How much does it REALLY cost to eat?

A little experiment.

Published on March 31, 2004 By dharmagrl In Misc

There has been much discussion in the past few weeks about the amount of money given out in the form of food stamps. The general consensus is that it's too much - and I agree.

I have decided, just for *fun*, to conduct an experiment and see how little I can spend on food and still comfortably feed myself and my 3 kids. We're not going to starve ourselves, but we are going to cut out all the 'luxury' items...like prepackaged TV dinners, steaks, frozen pizzas, sodas etc. I already make a menu plan, but I'm going to try and focus on cheap, simple foods this time around.

I just want to see for myself (and I want other people to see as well) just how little you can spend on food but still provide your family with good, filling, nutritious meals.

I'll start on Saturday, when I go grocery shopping, and I'll let you know how much I spend.

Comments

mikimouse

on Mar 31, 2004

good idea but it's hard to do. Good luck. *pats back and smiles then walks away with hands in pocket whistling and all the while thinking she's sure to fail*...Come on now, no Pepsi for a week?

Tangled Wishes

on Mar 31, 2004

Good luck!!!

I think it's admirable to do that. I also think it sucks, though, if you're a healthy eater and want to buy fresh veggies and all that nice stuff because IT'S EXPENSIVE.

I also think it sucks that at my school, the amount of money it turns out I pay per meal is like $7.50 and usually it isn't worth 4 dollars.

DAMN FOOD SERVICE!!!

Oh well, huh. Anyway, good luck!

~Completely Confusing Anne

dharmagrl

on Mar 31, 2004

It's not THAT hard to do, we did it before for over 3 years when we really didn't have much money to spare. I'm still going to buy fresh fruit and some veggies, I'm just not going to spend frivolously. I'm going to try and prove that it's possible to provide nutritious meals and snacks on not much money, if you buy wisely and plan ahead.

A week without Pepsi? No sweat.

JillUser

on Mar 31, 2004

Fresh fruits and veggies don't have to be expensive Anne. We have a fruit and veggie market here that I can easily fill a cart at for about $10. You might not be able to do it via one stop shopping but you can do it. Can't wait to see the results!

dharmagrl

on Mar 31, 2004

Jills right. As long as you buy what's in season (not strawberries in the middle of winter, for example) it's not really too bad.

WiseFawn

on Apr 24, 2004

My, what a noble way to spend your time.

dharmagrl

on Apr 24, 2004

My, what a noble way to spend your time.

Are you being facetious, Wise Fawn? Because that's how it sounds.

shadesofgrey

on Apr 24, 2004

Hey Dharma--I'm glad this got bumped up...how did it go? Being single I find it very difficult to effectively shop for one cause usually the budget meals mean I have left overs for weeks! But I'm curious to see how little you could spend feeding your family!

crimson

on Apr 24, 2004

We have a fruit and veggie market here that I can easily fill a cart at for about $10. You might not be able to do it via one stop shopping but you can do it

I guess fruit and veggies must be much cheaper to do that than here! Lucky!

Dharma, how did it go? Did you have any problems, or would you have wanted to make any different modifications? What was the grand tally for two weeks?

Wisefawn, no offense, but what's your damage? You've been slagging Dharma a bit today?

dharmagrl

on Apr 24, 2004

It went well, thanks, Nicky. I ended up spending just under $140 all told..and that included the extra cash I had for milk, chips, produce and bread.

I don't know what WF's issue is...but she can keep it up. She's just making herself look like a bitch, and that's fine by me.

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!