Eating Well On One Dollar A Day

[Elisabeth]

In the beginning... Welcome to day one of your challenge. My first suggestion: go to slickdeals.net - rest cursor on forum - go to drugstores & grocery B&M, click - go to printable manufacturer's coupon compilation(maybe page 2) and click - go to sites to print out windex coupons. Print out for at least 4 bottles.

Next go to Safeway. Take the Safeway ad and cut out the coupon for windex 1.99 (in the middle of my ad). Go to the aisle and get 4 (must be 4) windex, they should be marked $1.99 if you purchase 4. Next, take your windex to the register, have he/she scan your card, give them the windex Manf Q and then the Safeway windex coupon. You should end up making a few pennies or paying a few pennies. Wait. Out will pop (2) $2 on your next order to spend in safeway. Since you are traveling give the windex to the first person you see and then go spend your $4. You now have $4 more this month for groceries. I just came from doing this. I have read for the last 3 days of others doing it. Also, my mfq were for $1/2 so if you can print 4 $1 mfq you will make $2 more. This would make your profit $6. My Safeways give you the overage.

Can you print more than 4 MFQ. Rinse and repeat for more profits.

[zetta]

There was a couple in San Diego who ate on $1 a day for a month in Sept 2008. Check out their blog:
Archive September | On A Dollar A Day

[jeffrey]

Man, it was a long day today considering i started out the day with absolutely nothing. This is what I was able to accomplish:

Eating Well On $1 A Day: Day 1 – What I Bought - Grocery Coupon Guide

I spent $4.49 of the $31.00 I have this month on day 1 to get the following food (before today's meals):

2 boxes of Quaker Instant oatmeal
4 packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Minis
1 package of Knudsen Light sour cream
10 apples
2 lbs of carrots
4 boxes (small) of Wheat Thins
1 jar of Skippy All Natural peanut butter
2 cans of pork and beans
1 bag of long grain brown rice
2 packages of Mission 100% whole wheat tortillas (10 count each)

Donated Food to Food Bank that was purchased with my $1 a day

15 packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Minis
4 boxes (small) of Wheat Thins
1 Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean bathroom cleaner
1 Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean bathroom cleaner refill

[creditcardfree]

Jeffrey, what did you end up eating today?

[jeffrey]

Jeffrey, what did you end up eating today?

Here you go... Not bad for a first day with nothing to work with at the beginning and having to adapt to what was available at the stores.

[rob62521]

You may need to learn to love cooking before this is over, Jeffrey!

[jeffrey]

You may need to learn to love cooking before this is over, Jeffrey!

More than that - I need to learn how not to die while eating my food. I amost killed meself on the first day: Eating Well On $1 A Day: Day 2 – The Object Is To Stay Alive

[cicy33]

Man, it was a long day today considering i started out the day with absolutely nothing. This is what I was able to accomplish:

Eating Well On $1 A Day: Day 1 – What I Bought - Grocery Coupon Guide

I spent $4.49 of the $31.00 I have this month on day 1 to get the following food (before today's meals):

2 boxes of Quaker Instant oatmeal
4 packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Minis
1 package of Knudsen Light sour cream
10 apples
2 lbs of carrots
4 boxes (small) of Wheat Thins
1 jar of Skippy All Natural peanut butter
2 cans of pork and beans
1 bag of long grain brown rice
2 packages of Mission 100% whole wheat tortillas (10 count each)

Donated Food to Food Bank that was purchased with my $1 a day

15 packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Minis
4 boxes (small) of Wheat Thins
1 Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean bathroom cleaner
1 Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean bathroom cleaner refill

I am finding this fascinating so am following it. but I have a question, how did you spend only 4.49 on the above items? even with coupons I couldn't have done it for less than $15.
The ten apples would have been $5 alone.

[creditcardfree]

I am finding this fascinating so am following it. but I have a question, how did you spend only 4.49 on the above items? even with coupons I couldn't have done it for less than $15.
The ten apples would have been $5 alone.

Click on the blue link or here to his blog where Jeffrey explains the costs involved. There were some money makers involved to offset some of the costs.

[jeffrey]

I am finding this fascinating so am following it. but I have a question, how did you spend only 4.49 on the above items? even with coupons I couldn't have done it for less than $15.
The ten apples would have been $5 alone.

Regions definitely differ, but I am definitely not in an area where it is easy to do this (no double coupons at the stores). The apples just happened to work out where I could stack 2 coupons together - one for $1 off the Safeway brand coupons and another $1 off produce purchase. That brought the apples down from $3.99 to $1.99 - then using "money makers" (combining coupons and sales so that the coupons are worth more than what you are buying), that overage goes to bring down the price even more. I have been lucky that this week there have been a number of money makers out there -- it really varies from week to week and there is no guarantee there will be any available in the weeks to come.

[cicy33]

Regions definitely differ, but I am definitely not in an area where it is easy to do this (no double coupons at the stores). The apples just happened to work out where I could stack 2 coupons together - one for $1 off the Safeway brand coupons and another $1 off produce purchase. That brought the apples down from $3.99 to $1.99 - then using "money makers" (combining coupons and sales so that the coupons are worth more than what you are buying), that overage goes to bring down the price even more. I have been lucky that this week there have been a number of money makers out there -- it really varies from week to week and there is no guarantee there will be any available in the weeks to come.

My area is even worse. we cannot get anything for overage cost. If the coupon is worth more than the item, they manually enter the price of the product. Even the stores that do the rare triple, the machines are set up to only allow the actual price of the product. They used to do the coupon tripled but I guess too many people were making money. of course I haven't seen a triple in about two years! good job on your findings though!

[BTC]

This will be interesting to follow. I'm getting ready to go to lunch. I'm thinking Subway. If I were trying to spend $1 per day, I wouldn't be able to eat again for 5-6 days.

[jeffrey]

My area is even worse. we cannot get anything for overage cost. If the coupon is worth more than the item, they manually enter the price of the product. Even the stores that do the rare triple, the machines are set up to only allow the actual price of the product. They used to do the coupon tripled but I guess too many people were making money. of course I haven't seen a triple in about two years! good job on your findings though!

If you have a store that doubles coupons, you should be able to do really well. Overages are pretty rare at supermarkets (they are much more common at the drug stores like CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens). I could do a lot more and get a lot more variety that I have thus far if I had a store that doubled coupons (even if it was only up to $0.50). In fact, if I had a choice, I would opt for a store that doubles coupons rather than one that allows overages because there is so much more potential. Either way, if you are willing to eat what is available rather than what you want at the moment, you should be able to get some great savings.

[jeffrey]

This will be interesting to follow. I'm getting ready to go to lunch. I'm thinking Subway. If I were trying to spend $1 per day, I wouldn't be able to eat again for 5-6 days.

Yes -- I can pretty much guarantee that I won't be going out for meals anytime this month

[cicy33]

If you have a store that doubles coupons, you should be able to do really well. Overages are pretty rare at supermarkets (they are much more common at the drug stores like CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens). I could do a lot more and get a lot more variety that I have thus far if I had a store that doubled coupons (even if it was only up to $0.50). In fact, if I had a choice, I would opt for a store that doubles coupons rather than one that allows overages because there is so much more potential. Either way, if you are willing to eat what is available rather than what you want at the moment, you should be able to get some great savings.

We do have Kroger that doubles up to .50. but the problem there is that while sometimes I can do well, most of the time I can get it cheaper at walmart using the coupon regular value or even without the coupon at all. and coupons have gotten really bad lately. more and more of them are off 2 and then it is low amounts.