10 ms·

The problem with this article is that a lot of things that are cheap for one serving go stale before you eat the second. For instance, on day one, he adds some

by shubb 14y ago

The problem with this article is that a lot of things that are cheap for one serving go stale before you eat the second. For instance, on day one, he adds some mint which cost ~50p to buy, but he calls 1p because he only eats a little. He does not eat the rest of the mint that week, so it cost him ~50p, i.e. half the days budget. I am poor and eat very cheap. I do that using dry bulk foods and frozen veg. This is important because there are opportunities for free meals (e.g. if customers at work do not eat all the sand witches and biscuits, that can be lunch for 2 days). Friends invite you for dinner too. If you buy food that spoils, opportunities like this come at a price. How about this for a suggestion - mix lentils, buck wheat, brown rice, dried beans, quinoa. These come in 500g bags for about a pound. You need 6 spoons of this mix per meal, so 10 pounds of mix will last you several months. Put in a rice cooker for 40 min (some beans need soaking first), with a chicken stock cube. Cook for 20 mins then add mixed frozen veg. This will cost you about 30p per meal, and is pretty much complete [1]. I eat the above most of the time, and take free food whenever possible. At the end of the week, I treat myself to a ready meal. You can add curry spice or other herbs for variety. After a year of this I feel pretty healthy. As an aside, supermarkets are machines for making you overbuy. Between BOGOF offers and big packs of meat (or small ones at a huge premium), it's very hard to shop there on a budget because they are designed to trick you into making 'bad' choices. Avoiding them by living on a non-spoiling diet saves tons. [1] I think. The key to a healthy diet is variety, but if your basic meal is healthy and cheap, you can make sure to be eating other things from time to time.

rwmj 14y ago
If you're on a budget and you're buying fresh mint, then you're doing it wrong. Mint grows like a weed, in a patch of garden, or on a windowsill. Herbs like rosemary, thyme, mint, coriander, basil you should always be growing.
- voidlogic 14y ago
  This is so true. We grow all those herbs in small pots. We also grow chives, beans, peppers, tomatoes and squash in a few medium sized pots and topsy turveys. No traditional garden needed.
- hobbescalvin 14y ago
  Mint literally is a weed in the meadow behind my house.
3pt14159 14y ago
My poor friend eats rotting veggies. She only buys food from that rotting stand in the grocer with the 75% off stickers. That plus rice and frozen veggies. Nobody poor buys mint.
cbhl 14y ago
The article also excludes the cost of electricity/gas to power the stove/microwave, the cost of water to cook e.g. pasta and clean the pans after, the cost of the pans amortized over your meals, the cost of plates and utensils... If someone else is paying utilities (say, your local university, or your landlord), and you already own kitchen equipment (say, hand-me-downs from your mum) perhaps this is a reasonable assumption. But for those who are actually in poverty, the upfront capital cost of cooking tools and the hidden costs of energy in cooking might be prohibitively expensive. That said, cooking in bulk is indeed cheaper. So if you're trying to conserve, it might help to find two or three good friends and cook your meals together.
- mtct 14y ago
  Actually, in first world, not even an homeless gain less than 2$ per day. So we can safely leave all the expenses for fuel and cookware out of the math.
  - gnosis 14y ago
    If you think there aren't homeless people (and others) who don't gain any money at all, you are living in a fantasy world. Some don't get $2, not even $1. Some are lucky to get $0 instead of losing money every day. Sure, some homeless people get assistance from public or private sources, but many others are too mentally ill, depressed, or self-destructive to seek, find, or even accept aid (when aid is available, which it not always is). And yes, these people do die of starvation, exposure, malnutition, illness, suicide, drug overdose, etc..
    - coldarchon 14y ago
      Sorry but I don't consider people who don't want to get help as homeless people. They have issues.
    - mtct 14y ago
      I'm talking about a mentally sane person. You can find 2$ (actually a LOT more) simply opening the trash bin near you.
jiggy2011 14y ago
Entirely agree, when you are poor your biggest problem is not actually quantity of money. It's the flow of money. So the problem is often not "I have £50 to plan food for the rest of the month" but "I have an unexpected expense and now I have £2 I found behind the sofa and a bare cupboard/fridge to feed myself until I get some more money". I also found that when I am poor I am much more reluctant to go out and buy in bulk. Even though it would at least give me food enough to last, there's something scary about blowing your entire budget in one go. If you are poor it is also harder to get to places that sell things cheaply in bulk (because perhaps you don't have a car) and you are more likely to get things from a corner store as needed where there is a higher markup on prices.
- shubb 14y ago
  Yeah, this is an important point. When I said bulk, I meant £10 of stuff, rather than the massive quantities you can get from Amazon. I think instant pay day loan companies like Wonga have done a lot for the cash flow problem. Personally, I've never used them, but if you have a bill and need to avoid a £50 late penalty, you can get a $100 loan at 1% interest a day, which is a brilliant value proposition if payday is a week away. I've seen a lot of criticism of these companies, but I think it's from people who don't understand the problem.
  - hexonexxon 14y ago
    1%?? Lol they charge 150% where I live until the regulators clamped down on them and class action lawsuits happened. Now it's $50 maximum per week they can charge, but they get around this with NSF fees and late charges. They also hit bank accounts with EFT withdrawal up to 3x per day if the first one didn't clear, which is $40 NSF charge each time. Unfortunately because these lenders signed a piece of paper allowing for automatic withdrawal, the payday loan company then steals all your money the day before you are paid, so your account will be debited -$200 for a $100 loan you missed a payment for, factoring in all the NSF and late charges. Since most people are paid with direct deposit nothing they could do to stop this. Bank will also charge interest on the overdraft. So on payday you have nothing, and are forced to go back to the payday loan company just to survive but are now paying even higher interest, because you defaulted once. Sounds like they are well regulated where you live but not here they are still loan sharks.
everyone 14y ago
Yeah youre right. This article is total BS. He is not actually living on that amount of money
monkeynotes 14y ago
I know this is inappropriate but I got a kick out of imagining your customers dining on sand witches. Brilliant!
fpp 14y ago
Fully agreed - IMHO this article again shows how removed from reality some people are and seemingly nothing is left out to polarise society further (a/k/a the poor are only to stupid - look here they can live a healthy diet on even less). a few thoughts on this article: (1) compare the energy / fat / etc in this article with the rations given to the British people during WWII and shortly afterwards - I estimate the article's diet is even below those and nobody would ever dare to deny those enduring that time lived in abundance or a healthy diet. (2) one more "... live on xxx £ for a few days" - Hypocrites, a few days does not make a difference. You can easily live on a few sugar cubes & apples (plus water) for 10 or more days. Most people would not feel different after that, and in our obese societies some even pay thousands of £s for such a minimal diet to loose some weight. The difference comes from 2-3 months or a year. When you're actually poor like many in the UK - being in such a situation (for indefinitely or until you win the lottery - about the same) adds a massive psychological toll on top that should not be underestimated. Hint to understand: If I tell you at the beginning of a 2 months software development task that all code you're going to write during these 2 months will be dumped unseen, ask yourself how much of a great coder you will be - so much about motivation and psychological toll. (3) it is generally no fun to be poor even if some tell you otherwise - you're excluded from society, constantly humiliated and shown that you're worth nothing. This is even worse if you have children. (4) With the changes in the social systems during the last decade(s) in Europe there is almost no chance to get out of this situation by yourself particularly if you're over 50 or have been unemployed longer than 2 years. And you get there much quicker than any politician would publicly admit. If you're self-employed, a few people not paying their bills, a few new contracts not signed - bang you're there. There is a petition running at change.org that already more than 475'000 Brits have signed to asked bigmouth IDS (work & pensions secretary) who claimed he could easily live on £7 a day to actually do it and do it for longer than a few days - sign it to at least show you disregards with these politics ( http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/iain-duncan-smith-iain-duncan-smith-to-live-on-53-a-week http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/iain-duncan-smith-iain... ).
- claudius 14y ago
  I used to live on 700 €/month for three years, where I spent 310 €/month on rent (including warm water and heating for a 1-room + kitchen + bathroom flat of 40m²) and saved a further 100 €/month, plus ~50 €/month for university fees (~250 €/6 months). So I lived off (700 - 310 - 100 - 50 = 240 €)/month, which I found to be no particular problem – ~150 €/month on food, toothbrushes etc. (general groceries), 30 €/month on telecommunications, 35 €/month on electricity which left me with 25 €/month for eating out once or twice plus clothes. Hence, I’d say that 7 £/day is perfectly possible, provided that rent is covered by other means (as it is for German long-term unemployment benefits of ~350 €/month).
neltnerb 14y ago
Fascinating, this is almost exactly the recipe I use, except for the buck wheat. What does that add? I also always add ghost chili powder and a little butter or oil since the dry grains don't have much savory flavor on their own.
namdnay 14y ago
I'm somewhat surprised by your assertion that you're "poor". 25k in London might be a very low salary for a software developer, but it's still way above minimum wage, and that's higher than what most people on benefits live off.

by shubb 14y ago

rwmj 14y ago

If you're on a budget and you're buying fresh mint, then you're doing it wrong. Mint grows like a weed, in a patch of garden, or on a windowsill. Herbs like rosemary, thyme, mint, coriander, basil you should always be growing.

voidlogic 14y ago
This is so true. We grow all those herbs in small pots. We also grow chives, beans, peppers, tomatoes and squash in a few medium sized pots and topsy turveys. No traditional garden needed.
hobbescalvin 14y ago
Mint literally is a weed in the meadow behind my house.

3pt14159 14y ago

My poor friend eats rotting veggies. She only buys food from that rotting stand in the grocer with the 75% off stickers. That plus rice and frozen veggies. Nobody poor buys mint.

cbhl 14y ago

The article also excludes the cost of electricity/gas to power the stove/microwave, the cost of water to cook e.g. pasta and clean the pans after, the cost of the pans amortized over your meals, the cost of plates and utensils... If someone else is paying utilities (say, your local university, or your landlord), and you already own kitchen equipment (say, hand-me-downs from your mum) perhaps this is a reasonable assumption. But for those who are actually in poverty, the upfront capital cost of cooking tools and the hidden costs of energy in cooking might be prohibitively expensive. That said, cooking in bulk is indeed cheaper. So if you're trying to conserve, it might help to find two or three good friends and cook your meals together.

mtct 14y ago
Actually, in first world, not even an homeless gain less than 2$ per day. So we can safely leave all the expenses for fuel and cookware out of the math.
- gnosis 14y ago
  If you think there aren't homeless people (and others) who don't gain any money at all, you are living in a fantasy world. Some don't get $2, not even $1. Some are lucky to get $0 instead of losing money every day. Sure, some homeless people get assistance from public or private sources, but many others are too mentally ill, depressed, or self-destructive to seek, find, or even accept aid (when aid is available, which it not always is). And yes, these people do die of starvation, exposure, malnutition, illness, suicide, drug overdose, etc..
  - coldarchon 14y ago
    Sorry but I don't consider people who don't want to get help as homeless people. They have issues.
  - mtct 14y ago
    I'm talking about a mentally sane person. You can find 2$ (actually a LOT more) simply opening the trash bin near you.

jiggy2011 14y ago

Entirely agree, when you are poor your biggest problem is not actually quantity of money. It's the flow of money. So the problem is often not "I have £50 to plan food for the rest of the month" but "I have an unexpected expense and now I have £2 I found behind the sofa and a bare cupboard/fridge to feed myself until I get some more money". I also found that when I am poor I am much more reluctant to go out and buy in bulk. Even though it would at least give me food enough to last, there's something scary about blowing your entire budget in one go. If you are poor it is also harder to get to places that sell things cheaply in bulk (because perhaps you don't have a car) and you are more likely to get things from a corner store as needed where there is a higher markup on prices.

shubb 14y ago
Yeah, this is an important point. When I said bulk, I meant £10 of stuff, rather than the massive quantities you can get from Amazon. I think instant pay day loan companies like Wonga have done a lot for the cash flow problem. Personally, I've never used them, but if you have a bill and need to avoid a £50 late penalty, you can get a $100 loan at 1% interest a day, which is a brilliant value proposition if payday is a week away. I've seen a lot of criticism of these companies, but I think it's from people who don't understand the problem.
- hexonexxon 14y ago
  1%?? Lol they charge 150% where I live until the regulators clamped down on them and class action lawsuits happened. Now it's $50 maximum per week they can charge, but they get around this with NSF fees and late charges. They also hit bank accounts with EFT withdrawal up to 3x per day if the first one didn't clear, which is $40 NSF charge each time. Unfortunately because these lenders signed a piece of paper allowing for automatic withdrawal, the payday loan company then steals all your money the day before you are paid, so your account will be debited -$200 for a $100 loan you missed a payment for, factoring in all the NSF and late charges. Since most people are paid with direct deposit nothing they could do to stop this. Bank will also charge interest on the overdraft. So on payday you have nothing, and are forced to go back to the payday loan company just to survive but are now paying even higher interest, because you defaulted once. Sounds like they are well regulated where you live but not here they are still loan sharks.

everyone 14y ago

Yeah youre right. This article is total BS. He is not actually living on that amount of money

monkeynotes 14y ago

I know this is inappropriate but I got a kick out of imagining your customers dining on sand witches. Brilliant!

fpp 14y ago

Fully agreed - IMHO this article again shows how removed from reality some people are and seemingly nothing is left out to polarise society further (a/k/a the poor are only to stupid - look here they can live a healthy diet on even less). a few thoughts on this article: (1) compare the energy / fat / etc in this article with the rations given to the British people during WWII and shortly afterwards - I estimate the article's diet is even below those and nobody would ever dare to deny those enduring that time lived in abundance or a healthy diet. (2) one more "... live on xxx £ for a few days" - Hypocrites, a few days does not make a difference. You can easily live on a few sugar cubes & apples (plus water) for 10 or more days. Most people would not feel different after that, and in our obese societies some even pay thousands of £s for such a minimal diet to loose some weight. The difference comes from 2-3 months or a year. When you're actually poor like many in the UK - being in such a situation (for indefinitely or until you win the lottery - about the same) adds a massive psychological toll on top that should not be underestimated. Hint to understand: If I tell you at the beginning of a 2 months software development task that all code you're going to write during these 2 months will be dumped unseen, ask yourself how much of a great coder you will be - so much about motivation and psychological toll. (3) it is generally no fun to be poor even if some tell you otherwise - you're excluded from society, constantly humiliated and shown that you're worth nothing. This is even worse if you have children. (4) With the changes in the social systems during the last decade(s) in Europe there is almost no chance to get out of this situation by yourself particularly if you're over 50 or have been unemployed longer than 2 years. And you get there much quicker than any politician would publicly admit. If you're self-employed, a few people not paying their bills, a few new contracts not signed - bang you're there. There is a petition running at change.org that already more than 475'000 Brits have signed to asked bigmouth IDS (work & pensions secretary) who claimed he could easily live on £7 a day to actually do it and do it for longer than a few days - sign it to at least show you disregards with these politics ( http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/iain-duncan-smith-iain-duncan-smith-to-live-on-53-a-week http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/iain-duncan-smith-iain... ).

claudius 14y ago
I used to live on 700 €/month for three years, where I spent 310 €/month on rent (including warm water and heating for a 1-room + kitchen + bathroom flat of 40m²) and saved a further 100 €/month, plus ~50 €/month for university fees (~250 €/6 months). So I lived off (700 - 310 - 100 - 50 = 240 €)/month, which I found to be no particular problem – ~150 €/month on food, toothbrushes etc. (general groceries), 30 €/month on telecommunications, 35 €/month on electricity which left me with 25 €/month for eating out once or twice plus clothes. Hence, I’d say that 7 £/day is perfectly possible, provided that rent is covered by other means (as it is for German long-term unemployment benefits of ~350 €/month).

neltnerb 14y ago

Fascinating, this is almost exactly the recipe I use, except for the buck wheat. What does that add? I also always add ghost chili powder and a little butter or oil since the dry grains don't have much savory flavor on their own.

namdnay 14y ago

I'm somewhat surprised by your assertion that you're "poor". 25k in London might be a very low salary for a software developer, but it's still way above minimum wage, and that's higher than what most people on benefits live off.