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How can one person not survive on 200 bucks a month for food!
1 person!
I know what kind a person. Somebody who doesn't budget his food monthly, somebody who doesn't write a grocery list , and somebody who goes to the store everyday for his lunch and dinners.
My husband and I write a food budget of 150 bucks every 2 weeks. That's for 3 people. 300 dollars for 3 people per month. And we don't eat junk. We eat regular non processed home cooked meals. It is not that hard. We basically write down our meals for the month, and what we need to make those meals, that includes breakfast items and school lunches. Then I calculate the costs for each item and try to keep it under 150 dollars. It it's a little time consuming, maybe an hour out of my day, but it works. The only reasons we go over our budget is when we go out and buy the extras such as alcohol, tv snacks etc.
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Exactly. I saw the comments from others about not getting any protein if you are living on $200/month for food. I guess they've never heard of eggs and peanut butter. Both cheap and full of protein.
I lived on a lot of rice and ramen noodles when I was in college and I didn't die or get sick or get fat or get skinny or anything else. I could have eaten better than I did (by buying things like peanut butter and eggs), but I just ate what was the easiest and cheapest.
How can one person not survive on 200 bucks a month for food!
1 person!
I know what kind a person. Somebody who doesn't budget his food monthly, somebody who doesn't write a grocery list , and somebody who goes to the store everyday for his lunch and dinners.
My husband and I write a food budget of 150 bucks every 2 weeks. That's for 3 people. 300 dollars for 3 people per month. And we don't eat junk. We eat regular non processed home cooked meals. It is not that hard. We basically write down our meals for the month, and what we need to make those meals, that includes breakfast items and school lunches. Then I calculate the costs for each item and try to keep it under 150 dollars. It it's a little time consuming, maybe an hour out of my day, but it works. The only reasons we go over our budget is when we go out and buy the extras such as alcohol, tv snacks etc.
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I can. I have, in the past, and I do now. At one time I did receive food stamps and was given $180 month. I not only ate well but was able to stock up some for when I stopped getting them. I live alone, I cook once a week and manage to keep my pantry and freezer well stocked. On about $200 month. There are many aisles in the stores that I don't even go through like junk food, sodas, etc.. I never eat out unless I'm taking my mom to lunch or something. Living alone it's really easy to eat cheap.
Non-creep,......I addressed this to luzanne yesterday, in regards to a post she wrote where she described herself as bitter, petty and cruel. She claimed the reason she is so miserably bitter towards others is because she had a hard working father when she was young, so she assumes everybody will be able to do the same as him. I told her this is not the reasin for her bitterness, because I also had a very hard working father however, I am not bitter like her. (my dad taught us to be compassionate towards those who are down and out and to never assume what their situation could be...)
Usually when a person is so bitter and spends all their time minding other peoples business, it pretty much always is bc that person is unfulfilled and miserable in their own life and are empty inside, so they invest their energy into putting others down, so they can feel higher up in their own eyes. If you think about it, when was the last time you knew a truly fulfilled satisfied happy person investing their time and energy into being bitter about strangers at a grocery store ??
What a crock. You took my post out of context. Actually, I said BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, I am bitter, petty, and cruel?
It is not "minding other people's business" to care how my tax dollars are spent. I know you want the taxpayers to drop off their money and then let it benefit YOU with no questions asked - but sorry, that's not the way it works.
Yep, my dad taught me personal responsibility. I wouldn't trade him for your dad in a million years. He knew about being poor. He grew up poor. He was plenty compassionate. He also knew that you can't do for people what they won't do for themselves. If they can't, then yes. If they can but won't, then no.
The attitudes in this thread are so beyond ridiculous and illustrate exactly what people who actually support themselves hate about entitlement programs. I will say for the umpteenth time I do NOT have a problem helping people who need temporary assistance, but entitlement programs were never intended to be a lifelong meal ticket or a way of life, but temporary assistance to those really in need.
Lovely how you all twist the words of anyone who disagrees with you.
And one more thing...one thing I've been learning since being on food stamps and talking to fellow recipients is that many of these people pay their "handouts" back to society in other ways...volunteerism, work in their church, babysitting the children of working relatives, helping friends and family with repairs, and other ways of doing their part as a member of a community. I have also met plenty of recipients who share resources with other poor friends and relatives like a mutual aid system. These are things you can't see while you're in line behind someone at the grocery store. Life is just to complicated for surface judgments.
True, that.......on a 'sidebar' I want to add a concern I have..I was taught that peering over another customers shoulder to look at their credit cards, checkbook, etc etc is very inappropriate , rude and an invasion of privacy. I think there should be a line, like at banks, atm machines, pharmacies, etc, so that the customer behind has to stand back a certain distance while the customer who is paying cannot try to scam their credit card or personal information. At a drugstore I go to, they recently put a line, so thats good. Most people know better, but be careful because there are people who will try to sidle up behind you to get a look at your personal info, drivers license no etc.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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Quote:
Originally Posted by glass_of_merlot
No wonder you can't afford surviving on a 200 dollar food budget. You say most working people don't have time to cook from scratch? Seriously! If you don't have time to cook from scratch, I'm not surprised you need 400 bucks a month to survive.
You spend 100 on produce alone and you just have to buy salad fixings and pints of blueberries. How about making a salad from scratch..that can't be that hard..? Too time consuming I'm sure.
Agreed. I live on a lot less that $50 a week in food. I cook everything, not quite from scratch, but unless its a date I don't eat out. Steel cut oatmeal for breakast. Salad with chicken/pepper for lunch, some seasonal fruit (mostly apples now) for snacks, and a variety of things (turkey burgers, lo mein with mixed veggies, baked chicken, etc) for dinner. Not hard to do at all.
I know it can be done. In today's world people like to blame their busy schedule on everything like they don't have time to cook home made meals. If you plan your meals, and cook it at home you can absolutely survive on 200 dollars a month.
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I can see you are totally unaware of the fact that some people on foodstamps are disabled or homeless, (this can mean staying on the couch of a kind friend, staying in a motel , shelter, etc) , not everyone has the luxury of a kitchen they can access with cooking equipment, stove, oven, etc. That is why foodstamps has a program for those who are disabled or homeless so that they can buy hot food items, as well as meals at some restaurants. It is so aggravating that some "debating" this are not educated on it, and are spouting off short sighted views that dont reflect the whole picture.
]Luzanne, You my dear, are the one who said those words in a earlier post, you stated this about yourself "I am bitter, petty and cruel....."[/b] so take a breath and go chill out.....I was merely agreeing with you, ..by the way it is unethical to appraise yourself of other customers personal info, so get your peering eyes off of others credit cards, ebt cards,etc etc. It is none of your concern, whether they use a credit card, foodstamp card,checkbook etc. I can see you want to remain miserable, but if you listened to what I said, if you get busy investing in your own life, perhaps a change of career, better relationships with people, hobbies, etc, you will find that when your happy and busy in your own life you will frankly be too happy and busy to peer over others shoulders to see if their using a credit card, foodstamp card, checkbook, cash etc. If i caught you leering over my shoulder as I paid, I would let the cashier know. (it is a privacy concern nowdays with i.d. theft and such). I never notice if a person is using a foodstamp card because I was taught better than to look at the personal info of the customer ahead of me, and I wouldnt want to be accused of trying to do so. In order to see that, you have to be actively staring at their stuff as they get it out.
Yes, if you take it out of context, I did say that. You have nothing of substance to say, so you take a quote I questioned that someone else said to me and take it out of context and then keep bringing it up repeatedly. Pathetic.
I have never looked over anyone's shoulders to see how they are paying for their food. In fact, I have never even seen an EBT card in my entire life. The people I have mentioned I know about because they have TOLD me they use food stamps/food card and sell the value for 50 cents on the dollar and buy alcohol. If they didn't tell me, I wouldn't know. You keep going on and on and on about people looking over someone's shoulder to see how they are paying for their food - which again shows you have nothing of substance to say, but just keep perseverating on the same INCORRECT assumptions and assertions you are making.
So you should stop assuming and presuming and asserting things that you yourself know are not truth. You are just trying to flame.
Everyone I do know who gets food stamps abuses them. I wouldn't call them friends. They are acquaintances. Actually, they are related by marriage. I only know three alcoholics and two families on food stamps. Everyone else I know supports themselves.
What a bunch of bull.....this sounds like a story to prop up the stereotype you want others to fall for. Besides, even if that were true, how are you aware that all your friends abuse foodstamps? In order to "know" this, you would have to be spending a hell of alot of time with them, (not just see them once a week or once a month)....in order to "know" this, you would have to spend time with them on a regular basis where you just so happen to go grocery shopping with them,.......by the way, define "abuse". If they are buying food thats included in the program, by definition, they are not "abusing " it.....
So, Luzane, would you be willing to define what you deem, on your throne over mankind, as "abuse", and how you are accessing or finding out about it? If you insist on spouting off these stories, not everyone will just swallow them without question....some will take the time to scrutinize or analyze your story to see if its even plausible. Im just using common sense, it only took a minute to see that in your story.....your claim that all your friends abuse foodstamps begs the question, how is it that you become aware of this, bc in order to define it as abuse, it would have to be repeated behavior, not just a one time event. I have a friend on foodstamps, ans the only way I would be able to "find out shes abusing them" is to spend tons of time with her and be there while she sells them, etc.
Define abuse, and how you are able to find out about it?
Again, if people are going to make such generalizations at least be informed. In rural areas there are no Walmarts and
the few stores they have, semis that have produce, meats, don't go there - it is not worth their time and the cost
(both to the store and the supplier). Urban deserts face the same problem. So these stores and food pantries mostly
carry processed or canned goods.
Sure cooking from scratch and eating fresh fruits and vegetables is a given but not every American has that option
or ability to do so.
I know it can be done. In today's world people like to blame their busy schedule on everything like they don't have time to cook home made meals. If you plan your meals, and cook it at home you can absolutely survive on 200 dollars a month.
That something can in principle be done, is not demonstrable evidence that the average person in average circumstances has the creativity, the drive, the wherewithal and tenacity to do it. For instance, for most people who aren’t saddled with genetic disabilities, it is certainly possible to not be obese, even in a modern America suffused with high-calorie food and a car-culture where nobody walks anywhere. Yes of course it can be done. And yet it’s a struggle for so many people. Thus we have rampant obesity. Saving for retirement? For most middle-class people it can be done. Yet millions of people earning $100K annually in stable 30-year careers arrive at retirement with zero net-worth.
People fail in part from bad luck or innate predisposition, and in part from inattention or shoddy reasoning. This happens to the poor, to the middle-class, to the wealthy, to the young, to the elderly, to the native-born, to immigrants, to college graduates, to high-school dropouts, to businessmen and to bums. It happens to all. And it invariably will. We will never in broad circumstances be able to do, what in principle it’s possible for us to do. That we should NOT have to do this, is the implicit assumption of modern civilization.
In sum, whereas I agree that a perceptive, clever and tenacious person can eat healthily on $200/month, is this a reasonable expectation for most people in most circumstances?
Modernity means convenience and interdependency on the decisions and actions of others. Poverty means dogged self-reliance and rejection of the consumer ethic, a lifestyle outside of modern assumptions. Do we expect the poor to live outside of mainstream society? Maybe we do. Maybe we should. But if we do, what does that say about us as a society?
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