Yesterday we planned how we might manage on $24 (for two of us) for the week and I went shopping:
Cheap Bin Inn cereal comes to about 45c per day each = $4 (without milk, yogurt or fruit)
Home made carrot soup - about the same = $4
1 loaf of the cheapest bread (not nice healthy grainy stuff) $1.48 (less than 2 slices each per day)
1 doz eggs (cage eggs - free range too expensive) $3.79
1 500gm frozen mixed veg. on special. $1.99
1 small quantity of rice from Bin Inn $1.00
1 tin tomatoes .85
1 tin lentils $1.50
1 tin chick peas $1.50
10 Kiwifruit $1.15
5 Apples $2.70
Total $24.37
What I have experienced already:
- How hard it is to buy healthy options.
- Even if you want to "make your own" it is often hard to get small enough quantities without blowing your budget on the larger (and cheaper) packages.
- I understand how low income families buy cheap takeaways to fill them up.
- How many options I normally take for granted when shopping - eg buy free range eggs, healthy bread, plenty of fruit and fresh veges etc.
- How depressing it must be for people without enough money for food to see so many food options, cafes etc - and advertising on every side.
- There are no dairy products included in our shopping. No wonder people drink Coca Cola instead of milk and think of cheese as a luxury. (We will "cheat" on milk - having just enough to wet our cereal! What we already have in the fridge will expire before the end of the week.)
- I already feel deprived thinking of no yogurt, no butter on bread, no tea, no coffee, no snacks, no fresh veges (though we will eat some silver beet from our garden!)
Watch this space. I will give a daily update!
