How Cheap can you eat? The Food Stamp Budget Experiment
My wife, God rest her soul, (she’s not dead, I just drive her nuts), told me about this and I’ve had it rolling around my head every since. Sorry if I get distracted here, Dawn of the Dead is on and they’re at the part where they are chainsawing Zed legs off and throwing propane bottles into the crowds of stenchers… very cool.
Anyway, this dude (Sean Callebs) decided to see if he could live off of $176 a month, which is the maximum amount of money, per person, you can get while on food stamps.
That’s per person and it seems rather feasible to me. My wife and I were bullshitting, $15 a week for food for one person? What’d you do?
So I’m curious, given this situation what would you do?
The first thing that popped into my head was Ramen ($.10-.25 a pop), a package of cheap ass hotdogs (gross) and some cheap ass frozen veggies. We also though maybe peanut butter and bread. Which you can frequently get cheap, the problem is a tub of peanut butter is a substantial chunk of change.
So what’d you guys do? I’ve never been on foodstamps, I spurn most government assistance…yet my children are going to go through public schools…strange.
And before anyone starts in on me about being insensitive towards the poor buy representing the food stamp crowd as hobos, eat it. There is nothing bad about being a hobo. The hobos of yore were legends of the road. As personified in the song sung by Randy Travis. Also, I grew up well below the poverty level in a rented house parented by two working parents.
So there. Anyway, what would you guys buy to eat on $15 a week, or $176 a month?
You could sell the food stamps for $100, buy a Saturday night special and take up a life of crime, hell even if you fail at that, you win three hots and a cot, a decent recreation program and a free GED or Associate of the Arts degree.
Anyway, I wanna go watch my Zombie movie.
Our food picks rely on the assumption that we have a fridge/freezer, and a stove/microwave.
Oatmeal, buy some oatmeal. A large canister of instant oatmeal is $1.98, and has several meals in it.
Items with prices I frequently see at Walmart/any ol’ grocery store:
Oatmeal-$2
14 Ramen-$2
Bag of apples-$3
Jar of cheap ass peanut butter – $3
Pack of generic mystery meat hotdogs-$1
Loaf of bread-$1
Bag of frozen mixed veggies-$1
You’ve got $2 left (no tax on food) don’t you dare spend it on crap, save it as long as you can.
At 3 meals a day/7 days, you need the $15 to last for 21 meals. If something costs a full dollar or more, it needs to last more than one meal. I think this is about the best balanced $15 I can come up with.
you’re forgetting the beans!!!! Go to fiesta foods in pasco…
anyways, i’d be starving. i’d have to eat salads for every meal. not bad but fresh veggies are sometimes expensive.
gluten free bread is $4 or more!! let’s just say, you don’t want to see our food bill…
176 doesnt seem that bad if you buy things in bulk. Plus its not your only source of income, Welfare/Unemployment/Disability/Union could all help couldnt it?
How could I forget the musical fruit! Chili and Bubble bath night should be a tradition in every family!
Hrmm. First thing that popped into my head was pasta. XD The cheapest brand I think I can get 10 servings for a dollar..so would probably be alone the lines of what Eryn says, except maybe with pasta (with cheapo canned tomatoes?! XD) as an alternative for ramen…heh.
There is a english woman who wrote a book she lived on £1 a day for a year.!!
Hang on i’ll google her and try find a link if you can be bothered to read its fascinating.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1052710/How-cash-strapped-teacher-beat-credit-crunch-living-1-day-YEAR-drunken-bet.html
dunno if that’ll get you there. I couldn’t do it!!
http://www.whsmith.co.uk/CatalogAndSearch/ProductDetails-How+I+Lived+a+Year+on+Just+a+Pound+a+Day+-9781906593124.html
I’m not going to buy her book and line her pockets – i will borrow it from the library FREE one of her own tips just bit her in the bum methinks!!!!!
haheha hobos r so so so funny i just love um u gotta luv um to haheha lol lmao hahahaha i wann marry a hobo one day hheha jk jk lol pplz i luv michael he is not a hobo but he actz really crazylke a hobo haheha i luv blogin blog away twinkie lolz