Hot Dogs, Eggs, and Personal Finance
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Let’s talk about one of our largest expenses as a human, food. The average American spends $7.56 per day on food. Assuming my audience is composed of average Americans (if not average, then I assume even more frugal), my question is as follows: how the heck are you guys only spending $7.56 per day on food?
I am a pretty broke college student aiming to spend as little excess money as possible. Whenever I go to the grocery store, I have one goal in mind, the most protein per dollar. I shop at Walmart rather than Whole Foods and I always buy the store brand rather than the name brand. My shopping list consists of the following: chicken breasts, ground turkey, pasta, hot dogs (89 cents for 8), eggs, milk, ham, canned vegetables, peanut butter, beans, and canned tuna. While I definitely eat more than the average human, I only eat two full meals a day (lunch and dinner), almost never go out to eat, and still find myself spending over $7.56 a day on food.
Assuming that the average human consumes a more diverse and organic diet than me, why am I still spending so much on food? Is it that I consume more than the average person, that I am based out of Honolulu, or am I missing some secret shopping advice that everyone else knows.Please provide any food shopping advice that you may have below. Thanks!
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@Mike_imm_Ubund Where did you get the $7.56 statistic? Would like to see the source material.
I probably eat for about that much money per day. Get most of my proteins from plant sources and dairy. Lots of peanut butter, beans and rice. Plain oatmeal for breakfast. Rarely eat beef, mostly eat chicken. Drink plain water or brew a cup of plain tea. Shop for staples at the “dollar store” where you can get good products very inexpensively. Go to Aldi for produce.
I’m a distance runner and I still get plenty of calories and nourishment for not a ton of money.
– Z –
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$7.56 is possible, if you enjoy dog and cat food, with Ramen noodles as a treat. As far as eating out, forget that. One Big Mac meal will set you back more than $7.56.
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@burgerwars said in Hot Dogs, Eggs, and Personal Finance:
$7.56 is possible, if you enjoy dog and cat food, with Ramen noodles as a treat. As far as eating out, forget that. One Big Mac meal will set you back more than $7.56.
I pay a lot less than that per day to feed 3 (large) cats. They get homemade which is made from chicken (thighs, heart & liver) and egg yolks.
Burgers are expensive and Impossible Burgers are $$$.
I spend $300-$400/yr on groceries but I don’t eat out.OP if you want to save money on groceries you need to coupon or at the very least start using iBotta.
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If I remember correctly, beans and milk are the most cost effective sources of protein. You live in Hawaii, so your prices are much higher than the mainland. I can get a sack of dry beans for 89 cents and a gallon of milk for $2.49 at my local Wal-Mart.
