I just realized something: $200/month is a pretty high food bill for one person!

[Viper GTS]

I'd always kinda taken it for granted. I spend ~$200/month on food. I was thinkin' tonight, though. That's insane! I could cut that to $30 or less by taking my own food. Plus, if I quit eating all the crap I do at work, I'd quit gaining weight (6'2 & I'm up to 210 now. I HATE it.). I could use the money I'd save towards more important things. $150 a month would put up a sizable amount towards a ring in a year. Or whatever. Bottom line is there's no reason I should be spending so much money on food.

And with that thought, I'm going to bed.

G'night all.

Viper GTS

 

[chipbgt]

Very true.

Food is a very temporary thing, or, better said, the enjoyment of food is a temporary thing. You can get by on basic, less expensive food that probably has more nutritional value than any fast food junk. I bet if you felt hard pressed and made your own lunch's and stuff, you could get down to...40 bucks a month on food.

 

[kranky]

I think your goal is pretty unrealistic. You are going to feed yourself for $1 a day? One dollar?

$200/month isn't a lot of money for a month. You (and I, and probably most people) could no doubt be smarter on what you spend it on, but I don't think the amount is unreasonable at all.

I'm sure it's possible to pull it off, but I doubt you'll be able to have a healthy diet.

Paulson, that comes out to $4.33/day to feed three people. Kind of hard to believe.

 

[nickdakick]

kranky:Maybe it eplains why P is neffing around on the forums that much, he just tries to forget he's hungry.

 

[soup or man]

poor Paulson, 5'3" and 210lbs.

 

[ChrichtonsGirl]

I spend about $100 a month to feed my 8 year old, I'm really interested in how I can feed him for about $40 when he's a big strapping 14 year old. All the 14 yr. old kids I knew practically went through that in milk alone.

 

[ratkil]

Viper, you may be surprised to learn that making your own lunch cost very close to eating out. (Assuming you are eating cheaper fast food and not $10 lunches) The big difference it that you will be eating much healthier food (assuming that is what you pack ) That alone makes it worth it. I have been living single for well over a year now and have come to the conclusion that $30-$40 a week is pretty reasonable for food cost. Annoying due to the fact that try as I might, I have yet turn any of that food into cpu cycles, and thus feel it is wasted

 

[downhiller80]

When I'm at college I'll spend about £2 a day on vending machines! This equates to about 90$ a month. On top of that I must spend about 100$ in supermarkets.

I have one advantage though - no matter what I eat I won't put on weight! Which actually really bugs me cos I'm a bit underweight at the moment (6"1, 150lbs).

Seb

 

[beat mania]

You can eat any kind of cheap and nasty food if you remember 1 thing: taste is a luxury.

 

[403Forbidden]

dude $200/month is less than $10/day = $3.33/per meal if you have 3 meals per day. I think that is pretty decent.

I think you should be happy with that amount.

Of course, you could try getting a job that caters free breakfast, snacks, and lunch.

 

[Electric Amish]

Kranky- I think that's only for 1 meal (e.g. lunch). I don't think he's counting breakfast or dinner.

Yes that seems like a lot if you're only counting one meal. I try to keep my lunches at work somewhere between $2-$5 a day.

That's usually Taco Hell (Bean Burrito + Taco ($1.91)) or Burger King (99cent menu ($1.06 w/tax)). Then, I usually get a 32oz refill at the local gas station for 50cents.

Sometime's I'll splurge and goto Subway, but that usually costs almost $4 with the drink.

Ok, yeah I'm cheap, but it keeps me alive and I don't have to pack a sandwich in the morning.

amish

 

[kranky]

Good point, Amish, I didn't consider it might be just lunch. That $200/month works out to about $9.23/day (working days only).

For just lunch, I guess there would be room for improvement. I'm lucky that we have a cafeteria at work. A full lunch (entree & 2 sides) is $4.

 

[FettsBabe]

Eat Ramen noodles (6 for $1)

 

[reitz]

Go for it. It's not hard to do at all, just be sensible about it.

I can't remember the last time I spent over $85 in a single month. I usually spend just over $50. I'm not malnurished or starving myself, I just really watch what I buy. I can make a pot roast for a little under $5 that will give me 3-5 good meals. Or I'll make a pot of chicken noodle soup for less than that that can feed me for almost a week. Yesterday I bought a huge bag of pierogies for $7; 6 of them for lunch every day is a decent meal, and I'll get 8 lunches out of that bag. That's less than a buck for lunch every day.

You can only accomplish it, though, if you remember that taste and variety are luxuries, not necessities. It might sound a little drastic, but for me, saving money to buy things I want (clothes, computer accessories, books for school, etc.) is far more important than buying things I like to eat.

I think you could realistically cut your food expenses by $100/mo. My budget might be out of reach for you, though, since you're quite a bit bigger than I am and probably need more food.

 

[Viper GTS]

I guess I didn't give all the relevant info:

- I work a compressed work week. Only 4 days in my work week.
- I'm spending ~$10 a day when I'm here at work, plus a lot more on my weekends.
- It's not like this is my ONLY source of food, I still have full access to food at home that my parents buy.

Viper GTS

 

[reitz]

Damn, $200/mo just for food at work? What the heck are you eating?

 

[reitz]

Damn, $200/mo just for food at work? What the heck are you eating?

I was so proud of that statement that I felt compelled to post it twice. You may ignore this one.

 

[vi edit]

visgf and I can pretty comfortably live off of $250 a month for food.

When you can buy 3 loaves of healthy choice bread for $2, and you can get a 5 pound variety pack of lowfat turkey/ham/beef slices, then the most expensive thing left is cheese. And you can get two or three pounds of deli slices for about 8 bucks. Throw that in with a 5 pound bag of fat free pretzels for $3 and 24 cans of fruit cocktail for another $7, that makes for a pretty damn cheap lunch at work. It's also considerably more healthy than almost any fast food out there.

For supper, you can pick up pasta for dirt cheap, and then grab some hamburger and some spaghetti sauce, and there's another 3 or 4 dollar meal that will last us a night or two as left overs.

You can also pick up bonless skinless chicken breasts for 15 of them for under $15, grab some merinade for $2, some rice for a buck or two, and you can have stir fry.

You can by potatoes for a buck a pound and microwave a baked potato in about 15 minutes, so there's a cheap snack/dinner.

It's really pretty easy to live cheap, and eat healthy. You just have to watch what you buy.

 

[kranky]

reitz, not everybody sets aside an empty can of Spaghetti-O's, then rinses it with hot water the next day and says they're making tomato soup. ; )

 

[BiB]

viper eating at home AND $200/month? Yeah, too much. My girlfriend and I are probabaly going through $200-300/month and that includes the somewhat pricey whey protein as a working out supplement, and that covers everything. eating out is very pricey. I generally pay $9 for a good meal at subway, go home at lunch and its only about a buck or two in food! if I don't watch it I can spend $3-4 each day at work just in snacks like pop and chocholate, its very smart not to do that

BiB

 

[Soybomb]

Yeah Viper I noticed I was doing the exact same thing at work/school. Instead of taking 10 minutes in the morning to pack up a sandwhich and some chips I was just walking down to the vending machine. Buying 2-5 diet dews a day at $.60 each can add to the cost too. Luckily though we now have a small fridge in the lab so i try to bring in a few sodas for myself everyday since its much cheaper from the vending machine, and I'm starting to bring a salad everyday to eat for lunch too. I've even been trying to cook at home most nights too to save money since before I was essentially eating out my 2 meals per day. It gets pricey quick, and I a tad bit of a bigger guy than I'd like too hehe.

 

[duragezic]

That's quite a bit...

For me I usually spend $3.50 per day at lunch time 5 days a week at a fast food during school lunch. That's about $70 for school lunches only . I eat dinner at fast foods about four times a week. That's usually about $4. Rarely I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at fast foods but I have done it before. That's about $130 (give or take $20) a month I eat out at fast foods unless I screwed up somewhere. The rest is home eaten meals.

 

[syber321]

'uh, yeah, $200 bucks would be a lot to spend in a month. Especially, considering that it's mostly food at work, and you only work four days a week... I would seriously consider changing the diet or bringing stuff from home or something. That's just a lot of waste of money just for food, heh

 

[aolj]

Gosh! $200 a month is a lot of money. I'm in college and I spend like $70 a month on groceries. Enough to feed me the whole month. I guess you should learn how to cook. It really cuts cost. I'm really trying to save money, as I really love to travel.

 

[breakit23]

To put on eight eat 5-6 meals a day weight train and get suffient protein your body weight is about enough for a day. I weighed 140 this july now i weigh 170. Im 6-3