Member of the Month

BallClapper
September, 2024

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

How much $ you spend on food/day?!

profile picture
TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,295
So,

just read whole parts reading the 'salary/income thread' and there's a bunch of people claiming they can live from 1-2$ a day (I've seen 35$ a month on food and he/she claimed she was eating VERY healthy).

Now, I'm REALLY interested what a 'healthy' diet looks like according to ya'll. What is an average day for you, how much does it cost you? List EVERYTHING except tap water:

Breakfast:
- Oatmeal+Milk (.20€+.20)
- 2 glasses of milk (.30)
- Orange (.15)
__________________________+
.75$

Lunch:
- Bread (.50)
- Cheese (.50)
- Glass of milk (.15)
__________________________+
1.15$

Dinner:
- Potatoes (.50)
- Peas (.75)
- Meat (1)
- Orange (.15)
__________________________+
2.25


That's 4.15€ a day already. That' 5-6$ or so.
Now this is the bare minimum. Three good meals a day, but honestly I don't know anyone who eats just 3 meals a day and ONLY drinks water. Everybody snacks and what not. Cookies, crisps/chips, soda, juice.

A healthy meal consists of at least 2 pieces of fruit and 7 ounces of veggies a day.

Let's see what everyone's got to offer and what people think is healthy and how they buy everything for 35$ a month...

People living at home are disqualified from this thread - sorry.




May 24 2011 8:02PM
0 0
profile picture
SeanTom
Posts: 7936 - Karma: 1,747
This thread is fowl with the stench of a challenge
May 24 2011 8:05PM
0 0
profile picture
NotoriousT.S.E
Posts: 1014 - Karma: 439
Just walk around Wallmart and eat their food for free.
May 24 2011 8:05PM
0 0
profile picture
WhiteDynamite
Posts: 134 - Karma: 9
so it was a she...
May 24 2011 8:06PM
0 0
profile picture
TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,295
Does it the fucker matter?
That fool is a liar and I'ma prove it.
May 24 2011 8:07PM
0 0
profile picture
FBGM
Posts: 8184 - Karma: 2,675
.
May 24 2011 8:10PM
0 0
profile picture
nkmo.
Posts: 3994 - Karma: 285
I regularly have days where I eat only 1 or 2 meals. Shit gets busy at work. Its defintiely not what the doctor orders, but it gets me by. Also I carry a water bottle with me and ONLY drink water thoughout the day. Maybe some vodka when I get home....
May 24 2011 8:12PM
0 0
profile picture
FerrisBueller
Posts: 8280 - Karma: 5,173
im guessing 10-20 a day. depends on the day though. and i live in an expensive town
May 24 2011 8:14PM
0 0
profile picture
AWALLRUS.
Posts: 5762 - Karma: 223
toofucking much
May 24 2011 8:21PM
0 0
profile picture
No_Dub
Posts: 3357 - Karma: 294
Islamabad?
May 24 2011 8:25PM
0 0
profile picture
BrewskiJr
Posts: 5738 - Karma: 1,478
Lets see what I ate today.

Breakfast- bagel w/ cream cheese

Morning snack: yogurt

Lunch: ham/pepperoni/cheese sandwich, doritos, apple,

afternoon snack: goldfish

Dinner: 2 sloppy joes

Probably ate for $6-8 today i guess.
May 24 2011 8:28PM
0 0
profile picture
ryano
Posts: 4465 - Karma: 1,535
no breakfast.


Lunch:
$3.27 will get you the two dollar meal deal and beefy cheese burrito at taco bell.


Dinner:

$2.20 will get you pasta sides and an arizona ice tea.


just two examples of my main diet. i usually dont spend over 4 US dollars a meal.

I would say my average meal cost about $3.25.
May 24 2011 8:31PM
0 0
profile picture
Anathema
Posts: 21048 - Karma: 5,061
$250 a month on groceries

extra on beer and take out / restaurants

honestly, if you go to costco and buy shit in bulk, and actually do your own cooking rather than buying ready made shit, $250 a month is pretty reasonable. but if you buy shit at the corner store like every 3 days, yeah youre looking at like $400 a month, easy. my first year of college was brutal, but after that people actually made an effort to split on bulk shit together and go easy on the junk / snack foods. and we ended up trimming down on a lot of shit that were considered luxuries, like certain fruits that are out of season and like $10 for a single helping and $15 striploin steaks.
May 24 2011 8:32PM
0 0
profile picture
maximiliaan
Posts: 7711 - Karma: 2,857
i wish i could live from 4.15 a day :(
May 24 2011 8:34PM
0 0
profile picture
TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,295
I usually spend 5-10€ a day on food. Closer to 10 than 5 for sure. And of course beer. On average at least 10€ a day on beer.
Living is expensive...
May 24 2011 8:35PM
0 0
profile picture
ryano
Posts: 4465 - Karma: 1,535
oh also, USE COUPONS!!! they save you so much. take the 5 minutes to go through the "junk" ads in the mail. it'll save you money.
May 24 2011 8:36PM
0 0
profile picture
Twig
Posts: 6400 - Karma: 59,677
Breakfast:
Cornflakes + Milk (30p)

Lunch:
Red Lentil Daal + Rice
Contains: Onion (10p), Garlic (5p), Spices (30p), Tin Tomates (30p), Chicken Stock Cube (15p), Rice (10p) and possibly some other things i forgot about but say £1 - 1.50 for the meal.

Tea:
Spaghetti Bolognaise:
Mince (£1), Tin Tomatoes (30p, Onion (10p), Garlic (5p), Basil (5p), Oregano (5p), Glass Red Wine (20p), Pasta (40p) £2ish

+ A banana 30p, some OJ (20p)

About £4 Total.. so $6ish






May 24 2011 8:47PM
0 0
profile picture
Rosbif
Posts: 2543 - Karma: 930
I have very little discipline with money, eat out for lunch every day, eat out a few times a week and drink a lot, not really sure, but probably in the $30 a day range. I have done packed lunches every day etc, but I really can't be bothered with it.
May 24 2011 8:57PM
0 0
profile picture
skiminnesota
Posts: 9093 - Karma: 429
you have to take into account what people are doing when they eat only X amount per day / week.

for example i burn THOUSANDS of calories a day and if i were to eat what the OP listed ide be skin and bones in a month.

today i ate.

Coffee for breakfast (home made folgers)

turkey sandwich at 930am along with can of mtn dew and some peanuts

lunch was another turkey sammich, tuna salad, bag of chips, and mtn dew

sprinkle in a gallon of water throughout the day.

dinner was 3/4 of a cheap supreme pizza.

living at home for the summer and having your parents stock the shelves, priceless :)
May 24 2011 9:07PM
0 0
profile picture
COskier
Posts: 1066 - Karma: 131
I generally spend about $1000 per month on food excluding alcohol. I am quite sure of this because I put all food purchases on one credit card. There was one month where I only spent $400 which I still don't understand but generally its 1k. I eat about 3800-4500 kcal per day so to do that for so little money, you would have to eat pretty much nothing but rice.
May 24 2011 9:09PM
0 0
profile picture
Rachy
Posts: 4355 - Karma: 2,761
Hope this isnt in reference to me. I said 35 a week.
May 24 2011 9:41PM
0 0
profile picture
kstanz
Posts: 3058 - Karma: 477
I still have my parents to pay for all my food so i dont have to worry about it BUT i work at subway during lunches at my school (its across the street) and there are a lot of kids that come in almost every day of the week and buy a sandwhich, usally with a pop and chips which is around 10$ it's crazy to me that they spend that much money everyday on lunch throughout the whole year....
May 24 2011 9:56PM
0 0
profile picture
CAPITA-DEVOURS
Posts: 1968 - Karma: 4
alot more than you.........
May 24 2011 9:57PM
0 0
profile picture
snowdon
Posts: 2480 - Karma: 391
I've never kept track, but I'll guess in the $400-450 per month range. I could make it cheaper, but I eat a lot of fresh food (fruit/veggies/etc) which is a lot more expensive than processed food, especially if it's organic.
May 24 2011 9:58PM
0 0
profile picture
Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
Like $5-$10 depending on what I eat. I eat once, sometimes twice a day, and don't eat 1or 2 days a week
May 24 2011 10:03PM
0 0
profile picture
snowdon
Posts: 2480 - Karma: 391
sounds like half the girls I went to high school with
May 24 2011 10:05PM
0 0
profile picture
Rachy
Posts: 4355 - Karma: 2,761
Yeah. this is entirely in reference to my post which I just checked and yeah, it said a month. I meant to say a week. I was doing it from my cell phone and apparently when I hit return it replies rather than returning.

Anyway, I meant to say $35 a week. Saying that I eat really well on that meaning that with out the amount of meat that I eat it would be in the $20 range which everyone seems to think is impossible.

Sorry for not making that clear right away, but I was really bored at the doctors office and didn't see what it sent cause of the return/reply issue.

But anyway, $35 does buy plenty of food. You just cant buy junk food and shit you aren't going to eat.

May 24 2011 10:06PM
0 0
profile picture
tuna.
Posts: 2627 - Karma: 111
there's nothing that bothers me more than girls who eat like there's some mystery to doing it right.

eat right, dont eat a pint of ice cream/bowl of pasta every night, work out (hard) at least 4 times a week. that's it. so many girls eat like sumo wrestlers and never work out, then cry about how "genetics" are to blame.

/rant.
May 24 2011 10:09PM
0 0
profile picture
a.wall
Posts: 339 - Karma: 30
too fucking much
May 24 2011 10:12PM
0 0
profile picture
malonius_funk
Posts: 2249 - Karma: 1,500
i go to boarding school so we get meals for free (kinda, it's added into our tuition).

breakfast: Bowl of cheerios, eggs, 2 glasses of water, and an apple

lunch: Turkey, lettuce, ranch wrap and an apple

dinner: haha same thing as lunch.

i pretty much eat the same thing everyday because the main meals are crap for you and the new sandwich deli bar is the SHIT. i just started to change my diet to more healthy foods like lean meats and protiens, more veggies and fruits, less carb's, etc. and i feel so much better and i've already lost about 10 pounds.
May 24 2011 10:13PM
0 0
profile picture
snowdon
Posts: 2480 - Karma: 391
I know, it's annoying. I mean, genetics DO play a factor - not everyone is born petite with a good metabolism - but unless you have some kind of medical condition, being fat shouldn't be a life sentence. Get your face out of the potato chip trough and go for a run or something.

But anyway, my high school = rampant eating disorders.
May 24 2011 10:15PM
0 0
profile picture
Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
I just don't find the need to eat always. I'm not doing high energy things a lot of the time anyway
May 24 2011 10:20PM
0 0
profile picture
malonius_funk
Posts: 2249 - Karma: 1,500
so very true my friend.
May 24 2011 10:22PM
0 0
profile picture
tuna.
Posts: 2627 - Karma: 111
exactly. some kids are born on the bigger side, that's just genetics, but you can make a change if you're willing to put in the work.

my best friend has big parents, he was born big, and always was big, we worked out together for 3 months and he lost 60 lbs. went from the "fat" kid to a good looking guy. anyone can do it.
May 24 2011 10:39PM
0 0
profile picture
erica
Posts: 3450 - Karma: 24,082
I like to go to costco for lunch on saturdays, there's soo much food
May 24 2011 10:43PM
0 0
profile picture
TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,295
Haha. I can't either - I'm just lucky I live next to a Lidl (in Amsterdam, I don't know if you're familiar around here, but there's one pretty much next to the Leidseplein, the ONLY Lidl in central Amsterdam, even nearer than the AH on Overtoom). If I'd go to AH it'd be twice as much. Lidl fucking rules. Lots of good fresh veggies/fruit. But yeah, I don't live from that... that would be the bare minimum. It's more like 10€ a day+10€ beer...






Who here eats 200gr/7 ounces of FRESH food and 2 pieces of FRESH vegetables a day? I know I do. And no, concentrated OJ doesn't count. No vitamins in that whatsoever.
May 25 2011 5:45AM
0 0
profile picture
maximiliaan
Posts: 7711 - Karma: 2,857
ah sweet, no lidl in my neighbourhood... only a spar :( the worst supermarket and most expensive :(
btw the cheap lidl beer is nice :D
May 25 2011 5:48AM
0 0
profile picture
babujib
Posts: 5039 - Karma: 104
I've been seeing how little I have to spend to feed myself this past week, because I usually spend a lot of my paycheck on food.. $3 crunchy peanut butter. $2 squeeze bottle of jelly. $5 two loaves of bread. All I had this entire week was PB&J's (except for free samples and coping shit at friends houses). So $8 can feed you for a week. I'm never really full, it just keeps me from starving.
May 25 2011 7:24AM
0 0
profile picture
skiskate
Posts: 787 - Karma: 823
I spend like 275 a month on groceries. And id say i eat pretty good, lately ive been eating rice alot cause its so cheap and filling.
May 25 2011 7:38AM
0 0
profile picture
Mike-O
Posts: 14593 - Karma: 1,089
In Sweden I spent only 60-70e/month on groceries for five months, which for me was a limit on a semi-healthy diet. What I ate changed over a bit but here was the average:

Breakfast:
4 slices of rye bread with Ham and Cheese
2 cups of Tea
1 Egg

Lunch:
I basically never had lunch as I don't need to eat during the afternoon. Maybe an apple or candy bar if hungry.

Dinner:
A big assssss bowl of Carbonara or other cheap pasta sauce
Lot of Tea

Evening Snack:
Carrots and Oranges

--

I didn't count drunken fast food into this or eating at a restaurant, but what I bought to eat at home.
May 25 2011 8:05AM
0 0
profile picture
Dosh
Posts: 1818 - Karma: 14
i would say i spend about $10-15/day on food. mostly b/c i am lazy and always buy sandwiches for lunch and pre made food for dinner. i really need to get back into cooking all my meals, but i usually just feel too tired at the end of the day to devote an hour to cooking.
May 25 2011 8:54AM
0 0
profile picture
Barefootin_Fiend
Posts: 7618 - Karma: 4,727
i probably spend on average between $30-$50/day on food. Sometimes it can be in excess of $100 if I'm eating out. I eat pretty well though. None of this bullshit ski bum diet that some of you are posting. I like to eat.
May 25 2011 9:31AM
0 0
profile picture
Mike-O
Posts: 14593 - Karma: 1,089
One way to correct that is to use that one hour to make food for 3-4 days, such as casseroles, soups and stews. Cheap, easy and delicious if you wanna make it so.
May 25 2011 9:33AM
0 0
profile picture
SkiThe603
Posts: 5376 - Karma: 498
During the school year, about 5$, in the summer, about 1$
May 25 2011 9:39AM
0 0
profile picture
Nathn
Posts: 2408 - Karma: 63
$2.10 breakfast at school, $2.10 lunch at school, either $5 of fast food or $5 worth of something at home and a some pop or chips so like $11/day.
May 25 2011 9:52AM
0 0
profile picture
PASKIINGSUCKS
Posts: 9097 - Karma: 777
dozen eggs 2.50
OJ 3.00
gallon milk 3.00
loaf o bread 2.00
sliced meat 4.00
cheese 3.00
peppers, onion, mushrooms 5.00
tea bags 2.00
chicken/beef 10.00
pasta/sauce 5.00
cereal 3.50
pizza ingredients 7.00
______________________
Beer = 20$

That's about bare minimum for me for a week, and that's cooking everything at home and packing lunch for work. Much more $$ if I go to the bar or eat out several times a week. Shooting for a bare minimum though, that would still be about 50 bucks a week or about 7 bucks a day. That's only food too, if you're living alone you're buying all your cleaning products and bathrooms goodies too.

I'd bet anyone saying they can live off 50 bucks a month has never lived by themselves for any length of time, or they are eating ramen mornin, noon, and night.

I've lived on out of my parents house for about 8 or 9 years now.
May 25 2011 10:10AM
0 0
profile picture
Spacekroft
Posts: 1332 - Karma: 41
i spend 10.40 a day about 312 a month and thats before beer or going out to eat
May 25 2011 10:14AM
0 0
profile picture
.Tom.
Posts: 1176 - Karma: 910
Interesting, even if no one reads this I wanna see for my self.

Breakfast
Milk: 20p
Cereal: 20p
Lunch
2 slices of bread: 20p?
Ham: 30p
Crisps: 35p
Coke: 40p
Dinner:
Steak: £3
Rice: 10p?
Extra ingredients: 50p
Coke: 40p

Snacks: £1

Total = Over £6 ...shit. Guess I don't always have steak.
May 25 2011 10:27AM
0 0
profile picture
Tasche
Posts: 5422 - Karma: 99
I don't do the shopping, but I would say probably between 100-200 a week for 2 people. So about 25 bucks a day including eating out.
May 25 2011 10:48AM
0 0
profile picture
Mike-O
Posts: 14593 - Karma: 1,089
Well now I understand why your tuitions are so damn expensive, that's absurdly expensive.

I get a buffet-like option (very good) for 95 cents. That's water, orange juice, salad, warm meal, bread etc.
May 25 2011 10:58AM
0 0
All times are Eastern (-4)