Lunch Money

[jbracy7]

As some one who has been on food stamps, there is a learning curve at first,but it is done a million times a day.When i was on food stamps,and might be be going back on for winter. Its not about hi/lo cal counts or fiber or carb counting,its about how do i feed my kids with what they give me,so 200 a month, go's like this,big bag of rice,big bag beans(whats ever on sale),big bag of corn meal and flour,sugar,big bag potatoe.s,then you buy cheap frozen meats like chicken thighs/wings,pork chops( the thin ones),sale/clearence can/ frozen prouduce.thats the way you feed a family on food stamps. K.I.S.(KEEP IT SIMPLE).

P.S. i left out dairy because i cant have it in my diet.but butter is cheap as dirt,but milk cost more than gas and a pint of octane boost,wtf

[Looneybomber]

Agreed. You'd be surprised how many people can't do that though. Hell, I know a ton of people that don't know how to calculate their fuel economy.

How is that even possible. It's called Miles per gallon. Mile/gallon. You're just making a funny, right?

[AZhitman]

Not all that much. Like I said, reading is free.

And time is money.

No offense intended, but I'm reasonably certain that's not a comment typically attributable to the food stamp crowd.

[IBCoupe]

And time is money.

No offense intended, but I'm reasonably certain that's not a comment typically attributable to the food stamp crowd.

Maybe it's something they say, maybe it isn't. But it's something they live. When you earn less per hour, each hour worked becomes that much more important to you. If you're making $40/hr, you can afford to leave a little early every day to make sure you don't spend an hour trying to find a parking spot in your neighborhood. If you're making $10/hr, you probably can't.

Back to WDR's point, the more time you have to spend researching supermarket specials and cookbooks, the less time you have to do anything else. And for folk who have to work a great many more hours to make the same amount of money as some others, there's maybe not a whole lot of time left.

[WDRacing]

Maybe it's something they say, maybe it isn't. But it's something they live. When you earn less per hour, each hour worked becomes that much more important to you. If you're making $40/hr, you can afford to leave a little early every day to make sure you don't spend an hour trying to find a parking spot in your neighborhood. If you're making $10/hr, you probably can't.

Back to WDR's point, the more time you have to spend researching supermarket specials and cookbooks, the less time you have to do anything else. And for folk who have to work a great many more hours to make the same amount of money as some others, there's maybe not a whole lot of time left.

People work their way through college, stay up late studying and cramming and working odd shifts to pay the bills all the time dude, they don't die from it. The end goal is to better themselves. My wife earned her Masters going to school on a full time schedule, while working full time on active duty in the USAF. Oh, did I mention she still deployed while doing the above?

Your argument that time is money, has no place here. None. The vast majority of people on food stamps aren't working more than 60hr weeks. That leaves 108 hrs that they could use reading a couple of recipe books and cutting coupons. It's not like you'd have constantly read them because, unless you're handicapped, most knowledge is retained for awhile, especially if it's being put to use.

This idea that people on food stamps don't have time to do things because they're so busy working is absurd.

I think all that time in communist China may be getting to you

[frapjap]

Maybe it's something they say, maybe it isn't. But it's something they live. When you earn less per hour, each hour worked becomes that much more important to you. If you're making $40/hr, you can afford to leave a little early every day to make sure you don't spend an hour trying to find a parking spot in your neighborhood. If you're making $10/hr, you probably can't.

Back to WDR's point, the more time you have to spend researching supermarket specials and cookbooks, the less time you have to do anything else. And for folk who have to work a great many more hours to make the same amount of money as some others, there's maybe not a whole lot of time left.

People work their way through college, stay up late studying and cramming and working odd shifts to pay the bills all the time dude, they don't die from it. The end goal is to better themselves. My wife earned her Masters going to school on a full time schedule, while working full time on active duty in the USAF. Oh, did I mention she still deployed while doing the above?

Your argument that time is money, has no place here. None. The vast majority of people on food stamps aren't working more than 60hr weeks. That leaves 108 hrs that they could use reading a couple of recipe books and cutting coupons. It's not like you'd have constantly read them because, unless you're handicapped, most knowledge is retained for awhile, especially if it's being put to use.

This idea that people on food stamps don't have time to do things because they're so busy working is absurd.

I think all that time in communist China may be getting to you

I'll back this up by making mention that while I was in college I was on food stamps- while working ~30-40 hours a week at night. Circulars for sales and coupons came in the mail box (no need to spend time going to get them, though they're readily available in front of the store), the cheapest grocery store was about .75 miles walk away, and finding the time to balance it all was simple since it HAD TO BE DONE. When I needed a break from studying on the days I wasn't working, I'd walk down there, get my bags of groceries and walk back with them hanging off my arms. Granted, I didn't have the addition of children in this scheme, but I'm sure it still could've been done. Little Johnny would've been carrying the bag with the gallon of milk.

[AZhitman]

Back to WDR's point, the more time you have to spend researching supermarket specials and cookbooks, the less time you have to do anything else.

...like watching Jerry Springer and TMZ?

My name ain't Nielsen, but I'm pretty sure that's your demographic right thurrr.

Then again (and pure supposition on my part), you probably weren't exposed to that demographic a whole lot.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Agreed. You'd be surprised how many people can't do that though. Hell, I know a ton of people that don't know how to calculate their fuel economy.

How is that even possible. It's called Miles per gallon. Mile/gallon. You're just making a funny, right?

I wish I were. It boggles my mind too.
Example- people ask me if they should replace their O2 sensor. I'll say "well, is your check engine light on, or are you getting horrible fuel economy?"
They just stare at me and say- "CEL isn't on... I've never calculated fuel economy. How do you do that? I'll tell you that I usually can go a week on a tank though"
I usually say "measuring fuel economy by how long it lasts you time wise is definitely nowhere near accurate enough". I hate it when people tell me that. Your driving is not consistent enough to do that, damnit.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Not to mention the fact that miles/gallon is backward for any measurement that includes time STOPPED. Gallons per x miles is much more effective. You're ALWAYS consuming fuel when the engine's running. You're not always moving. I know it tells you the same thing, but the latter just feels more relatable to actual driving.

It's like measuing speed in hours per mile. Yeah, you can do it, but the result isn't nearly as practical.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Eh, I can go either way.

Especially when doing a comparison.

[Jesda]

I understand the problem of scarcity. It's the core dilemma of the entire field of economics. It's the problem of all human existence.

However, scarcity in the US isn't so dramatic that it's impossible to find a few moments to learn how to improve health and food efficiency.

[nissangirl74]

People work their way through college, stay up late studying and cramming and working odd shifts to pay the bills all the time dude, they don't die from it. The end goal is to better themselves.

I worked 70 hours per week, 7 days a week, raising a child on my own, going to school while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. It's not rocket science. You do what has to be done and you do whatever you have to do to make that happen. \story

[AZhitman]

...but this is America.

We have to cater to the LCDs, lest they somehow get caught up in that whole Darwinian thing.

Y'know, the one lots of people believe in while believing it can't possibly apply to them.

[Looneybomber]

This thread got me thinking about how much I spend on food so I added everything up that involved consumption, including having drinks at a meal, but NOT drinking at a bar. So grocery store, going out to eat, picking up a pop at the quick shop, etc...

Aug: 456.03
Sept: 432.73 (Grocery store=184.39, everything else=248.34)

Wow, 100/wk on food!

As of today (Oct 10) I am already at 165.01. It's easy to assume you're not spending much when you have a lot of small transactions. I have 15 for the month so far!
I'm gonna have to get that in check!

[AZhitman]

Yep. Of our budget, our biggest expenses are fuel and food.

We've gotta rein ours in as well.

[nissangirl74]

When Hunter moved back in with us, our food bill went up >$100 / month.

[float_6969]

Yea, food is expensive. I wish I had enough yard for a garden big enough to feed us for the year. I grew up with a garden (at least part of my childhood), and it was nice to walk out and pull something off of a plant and eat it.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/10/14/v ... louisiana/

Pretty amazing how quickly everything can go to s***!

[AZhitman]

Yea, food is expensive. I wish I had enough yard for a garden big enough to feed us for the year. I grew up with a garden (at least part of my childhood), and it was nice to walk out and pull something off of a plant and eat it.

Same here. I'm looking forward to our next house, because we WILL have a garden.

[float_6969]

You can't even grow grass, how are you going to have a garden? LOL!!!

[WDRacing]

crap loads of water...

[frapjap]

Going to start the same ol' experiment this week. We had a bit too much fun on vacation last weekend so now its time to bust open the pantry and make it happen! I bet its about 2 weeks before I'm struggling for ideas.

[Extreme Dimensions]

4.50 per person per day is $157.50 for a family of 5 for a week.

watch and learn:

dinner 1- chili made with ground turkey (turkey, spices, beans, tomato sauce, cheese, and crackers) = $12

dinner 2 - chicken casserole (chicken, brown rice, salsa, black beans, cheese, crackers) = $7.25. This is made in a huge casserole dish and lasts 2 days.

dinner 3 - flounder with corn on the cob and steamed green beans. = $14

dinner 4 - spaghetti (ground turkey, pasta, sauce, french bread, salad) = $11

dinner 5 - Beef stew ( beef, seasonings, potatoes, carrots, and celery. Have some crackers from dinner 1) = $10.50

dinner 6 - salad night (Cesar salad and baked potatoes) = $8

dinner budget = $62.75

breakfast = $18 (milk, cereal, oatmeal, eggs, toast)

Lunches = $30 (bread, ham, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, mayo, mustard, big bag of chips)

total = $110.75

This leaves $46.75

$25.00 to buy fresh fruit everyday for dessert and a 1/2 gallon of ice cream for a treat on Sunday night.

Balance of $21.75. You can buy a box of tea to brew to drink with lunch and dinner, coffee and creamer for breakfasts.

Balance of about $10 for cushion.

No junk there. All good, healthy meals.

OMG. Marry me. free carbon fiber parts for you for life! IT all sounds so good!

I eat approximately 400-500 a month myself on food, and this is cooking at home. I weigh 139lbs..... Stupid fast metabolism.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I weigh 139lbs..... Stupid fast metabolism.

*resisting the urge to kick you in the shin*

[Extreme Dimensions]

I weigh 139lbs..... Stupid fast metabolism.

*resisting the urge to kick you in the shin*

Mind you i've gained 12lbs in the past two months since ive joined the gym lol


If it helps, im only 5'3...

[AZhitman]

OMG. Marry me. free carbon fiber parts for you for life! IT all sounds so good!

Too late.

p.s. Dinner tonight was delicious.

[Extreme Dimensions]

OMG. Marry me. free carbon fiber parts for you for life! IT all sounds so good!

Too late.

p.s. Dinner tonight was delicious.

NO!!!!!!!!!!

[AZhitman]

Sorry brotha.

[Jesda]

Clearly, she married him for his car collection. :P

[Extreme Dimensions]

Clearly, she married him for his car collection. :P

Its obvious she has a thing for men in powerful positions. Admin? SCORE!