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Thread: My personal Live Below The Line Challenge

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    If you're looking for more milk than your budget allows, Amy Dacyczyn always used powdered. Not great, I know, but cheap.
    It used to be a lot cheaper, but not anymore, or here anyway. I buy it now to use in various mixes, but locally it's $7.95 for a box that makes 8 quarts. $4 a gallon for that stuff??? Just a side note on powdered milk - I recently learned that the reason it's always non fat is because it would have to be refrigerated if the milk fats were left in. Makes sense that the fats would go rancid.

    Iris, I agree on the rice. El cheapo rice is pretty lousy in texture and taste. My favorite is Jasmine. My daughter and I used to split a huge bag that we bought at an Asian store. Super cheap that way. The last time we bought a bag, it was so unbelieveably bug infested that we never bought there again. It might have been just that one shipment, but it left a lasting impression...ick.
    Marianne
    My lame blog: http://2atthefarm.blogspot.com/
    Eco Friendly Tightwaddery and the Fine Art of Substitution

  2. #22
    Mrs-M
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    Marianne. You've been so creative with meal menus. Way to go on that! Racking my brain right now in an attempt to storm other ideas for you, but your doing so well that I'm hard-pressed to offer-up any other suggestions.

    Eating for less than $1.50 a day is interesting and can even be nutritional and wholesome, however, over time, the limited food groups would become tiresome. Makes me really appreciate the fact that we are graced with so much in the way of options Re: food group choices and ingredients when it comes to meal allowance and preparation.

    Hats off to you! Awesome job!!!

  3. #23
    Senior Member treehugger's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Marianne View Post
    It used to be a lot cheaper, but not anymore, or here anyway. I buy it now to use in various mixes, but locally it's $7.95 for a box that makes 8 quarts. $4 a gallon for that stuff???
    I have found that, too, much to my surprise. I was raised on powdered milk, because it was much cheaper back then than fluid milk. Not any more. But, I do keep it on hand because several of my bread recipes call for it and it is handy to use if I run out of milk and am not planning on shopping for a few days.

    As for low budget meals, I do pretty well by shopping almost exclusively from the grocery store sale flyers (and planning meals around that) and using a price book. Sure, it means that we can't eat whatever we want when we want it, but that's OK.

    Kara

  4. #24
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    Ooohhh I LOVE these extreme frugal challanges! I have tried to eat for $1.50 a day but am having difficulty just because I eat so darn much! I'm very active and eat about double the calories that a "normal" person does so have trouble paring expenses. Plus I don't cook or like hot food (am sort of an unintentional raw foodie type) and seem to live totally on HUGE veggie sandwiches (with some sort of protein) and fruit and fruit smoothies for lunch and dinner and a couple of bagels with nut butter and a cup of coffee for breakfast. Hard to get down to $1.50 on that kind of food but am going to "try" to cook more even if it's just spaggetti from a jar - something even I can do and is probably inexpensive if I don't eat the whole thing - which I usually do :-)!! My other big problem is that I leave home early in the morning (eat breakfast and drink coffee in my car) and often don't come back until early in the evening. So I have to figure out a way of taking lunch and some extra food with me. Easy if it's sandwiches and fruit and raw veggies but can't figure out how to take cooked food - especially since I'm not near a place to heat it up. Suggestions???
    Last edited by Spartana; 9-15-11 at 3:34pm.

  5. #25
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    The only thing I can think of is a wide mouth thermos. Hot or cold food should be around the same temp a few hours later. But if you don't care for hot food, you'll probably still be hating it. :o)

    For my challenge, I thought about all the inexpensive Indian foods that our son makes when he's here, but the bottom line is that I really don't care for a lot of the seasonings that he uses. While my $1.50 a day diet would be considered very boring, not extremely healthy by many, it works for me. I ate a boatload of various salads and veggies this summer, so I'm ready for the heavier meals of winter. Gotta get that layer of fat on just in case it's a long, cold season. :o)

    Kara, that powdered milk has kept me from the grocery store, too! I usually use it in cooking and baking, no one is the wiser. I stock up whenever meat, cheese and the like are on sale and like you, plan my meals around that. I have been able to keep our monthly grocery bill to around $225 a month. Eating less meat has helped, and DH hasn't complained. How do you use your price book?
    Marianne
    My lame blog: http://2atthefarm.blogspot.com/
    Eco Friendly Tightwaddery and the Fine Art of Substitution

  6. #26
    Senior Member treehugger's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Marianne View Post
    How do you use your price book?
    Basically the method I learned from The Tightwad Gazette. I keep a notebook in my purse with different categories on separate pages (rice/grains, beans, baking, etc.). Then I record the item, size, price and unit price for each of the several stores that I compare prices at. That way, I know where to go for each type of food.

    It's not a perfect system because prices change all the time, but it really helps to get a sense of what's usually cheapest where. And it especially pays off when I see something on what I think is a good sale. With my pricebook I know for sure and then I can stock up. Using my pricebook is how I figured out what's worth it to buy at Costco (where some things are tons cheaper than grocery stores and some things a lot higher).

    I am lucky and have a lot of different stores to choose from in my area, but I want to make sure I don't waste my time and gas driving too many places. So, I only go shopping every 2 weeks and I hit different stores on a rotating basis. For example, I go to Trader Joe's and Safeway or Lucky every other Saturday (depending on who has better sales items). I make a Costco usually once a month or less and I can go on my lunch break since it's close to my work. Then I fit in a trip to any one of the others (Smart N Final, Food Maxx, Target, Grocery Outlet, asian and Mexican markets) once every few weeks, either on my lunch break or on Saturday with my regular shopping.

    That was probably more info than you wanted. :}

    By the way, I spend about $100 a month for myself and my husband. We don't eat out, but we do have dogs and cats whose food costs are on top of that $100.

    Kara

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by treehugger View Post
    By the way, I spend about $100 a month for myself and my husband. We don't eat out, but we do have dogs and cats whose food costs are on top of that $100.

    Kara
    Holy mama! That is just outstanding!! Are you vegetarian? I'm assuming that you also eat from your garden? (More details, please.)

    With that huge variety of stores in your area, I can see why you'd keep a notebook. I have one small town market 12 miles from my house, Sam's and Wally World is 35 miles from here..oh, and the buggy Asian market. That's it. I'd have to drive 2 hours to get to a city that has Mexican or anything else. So I buy locally and pay the higher prices.

    We're gradually eating more vegetarian meals, but I still have to toss DH a pork chop once in a while. We could buy a side of beef locally (Black Angus are my neighbors down the road), but I know that if I had it in my freezer, we'd eat beef all the time. Plus I don't think I could look a cow in the eyes and say, 'I'll take that one'. But it'd be cheaper per pound.

    There's just the two of us now, but once or twice a month we have big family dinners and send leftovers home with the kids. DS#1 stays with us for several weeks when he's in the USA, too, but that's only once every year or two.
    And all this is probably more than you wanted to read, too. You have inspired me to do more! (with less) :o)
    Marianne
    My lame blog: http://2atthefarm.blogspot.com/
    Eco Friendly Tightwaddery and the Fine Art of Substitution

  8. #28
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    Thursday

    Breakfast
    2 cups coffee - $0.30 This is stupid, hot tea from now on!
    1 cup homemade yogurt - $0.24

    Lunch
    Split pea soup
    Split peas (green lentils) - $0.83 (the bag says 10 servings)
    Chicken broth from the freezer plus some water
    Onion and garlic from the garden

    2 bowls of soup - $0.17

    I was prepared to caramelize onions, or fry them really crisp for a topping, or add a blop of bacon grease if I had to. It tasted so good by using chicken broth, I ate it the way it was. Good stuff, filling and simple.

    Dinner
    DH said the soup sounded good, so we had it again for supper.

    2 bowls of soup - $0.17
    8 saltine crackers - $0.12 (!!!!)

    Later I had:
    One cup homemade yogurt with a dribble of homemade vanilla - $0.26
    Cup of hot tea - $0.05

    Daily total - $1.31
    ______________

    When I first started this, I thought that if I didn’t have so much homemade stuff and a garden, I’d be seriously screwed. Today I have a different attitude. It’s all about gradually making the changes, focusing on portion control, flavors, variety, etc. YMMV
    Marianne
    My lame blog: http://2atthefarm.blogspot.com/
    Eco Friendly Tightwaddery and the Fine Art of Substitution

  9. #29
    Senior Member treehugger's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Marianne View Post
    Holy mama! That is just outstanding!! Are you vegetarian? I'm assuming that you also eat from your garden? (More details, please.)
    Hmmm, I realize now that looks sort of boastful the way I wrote that, and that wasn't what I meant at all. We struggle making ends meet, so $100 a month is really all we have to spend on food. If I had more wiggle room, I would definitely spend more on this part of our budget.

    We eat a lot of beans and rice. A lot. We aren't vegetarians, but we do eat a lot of meatless meals. I only buy meat that I can find on sale for less than $2 a pound. We eat too much bread (it's filling and I bake it myself, so it's cheap). I only buy the one or two vegetables and fruits that are on sale, so our produce intake is not varied enough. We do have a garden but neither of us are natural greenthumbs and our yield has been dismal this year. There are so many things I miss that I just never buy any more (avocados, tomatoes, goat cheese, arugula, fish...).

    OK, now all of that sounds like I need a pity party, and I don't mean that either. Our budget is what it is, not something to boast about or be sorry for. But some day I will buy goat cheese and salmon all the quality organic produce we can eat!

    Kara
    Last edited by treehugger; 9-16-11 at 5:05pm. Reason: hit Enter too soon

  10. #30
    Mrs-M
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    Originally posted by Spartana.
    Easy if it's sandwiches and fruit and raw veggies but can't figure out how to take cooked food - especially since I'm not near a place to heat it up. Suggestions???
    Hmmm... that's a tough one, leave it with me for a bit to ponder....... P.S. The Thermos is an excellent start!

    Originally posted by Marianne.
    I ate a boatload of various salads and veggies this summer, so I'm ready for the heavier meals of winter. Gotta get that layer of fat on just in case it's a long, cold season.
    Salads are the part I love best about the hotter months. Like yourself, by the end of the summer season I'm ready for more thicker, heavier meals. Meals with substance! A layer of fat you say? No problems there!!! Hahaha!!! Still packing weight (some of it) from my last birth. Old Man Winter, bring it on!!!!! P.S. Awesome menu, and the pea soup, OMG, sounds delicious! I LOVE pea soup!

    Treehugger. Way to go on your monthly food-budget! That is awesome!

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