When living on a fixed income it’s easy to notice how the dollars add up. A busy day on campus, where the responsibilities of being a student do not afford the opportunity to go home, can cost somewhere around $1.50 for coffee, $5.50 for food and perhaps another $1.50 for more coffee, bringing the total cost to just under $9 dollars.
The temptation to order food instead of making it is also a big drain on the wallet, but it is so easy and convenient that, more often than not, the temptation is too strong to overcome. It is not a secret that eating homemade meals can save money. But just how much money can homemade meals save? This is an attempt to answer that question.
According to globalissues.org, that about 50 percent of the world lives on nearly $3 a day. That means that in order to survive on as much money as half of the world, one would have to live on just over $20 a week.
That seems absurd to ask for in a town like Boulder. Rent alone accounts for most, if not all of that. However, it might be able to be accomplished if food alone is taken into account.
Emiliano Lowe, a 20-year-old senior psychology major, said that he felt it is not impossible, but not easy to live off $20 a week on food.
“I feel like people who go to this school don’t always have the time,” Lowe said. “Everyone’s background is different and some people don’t know what to get at the store, so they come here to eat. It’s good food, but it’s expensive. For instance this chicken parmesan cost $6, and that’s already a huge deficit for $20 a week.”
Briana Shipley, a 19-year-old sophomore history major, said she thought it could be done, but at the expense of other activities.
“Yeah I think you could do it,” Shipley said. “If you went to classes and then went straight home, and didn’t really eat much, and kept yourself busy with other things and didn’t think about food.”
Tyler Silver, a 22-year-old junior anthropology major, said he was less optimistic.
“For all meals, probably not,” Silver said. “I mean, that’s too little for three meals a day, and sometimes stuff in between.”
When trying to pull off a seemingly ludicrous task it is important to know what assets are available. The rectangular student coupon booklets, which are given away at the beginning of each semester at the UMC, have a coupon for a free taco at Del Taco. Other than the free taco, different grocery stores offer better prices on most items.
With a Safeway card you can get brown rice for $1.09 (every potential nutrient will need to be utilized at all points, ergo the brown rice is better than white), a small bag of dried beans for $1.19, 18 eggs for $1.67, a loaf of enriched wheat bread for $0.89 and a pack of four chicken thighs for $2.53- bringing the total, including tax, to $7.62.
One of the cheapest and most filling meals, that is not that hard to make, is beans and rice. Chicken thighs are cheaper because they have more fat and therefore are less desired than the leaner parts of the bird; but this is an asset when spending very little money on food. Not only will the fat on the chicken thighs provide nutrients, it will also offer flavor to a typically bland meal like beans and rice.
The beans, being cheaper and more abundant when purchased dry, take some time to prepare. The bag says to soak them overnight, but anywhere from 4 to 6 hours should do the trick, depending on the type of bean. After soaking them, add whatever spices, salts, and peppers desired and add to the chicken. The beans need to cook around 2 hours. By adding the chicken early it will break down almost entirely, and after removing the bone, will fall apart with a rough stir and spread evenly throughout the beans and rice.
In the one bag of rice, the one bag of beans and the pack of chicken, there is enough to make about four servings of beans and rice with chicken. Each serving can be stretched to about two meals if necessary.
The eggs are quick cooking, and because of this are great for a quick bite to eat. Although eggs have cholesterol in the yolk and should not be eaten too many times a day, the egg whites provide a complete source of protein- especially good for those trying to live off $20 a week. For those who are worried about the health aspect of their meals, there is hope at Sunflower Farmers Market, a lower-cost organic grocer located on Arapahoe in Boulder and other locations throughout Colorado.
The deals rotate every week, but on this occasion Bartlett pears were $0.99 a pound, as well as asparagus and broccoli, while avocados were two- for-one and lettuce was $0.88 a head. Not everything weighed exactly one pound, so the total came to $5.42, including tax, bringing the total for the week to $13.04.
With the addition of vegetables, several more meal options open up. The pears are great for snacks, and the lettuce for simple salads, but the vegetables are extremely versatile. They can be added to the beans and rice, where by their addition of volume and nourishment may be extended to another meal or two, or be used for fried rice.
To make fried rice simply boil rice, scramble an egg in a pan, fry up some of the asparagus or broccoli, or whatever vegetable available, and then add rice to the pan and soy sauce to taste. Soy sauce is not one of the items purchased, but it will be admitted that condiments and spices were not accounted for in the budget. It is assumed that many people, who aren’t actually at the poverty line, will have these things in their houses. If some people don’t, then they will have to make do.
Towards the end of the week the lack of flavor and the repetition of eggs, beans and rice and vegetables might get to be a little dull. Upon a second trip to Safeway (with the club card) there are specials that can include $0.99 Progresso soups and $0.88 StarKist tuna. They also sell French baguettes for $0.99. When accounting for tax this brings the total to right around $16. Leaving the remaining $4 to account for a half-empty bag of potatoes, purchased at Sunflower Farmers Market for around $1, and a bag of M&M’s and a bag of mixed nuts, which have been sitting about the house for several months, and still are, the grand total comes to somewhere right around $20.
The M&M’s and mixed nuts are essential. Most of the suggested foods take time to prepare, and when hungry, it is not always pleasant to wait while your food is cooking. M&M’s and mixed nuts are high energy foods, with nuts containing healthy fats and are surprisingly filling for a short period of time.
By cooking at home it is possible to live on $20 a week, just around the level of world poverty. But most of the world lives on $20 a week including shelter, transportation, healthcare and everything else they need to spend money on.
After conducting such an experiment it is amazing to realize that a donation of just $20 to a charity concerned with world poverty can keep a family alive for a week; a little can, and often does, go a long way.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Seth Gitner at Seth.gitner@colorado.edu.
2 comments
Actually, you are often better off at Whole Foods, rather than Sunflower. Veggies are often cheaper and always fresher. If you keep an eye on sales there, you can get some good bargains if you don’t buy other stuff like meat (or basically anything else).
Going through all of these items that cost $.99 here and $1.20 there is great and all, but it doesn’t address the core issue; in 2009 the average American consumer spent almost $118 a week on food, according to the US Department of Labor (not a CU Boulder student). Therefore in order to live off of $20 a week, the average American would have to cut their food expenses by 83%! Assuming that such a feat is even possible, imagine what the ramifications would be of an 83% cut in spending in the culinary industry. The industry would tank, slowing growth and technology development in that sector, which would drive up costs and prices for the consumer in the long run, making it even more difficult for someone to live off of $20/week.
But back to basics, how many people would even be willing to entertain the idea of such a bland diet? The whole idea of progress is that through innovation even the lowliest worker can have food from all corners of the world. In fact, a person in the middle class of America lives better than most kings have in the past, with a longer life expectancy, higher calorie diets, more leisure time… The list goes on, but the point is that today more people have more than at any time in history, and that’s a good thing.
Lowering our consumption of food in general will force companies to be more efficient and waste less, but it will also force prices up and companies out of business. Consumers must continue to encourage companies to produce environment safe goods efficiently through both purchasing power and the power of elected officials. In this case, we can have our cake and eat it too, everyone can win.