Eating Well on $50 a Week

Three writers. Three cities. One culinary experiment.

Posts Tagged spending

Emily’s Spending: Smooth Sailing

Nov 16

Posted by emily in Uncategorized

To be honest, I can’t exactly calculate what I spent on food last week. I mean, I can, but it would involve lots of measuring and probably some weighing, and it would certainly involve math. Though I do need to practice for the GRE (Shit! I need to practice for the GRE!) I’m not much in the habit of doing math. My math is more along the lines of “another half an onion” or “more cayenne pepper.” But, I am proud to say that save for a $10 supplemental fresh-veggie run, I’ve been able to live off of my combined first Costco and second commissary trips, which cost me $200 total and included booze, pet food, alcohol and most of what I need for Thanksgiving (which I’m not including in this project). I think other than those supplemental veggie runs, I’ll be able to live off of those staples for the next few weeks.

And now that I’m working outside of my apartment, I did something I’ve never done before: last night I made a week’s worth of lunches, so I’m not stuck downtown, starving and spending.

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Emily’s Spending: $20 Does the Trick

Nov 10

Posted by emily in budget analysis

It’s a funny thing, getting by. For a while, I thought I would “get by” on $50 a week—a big change from the $450 or more I was spending on food each month. And I did, while still eating quite well. A challenge, sure, but a totally doable one.

So what happens when you have only $20 to spend on food in a week? Well, you make it work. It turns out that broccoli stalks, when boiled for a minute or two, are a great addition to a bowl of pasta tossed with olive oil, sea salt, and crushed red pepper and that when your mom knows you’re broke, she will totally take you out for barbeque.

It also turns out that when you’ve become accustomed to “getting by,” when your mom offers to take you grocery shopping because you have only $11 for the rest of the week and it’s only Wednesday, you’re totally comfortable telling her ‘thanks, but no thanks, I’ll be fine.” Because you will be.



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Emily’s Spending: New Week, New Month, New Job, New Budget… New Me?

Nov 2

Posted by emily in Uncategorized

That sounds like the title of a terrible self-help book, doesn’t it? It’s really just a summary of my life lately. Adam I have switched up our budgeting days, now now my fiscal week begins on Mondays, instead of Wednesdays. I have to admit, I’m not off to the best start considering I started a new job today and because I failed to pack a lunch or get up in time to make my own coffee and make myself pretty before going into my first office job in three years, I stopped off for a $2 cup of Joe (hey, it’s better than a $4 latte!) and spent $10 on Chinese take out for lunch (and that was the lunch special price! but I have some leftover for tomorrow). Luckily, I learned today that we get free coffee at the office and there’s even a pretty sizable snack stash in the kitchen in case I get desperate.

Still, working outside of the home is going to present a new spending challenge, especially since the publication is a start up and I’m making about a fifth of what I was making at the job I just left. I’ll just have to be really strict about making and taking my lunch. I can’t believe that ‘back in the day’ I was spending $10 a day on lunch in Midtown, in addition to a bagel and coffee every morning for breakfast… plus dinners out. I think I was working in the hell that was the middle of the island of Manhattan just so I could eat out! I now spend in one week what I used to spend in one day on food.

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Total spent so far: $12

Days to go: 6

You think I can do it?



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Emily’s Spending (Vacation)

Sep 24

Posted by emily in budget analysis

So, I said I was going to keep track of my spending while traveling through the marvelous Pacific Northwest. That—well—it just didn’t happen. I am slightly ashamed considering we took more than a week of before Labor Day, but slightly less ashamed since this was my first vacation from the Internet in more than two years. So I didn’t want to have to worry about anything. And I got to eat Voodoo Doughnuts and smoked fish pizza by the ocean. So there’s that.

But since getting back on Satudray, I had one meal out ($8), picked up my CSA ($25) and bought a few pounds of Honeycrisp Apples ($10). Oh, and there were those two lattes because I had no milk for my coffee when I returned ($8). Not quite a success, but not a failure, either, right?

Tomorrow is a new week, and considering I’m pretty damn broke, I don’t see how I could go over $50, even if I wanted to. Which I don’t.

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Emily’s Spending: Starting Over

Sep 9

Posted by emily in budget analysis

So, because we just got back from “hiatus” yesterday and my fiscal week begins on Wendesday, I’m giving myself a clean slate. Except for the 20-something I spent at the grocery store today, which I will report on, in detail, at the end of this fiscal week (week 13?).

An aside: I just found the source of my fruit fly problem… in the bottom of my fridge. This is what happens when you buy food you don’t use, kids.



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I’m back. And I’m broke.

Sep 9

Posted by emily in Uncategorized

ambiance

As you may already know, I realized pretty early on that this project made me a smarter spender—not only at the grocery store, but in life. I just didn’t know how much smarter until Adam, Cari and I decided to go on what I thought was a much-needed hiatus.

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Emily’s Spending, Week 11: A Day Late and a Few Dollars Over Budget

Aug 13

Posted by emily in budget analysis

You know how when you go on a diet and you lose a few pounds you start to think Oh, it’s okay for me to eat this piece of chocolate cake, I’ve been so good? And then you realize you can’t have the chocolate cake without the ice cream. And since you had that, and already screwed the day, what harm is a little burger and fries going to do?

Well, folks, that’s what happened to me last week, except with my spending diet. And I didn’t even get any damn chocolate cake. 

It was my sister’s birthday so we went out. Then a friend was in town and insisted on going to a fancy barbeque place for dinner (I know, fancy barbeque!?). So I can’t even tell you exactly what I spent on food last week.

What I can tell you is that as of this exact moment I am doing a hard reset. I am going to be stricter than strict and if my friends or family want to go to dinner they can go without me (or foot the bill).

So there.

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Emily’s Spending, Week 9: It’s a Good Thing Sudafed Doesn’t Count as Food…

Jul 29

Posted by emily in budget analysis

…because I was consuming a lot of it! Up until Sunday, I was pretty sick with something resembling The Consumption. And let me tell you: being sick does wonders for a food budget. Read the rest of this entry »

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Saving Money on Food… So What?

Jul 14

Posted by emily in Uncategorized

Coin Jar

Because I never kept track of how much I spent on food (or anything, really) before I began this project, I don’t know exactly how much money I’m pocketing each month by budgeting only $50 a week for my meals. If I had to take a wild guess, though, I’d say I’m spending about $200 a month less than I was before. A few months ago, I wouldn’t think twice before buying a $4 skim latte (or two) each day or going out to a $60 dinner with friends just because I didn’t feel like cooking… even if it meant I overdrew my bank account sometimes, which I did.

I have never been good with money; as far as I was concerned rules were made to be broken and money was made to be spent (I say ‘was’ because I never manage to retain any of it). And while I still sort-of live by those mantras, doing this project has forced me to pay more attention to where my money is going. Sure, I’m still spending it (and still eating well, though it requires a little more work than getting expensive take out, or even using the “best” ingredients when I cook at home), I’m just spending better and I’ve even let myself begin to toy with the ‘B’ word: budget. Read the rest of this entry »

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Conflicting priorities

Jul 2

Posted by cari in update

strollerload

I’ll admit it. I have a big crush on New Seasons. That’s where we do all of our non-farmer’s market shopping. They’ve got absolutely gorgeous, mostly organic produce. The shelf tags are color-coded so you can tell what’s local at a glance, and the local options are many. It’s not at all hard to shop entirely local there. And they do stuff like this. And the staff, well, Portlanders, let’s just admit it. The percentage of beautiful people staffing the New Seasons locations? Pretty damn high. (If I get brave enough, I’ll get a photo of my Produce crush one of these days to show you. He’s something. All the produce employees wear fishing-style knives in sheaths on their belts for opening boxes, and for slicing into apples to give you a taste of the goods, etc. Most of them wear their knives on their hips. My guy wears his at the small of his back. The appeal of this is inexplicable, but undeniable. You have to see it for yourself… Swoon…)

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