This month we took a self imposed challenge. We decided to try to eat using just $13 a day (or $400 a month). To put that in perspective we were spending that much on just lunches. The difficult thing is we decided that any brewing came out of that money too so really we are eating on $10 a day. Because there is two pf us, we basically have $5 a day each to eat.
Things I've learned eating on $5 a day
Make your own coffee
Buying coffee at a coffee shop is not worth it. I invested in a good coffee press and it has already paid for its self and saved $10 on top of that on just one month. Well worth it.
Make lunches tht will freeze well
Making lunches that will freeze well on Sunday means you don't have to worry about things going bad if you end up not using it all that week (when random free food becomes available). Frozen lunches allow you to be more agile in your lunch choices.
Chicken is better if you buy it whole and process it
Two chickens a week will get you about 6 meals for two people if you make stock out of the leftovers and it costs about $8. When you've processed 6 chickens, you can have a basicaly free chicken wing meal (with 12 chicken wings a piece- which is a large serving) if you've saved up the chicken wings from each of the chickens. I love Alten Browns Buffalo Chicken wing recipe.
Invest in the tools you need to preserve food
Buy the stuff required to preserve the food that you want to have on hand. Canning equipment is great for vegetables if you start gardening or are finding vegetables on great deals. If you like freezing things, investing in some freezer paper and learning how to use it is a must. I'll post a picture of one of my wrapped freezer packets later so you can see how the finished product looks.
The biggest lesson- I don't miss the extra money all that much
I am mostly shocked at how little I was actualy getting for the extra money I was shelling out. The coffee I got was subpar. The sandwiches I was paying $4 for were not as good (or as healthy) as the lunch stuff I can make at home. For dinners, my husband and I have eaten quite well while expanding our knowledge of various cuisines (Cajun, Indian, Italian, and French just to name a few). We had a craving for pizza, so we made the My Bread onion and tomato pizzas from scratch. It was more pizza than we would get for $20 at Papa John's, and it cost us about a dollar to make. With $100 allocated to beer, we've not only been able to brew enough to keep our keg full, but we've been able to brew an extra Christmas beer for December (and we still haven't gone over our money). 5 gallons of beer costs us anywhere from $30 to $45 to make. A keg is 40 pints, making our beer cost us anywhere from .75 to $1.25 for each pint. That beats any deal in town for beer, and you get a higher quality beer.
Things I've learned eating on $5 a day
Make your own coffee
Buying coffee at a coffee shop is not worth it. I invested in a good coffee press and it has already paid for its self and saved $10 on top of that on just one month. Well worth it.
Make lunches tht will freeze well
Making lunches that will freeze well on Sunday means you don't have to worry about things going bad if you end up not using it all that week (when random free food becomes available). Frozen lunches allow you to be more agile in your lunch choices.
Chicken is better if you buy it whole and process it
Two chickens a week will get you about 6 meals for two people if you make stock out of the leftovers and it costs about $8. When you've processed 6 chickens, you can have a basicaly free chicken wing meal (with 12 chicken wings a piece- which is a large serving) if you've saved up the chicken wings from each of the chickens. I love Alten Browns Buffalo Chicken wing recipe.
Invest in the tools you need to preserve food
Buy the stuff required to preserve the food that you want to have on hand. Canning equipment is great for vegetables if you start gardening or are finding vegetables on great deals. If you like freezing things, investing in some freezer paper and learning how to use it is a must. I'll post a picture of one of my wrapped freezer packets later so you can see how the finished product looks.
The biggest lesson- I don't miss the extra money all that much
I am mostly shocked at how little I was actualy getting for the extra money I was shelling out. The coffee I got was subpar. The sandwiches I was paying $4 for were not as good (or as healthy) as the lunch stuff I can make at home. For dinners, my husband and I have eaten quite well while expanding our knowledge of various cuisines (Cajun, Indian, Italian, and French just to name a few). We had a craving for pizza, so we made the My Bread onion and tomato pizzas from scratch. It was more pizza than we would get for $20 at Papa John's, and it cost us about a dollar to make. With $100 allocated to beer, we've not only been able to brew enough to keep our keg full, but we've been able to brew an extra Christmas beer for December (and we still haven't gone over our money). 5 gallons of beer costs us anywhere from $30 to $45 to make. A keg is 40 pints, making our beer cost us anywhere from .75 to $1.25 for each pint. That beats any deal in town for beer, and you get a higher quality beer.
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