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219 Comments
- bananasluggy, on 09/06/2008, -7/+115I resented my parents so much while growing up because they banned all fast food, cookies, candies, sodas, chips... pretty much everything that came in a crinkly bag was banned (mostly because we couldn't afford it). If I wanted it, I had to buy it with my own paltry allowance ($2 a week.) It's amazing what will become undesirable when it's your money you're shelling out... dad always cooked dinner too, so the question of "What's for dinner" was usually answered by, "Chef's Surprise." Mom would make my birthday cake and that was always nice. :D (And no, she didn't use a package.)
Now that I'm older and don't have a taste for fast foods...I can very easily see my feet and I'm grateful. I had a short stint in high school where I raided the soda machines on a daily basis, but it was a phase. The stuff tastes weird to me now (except Coke with sugar in it, that's tasty... hard to get though.)
My mom's side of the family was rife with obesity and her reasoning for banning pretty much anything a kid would want was, "If you know you're at risk for something, you make sure you don't do things that will lead to it... you don't just sit on your butt and whine while stuffing your face." (...tough love. Go fig.)
I do like burgers and fries... just not ones that look like they've been thrown up and then sat on. ;) Which is, let's be honest, 99% of what's out there in Fast Food World.
Our food budget was quite sane too... (albeit because we were poor.) Though to this day, spaghetti reminds me of the end of the month. I thought us really lucky when my dad would get a little can of watery mushrooms to put in the $1 sauce... ahh I was an easily pleased child. - AmyVernon, on 09/06/2008, -1/+72I have to admit, that after reading what she was serving for breakfast, lunch and dinner and how it was so difficult, I have to wonder what on earth she was feeding her family before. We've always had rice at least three or four times a week; dunno why it was so rough for them.
- DiogenesJr, on 09/07/2008, -0/+39I think it's shocking that everyone thinks this is shocking! This is my budget for two adults and two children and it works just fine. We could easily afford to spend more, but why? Once you cut out the crap, buy store brands, and start planning a menu before you head to the store, it's fairly easy to get within a few dollars of the 100 a week mark.
My wife and I used to spend nearly $600 a month on groceries. I took a hard look at what we were buying and realized we were buying a whole lot of nothing. Creating a menu and sticking to it is the key. Once you know what you're going to eat, it's easy. For example, one night a week we eat fish or various types. At Walmart we get enough fish, vegetables and potatoes to feed the entire family for around $10 dollars. There are numerous meals like this one out there that feed plenty of people, leave leftovers, and cost very little.
I used to be really bothered by high food prices because that's what was expected of me. Then I realized that food prices aren't the problem. People not exercising sound financial sense was the problem. I know I wasn't. If you make $28,000 a year, have a couple of kids, a car payment, rent / mortgage, and a couple of credit cards, you're going to have issues with affording anything at all, let alone food. And I think this is where the problem lies. - livefree12, on 09/06/2008, -13/+48I don't think so. vegetables and fruits are so expensive now, especially organic products. I'm way way over $100 per week
- xptweakerntn, on 09/07/2008, -3/+35Two Words:
Ramen Noodles - tian2992, on 09/06/2008, -3/+27Wow, I eat on less than that… (3 persons, 350Q/week (~60 USD))
(Note that I live in Guatemala, and almost everything is grown locally) - mikephimikephi, on 09/07/2008, -0/+23Im pretty sure someone who can only afford to spend $100 per week on groceries is not going to be able to enlist the help of nutritionists and dietitians.
- HairyTroll666, on 09/07/2008, -4/+26The article's woman shopper sounds like a 'stay-at-home' mom.
Honestly, I think 99% of today's USA "stay-at-home' moms are spoiled rotten. They have grown up without any real need to scrimp or save money, cut corners, plan a meal schedule, or other tasks that mom's in the 1950s or 1960s had to do on a daily basis. (I am not just picking on women here, most American men are worse and have even less household skills deeming it "woman's work".)
Most Americans have no idea the difficulty of washing clothes by hand or dealing with farm tasks like handling livestock or self-butchering a chicken. They would be completely lost and not have the tools or skills necessary to do these tasks if without electricity (Do you have a cloths wringer and cloths pins at home?)
Give the article's woman a budget of $100 dollars a week for food (ignoring household supplies even) and she can't make it a week without a bean burrito or soft-serve ice cream.
Its no wonder when Hurricane Katrina blew through Louisiana everyone freaked out and looted and many people died. Without the quick instant access to fast-food, pre-packaged meals, electricity, and utility services... Most Americans either become thieves or just shrivel up and die. - chrgrose, on 09/07/2008, -1/+23My mum spends probably 400 a month for 4 people and she is a rabid coupon clipper. On the other hand, when I lived on my own my first year of college I regularly got by on less than $20 a week. I pretty much lived on Easy Mac, Cereal, and Instant Soup.
- obliviousfool, on 09/06/2008, -5/+26I have a friend who has a large family, and they do everything all organic and try to keep a somewhat Ayurvedic diet. The funny thing is watching these young kids fight over the last bit of tofu, or the last olive, or the last slice of fresh pear, or the last helping of spinach something-or-other. It warms the heart, it really does.
- Porbeagle, on 09/07/2008, -0/+20Well you know, if we can only eat $100 worth of food a week, we might lose weight. That itself could help gas mileage.
- digigeek, on 09/07/2008, -2/+21Why would you buy organic produce in a grocery?! Just go to your nearest farmer's market or garden co-op and get your veg. Or buy the normal produce. You can't expect not to get ripped off if you insist on buying what the marketing folks tell you is best for you.
- toxictonic, on 09/07/2008, -3/+21You're.
- Exzhaton, on 09/07/2008, -2/+19Uh yo rice is delicious and ***** you if you don't agree.
- inactive, on 09/07/2008, -2/+18Your mother? When? 10, 15 years ago? Did you step in a grocery yourself in the last 3 years?
It cost more than 100$/week if you plan to not feed your kids those cleaning supplies. - zerobriers, on 09/07/2008, -0/+16Oatmeal is cheap. Branded oats, Cheerios, etc, are expensive because you pay for branding.
- gm33, on 09/07/2008, -4/+20One word for you:
Obesity - breakaway, on 09/07/2008, -3/+18I spend about $70 on BK every week
- gobbleplex, on 09/07/2008, -2/+16Part of this article is that the family was *not* allowed to shop at 'dented can food stores' or cheap chinatown markets where they sell meat and produce at 1/3 the price of wholesale.
- xinxu36, on 09/07/2008, -0/+14When I was growing up we were barely getting by. We ate a lot of rice and cabbage. I like a lot of food now that other people find disgusting, because it was eat it or nothing else. And also I like my rice with every single meal. But then again I am Asian.
- loquax, on 09/07/2008, -0/+14On element for you--Sodium.
Seriously, the big problem with eating on the cheap is that when you calculate dollar per calorie (which most people actually look at when they shop for something to "fill them up") things like potato chips, frozen foods, and lots of junk food rise to the top. It seems to me that the real struggle is getting food that won't harm you in the long run of eating them daily. Additionally, if you already have a condition (like hypertension) you simply cannot eat on $100 a week without killing yourself. - zadadka, on 09/07/2008, -0/+14One line from the article stuck out like a sore thumb : "...tasty, but required a lot more preparation than I was used to".
Sadly, in today's "little free time" society, few have either the time or the inclination to go for other than the "expedient" sources of tasty/nourishment trade-off in meals. - yunus, on 09/07/2008, -2/+153 meals a day X 7 days = 21 meals.
1 meal = 2 packets of Ramen.
21X2 = 42 packs of Ramen per week.
42 x .10 = $4.20 per week per person
It's good enough for college kids. - KelliShaver, on 09/07/2008, -0/+13Ah, someone who makes sense! Our monthly grocery budget for our family of 3 is $300. We eat healthy and there's always enough. We don't buy a lot of pre-packaged crap, buy a lot of store brand items (they taste the same), take advantage of sales, and generally just pay attention. It's pretty easy to do. I know a family of six that eat just fine off $150 a week. To me, $100/wk for a family of 3 doesn't seem extreme at all.
- WinMacLin, on 09/07/2008, -8/+19Short answer: Yes.
Long Answer: Yes, but you wont like what your eating. - dazparkour, on 09/07/2008, -0/+11Way to bring back rickets.
I do miss college and noodles however. - Aturaten, on 09/07/2008, -2/+13You ***** fatass.
- inactive, on 09/07/2008, -0/+10I have a five person family. I spend about and around $50 per week. We still eat good and somewhat healthy. :) No pop, chips, or any of that BS.
- cowsgonemadd3, on 09/07/2008, -3/+13We live on like 130 every 2 weeks...And we at fine. Shop dented can food stores and save tons of money. If you shop at Bilo I can see how you spend so much.
- kelmaster1, on 09/07/2008, -1/+11If you're a resident of Montana, you can get $5 doe tags. Whitetail and Mule Doe's in Montana are NOT in short supply to say the least so I get 2 or 3 in October and that covers my meat (heh) situation until the next summer usually. I figure I pay about $15 for tags that gets me about $1000 of fresh venison. Hunting is a great way to get cheap food!
- LeepII, on 09/07/2008, -0/+9The writer of this article doesn't live in the real world. She talks about canned salmon like she's never had it before, also the way she refers to the produce she normally buys shows she normally shops with an unlimited budge, definitely not living like most Americans. I spend about 125 a week for a family of 5.
- Blandyman, on 09/07/2008, -0/+9Don't you dare say Ramen will ever raise in price, you insensitive bastard.
Ramen is the ultimate food. Always tastes great and always so cheap it's almost free. - unknownsoldierX, on 09/07/2008, -0/+9I had to look up Ayurvedic. Google had this at the top of the page. I am intrigued.
http://www.himalayantours.com/large%20photo/Ayurve ... - JakeW, on 09/07/2008, -0/+9No, that will always remain cheap.
- gobbleplex, on 09/07/2008, -0/+9Probably a lot of instant dinners and restaurant food.
- cyclopropene, on 09/07/2008, -2/+11Except you can't consider a packet of ramen and a half a case of Keystone Light Saturday night's "dinner" for a toddler.
- govsucks, on 09/07/2008, -0/+8My family of 3 eats great for 100-120 per week and has for quite some time. We eat healthy, lots of salads and fruits. You can easily feed a family of 3 on 100 per week and sacrifice very little, well unless you buy your kids all kind of crap they don't need to eat anyway.
- lowmagnet, on 09/07/2008, -0/+8People who calculate the $/hr they're paid to do work are just excusing themselves from doing any work in the kitchen. I've been spending a lot more time in the kitchen lately. I made some stew the other day that took $25 in ingredients, 20 minutes of prep time, and one hour of cooking time. The cost in goods was $25, but the recipe yielded 6 24-oz containers of stew that I froze for later consumption. Each container could be 2-3 meals. Screw my hourly wage equivalent. I'd have to work more to get that money, and so would you, so the time isn't equivalent.
- innocentsinner, on 09/07/2008, -1/+9I love bell peppers, but they rarely go on sale anymore here in Washington unless they're the dinky crop. Seriously, $2-$2.50 for one pepper?
- mikebb79, on 09/07/2008, -0/+8Jesus Harold Christ on rubber crutches, what do you guys eat, frickin filet mignon for breakfast,lunch, dinner AND a midnight snack?
- kelmaster1, on 09/07/2008, -2/+10Organic ***** is ridiculously expensive.
- sadhesati, on 09/07/2008, -0/+8I hope you exercise a lot...
I just wish I *had* a BK I could go to. They closed a bunch of them around where I live. - inactive, on 09/07/2008, -1/+9Yes you can.
Average of $87 a week for us, family of four. Buy a mixed of canned vegies and fresh.
Fresh fruit isn't that expensive, just don't horde. I manage to eat fresh fruit every day.
I don't buy enriched wheat or HFCS products either.
The only meats bought are Turkey, Chicken, and Pork (on sale).
That includes Ice cream on sale (budget of less than $3) - vbullinger, on 09/07/2008, -4/+12They're not Asian.
/feigned racism - inactive, on 09/07/2008, -0/+7In my city we used to, but it went out of business. EVERYONE in my college would shop there because it was so ridiculously cheap. I don't know of any bag your own grocery stores anymore.
- mitikomon, on 09/07/2008, -0/+7It's fantastic that fast food and processed food is more cheap in US rather than the organic food. in here making a pizza at home is at least 1/3 price of the fast foods prices. and I mean making it from original material not frozen pizza in stores.
some advice from somebody which last an eight year war at his childhood: you must learn the art of keeping food fresh. e.g never add sauce to salad at first. let every body does it him/herself. bring the sauce in a separate dish. in this case you can store the salad main vegetable and greens in refrigerator again in a closed bowl.
pack main greens(not chopped) in a wet handkerchief and then in a nylon. do not wash cucumber or else they would rot soon.
one of my friend who lived in Washington said that most of the American never keep their leftover.it's a sin here. the first thing I learn was to respect food. we never put bad remaining bread with other garbage. and for your info meat price in iran is the same as USA: chicken 4.5$/Kg meat: 10$/kg
try to learn it. first step: try to avoid mixing foods together as much as possible. if you're European just ask your grandparent how they survive during world war II with food shortage.
its good for your wallet and wasting food is not acceptable morally. - govsucks, on 09/07/2008, -1/+8Grow your own. We grow 20 or so tomato plants every spring and we have great home grown tomatoes til the fall. Even if you live in a apartment you can set up a small hydro or aeroponic system and grow tomatoes and peppers year round.
I would love to see a world that each individual can produce their own veggies in their home or on their property making themselves sustainable and further freeing themselves from the collective. - MaxMWood, on 09/07/2008, -0/+7How about one woman living on £1 a day?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1052710/Ho ... - Tex, on 09/07/2008, -1/+8If you call that sort of malnutrition "living," sure.
- Zulithe, on 09/07/2008, -0/+7I'm a single guy, but allow me to chime in. I feed myself on about $150 a month, all fresh food that I cook myself. To help put this in perspective, I live in San Francisco and I primarily buy organic and name-brand items (or local alternatives), so this is not the easiest task! One thing that does help is that I'm a vegetarian, so I don't have to buy expensive meats. My only splurge, which I exclude from my main food budget, is coffee. I buy the expensive stuff from a local roaster to brew at home. Blue Bottle Coffee, I love you!
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