$1.75 a day poverty diet challenge

[Ultralight]

bae and Jane, queue up the hair shirt jokes you have on your broken records, cuz here we go!!!!!

Alright: There seemed to be some interest in how I plan to live for one week on $1.75 of groceries.

Here are the rules:

$1.75 a day. You can spend this all at once, all $12.25 of it or in any increment you choose.
If others are doing the challenge with you, you can pool your money for bulk buying power. I will be doing it with one person, maybe two.
You can use the salt, spices, and cooking oil you already have at home
You cannot accept gifted food
You cannot scavenge
You cannot forage

I think that is all the rules.

I have done this three times before. Twice I was successful. But back then it was $1.50 a day, apparently inflation changed it to $1.75.

[Alan]

No thanks. I spent much of my childhood on a poverty diet, and not one designed to inflate my frugal chops. Good luck though, and count yourself lucky it only lasts a week.

[Ultralight]

...count yourself lucky it only lasts a week.

That is part of the point. :)

[razz]

So tell me again why you are doing this please?

[Ultralight]

So tell me again why you are doing this please?

Well, I have found it a good way to work on self-discipline, a way to cultivate more empathy, and to save a few bucks. It is like a "fiscal fast."

It also feels like a spiritual experience.

But a friend of mine asked me to do it with him. Going through a difficult shared experience with a friend tends to deepen the friendship.

[Ultralight]

So tell me again why you are doing this please?

Well, I have found it a good way to work on self-discipline, a way to cultivate more empathy, and to save a few bucks. It is like a "fiscal fast."

It also feels like a spiritual experience.

But a friend of mine asked me to do it with him. Going through a difficult shared experience with a friend tends to deepen the friendship.

[Tiam]

This is a cool link for $1.45 meals (not a day).https://youtu.be/zjeY6Bzg6jw The challenge is the price of a cup of coffee a day. It might have some ideas. I have to say, in my life, $1.75 a day is not a challenge I would want to take on. I like the Cup of coffee one better. But if a person WANTS to do it, more power to you!

[Ultralight]

This is a cool link for $1.45 meals (not a day).https://youtu.be/zjeY6Bzg6jw The challenge is the price of a cup of coffee a day. It might have some ideas. I have to say, in my life, $1.75 a day is not a challenge I would want to take on. I like the Cup of coffee one better. But if a person WANTS to do it, more power to you!

Thanks for the link!

[Ultralight]

I will probably get a bag of rice, a bag of lentils, and perhaps a tube of oat meal.

Some bananas, carrots, and cabbage will be my fruits and veggies.

In my previous experience, rice is the king. Gotta have as much rice as possible.

[dmc]

Not for me.

But good luck.

[Ultralight]

Not for me.

But good luck.

Thanks!

[Tiam]

I work with the lower end of the socio economical spectrum and with food stamps, I don't see most people really going hungry. I do see the 'food insecurity' but it never seems to be like the poverty I experienced when I was orphaned at 16 or the kind I see people talking about from their own childhoods. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And not everyone gets food stamps either. I wonder where this figure comes from?

[happystuff]

Sounds like the kind of challenge I would enjoy but the timing is not good right now. There are 4 in the household and my average weekly grocery bill runs about $50-$70 a week, so at $49 for the week for the four of us... I think we could do it! Maybe next time. Good luck!!

[ToomuchStuff]

So, did you mistype? Your doing the $1.75 a day challenge and instead of that, going to do $1.75 a week? (according to the first post)

[Teacher Terry]

Once in awhile we eat down our pantry and freezer instead of grocery shopping to clean things out. We always had plenty of good food growing up so am lucky I was never hungry.

[Ultralight]

So, did you mistype? Your doing the $1.75 a day challenge and instead of that, going to do $1.75 a week? (according to the first post)

$1.75 a day for 7 days. May have been a typo back there somewhere.

[jp1]

It would certainly not be enjoyable but I don't think I'd run the risk of starving, or even being particularly hungry. A $3 jar of spaghetti sauce and a $1 pound of spaghetti would give me 6 dinners of my normal size. Rice and a half gallon of milk would give me more than a week's worth of breakfast. Find some cheap fruit for lunch and maybe a head of the cheapest leaf lettuce plus a little oil and vinegar to make salads. I just need one last dinner. Terribly bland and carb heavy but totally doable.

A more interesting challenge for me would be "don't plan ahead and try to eat from whatever you already have for the next month". I pulled a can of green chiles out of the back of pantry sunday and put them in my breakfast burrito. The can said "best by august 2016". They were still totally fine (and tasty). (and had been a bargain at 10 cans for $5 several years ago. I remember the price because that was the only reason I bought them...) We have too much storage in our kitchen so there's undoubtedly other stuff like this that should be eaten. Same thing with stuff in our freezer. SO would totally not be on board with this program though so it will never happen. I just need to start going through everything and making meal plans according to what we have.

[Tiam]

Here's another one...21 dollars a week which is still nearly double your goal, but I think more realistic. I don't really know anyone in THIS country who managed on that little.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiSg6lwIItU

[Teacher Terry]

I have a good friend that grew up poor and by 8 was trying to cook and help her mom stretch the food. As a result she has enough food in her house to feed a army and lives alone. My mom said they had very little during the depression but they had food by growing it, etc. She only owned 2 dresses and pjs but wasn’t hungry. She hand washed her clothes daily.

[happystuff]

A more interesting challenge for me would be "don't plan ahead and try to eat from whatever you already have for the next month".

I had been doing this over the summer... trying to get through stuff in the pantry. I used to stock up really well and then hardly use what I had. I think I need to reorganize the pantry again, use what I find and actually make a list of what we use and how much I want to keep on hand. Thanks for the reminder.

[razz]

I had been doing this over the summer... trying to get through stuff in the pantry. I used to stock up really well and then hardly use what I had. I think I need to reorganize the pantry again, use what I find and actually make a list of what we use and how much I want to keep on hand. Thanks for the reminder.
Happystuff, some time ago a thread woke me up to the necessity of using up what I had on hand which I have been doing.

I started to make a list and then found the perfect PDF list http://www.grocerylists.org/ultimatest/ that I could easily modify and print out. I didn't make a separate print for each shopping trip but placed my copy in a plastic sleeve to review. I have really made a difference in my shopping with the new 'revised for my needs' list.

I quickly check what my supply on hand is at present and have found forgotten purchases. I try to replace only as I run out these days as the Best Before dates seem shorter to me.
It sounds as though your grocery bill is well managed but I have gained some savings doing this plus need less storage space.

[bae]

The “no foraging” rule is problematic for me, as I live in an area where you can feed yourself from wandering through the woods and along the shoreline.

[happystuff]

Happystuff, some time ago a thread woke me up to the necessity of using up what I had on hand which I have been doing.

I started to make a list and then found the perfect PDF list http://www.grocerylists.org/ultimatest/ that I could easily modify and print out. I didn't make a separate print for each shopping trip but placed my copy in a plastic sleeve to review. I have really made a difference in my shopping with the new 'revised for my needs' list.

I quickly check what my supply on hand is at present and have found forgotten purchases. I try to replace only as I run out these days as the Best Before dates seem shorter to me.
It sounds as though your grocery bill is well managed but I have gained some savings doing this plus need less storage space.

Thanks, razz! I'll check this out.

[Tiam]

The “no foraging” rule is problematic for me, as I live in an area where you can feed yourself from wandering through the woods and along the shoreline.

Well, I think foraging is interesting in itself. If one is in a position of such restriction and few resources, it's natural to outside the box to gain more food. I don't think it's realistic. There are ways to forage in an urban setting that wouldn't be full scale foraging. And someone in this position would also try and utilize other resources like food banks and so on.

[shadowmoss]

Mostly due to reading this thread I am getting more serious about clearing out my pantry and keeping less on hand but more what I'll actually cook. The video of the $3/day guy is encouraging, although he personally comes across as a bit annoying. I just bought some frozen chicken tenders at the Evil Empire (Walmart...) for under $7 and it is enough for many meals for me. I have an onion and a yam that I need to use up, and some Indian cooking sauces in pouches that I bought way too long ago. I'm going to work on buying just enough to make it through a week at a time with specific focus on using up what I have (staring at you 7 cans of coconut milk and 10 cans of tuna... Costco...)

[Gardnr]

The “no foraging” rule is problematic for me, as I live in an area where you can feed yourself from wandering through the woods and along the shoreline.

It is so cool that you have this opportunity in your community! Organic and wild!

[happystuff]

And while I say I want to cut back and use up what we have and not keep so much on hand.... I then run into a sale that is too good to pass up!! Whole chickens are on sale this week at my grocery store for .79/lbs. I bought, cooked, and picked one last night. I should be able to get 2-3 meals out of it (depending on the meals). I planned to go get at least one more and stock the freezer, so technically I'm not adding to the pantry - right??? ;)

[SteveinMN]

And while I say I want to cut back and use up what we have and not keep so much on hand.... I then run into a sale that is too good to pass up!!
I have no problem laying in large-ish quantities of stuff I know we will use. I just bought 8 12-roll packages of toilet paper because they were on sale for the first time in a long time and it's the brand we like I like and DW will tolerate; we won't stop using TP anytime soon. Whole chickens would be little different: we like chicken and whole chicken offers a lot of versatility in meals.

Where I often get into trouble is buying a whole lot of something when I don't have a firm idea of how -- or how quickly -- I will use it. 28-ounce cans of tomatoes come to mind; most of what I cook does not call for 28 ounces of tomatoes, which leaves me with maybe half a can to use up. While I know how to use them up, I often just want to. So I'll tend to buy a 14-15 ounce can even if I have a 28-ounce can sitting in the pantry. Not frugal.

[Miss Cellaneous]

I have a good friend that grew up poor and by 8 was trying to cook and help her mom stretch the food. As a result she has enough food in her house to feed a army and lives alone. My mom said they had very little during the depression but they had food by growing it, etc. She only owned 2 dresses and pjs but wasn’t hungry. She hand washed her clothes daily.'

During the Depression, my father's parents raised chickens in their urban backyard--enough to provide eggs for their family of 8, and some extra eggs and chickens to sell at Grandpa's brother's butcher shop. They also had most of the back yard planted with vegetables. Dad says he was never hungry, but there wasn't a lot of extra food, not with six kids, some of whom were teenagers.And they ate a lot of eggs. And there was no "fun" food, no cookies or snacks. While I was growing up, he always insisted on a proper dinner every night, didn't like casseroles, had to be meat, potatoes and vegetables, and there had to be dessert. And he liked having lots of food in the house--buying sides of beef for the freezer, buying groceries two or three weeks worth at a time. I think some of this stemmed from wanting to reassure himself that there was enough food in the house.

[Teacher Terry]

MC, yes your dad sounds like my friend. It has a life long effect.

[happystuff]

I have no problem laying in large-ish quantities of stuff I know we will use. I just bought 8 12-roll packages of toilet paper because they were on sale for the first time in a long time and it's the brand we like I like and DW will tolerate; we won't stop using TP anytime soon. Whole chickens would be little different: we like chicken and whole chicken offers a lot of versatility in meals.

Where I often get into trouble is buying a whole lot of something when I don't have a firm idea of how -- or how quickly -- I will use it. 28-ounce cans of tomatoes come to mind; most of what I cook does not call for 28 ounces of tomatoes, which leaves me with maybe half a can to use up. While I know how to use them up, I often just want to. So I'll tend to buy a 14-15 ounce can even if I have a 28-ounce can sitting in the pantry. Not frugal.

Actually, I think there is a lot to be said in buying in specific portions. I've had too many instances where I bought 28 oz cans of sauce only to use half and the rest ended up going bad. I HATE throwing food away! Such a waste!

I did buy two more chickens. Cooked another last night and will do the last one tonight. I just had to take advantage of the sale! LOL.

[Teacher Terry]

I rarely throw any food away. We stock up but not too that extent.

[Tiam]

Stocking up doesn't really work for me as a single person. I have more food stocked than I can or will use.

[HappyHiker]

I like having stocked grains which I keep in clear glass jars...otherwise, I try to buy fresh produce very often to save on waste...when vegetables start going limp, I throw vegetables in a pot and make soup...

Fruit, when approaching over-ripeness, gets thrown into the blender for smoothies.

Having had Depression-era parents meant growing up often hearing "Waste not, want not."

This stuck with me.

I hate throwing out food.

[razz]

Happy Hiker, love your description of your location. That must have been quite a significant change in climate. Back to the OP.

[happystuff]

I hate wasting food as well. When our fridge broke a couple months ago, I made a point of getting a smaller model (originally bought too big by accident!). While I still have to adjust to the shelving and the somewhat smaller freezer, it's going well. "Just enough". LOL

[jp1]

Well, I think foraging is interesting in itself. If one is in a position of such restriction and few resources, it's natural to outside the box to gain more food. I don't think it's realistic. There are ways to forage in an urban setting that wouldn't be full scale foraging. And someone in this position would also try and utilize other resources like food banks and so on.

I'm reminded of when I was a senior in college and living in a house a few miles off campus in southern Florida. Our house came with 3 avocado trees and a citrus tree. (we never were sure what the citrus tree was. The fruit were either the sweetest lemons or the sourist oranges we'd ever tasted. We ended up using them in a lot of margaritas on the rocks...) But the avocados were awesome. The entire fall semester we ate them regularly and shared them freely with the hare krishnas who lived next door. Then over Christmas break it got down to 22 degrees. All the avocados fell off the trees. My roommate grabbed them all and put them in the fridge. For the next six weeks we were forever eating avocados. Probably not any more nutritious than my proposed menu upthread of lots of pasta and rice, but like that diet, enough to keep one alive.

[jp1]

Regarding wasted food, we've gotten much better since we moved to an apartment across the street from safeway. There's no more need to "stock up" on stuff just because we're at the grocery store. But we're still not perfect. I put effort into trying to use up leftovers. Sometimes successfully sometimes not so much. But I'm pleased with some of the wins. For instance taking the leftover turkey taco meat and putting it into single serving crustless quiches.

Right now we've got a lot of leftover chinese food that SO ordered in yesterday. Not quite sure how I'm going to deal with that beyond taking it for lunch every day this week so if anyone has suggestions, it was a chicken dish and a shrimp dish but they both came with a lot of veggies...

[SteveinMN]

Right now we've got a lot of leftover chinese food that SO ordered in yesterday. Not quite sure how I'm going to deal with that beyond taking it for lunch every day this week
Perhaps the chicken dish sooner than the shrimp dish, but could either one of them be frozen for later consumption? Or can components of the meals be separated into a frittata or soup/stew?

[Lainey]

Ultralight,
how did the challenge go?

[Ultralight]

I am waiting on my friend. He says later in this month. He had to travel for work and then attend a conference.

[iris lilies]

I cannot for the life of me figure out why too much leftover Chinese food is a problem.Not a problem here. If there really was a ton of it I would freeze it.

[catherine]

I cannot for the life of me figure out why too much leftover Chinese food is a problem.Not a problem here. If there really was a ton of it I would freeze it.

Really? You can freeze Chinese food??

[iris lilies]

Really? You can freeze Chinese food??
Ummm, sure. What? It freezes decently. Put the topping on rice in single servings and freeze it.

[catherine]

Ummm, sure. What? It freezes decently. Put the topping on rice in single servings and freeze it.

I've never tried it. I figured there would be something in the myriad of ingredients that wouldn't freeze well. But now I know!

[iris lilies]

I've never tried it. I figured there would be something in the myriad of ingredients that wouldn't freeze well. But now I know!
Most people are much pickier than Li am, so I am not saying you will like it.

But for me, there isnt a Chinese, vietnamese or Thai dish I know that doesnt freeze fine for my purposes.

[shadowmoss]

My project of eating my pantry down got a kick in the pants from letting my car plates expire on Friday, but not realizing until Saturday morning. Three day weekend so I can't get legal until Tuesday (tomorrow). I pulled out a bunch of stuff from back shelves and realized I could eat well all weekend. I do have my Mom's car at this point as she doesn't want to battle the tourist traffic on the Holiday weekend in this tourist by-way of a town. I don't drive it unless I really need something, out of guilt that I was flaky enough to let my own car get illegal.

I found a couple of cans of (Costco again) roast beef I forgot about, I am clearing out my freezer and figuring out that with some noodles and some potatoes I shouldn't need anything else to get through the next week.

[Teacher Terry]

I don’t like either rice or noodles once they have been frozen.