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She's doing it, so I guess it's possible, but living on milk and two slices of bread just doesn't sound like a happy life to me. I mean, think about it. Is that really all you'd want to eat, day in and day out, for years?
Bulk foods can help reduce your budget... but when you live in a camp ground and only have a motorcycle, you can't buy most foods in bulk. There's no way to transport it, no way to store it. You end up getting the over priced small sizes at the campground store.
As for the planters, they're great for occasional vegetables, but not as a main source of food. You can get herbs from them, and probably a decent number of tomatoes if you have a sunny spot in your campsite. But you can't live on tomatoes day in and day out, and a planter is not going to pop out a head of lettuce every day like a chicken pops out an egg. I do a lot of gardening, and at most I get enough to make salad fixings maybe 3-4 times a year.
Man, I shouldn't have thought about this so much. Now I really do feel sad for her. I hope she was exaggerating when she wrote that.
Milk today is less than $3.50 a gallon (and as low as $2.95) and bread is $1.19 for a large loaf where I live...Where are you paying $4.50 for a quart of milk ?
Just interesting the difference between living to be frugal compared to being frugal to live. It's certainly her life, but I live my life for more then just at the end to say I produced the least waste.
OK, I feel better now. We just went to Costco and a gallon of milk is $2.90. So it's not quite as dire as I feared (and that'll teach me to believe things in wikipedia! )
I still don't see how a $150 food budget is doable, though. I cook for two people and just went to Costco. I bought basic staples (tomato paste, canned fruit, a rotisserie chicken, juice, bread, etc.) No desserts, no prepared foods, nothing special with the exception of steaks for Memorial Day that were $30 for 4. My bill came to $120, and that food might last through the weekend if we're careful. I just can't see how it's done.
Hmmm, guess this could be a good subject for a new thread.
Milk today is less than $3.50 a gallon (and as low as $2.95) and bread is $1.19 for a large loaf where I live...Where are you paying $4.50 for a quart of milk ?
LOL, you're absolutely right. I couldn't remember the price when I wrote that, so looked it up in wikipedia. What can I say, but d'oh!
Normie, it is absolutely possible to eat healthy & well on $150/month, but you won't do it buying steak and rotisserie chickens, which, BTW, are not basic staples. I think you already know that, right?.
I suspect that you're projecting your own fears into her situation.
Oh, most definitely. Plus there's a little bit of voyeurism going on. I'm fascinated (and also a little worried) to watch someone live a lifestyle that's completely foreign to me. If I had the option of e-mailing her every day I'd be asking her these questions. But I only hear from her every once in awhile. She doesn't own a computer, she just checks her e-mail when she goes to the library. So that leaves me with a bunch of questions and no way to answer them except to bring it up in an internet forum.
Normie, it is absolutely possible to eat healthy & well on $150/month, but you won't do it buying steak and rotisserie chickens, which, BTW, are not basic staples. I think you already know that, right?.
I'll give you the steak (it was a memorial day treat), but chicken and tuna fish are staples, IMO. We stretch one of those chickens over several meals, but I do think a little bit of animal protein is essential. Yes, I know vegetarians would disagree.
Anyway, I would like to hear the specifics of how someone lives on a vegetarian diet in a campground. Most people I know who are vegetarians have to buy a lot of things at health food stores--can you really live a vegetarian diet if you have to shop at one of those rinky dink stores you find near a campground? Not trying to judge, I'm genuinely curious how people do this. Is the trick to buy health foods online?
Normie, I'm not a vegetarian, although I do not eat red meat. I was commenting on the rotisserie part of the chicken, not the meat itself. I posted a comment on your spin-off thread, which I think is an excellent discussion starter, by the way. See you over there.
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