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Eating Well On One Dollar A Day

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  • #46
    Originally posted by cicy33 View Post
    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.
    You know, I thought that was the case when I started couponing for food banks (and have only been doing it for a few months), but there really are quite a few good coupons on the Internet. Again, if you buy what you want you won't be near as effective as if you buy what you can use when it is a great deal. The only coupons that I use are ones from the Sunday papers (I never cut them out beforehand or organize them - just wait until I hear about a deal that is good and in what Sunday insert it is in, then take it out), online printable coupons and ones that I find in the grocery store.

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    • #47
      OK, here is the current big debate. Should I be able to use salt, pepper and cooking oil without having to pay for them since they will obviously last much, much longer than 1 month and I will only use a fraction of them (I haven't used any until this point, except with a bit of creativity for today's meals) or are they costs that I should have to budget into my $1 a day for food?

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      • #48
        I think you should be able to use salt, pepper and cooking oil! Is your sister getting a little strict about this? Maybe as a side you could calculate the dollar amount of salt/pepper and cooking oil you use in the month. I betting it is pretty small amount.
        My other blog is Your Organized Friend.

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        • #49
          wow, this is certainly turning into a pretty interesting month (not necessarily in a good way) I found out that what put me into the hospital was a abscess in my digestive tract wich requites antibiotics and will also mean that I will have to get some foods that I wasn't anticipating on having to buy -- but then there are always curveballs thrown at budgets and you have to deal with them the best you can. We'll see if I can still stay under $31 for the month with this new twist thrown in...

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          • #50
            story of my life. It is a lot easier for me because i am a non US citizen and food is a little cheaper in the neck of my woods

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            • #51
              I'm starting to think maybe you should have held on to a few more of those cream cheese packs. With the corn flakes and milk... I could have seen a cheesecake come out of this.
              Additionally with all the southwestern type foods that you have now, I can see smashing up the black beans a little bit and then heating them with the cream cheese and a little of the salsa to make your enchilada with a creamy filling rather than having all the ingredients loose in your tortilla.
              Also the cream cheese could have been heated in a pot of water yielding a kind of a milky broth which would be useful as a soup base with the rice and carrots (or possibly potatoes if you end up getting those). I know you already have milk but that will go quickly since you are eating it with the cereal.

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              • #52
                Hope you are doing OK after your hospital visit.

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                • #53
                  it is totally possible. The only downside is that variety at meal times will be something of the past. It is like going back to bording school. It is not the best of feelings but the benefits are far reaching

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                  • #54
                    Wow - two weeks on this challenge. Here is a summary of what I have left after two weeks:

                    1 mystery purchase
                    3.5 tomatoes on vine
                    0.5 broccoli crowns
                    0.75 loaf of bread
                    1.75 jars of Classico pasta sauce
                    1.5 Safeway brand pasta (1 spaghetti and 0.5 rotini)
                    0.5 celery stalk
                    0.75 bag tortilla chips
                    2 cans tuna
                    1 bottle Welch’s grape & peach 100% juice
                    1 bottle V8 Fusion fruit / vegetable drink
                    0.5 bottle V8 spicy vegetable drink
                    1.5 boxes of Caprisun fruit drinks (16 drinks all together)
                    0.25 jar of salsa
                    0.25 bag of black beans (half cooked, half not)
                    2.5 boxes of cereal
                    1 dozen eggs
                    2.33 bananas
                    1 box of Quaker Instant oatmeal
                    11.5 packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Minis
                    0.25 package of Knudsen Light sour cream
                    1 lbs of carrots
                    0.25 bag of long grain brown rice
                    2 100% whole wheat tortillas

                    Having enough to eat hasn't been an issue, but the time it takes to arrange meals (hey, I admit that I am lazy) has taken a lot more effort than I thought it would. I have spent just over half of the $31 for this month and now that I have a decent base of food, I think the last two weeks will be a little easier.

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                    • #55
                      Good luck. I was thinking of submitting an article at one point on fasting from food and how that "saves" money (although that's not the motive at all).

                      If you are healthy, you could schedule 1 3 day fast with perhaps 3 other 1 day fasts within the month to help offset your costs. . .but you would have to allow for some weight loss which is not what you want to do and break your fast with some simple, easilty digestable food.

                      I am on a 3 day fast this weekend so my food expense is zero.

                      (well not true - I alway treat myself to a $2.89 bottle of Evian water on a fast)

                      I'll be thinking of you.


                      EDIT: scratch the above. . .just read you had an abdominal absess. . .I would follow the dietician's advice, not mine. Good luck.

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                      • #56
                        Who knew the delimas that this challenge would make me face. I made the calculated decision that it was worthwhile buying tampons to get a free jar of peanut butter.

                        The mere fact that I would actually go for this deal without considering the possible repercussions for men around the world shows that I may not be thinking clearly these days:

                        Woman: “Honey, can you run down to the drug store and get me some tampons?”

                        Man: “I’m sorry dear, men don’t buy tampons…”

                        Woman: “That guy trying to eat well on a dollar a day bought tampons and pantiliners just so he could have a jar of peanut butter. Are you saying that you value me less than a jar of peanut butter?”

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