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How much $ you spend on food/day?!

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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
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ImNotARacist
Posts: 5136 - Karma: -1,030
Im guessing I need to participate in this.

Breakfast A Breakfast B
1 egg, 2-3 egg whites 1 bowl of honey oats or Yogurt
Glass of milk glass of milk
1 piece of toast

Meal 2
Protein shake after workout

Meal 3
Sandwich or a piece of chicken slightly salted.

Meal 4
apple, smoothy, celery and peanut butter etc

Meal 5 A Meal 5 B
Chicken and pasta, or just chicken. Hamburger patty with a lil bit of bbq or just seasoned

Meal 6 (twice a week)

Protein shake after workout.

I also drink 100% fruit juice throughout the day in small quantities (6 oz)

SO
eggs (free)
Gallon of milk= 7 days = $10/month
Huge bag of Honey oats = $7/month
Yogurt=10 for $5/2weeks= $10/month
Bread=1 loaf/week= $6/month
100% Whey Protein= $15/month
chicken&hamburger= $35/month @ $1.89/lb of chicken and $2.30/lb of hamburger
Juice/fruit/veggies= $20/month (fuck expensive shit)

Comes to $3.43/day so I was off by a teeny bit in the last thread

Im not very good at doing this every single day so sometimes I only get 3 meals and lift less but run more. Making it vary.

p.s. fuck that NY bitch
May 25 2011 11:28AM
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PASKIINGSUCKS
Posts: 9097 - Karma: 777
You must admit though, that's a bare minimum. I'm sure you would spend more than that on a regular basis. Also do you live completely alone and buy all your own groceries??

You get some cheap meat too, I'm not doubting you, hell I should start going to a local butcher. I'm just saying if you bought any other type of meat you could easily go over that monthly price you put up.

I'm sure you're leaving a few things out, like the little details of spices and shit. You list peanut butter, pasta, and BBQ sauce in your food but not in your prices. I'm also skeptical of your juice/fruit/veggies price, I drink OJ every day and that's probably over 3 bucks a week x4 is already over half what you claim for all of your produce and juice.

I'm not calling ya a liar, I'm just saying you gotta at least see how some people can be slightly skeptical of your monthly food bill. I'm sure it's a bit more than what you claim at times. Who knows though maybe you've been living alone and stocking your own fridge for years now and have it down to a science.

Check mine, that's what I consider bare minimum and i'm at 50 a week or so.
May 25 2011 11:45AM
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ImNotARacist
Posts: 5136 - Karma: -1,030
Yeah I definitely left out some stuff. By all means Im not saying this is a definite price. I spent a good amount when I want to cook a good meal.

Juice is expensive as shit so I don't buy it often and I drink small small quantities. (i could chug apple juice but I can't afford it) Yeah the meat is crazy cheap but I grew up in a farming community with about 5,000 people and beef is very big in Idaho so shit is cheap.

I pretty much left out the 1 time stuff that sends it over but I only get those types of things when I have money. Its definitely more at times, much more. but for the past 2 and half weeks thats what it has been.

I do only shop for myself and my mom does help me with meat and juice from time to time. I have 2 roommates but we don't share food.


The prices I did list are accurate, not to the cent but its close.

Im on a fat loss plan right now as well so once I get to a point it will change dramatically to increase my gains when I work out.

And ya I won't be any where near this once I get a job and have some cash flow.

Im still saying that NY dude was a douche for calling me out and saying im an idiot, I might have been underestimating a little but my numbers aren't far off from that initial post in the other thread.


May 25 2011 12:08PM
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snowdon
Posts: 2480 - Karma: 391
I would love to shop where some of you are getting your food. Either that, or I need to team up with one of the ladies from Extreme Couponing.
May 25 2011 12:10PM
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ImNotARacist
Posts: 5136 - Karma: -1,030
Yeah fuck Dans and A Fresh, shits expensive.
May 25 2011 4:36PM
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SteezyasPie
Posts: 1160 - Karma: 15
I usually eat four smaller to medium sized meals spread out throughout the day, and I drink tons of water, I just refill a bottle throughout the day (probably 1.5 - 2L not counting when I'm exercising)

Morning:
Plain Bagel w/ Cream Cheese + Apple juice - $1.50

Lunch:
2 sandwiches, usually an hour apart or so, with milk and/or water - $2 - 3 bucks a piece

Dinner:
Varies, but I'd say maybe $5 on average

so $10.50 to $12.50 per day or $315 a month if I eat like that every day (I do get cheaper foods occasionally so I'd say $250 a month is more realistic)
May 25 2011 5:29PM
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snowdon
Posts: 2480 - Karma: 391
soooo expensive. I go to Smith's most of the time because it's a block away from my house and I think it's slightly less expensive than those two, but still not cheap.
May 25 2011 5:51PM
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TOUCHE
Posts: 1183 - Karma: 162
what the fuck. does subway in the US have chips?
shits wack.

i spend around 20 day even though my parents would still cook at home (still living with them) i'm just never there.
May 26 2011 1:20AM
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kstanz
Posts: 3058 - Karma: 477
i live in canada haha and they have chips....i think the states does too?
May 26 2011 1:26AM
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skithebert
Posts: 2163 - Karma: 16
chips are chips, fries are fries, got it?
May 26 2011 1:36AM
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TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,295
Where did you list pasta? Peanut butter?
And 20$ a month for fruit and veggies? 7 oz of veggies and two pieces of fruit?

You should try listing it per day, not per month and dividing it by 30. Your results will be of a lot.
May 26 2011 7:23AM
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malonius_funk
Posts: 2249 - Karma: 1,500
yeah rep that cat food and heart disease!!!
May 26 2011 11:21AM
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MitchPee
Posts: 8871 - Karma: 1,509
Smith's can be very cheap. You just have to go in openly. Personally, I almost always buy stuff that's on sale. They do a lot of 3/$6 or something like that. It doesn't mean you have to buy 3 it just means they are $2 a piece. Almost anything you want to get has a nutritious counterpart on sale. If I want peanut butter, I don't care what brand it is as long as it doesn't have hydrogenated shit and stuff I can't pronounce. I start in the natural food area and see what's on sale. Then from there I just look at everything I would eat (pasta, chicken, fruits, veggies, etc) and see what's on sale. I just spent $65 the other day and that will last me 2 weeks or so. That is including some good beer and all really good food.
May 26 2011 11:37AM
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ImNotARacist
Posts: 5136 - Karma: -1,030
Yeah Read my other post.


I don't buy food on a daily basis, I don't buy food at all the past few weeks. So all the shit I left out with prices is stuff I haven't purchased in a while or eaten.

But here I'll list yesterday and the day before.

Yesterday:
Bowl of cereal out of giant bag $0
Glass of milk $0
Buffalo thingys at 7/11 $2.30
Water $0
Sloppy Joes @ 168 $0


Day Before:

Scrambled eggs $0
Glass of milk $0
Protein Shake $0
Quesadilla $0
Juice $1.89


yeah I don't eat fruit and veggies, Just juice and it lasts me a long time.

May 26 2011 11:45AM
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TOUCHE
Posts: 1183 - Karma: 162
and subway in australia doesn't have chips or fries we just got cookies, and they are fucking mad.
May 30 2011 8:08PM
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TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,295
Let me just bump this.
Have been living in the states for a month now and damn, is it expensive here.
All foods are expensive as fuck, except for meat, which I don't really eat that often any way.

People claiming they eat for a couple bucks a day are filthy liers.
Aug 18 2012 2:16AM
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Mr_Mackey
Posts: 591 - Karma: 22
Holy fuck I was thinking about this the other day. You are so very right.


Aug 18 2012 2:29AM
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EricLeeSki
Posts: 28 - Karma: 10
My meal plan last year for university was I believe $4000 for the 8 months, and the food at residence was super cheap, while you could go to on campus resteraunts and get a bit of a discount. I reckon you could live comfortably off $20 a day for food if you eat out alot, otherwise $10 is a good number if you buy in bulk
Aug 18 2012 2:49AM
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iSmokeweed
Posts: 4793 - Karma: 1,370
its gotta be near 15 bucks a day for me.
Aug 18 2012 10:11AM
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maximiliaan
Posts: 7711 - Karma: 2,857
what?!
Aug 18 2012 10:30AM
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.Apex.
Posts: 2097 - Karma: 1,556
6 dollar breakfast at tims
10 fast food for lunch
26 dollars at dinner
_______________
42 a day
Aug 18 2012 10:34AM
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TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,295
I don't know where you eat, but if you eat out main course+2 drinks+tips you easily pay 15$. And then you also have to eat breakfast+lunch.

Aug 18 2012 4:02PM
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TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,295
It was a thing out of necessity really. Didn't really ever eat meat back home (NL), because it was so fucking expensive. Now that I'm here, I'll probably start eating a lot more though. Healthy and cheap. Yeah.
Aug 18 2012 4:02PM
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caucasian_chad
Posts: 4078 - Karma: 3,625
Breakfast- Bagel with Cream cheese: 75 cents
Lunch- Cold cut sandwich with cheese, apple, homemade chex mix: about $2
Dinner: A variety of things, but for the sake of easy pricing, half a frozen pizza: $1 if bought on sale.
COuple glasses of milk throughout the day: 50 cents
Total for day: $4.25
Aug 18 2012 4:21PM
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grown-ninja
Posts: 3031 - Karma: 175
anyone ever buy a half a cow, im moving out with my gf and i was thinking about buying a side of beef, costs like 800-900$ but you get a few hundred pounds of meat that could last over 12-14 months
Aug 18 2012 4:30PM
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Rachy
Posts: 4355 - Karma: 2,761
Here is a weeks groceries for me at $35. I don't get how you all think you need to spend so much more.

$2 6 bagels (cost at Vons or Safeway from the bakery)
$1 bar of cream cheese (generic in a bar)
$2 6 eggs
$8 chicken breasts
$3 rice
$2 10 pack of tortillas
$2 pasta
$3 block of cheese
$3 bag of tortilla chips
$9 on veggies + fruit

I drink tea and water, that is all. $9 gets you a solid amount of veggies, given I don't buy organic, but usually from a farmers market or trader joes when I can.

With that, I can get about 7 enchiladas, a shit ton of pasta, some chicken fried rice, a quesadilla or two, 6 bagels with cream cheese, salsa and chips, 2 omelets with veggies.

Given I have spices and things like that, but a thing of basil lasts months. I use olive oil for everything. If I don't feel like bagels 1 week, I'll get some rye bread and butter. I drink a lot of tea, but if you buy loose tea, you can seriously get it down to about 10 cents per tea bag, sometimes less.

But basically, on that $35 grocery list, I've got a solid, very healthy 21 meals. I eat a ton of tomatoes, about 2 avocados, a few carrots, around 5 bananas and an onion and a lot of spinach every week. It takes a lot more cooking, a lot more planning, but I'm used to it now and love that my meals are things like chicken fried rice, avocado pasta, chickpea/spinach salad, and things like that so that when I go out, I can be really indulgent and enjoy.

I give myself $100 a week to spend. Only spending $35 on groceries gives me $65 to spend on toiletries, happy hours, and small things like skype or movie tickets. I usually spend around $75 to $80 a week and end up saving the rest for more fun things. Like if I save $25 each week, I'll have $100 and go buy something I don't need.
Aug 18 2012 4:55PM
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Woodsy15
Posts: 239 - Karma: 383
I had a $5 footlong, 2 protein shakes and 2 eggs. intermittent fasting = win.
Aug 18 2012 5:00PM
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Mike-O
Posts: 14593 - Karma: 1,089
Goddamn, how much approximately is your block?

It's hard to find a block (1 kg) of cheese here (that doesn't taste like ass) under 10 dollars. Junkies actually steal cheese from stores because it's so valuable.
Aug 18 2012 5:06PM
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cornholio
Posts: 3952 - Karma: 3,057
i've been wanting to track this so i'll pay better attention to it over the next week. on average i spend about $40 on food every 3-4 days and normally buy my lunches for about $8-10. So i'm guessing $20-25/day minimum if not more
Aug 18 2012 5:10PM
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Rachy
Posts: 4355 - Karma: 2,761
Well, I usually end up at under 35cents per ounce, a 32 ounce block is usually under $10. 32 ounces is just short of 1kg of cheese. That's a LOT of cheese. I buy what ever is cheepest, so really, $10 could last me a month. But this is basic cheddar or colby jack. If I'm feeling crazy I'll buy the $6 8 ounce block of gouda.
Aug 18 2012 6:40PM
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TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,295
I had a good day today (cheaaap) and a lot to eat.

Breakfast:
Oatmeat with milk+glass of milk = 0,5$

Lunch:
Whole ciabatta = 2,5$
Turkey pattys = 2$
Pepperjack cheese = 0,3$
1/2 bell pepper = 0,4$
1/4 onion = 0,2$
Ketchup = 0,1$
____________________________+
5,5$

Dinner:
Pasta = 0,5$
Tomatoes (slicing tomatoes) = 0,5$
Hotsauce = 0,1$
Herbs = 0,2$
_________________+
1,3$

Snacks:
2 Banana's = 0,5$
Grapes = 0,5$

Total of 8,3$ more or less. A lot of fruit, a lot of veggies. The lunch was pretty over the top, but went on a hiking trip today and needed the energy. Theoretically I could have knocked of around 2$ of that, but that would've meant a scarce lunch.


Aug 20 2012 2:58AM
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erikK
Posts: 3245 - Karma: 2,328
this
Aug 20 2012 3:29AM
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eheath
Posts: 61603 - Karma: 123,069
I usually am at about 50-60 a week, It depends how much I go out too and if im eating breakfast or not. But, i usually go shopping, spend 40-50 a week then another 10-20 going out to eat. Breakfast is usually a bowl of cereal or maybe a bagel, maybe some eggs with toast if im bored. Lunch is always a sandwich, some random meat cheese with lettuce, pretty cheap. dinner is anything from pasta, chicken, tacos, steak, burgers with sides of broc, rice or potatoes. You can go cheaper for sure, but im not into eating pb&j, ramen,pasta and potatoes every meal.
Aug 20 2012 3:41AM
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jameskiy
Posts: 396 - Karma: 3
i love eating coffee
Aug 20 2012 4:13AM
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B.Aussie
Posts: 5852 - Karma: 4,531
I wish I lived in the US. Food is so much cheaper. I would be hard pressed to live healthily off even $60 a week.
Aug 20 2012 6:10AM
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grown-ninja
Posts: 3031 - Karma: 175
Isnt minimum wage down there once you hit 20 something like almost 16 bucks?  That's three time more than here though so i guess it evens out a bit???
Aug 20 2012 9:24AM
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Mike-O
Posts: 14593 - Karma: 1,089
Cost of living =/= amount of salary. Shit, video games often cost closer to 80 AUD.

Aug 20 2012 9:44AM
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cornholio
Posts: 3952 - Karma: 3,057
assuming what he said was true though, an aussie would still work less hours to buy the same video game, even if the game costs half of that in the states.
Aug 20 2012 9:51AM
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sack
Posts: 4881 - Karma: 147
haha, I'm doing a homestay right now but I'll post what i would eat when i was a factory worker working the evening shift last year.

lunch:
oatmeal (bulk, 5 kilo box!) with hemp seeds or sugar, and if I had the money, coconut milk

snack:
banana, homemade clif bar

dinner:
lentil soup made from scratch, a couple pieces of bread and a salad
or
lentil and yam curry with rice
or
veggie wraps
or
pasta with tomato and lentil sauce

when I got home at 11 pm:
banana pancakes from scratch
or
carrot and ginger pancakes from scratch
or
oatmeal

i spent less than $25/week on groceries and never ate out and had enough energy to cycle 1.5 hours to and from work every day. as for what I drank, water at work, and probably tea, bulk orange juice also.
Aug 20 2012 10:17AM
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sack
Posts: 4881 - Karma: 147
by the way, if you're wondering how to do it on $35 a month, I think that could be feasible. a bag of dried lentils would cost me about $1-2 if I remember correctly and that would give me 8 servings with 25 grams of protein each. that wasn't even the bulk price, that was from a regular supermarket.
so if you bought dried goods in bulk, like lentils, split peas, barley, brown basmati rice, and some spices you have plenty of great meal options right there, and it wouldn't cost very much at all. it's not just plant foods either. you can also buy "pork fluff" and bonito fish flakes fairly cheaply.
also, cereal is a terrible choice for those who are looking to save money. rice or oatmeal will fill you up much better at literally a fraction of the cost. if you really must have cereal, try "puffed rice" instead, and season it with honey or sugar. the stuff comes in enormous bags and is much cheaper. pretty tasty too, and minimally processed.

the costly part for me was filling my grocery basket with vegetables and fruit, not because they are expensive but because they spoil. you can only buy a week's worth at a time.
Aug 20 2012 10:32AM
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Mike-O
Posts: 14593 - Karma: 1,089
But then take into account rent, food, utilities and you'll start seeing a pattern. My stepsister was a doctor in Norway for a decade, sure, she made bank in a sense, but with the "holy shit" cost of living it wasn't cheap in the least.
Aug 20 2012 10:38AM
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cornholio
Posts: 3952 - Karma: 3,057
i know what you're saying, but if the same logic holds true for items other than videogames if someone can make 3x as much hourly and only pay 2x as much for something in the end they come out ahead.  and before people start bitching obviously no real research was put into this statement other than what was said in this thread

i think that's all mattslines was trying to say- food is more expensive but you get paid more so it evens out a little

i don't think this needs to derail into a cost of living discussion- that's probably best saved for another thread.  i do think it would be interesting to know how the cost of living varies around the world.  especially peoples expenses (rent/food/utilities/taxes/insurance) compared to their salaries
Aug 20 2012 10:57AM
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sNaubi
Posts: 1633 - Karma: 2,357
free :)

i live at home ;)

breakfast, i don't pay

lunch, swedish schools use tax money for food, so "free" for me

dinner, i don't pay


so yeah, moral of the story? live at home :)
Aug 20 2012 11:35AM
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Mike-O
Posts: 14593 - Karma: 1,089
Hur gammal är du, "Robert"?
Aug 20 2012 11:38AM
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Milksteak
Posts: 9948 - Karma: 833
...
Aug 20 2012 11:40AM
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Ski_the_east01
Posts: 5203 - Karma: 2,306
Everything you listed sounded fucking awful.

I'd rather splurge and get some better tasting food while saving elsewhere
Aug 20 2012 11:45AM
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sNaubi
Posts: 1633 - Karma: 2,357
17, f ö så såg jag inte att dom som bor hemma blev diskade xd
Aug 20 2012 11:49AM
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monkatizer
Posts: 4704 - Karma: 1,518
i pretty much eat poptarts and milk for every meal of the day. once in a while i will have cereal for dinner
Aug 20 2012 11:52AM
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Flacko
Posts: 1495 - Karma: 788
pretty much this.
Aug 20 2012 11:54AM
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Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
0-5$ Living at home is good for some things
Aug 20 2012 11:58AM
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