getting fresh greens and fruits, whole grain everything, brown rice, etc. Even if you make a lot of it from scratch, it adds up.

321abc5• 17 years ago

It's definitely more economical to buy lots of food in bulk. It also helps to have lots of refrigerator and other food storage space.

Unfortunately, buying in bulk isn't going to be an option for many single people with lower incomes and not much refrigerator/storage space... (maybe with the exception of beans and rice, which can be stored relatively compactly and for a long time without refrigeration).

Another thing that works against people with lower incomes is that much of the nutrious food is more expensive than the less nutritious food.

Bread is a prime example. The cheapest bread is highly processed white bread. The more nutrious whole, multi-grain breads are usually two or three times as expensive as the cheap crap.

Same with organic, cage- and cruelty-free produce vs the pesticide-ridden crap.

noodle• 17 years ago

executive summary: base your meals around cheap food staples, such as rice, beans, oats. buy other cheap things, use coupons and buy expiring food in order to spice up each meal.

edw5193• 17 years ago

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.

andrewhyde6• 17 years ago

Most of the meals I listed are actually pretty balanced. If I listed 'eat mac and cheese and dollar menu items' I would be right with you, but salads, eggs, PB&J and rice and beef are pretty good staples to build any diet off of.

I'm not advocating anyone goes near as far as I did, but something to keep in mind for that friend that eats like shit out every night spending 10x what you could by making a healthier option at home.

edw5193• 17 years ago

I'm one of those "nuts" who insists that fresh produce comprises about 80% of what I eat, so that's my major source of disagreement. I have never found a way to eat like this for even 5x what you're recommending. Salads and frest fruit are definitely good staples to build any diet of. Eggs, PB&J, rice, and beef, OTOH are compromises. But that's another whole debate outside the scope of hn.

If I ate like most people then $36/month sounds difficult, but achieveable. But I don't and I wouldn't advocate changing away from eating excellence to save money.

teeja• 17 years ago

"especially if you're a little bit older, you will be trading quality of life for a few bucks"

Stuff and nonsense. The old-timers I grew up around - most lived into their 80s - spent their whole lives eating what I call 'close to the Earth', non-processed, non-sugared, non-transfatted foods supplemented with stuff from their home gardens. Yams, rutabagas, strawberries, potatoes, squash, herring, liverwurst, canned fruit, blueberries, etc.

Nutrition isn't about money, and I eat nicely on $25 week year spent at the store, year after year. When I needed to lose 45 pounds (from eating 'good' food) I did it in 6 months eating fruits, veggies, nuts.

luccastera• 17 years ago

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 :)

andrewhyde6• 17 years ago

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.

aardvarkious• 17 years ago

I had a friend in college who went everywhere with two tupperware containers. When he was asked whether or not he wanted left overs he would feign a no, but as soon as he was asked a second time he would say "I guess so" and pull out his tupperware.

TrevorJ2• 17 years ago

I a lot of people are suggesting that this diet is not healthy, but I'm not convinced.

Eggs, salads, veggies, fruits, rice, beans, cheeses, beef...As long as things are taken in the correct quantities I see very little problem here, am I wrong?

lutorm• 17 years ago

To me, I'd just be suspicious of anything sold at those prices. You're a bottom feeder on the dregs of the food-industrial complex, and that can't be good.

jonknee3• 17 years ago

No, you're just buying at the right time and in bulk. Grocery stores run tight margins and frequent loss leaders. Just because someone at the grocery store over bought and has to run a sale doesn't make you a bottom feeder. It's the same food everyone else is getting.

TrevorJ2• 17 years ago

Yes and no. I mean, if your argument is to hold water than you'd have to buy homegrown or local produce. A loaf of bread marked down 50% isn't any different than the one at full price other than the fact that it will go bad sooner. It isn't as if stores sell recalled items or anything.

thedjpetersen• 17 years ago

Wow! Its cheaper than buying taco bell every day!

vuvtytivlui3• 17 years ago

Quiet, if the rest of America realizes that - our plans for world domination are over.

tybris• 17 years ago

Spending all that time working seems to be much more economical.

I just eat bread in the morning and afternoon and cook a different meal every night. Probably comes down to about $20 a week. I could eat for less that $0.75 if I want to, but I don't.

dugmartin• 17 years ago

Or go wash dishes/clean up the back of the house for a hour or so every day in a restaurant in exchange for breakfast and dinner. You'll eat a lot better.

gcheong• 17 years ago

The part about dumpster diving reminded me of when I used to help a friend of mine slop his pigs. He had arrangements with a few restaurants and old folks homes for their leftover food and we would drive around, pick it up in these large plastic garbage bins and feed it to his pigs. It would always surprise me when he would often pick over the food before we gave it to the pigs, looking for things like chicken legs which he would summarily devour. I never could bring myself to do it.

eli• 17 years ago

...for varying definitions of "comfortable" and ignoring certain opportunity costs

ojbyrne• 17 years ago

Except for breakfast, every meal seems to be above his own 33 cents/meal budget.

andrewhyde6• 17 years ago

slightly, which is made up with a few skipped meals where someone else is providing.

kingkawn3• 17 years ago

This is absolutely doable, but when life is stressing theres nothing like an extravagant meal to bring back some cheer. It doesn't have to be eating out, home-cooked is fine, but rib-eye ain't cheap either way.

Green olives, goat cheese, and crackers really do melt away my troubles.

xenophanes• 17 years ago

a lot of comments focussing on health. one other issue is that finding all the best deals and using coupons takes time. if you treat it like a salary, maybe you could beat minimum wage(?), but it's not a good salary by any means.

Devils-Avacado• 17 years ago

"PB+J can be priced at $.25...Rice cakes and cheese was a favorite. "

PB+J and Rice cakes = Living comfortably?

DanielStraight• 17 years ago

Or you could walk next door and mow your neighbor's lawn for $10 (at that rate, who would refuse?). Focus on earning more, not spending less.

klipt• 17 years ago

Unless of course you're an international student, in which case earning more is illegal, while spending less isn't.

smithjchris• 17 years ago

Get a bicycle, stop commuting and grow your own food.

Works for me. Costs virtually nothing. Keeps you fit and healthy. Provides 75% of our food needs.

Also stop the guilt complex on quality, organic foods and branded goods. People give you evil looks if you pick up the "value eggs" in Tesco in the UK. "Think of the chickens" they chant. Fuck the chickens.

sidburgess2• 17 years ago

So this is how the Japanese save so much money.

sidburgess2• 17 years ago

This comment wasn't meant to be derogatory. That is effectively their diet and they are some of the best savers in the world.

Mz2• 17 years ago

I wish. I'm in the "eat well to avoid (huge) medical bills" crowd.

Mz2• 17 years ago

I don't see what the problem is with my comment. It's a sincere comment. I wish I could substantially cut my food bill. But I have a serious medical condition and have gotten off multiple prescription drugs in part by changing my diet (and doing a lot of research on what works for my particular condition). I know lots of people with my condition who are taking several thousand dollars a month in prescription drugs -- more than my monthly income in some cases. What I spend on food is high but it's cheaper than the alternative.

stinkytaco4• 17 years ago

Bread machine. Pick one up at a thrift store for a couple of dollars. Thrift stores always have bread machines because people love to buy them but never use them.

Put the ingredients in the bread maker, let the maker raise the bread and then throw the loaf in the oven to cook. Great bread for pennies.

lucifer• 17 years ago

Poor kid. Went through all that trouble to get some schoolin' and he still can't write proper English.

tzury• 17 years ago

why not spending these efforts finding a side job which will add to your income $36 a day? This way you can eat anything you want as much as you want.

csomar• 17 years ago

food is very expensive those days, i live in tunisia and i estimate it (my spending) to $100/month

I like to eat and spend on eating, i think it's better than spending it on some kind of mobile phones; isn't eating better.

so $36 only if you don't have money: the poor, however a hacker can write few articles or code few lines and get an easy $150 a month and feed himself well;

Goladus• 17 years ago

Just curious how many calories in a typical day? That diet definitely looks very lean to me. One box of spaghetti is usually enough for 1.5 meals for me, if that. If I'm working out I'll eat an entire box in one evening.

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

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