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peter12 · 10-18-2015, 10:28 AM

So the wife and I are sort of trying to push our necessity budget to a more efficient level. One of the things that we blow a lot of money on is our food budget, probably around $600 a month. We were seeing food waste well over 40%, and our cupboards were absolutely packed with things that we really had no use for - try three different packets of cumin or five bottles of olive oil. Ridiculous.

There is kind of a big fad going around where people try to exist on the same budget as people on food stamps or SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) as it is currently called. Basically, you get about $125 per person per month for all groceries. We figured we could do it for two on $170 a month.

There are also other rules about not accepting free food and not using food that you had purchased before. I guess this somewhat simulates the lack of surplus that poor people suffer from, and the overall lack of food bank resources or something. Anyway, we broke them both because it would be wasteful and there is so much free food around, I think almost anyone could take advantage of it. So by free food, I mean we will take leftovers from dinners with our parents, we aren't actually going to the food bank to take something from people that need it more.

Anyway, one month in, we did it and had a surplus of around $20. It wasn't actually that painful if you don't mind rice and beans. Fresh produce is a bit of an issue, but that was solved by planning meals appropriately, and then freezing the leftovers. We figured that we could live like kings on probably $400 a month after this.

Anyone else give this a go?

10-18-2015, 10:28 AM	#1
peter12 Franchise Player Join Date: Jul 2002 Exp:	The SNAP budget So the wife and I are sort of trying to push our necessity budget to a more efficient level. One of the things that we blow a lot of money on is our food budget, probably around $600 a month. We were seeing food waste well over 40%, and our cupboards were absolutely packed with things that we really had no use for - try three different packets of cumin or five bottles of olive oil. Ridiculous. There is kind of a big fad going around where people try to exist on the same budget as people on food stamps or SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) as it is currently called. Basically, you get about $125 per person per month for all groceries. We figured we could do it for two on $170 a month. There are also other rules about not accepting free food and not using food that you had purchased before. I guess this somewhat simulates the lack of surplus that poor people suffer from, and the overall lack of food bank resources or something. Anyway, we broke them both because it would be wasteful and there is so much free food around, I think almost anyone could take advantage of it. So by free food, I mean we will take leftovers from dinners with our parents, we aren't actually going to the food bank to take something from people that need it more. Anyway, one month in, we did it and had a surplus of around $20. It wasn't actually that painful if you don't mind rice and beans. Fresh produce is a bit of an issue, but that was solved by planning meals appropriately, and then freezing the leftovers. We figured that we could live like kings on probably $400 a month after this. Anyone else give this a go?