mizzlora
New Member
Joined: July 2008
Posts: 13
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Post by mizzlora on Jul 26, 2008 10:58:00 GMT -5
Hi, I ran completely out of money this month -- as I always do. My sister always bails me out. It's Saturday and I don't get paid until Thursday. I requested, and my sister gave me, $100. I need to top off my gas tank (thankfully I don't have to *fill* my gas tank!!). My typical behavior would be to spend that money eating out and run through it well before Thursday. And then be frantically looking around for someone else to borrow from. Instead....<drum roll, please>...I'm going to go out now and put some gas in the car and pick up a prescription (thankfully only $10) that I must take today, and then I'm going to go to the grocery store and first buy dog food and then buy groceries with whatever's left, to last through Wednesday night. (I'm guessing I won't be buying any cherries!) I don't keep groceries in my house -- except some condiments in the refrigerator door -- so I'll have to "start from scratch" in putting together these meals. Believe it or not, if I am successful in this endeavor to live on this $100 for 5 days, it'll be a HUGE accomplishment, and possibly unprecedented for me. I think I'll keep track of what I spend it on, since it's a short period of time and a nice round number. I'll update on Wednesday evening after dinner and report how I did. Just knowing I'm going to be reporting back helps me to stay on the straight and narrow. Here goes nuttin'!  Laura |
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Post by houndsnroses on Jul 26, 2008 11:10:35 GMT -5
Congratulations and good luck!! One thing that might help is if you carry a piece of paper and pen around with you and write down every amount you spend, to help you keep track. When I was in grad school and had to do things like pay for groceries with the change I cleaned out of the couch (seriously), I got a tiny flip notebook with an attached pen and wrote down everything I spent. It really helped--like in making a choice whether to buy 4 or 5 cans of cat food, whether I could really afford to buy a Coke out of a machine, etc.
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Post by mellowyellow on Jul 27, 2008 9:11:10 GMT -5
So how is it going Mizz? Keep us informed about your challenge.
You can do it!
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Post by Carrie on Jul 27, 2008 10:42:27 GMT -5
Good for you taking control, you can DO IT!!! I went last week from Monday to Friday with $2 in my bank account and .45 cents in my wallet! (that was after buying my groceries & gas for the week) - So I know it can be done! Hope you purchased your groceries carefully and were able to get your gas paid for. Let us know how it's going!
Carrie
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Post by phoebepj on Jul 27, 2008 15:44:23 GMT -5
mizz L.. i lived off of 26 dollars for 2 weeks. i know you can do it. of course i did have to ask for gas money to get home, but i paid for groceries for 2 weeks with 26 dollars....
helpful hints....
PB+J and bread cost about 6-8 dollars depending on if you get teh cheapy loaf of bread for 99 cents. Mac n Cheese costs 50 cents a box typically.... and chef boyardee cans are cheap about the same as mac n cheese. oh and ramen noodles are cheap and filling...
yes its the college students diet.
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Post by Little_Ninja on Jul 27, 2008 16:15:42 GMT -5
Good luck, mizzlora! I get paid on Thursday too, and I was tempted to go out and buy groceries today. But I think I might be able to last till Thursday if I just buy some milk and a little bit of spinach (to put in my udon noodles). Mac & Cheese or spaghetti is always economical. I put Pace picante sauce in my mac & cheese to add a little kick.  Scrambled eggs or grilled cheese sandwiches are also my standbys. When I'm down on groceries, it's always a good opportune time to clean out the fridge and rinse off the shelves. I might be doing that later on tonight.   Little_Ninja |
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Post by fluffernut - now Jannie on Jul 27, 2008 17:16:15 GMT -5
Two words from me: Top Ramen. Part of the college diet.
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spacemaker
New Member
Space (where I can see carpet), the final frontier
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 88
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Post by spacemaker on Jul 27, 2008 17:30:38 GMT -5
Just in case it is useful to you or someone else, I'll share my main recipe that got me through a good part of college:
I bought flour, sugar, corn meal, rice, oil and eggs anytime I had a few extra $, so I always had staples on hand. Since I relied on my own cooking, I also had the other basics like salt, spices, baking powder, etc.
With whatever money I had that week, I would buy vegetables - usually carrots, cabbage, bell pepper, a big onion, garlic - whatever I could swing, trying to leave enough for the smallest package of ground meat they had and some milk.
I would brown the meat, shred/chop and saute the vegetables, mix that together and then add it to about an equal amount of cooked brown rice. Heated it through once all was combined and put it in the fridge. Would take some out and microwave it when I was ready for a meal.
With the milk, eggs and staples, I would make cornbread or, if I had the time and inclination, yeast bread.
It kept me fed, but even well seasoned, it was boring eating the same thing all the time. Still, it beat the heck out of ramen noodles. To mix things up, I would have scrambled eggs (if I could spare them), maybe even an omelet if I had vegetables left over and sometimes would make sugar cookies if I could spare an egg and some milk.
Back then, I could do it on $6 if I had to and $8 meant I did not have to shop as carefully and maybe would even have enough left to get a dozen eggs that week to add to my supply. These days, I expect it would be a few dollars more....
SpaceMaker
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Post by mlb1985 on Jul 27, 2008 19:27:29 GMT -5
I feed my family of 3 on 100 a week!
We dont eat out unless its a special occasion.
one of our FAV. Meals is Velveeta Shells and cheese with Beef (made like taco meat) and a Can of tomatoes. Mix together and its AWESOME!
Its like a Taco But with noodles!
Good Luck!!
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Post by phoebepj on Jul 28, 2008 0:01:22 GMT -5
oh and i forgot to mention check to see if angelfood ministries has a location near you.. good food for cheap!!! www.angelfoodministries.com |
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Post by reesa on Jul 28, 2008 12:53:14 GMT -5
cornbread is delicious and cheap
I wish I knew how to make it!
spacemaker would you post a how-to somewhere (maybe in byways) for me to try?
I have lived for times on pb&j, ramen with fresh stirfry veggies (just buy whatever is cheapest/in season, stiry-fry, then add to the ramen noodles. it makes them so much different!) or rice and beans.
eggs, bread, milk, butter. And I have lunches for a week. egg in a basket is a good lunch.
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