Could you eat on $30 a week?

[blackdogdeek]

Those prices are high.

Let me reduce them to my reality.

5lb rice $5.99----------------->2.49
1dz eggs $2.49--------------->1.49
2lb ground meat $7.58 ------>3.98
2lb pasta $3.38--------------->1.99
2jar pasta sauce $5.58------->3.98
2stick butter $2.39------------>1.25
.5gal whole milk $2.49-------->1.49

$16.67

awesome. this is the kind of info i was looking for. where do you shop? i would have to shop at a similar place. or is this typical pricing for chain grocery stores?

 

[KB]

$30 bucks could buy me about 30 banquet frozen meals at Walmart. So I could eat for about 10 days on that. If you mix in loaf of bread ($1), cans of pork and beans (44 cents), 1 lb bag frozen mixed veggies ($1.50) and rice/ramen and I could eat a variety for pretty cheap. I, of course, do not eat that way. I love my pizza and bbq ribs just too much.

Also people on food stamps can put their own money out for food. Food stamps doesn't mean you can only spend what they give you.

 

[waffleironhead]

awesome. this is the kind of info i was looking for. where do you shop? i would have to shop at a similar place. or is this typical pricing for chain grocery stores?

Those are typical chain prices around me(53704). I shop at three different stores. Copps/cubs/hyvee. I switch it up depending on sales and whether I need certain dairy products(I only buy kemps milk), or produce.

 

[brandonb]

Yes, I used to live on $50-80 a month. I paid $300 a month in rent a month and made $380 a month. $30 or so was used for other things such as phone bill (metered $12 a month), soap/shampoo, clothes.

Sam's Club (my bro was a member, and we'd go there together) was my friend, and buying in bulk. Of course deals and coupons worked wonders too. I remember buying Mac and Cheese when it was 4 for $1. Lots of huge bags of frozen vegtables I'd steam, and mix in with noodles and frozen chicken breast.

The most expensive was the dairy, such as milk and butter. But you can learn very quickily to find whats cheap and stick to it if needed. And only use what you need. I only used milk to make Mac and Cheese. Never to drink. I used only half of what was required of butter for Mac and Cheese. Made it taste kind of funny, but you got used to it.

Most people have no clue what it is like to live cheaply. I'd like to see a real recession. People these days spend $80 in a meal at a resturant from time to time, and I had that a month.

 

[airdata]

 

[gothamhunter]

My wife and I spend no more than $40/week on groceries (we budget it), and that includes crap we don't need. So I could easily live on probably $20, as she buys a bunch of stuff I don't even like.

 

[spidey07]

Something doesn't sound right at ALL. Food stamps, EBT, WIC are normally in the many hundreds of dollars a month range.

 

[blinblue]

My current monthly grocery budget for 2 is $300, so that's $35/week per person. Granted we do eat out a few times a month (which comes from a separate budget category). But if I tightened up my grocery buying a bit and had fewer premium foods, I could easily do it.

 

[blackdogdeek]

Something doesn't sound right at ALL. Food stamps, EBT, WIC are normally in the many hundreds of dollars a month range.

the columnist in the article was conducting the exercise only for herself so if you figure on a 4 person family and 4 weeks a month that should work out to about $480/month.

 

[shortylickens]

The cheapest grocery store in my town is Shoppers Food Warehouse and its not as cheap as the OP. So no, not 30 bucks.

 

[blackdogdeek]

Also people on food stamps can put their own money out for food. Food stamps doesn't mean you can only spend what they give you.

unless, of course, you don't have any more money to spend on food

 

[jlee]

awesome. this is the kind of info i was looking for. where do you shop? i would have to shop at a similar place. or is this typical pricing for chain grocery stores?

Not up here...but it's silly expensive (~$4/gal for whole milk at any supermarket).

 

[Slew Foot]

boo hoo fucking hoo. if you want to eat well, get a fucking job

 

[Imp]

I could. I spend about $10 on lunch alone every day though.

Going to involve a lot of bread and water, possibly Kool-Aid.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Something doesn't sound right at ALL. Food stamps, EBT, WIC are normally in the many hundreds of dollars a month range.

Actually, most people who get food stamps get very little. I know of a guy who works for $9 an hour, gets no benefits, doesn't get more than 30 hours usually, and has 3 kids that he pays child support for, and he gets $11 per week in food stamp assistance.

That said, I have an unemployed friend who gets like $50 per week in unemployment, and he gets like $150ish in food stamps per month...

 

[SillyOReilly]

Yes, but I wouldn't like it. I probably spend about $80 a week on food right now.

I always assumed that food stamps are a supplement rather than a replacement. My mom had to get them once while she was going to school and just out of a divorce. She was working part time and her income was low enough that she was eligible. That couple hundred dollars a month meant a couple hundred dollars that didn't come out of her check, not that she only ate a couple hundred dollars worth of food per month.

And there it is folks.

 

[randomrogue]

Actually, most people who get food stamps get very little. I know of a guy who works for $9 an hour, gets no benefits, doesn't get more than 30 hours usually, and has 3 kids that he pays child support for, and he gets $11 per week in food stamp assistance.

That said, I have an unemployed friend who gets like $50 per week in unemployment, and he gets like $150ish in food stamps per month...

I could survive on it but I would probably go a different route and buy a chicken and some seeds for a garden.

Either way to be at this level of income you would have to really be putting no effort in. In and Out pays $10/hr starting and that's to high school kids. Rather than work so hard figuring out how to eat why not work to get a better job or a promotion? I made $17.30/hr as a delivery boy.

One of my jobs while in college was helping welfare and disability families get benefits. For a guy like your friend to be only getting $11/week in assistance is probably telling him something like to go get a better job or apply himself. Odds are he'll lose that soon.

 

[GotIssues]

Can? Yes. Averaged ~$20/week in college (5-ish years ago).
Want to? Not really. I didn't eat poorly in college, but I enjoy freedom to eat whatever I want whenever I want without worrying about budget.

 

[Malak]

I am alotted $45 and have to splurge to hit that number.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

sure you can spend 25 dollars on rice and 5 dollars on a multivitamin. It would keep you alive for a long time. Again i wouldn't call that nutrition or healthy in any way that would be called staying alive.

 

[lxskllr]

I already do. Just running it through my head, that's probably what I spend on food for myself.

 

[HumblePie]

$30 a week is easy. Used to do that or cheaper all the time. For awhile I was doing $15 a week easy enough.

Things to remember.

You don't need 3 meals a day. You only need more calories if you are actually doing something with them.

Use coupons. As un-manly as it makes you look like in the checkout line or anywhere coupons do save you cash if you are on a strict budget.

Don't be afraid of the "old" items that are on clearance. Grabbing day old bakery bread for a fraction of the price for example works well. Some things last a lot longer than the expiration date given. Especially those things full of sugar or salt. (preservatives)

You don't need to eat enough to feel full. This is the real trick that gets people into trouble. Eating to contentment. The less you eat every meal the faster your body gets used to eating less and your stomach will shrink.

Drink water. Anything else you drink is going to cost way too much.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Not up here...but it's silly expensive (~$4/gal for whole milk at any supermarket).

No nearby Costco?

 

[DominionSeraph]

Easily. $30 is more like two weeks.
Aldi FTW.

Drink water. Anything else you drink is going to cost way too much.

Kool-aid at Aldi: $.89 for a packet of 10. (makes 2 quarts each.) 1 cup sugar. (around 11 in a 5 lb bag for $2.89.)
20 quarts for under $3.80.

Soda at $1.25 per 2 liter would be $11.90 for the same amount.

 

[qliveur]

boo hoo fucking hoo. if you want to eat well, get food stamps.

Fixed.