how can anyone live on $50 for food a month? In New York? If this guy is eating top ramen he is going to have some serious health issues- better to save a little less and get some nutrition- yes I need some kids of my own.

There have been points in my life I have been achingly poor.
1. Pay-as-you-go cell phone used sparingly.
2. Public library for entertainment.
3. Cooking in bulk and freezing.
4. Cheap beer and good friends at their homes or mine.
It gets a lot tougher with kids I'd imagine, though.

Prof, I thought exactly the same thing. Plus, what is he renting for $475? A closet?

I once existed for 6 weeks on food left over after meetings in a place in which I used to work. You wouldn't believe what goes to waste. Well, probably not anymore.

What a fantastic post! We are lucky in NYC in most respects, yes it is expensive to live here, but every day there are free lectures, readings, gallery openings, Shakespeare in the park and on and on. Not to mention that most of the museums are actually free to the public if you cannot afford to donate. You can easily spend a small fortune on entertaining and feeding yourself here, but in my experience great fulfillment can be had at a bargain if you color outside the lines:
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/upcoming_events/events_search.php

Profumo: I was thinking the same thing ... and I'm now getting a crash course in this, as I just lost my job on Tuesday! A cooked chicken is now down to $4 in my neighborhood (thanks to a price war), yielding three dinners. Whatever fish is on sale (usually tilapia) can be had for $4 ... enough for two dinners. Side dish = spinach with chick peas. Oatmeal, tea & OJ for breakfast; lunch is two veggie burgers (bought when they're on sale) topped with yogurt, or an egg salad or sardine sandwich. Fruit for dessert, a handful of almonds for a snack. I figure I can do this for about $25 a week, maybe a little less ... but certainly closer to $100 a month than $50. Nutrition is important ... and Top Ramen doesn't cut it!

I was a mid level manager at an electronics manufacturer making 60k a year when I got laid off 11 months ago so I've been on unemployment and found part time work through a temp agency for $12 an hour. I'm taking in around $1500 a month after taxes with a house payment of $918, gas, lights & water - $150, and car payment & insurance are $316 which leaves me $116 for groceries and a couple of prescriptions. I've cut red meat completely out of my diet and only have chicken or fish once a week. I fill up on whole grain non sugary cereals and grow my own salad greens, tomatoes and a few other veggies. They have coffee for free at work so I drink my one cup a day there, I wash my clothes in cold water and only use the dryer for about 20 minutes per load (to avoid scratchy towels etc.) then hang everything up on hangers or outside on the fence to air dry. When there's a sale on something I know I'll use I try to stock up and it's a bonus on top of the sale price if I can use a store coupon from using the store values card on the same item. It's close to the bone but I am squeaking by. Jobs are scarce right now and I may have to start over as an administrative assistant which I'd be happy to do because it's a simpler, less stressful position and I only have 15 more years until retirement age. My car will be paid off in six months so that will lessen the burden and I've got a medical malpractice case that goes to court in August so I'm just hanging on until a possible settlement with the insurance company and the hope of finding a full time job that pays a bit more. I don't know how other people are faring but I've been using the World War II standard of Mend, Make Do or Do Without and it makes me appreciate what I have more than what I don't.

profumodibergamo -- Not everyone can spend money on proper nutrition... and it's a sad reality that it is much cheaper to eat unhealthily than to eat healthily. (That's why I get so annoyed when I hear people criticizing those who are fat as uniformly lazy. Some overweight people are that way because you can always find something to eat on a dollar menu at a fast food chain, but it's much more difficult to find a meal for a buck at a proper grocery store. And just for the record, I'm not overweight, but a good friend of mine is -- and she only gained the weight once she lost her job and had to spend most of her food budget on giving the nutritious food to her son; she made sure the cheaper, greasier stuff only ended up in her stomach, not his.)

As for me, I'm a freelancer, so I always have to ration because even in good months you never know if a bad financial month is around the corner. So here are the staples that are always in my kitchen -- and that are my lunch most days of the year:

Either:
Campbell's soup
Top Ramen (I buy low sodium bullion and use that instead of the overly salty flavor packets that come with the Ramen)
canned tuna
eggs

Do I like eating Ramen several days each week? No. Is it making me unhealthy? Probably. Can I afford not to? No.

looking at the breakdown - i'm assuming shares a place with a roommate and they are sharing expenses. if he's smart enough to save $200/ mo. - i doubt he's starving.

i love to read how people are making it - gives me encouragement.

I love cooking at home...we rarely eat out and never order in. I don't even consider it a sacrifice. Canceling cable, however, is totally out of the question... even though the Time Warner bill is inching towards $150/month, our happiness would be greatly diminished by relinquishing our daily dose of boob tube.

Clearly he's in Philidelphia and not New York.

i know you have to first have a yard to have a clothesline, but i love our clothesline. so simple and i really enjoy hanging out the wash.

we also do with when we can, so that when it's time to do without, it's not difficult.

I haven't ever had cable, so I don't pass any judgment on those who value it highly.

But between local channels, DVD rentals, and Hulu, I can barely keep up with what I want to watch, so it's been an easy expense to avoid.

And if I absolutely want to see something on cable (like an HBO special) I just make sure to hang with friends that night who are still paying the monthly big bill.

The problem my husband and I have is debt from student loans. If we didn't have these we would be able to put aside a lot for savings each month. I bet this is a problem with many people in new york, as we all want our education but don't always end up in the most high-paying field (we're artists). In the meantime we live frugally but happily, but oh sometimes we gaze at those loans and try to mentally make them vanish into thin air

My broke-ass food staples: beans (with onions/feta/veg and mixed into salad/omelettes/casseroles), chickpeas, squash and sweet potato (a new favourite is to roast these with corn and beans with cayenne and maple syrup for cheap and super stretchable taco filing), whole wheat bread with peanut butter or mashed avocado for super filling breakfast, big pots of soup or spaghetti sauce.... I would argue that is you have some cooking basics you can get by on very little without resorting to ramen every night. But I am humbled and in awe of the ways some of you are getting by.

Eating healthfully can be inexpensive. You just need to have a plan. My husband and I spend about $200 a month (including dog food) on groceries, and we cook everything at home. We could reduce this number by eliminating a few luxuries if we needed to. We are not sacrificing quality to do so.

Here is our plan:

Every Friday, we go through our cupboards, fridge and freezer to see what we have. We then sit down and make a meal plan for the next week (sun - thurs) out of this inventory. If we are missing anything that we would need to create a balanced meal, it gets added to the grocery list.

Next, I take this prepared list, and go through all of the grocery circulars to see if any of these items are on sale. If they are, I mark down the store I will go to to buy that item. I also look for any meat that will be on sale that week. For example, whole chickens were $0.77 a pound last week. I bought 3, for about $3.00 a piece and promptly froze them. This was a great deal because when I roast 1 whole chicken, I can use it for about 3 meals.

One of my favorite cheap meals is as follows:

Poached eggs with bruschetta over crispy polenta. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

4 eggs poached. (1 spoonful vinegar, in the poaching water)

1/4 of log of prepared polenta.

Spoonful of prepared bruschetta

Spoonful of olive oil.

Preheat pan to medium with a spoonful of olive oil. Slice 2 servings of polenta, and season both sides. Cook polenta until crispy and browned on each side.

Poach 4 eggs to desired doneness, and season.

To serve:

Top each serving of crispy polenta with 2 poached eggs and a spoonful of bruschetta.

Finish with a small amount of salty, tangy cheese if desired. (I prefer mine with Isreali feta)

It costs about $0.25 per serving to make this meal.

This person probably has roommates, hence the low rent. $50.00 for food does seem very low, but I've read about many people that "dumpster dive" at grocery stores. They go and remove stuff from the bins that may be close to their expiration date or are deemed unsellable by the store. It's quite amazing what gets thrown away. I think if I was in dire straits, it would be a consideration. So many people are having to make do with less - companies have cut hours (mine included) to avoid more lay-offs and have instituted mandatory furloughs. CA is in this insane budget mess right now, and that only means more lay-offs and further pay cuts for state employees. I'm glad I'm in the private sector. It's rough all over!

The post states he is a "young Philadelphia artist"-the rents in Philadelphia are very inexpensive.

@teacase, I heartily agree. My husband & I are fortunate to be debt-free (after some work at it), with the considerable exception of our student loans. The best I can recommend is setting up auto-pay (if you haven't already), just to minimize the reminder each month of our country's ongoing failure to invest in its children's future.

How can one survive on $75 a month food money? Let's calculate. One would obviously need bread, milk, eggs. About 10 bucks a week, $40 a month. $35 is left for everything else? Less then $10 a week. You cannot cook at home anything for less than 10 bucks a week. Sorry, just completely unbelievable. Ramen noodles all the time? how much do they cost? A buck? Well, it is 10 portions for a week. It is not even 3 meals a day (let's consider that one meal is eggs with milk). No veggies, no fruits? Very "simple and enjoyable" life to screw up your health.

i have been extremely broke but never really felt 'poor' per se, because I always felt my prospects would improve OR I'd made a conscious decision to sacrifice for a cause (school, children etc.) It was a lot easier than when I'd not been in control of the decision (getting laid off a couple of times). Not so sure that prospects will always improve given where the economy is at now, but I hope.

I was able to feed a family of three on about $50 per week by eating a mostly vegetarian diet, consuming no prepared foods and shopping at an inexpensive fruit and vegetable stand near my neighborhood that sells cast offs from grocery stores that aren't yet totally spoiled yet. (and ditto JulieLeanne's roasted chicken strategy - each one is good for three meals or maybe more if you make soup from the bones) I'd say we ate the best at those times, because we had time to prepare healthy food together and we always ate together or with friends.

My boyfriend and I have been living like this ever since we moved in together a year ago. I took a new job in Boston, and he transferred branches for his job to be closer to me. However, neither of our jobs pay a ton, and the cost of living in Boston is far from cheap. Half my pay every month goes towards rent. And then there are bills, and gas for the car, and cellphones and unexpected expenses like car repairs. The key is to be creative in everything. We rarely spend more than $25 a week on food, including our weekly lg cheese pizza. We eat lots of fruits and veggies, cereal, and pasta. For meats we tend to buy them when they are close to the sell-by date, when they are $1-$2 off the regular price (even better if they also happen to be on sale). Just freeze or cook them within a day. I use coupons all the time (look online for the best ones), and never turn down any free food. I have learned to make meals from almost anything (we actually ate for a week on leftover chicken from a work function). For fruits and veggies we go to the farmers market about 45min before closing, and come home with tons of goodies for only a few dollars. For movies we utilize our local RedBox for $1 rentals, and on Mondays they give out a code for a free rental. We go for walks, and visit museums for free, and use our credit cards to get airlines miles to travel (we are flying to Colorado in a month to visit friends using our free tickets). It is possible to cut expenses down a lot, it just takes some research and a strong desire to do so.

I sometimes have to laugh at the surviving the recession stories. I really haven't read one yet where anyone has it really bad. I remember my dad once saying to me that America has a very high standard of poor. That is, even the poor live better than many people in other countries.

Unfortunately, I have been so poor my whole life that the recession has not been all that impactful, it just seemed like more of the same. I have to applaud this young man to have the smarts to save money. If I had saved even 1 dollar a week from the time I started working, I'd have a lot more money saved.

For what it's worth, here's how I barely subsist paycheck to paycheck. I live in a dangerous neighborhood in a delipidated old building. I have surrendered having a bedroom, only have a studio space. Rent $485. I've never had cable TV. I use cheap VoIP for my phone. I do not use natural gas. I cook with electricity. I eat tuna almost everyday. I wash most of my clothes by hand and hang dry. Fortunately, I'm creative. So I cut and color my own hair (savings of about $600 per year). I live in the same city I work in (savings of about $800 per year in taxes). I could go on and on, but this is getting boring, I know.

Suffice it to say, that many, many Americans need lessons in how to scale down and live simply. The American way of life did get way out of control. I think we are all learning many positive lessons and have a great opportunity to recreate our society.

Sorry, this is just a P.S. to motherbear. I mean this in the most compassionate way possible, but be careful dear. I don't want you to have a rude awakening.

It is a delusion to believe that an administrative assistant position is simpler and less stressful. The current reality in office jobs right now is that every one is overperforming and overworked. A legal secretary is now expected to do first year associate work and support 5 to 6 attorneys, just for example. Employers are trying to squeeze the juice out of people and get something for nothing. All jobs are stressful right now.

In America you are either out of work or overworked right now, so we need to be compassionate with each other.

I feel terrible for the folks here who are dealing with unemployment. I feel even worse for the ones who have kids to support.

It may be character building to cope with it, but I suspect a lot of people have more than enough character built up and are past being ready for it to end.

First off, to everyone out of work, hang in and try your best to keep your positive attitudes. I remember when I got laid off it took me a while to realize that I was still a very valuable person.

There are ways to save out there, lots of them. I have been using a site called www.mint.com to help me budget my finances better. It showed where I could make cuts to be able to afford a car payment that I will unfortunately have to pick up in the near future.

But, I have to say, you guys are pretty inspiring. Make me want to look at my budget and see where I could trim a little more.

I quit my job when my flextime was taken away, so I could keep my kids out of daycare. Now we are living on 30% of our previous take home. Luckily we are frugal folks. Here's a few of our strategies:

1. We don't eat out.
2. We cook vegetarian 95% of the time.
3. We hang our clothes (inside, actually, as we have no outdoor line).
4. I make all of our gifts for birthdays, etc.
5. We ride our bicycles everywhere (with two kids in a midwestern suburb where nothing is really all that close to home).
6. We actively manage our utilities (paying attention to anything plugged in, opening windows to cool, keeping blinds down to keep heat out, etc.)

So far, we haven't felt the pinch that bad.

Prof - re: nutrition

my mom (immigrant) is always chiding me for spending hundreds on food every month. She claims that she fed our entire family on $50 a month in the past, and I told her to stop exaggerating.

I then broke my ankle and she came to live with me for a week. I gave her $50 to go do some grocery shopping in San Francisco. She went out and "splurged" (her words, not mine) -- came back and filled my fridge.

Here's what she left me:
- pork pot roast (3 full large square tupperwares, one still in the freezer today)
- a huge pot of oxtail soup (for recouperating that ankle, i would need protein, of course) with cabbage, potatoes.
- 3 mid-sized tupperware of chicken with shitaki mushrooms (also a stew of sorts)
- 2 tupperware full of stewed tofu.
- 3 freezer bags of pork-dill wontons.
- flash pickles.
- broccoli
- cabbage
- pears
- soymilk
- rice
- noodles

I proceeded to eat my words and the food.

(her major complaint about her shopping trip: "ugh things are expensive here; i could have gotten these in LA for less.")

She said that when she shopped she used a lot of coupons, and also paid attention to special deals in store, as well as in the weekly grocery store flyers. It also helps that to have a non-meat staple (we're chinese, so we eat a lot of rice).

Great work by the NYTimes! I loved hearing the Dr.'s story, in his own words, about growing up in the Great Depression.

I wish this artist well, and admire his tenacity, but it's entirely possible to round out that diet. Last Summer, when the economy began showing signs of slowing considerably, I began altering my diet pretty radically. I marshalled a few friends to share cases with me of dry goods: lentils, rice, quinoa, oatmeal, and a 4 month supply for each of us came to just $70 per person (less than $5 per week). I amp'd up my garden with fresh herbs and vegetables, to go along with the apples and citrus, and planted a ridiculous number of onions (caramelized onion freak). I have cage free eggs about 2 days a week and fish 1 day a week (no fowl, no pork, no beef, limited dairy like yogurt & 2 types of cheese occasionally). If I eat bare bones, I still have great variety, and I'm at about $12 a week; if I eat luxe, which means the eggs-and/or-fish-dairy, I'm at about $18 a week. I'm blessed to have the garden, for certain, but it's still possible to eat well on fairly little money (it just takes some savvy shopping and some friend/family/neighbor cooperation). If I have extra produce, I either preserve it by some means (freeze, dry, can, etc) or I share it with neighbors or the local food bank.

I'm marshalling the courage to disconnect cable TV (again) but I'm feeling optimistic about it because I'll be using that TV time to make art instead (far more soul satisfying).

I'm one who's likely to lose my job in the next 3 months, so I began living on <50% of my take home pay to get ready, but I'm getting together with friends to mind-meld on ideas (companies hiring, businesses to start together) and I'm optimistic about how cooperative everyone is right now. That's absolutely the best outcome of 'retrenching'.

I love being poor! You can get so much out of dumpsters and on free craigslist. Also, you can eat really well for not that much money. Veggies, beans, rice, pasta, and fruit. Not to mention pb & j. This guy is gonna be fine.

that video was soooooo pretentious!

Wow, that's a lot of savings!

I like to see this, though. Every once in a while I see myself getting 'high maintenance' and realize it's time to back off a little! More being, less buying!

PS: the Hillbilly Housewife is one of my favorite websites for cheap and healthy food! It's easy if you just plan ahead!

Going from a diet of ramen and the splurge on a can of tuna or 6 eggs for tuna/egg salad, to living back in the "real world" did a number on my system. I was sick from lack of nutrition to begin with, but putting even turkey or broiled chicken in my stomach for about 2 months gave me horrible pains and other TMI issues.

But really, you do what you have to do to survive. Not everyone is in a frame of mind while unemployed and/or overworked as an admin. assistant to cook, or shop, or plan ahead. There's the factor of depression to deal with too, which I haven't seen any articles mention when talking about the recession, cutting back, or job loss.

It's not that difficult to eat for $50-75 for food per month for a single person. I don't know about the rest of you, but I certainly don't drink a gallon of milk, eat a loaf of bread and a dozen eggs every week. Maybe every 3 weeks.

Simple guidelines:
- Always prepare food at home
- Avoid buying processed foods (which are more expensive and less nutritious)
- Eat a lot less meat (especially red meat)
- Buy on sale and with coupons
- Buy in bulk and freeze everything (The Minimalist on this)
- Check out farmer's markets (some, like Philly's Italian Market tend to have very cheap produce)
- Buy things that are in season
- Graze freely at parties, meetings, etc. (my department is constantly holding luncheons and serving food at talks and there are always leftovers).

It also helps if you come from a cultural background that emphasizes a diet filled with grains, legumes, vegetables and little red meat. Cooking cheaply comes naturally. But with some research, planning and effort, it's possible for anyone to spend less than $100 per month on food.

A truly horrible way to live: on a budget. Saving is a fool's game!

Seriously why all the fuss over $50 a month on groceries for 1 person???
Our total income is $2000/month as I am staying home wih the kids. I spend $350/month for my family of 4 on groceries. I only buy organic milk,eggs and fruits. I live in a small 2 bedroom apt and our rent is $500 including utiities. We just bought out first car and pay $200/mth including insurance. Our monthly laundry bill is $80. Our phones are $60/mth for 2 cells. I clip coupons and match weekly sales with coupons. Including haircuts and diaper shopping add another $100/mth.
We eat out once in a while and same goes for movies. we do not have cable or a landline.
I think living frugally is not as difficult as ppl make it seem to be. I was raised in a very lavish environment and had to learn all these tips and tricks.
Anyone who puts their mind to it can do it! and u dont have to starve to live frugally.

I don't eat much, but I'm at $35/month for a person in San Francisco.

I've recently wondered what I would purchase if I was 'rich'. Other than buying the organic versions of Trader Joe's food, I wouldn't change my grocery habits because I'd be fat (I am female) - orange juice, cream for fettucini alfredo, dr. pepper, lots more gorgonzola cheese, ice cream, microwaved meals, snickers bars....

I basically cut out meat, dairy, snacks, and beverages and keep pasta, rice, sweet potatoes, lentils and beans as staples. No dairy saves a lot, especially in California where it costs so much!

I see I am not alone. I make less than the guy featured - live in Philadelphia, rent - 483, less than 75 for utilities, 60 for food - the rest for bills and continuing education classes. Practically nadda into savings though unfortunately. No cable - as it turns out i actually still have more tv to watch than hours in the day even when doing online-only. Oh - and internet is supplied by apartment building. That's the one thing they've gotten right so far....

"America has a very high standard of poor" - I totally agree with this.

Living with Less is probably a very productive thing to start talking about it America, too bad it has to be inundated with people being out of work and this is not the normal lifestyle in America.

I have been devolping food allergies, since 19, and have been forced to live without the ability to CUT CORNERS on nutrition and it has been a great way to get priorities straight.

So what is Top Ramen? Noodles or something?

It also says he makes stuff from scratch like his bread. Scratch bread and bread products, if you're skilled at it, can be very very cheap. Like 25-50 cents for a fancy, nutritious whole wheat loaf instead of $1-2 for a cheap white loaf.

Thanks Charmedseed for the link to Hillbilly Housewife. There are so many great money saving ideas and good recipes on the site.

As far as living on a tight budget, it's always doable. People have far more than they would need if they had to survive during a rough period of time. Proper nutrition is lovely....but if a person has to go a period of time without it....they'll live.

I live in a whole neighborhood of artists like this guy. Not in New York City proper, but in Brooklyn. We are a growing community priced out of New York City and now many parts of Brooklyn. I pay less then $600 and I have a large room in a duplex with four bedrooms. Each floor has a living room and a bathroom (and there is even a small backyard). It is quiet and sans tourist. This allows me to save on rent so that I don't have to miss out on everything else in life, like food and entertainment. There are a lot of free things in NYC but not everything is free. I would rather not be that person who joins friends at a restaurant for dinner and orders a water.

my suggestion to him would be to quit smoking and buy a desk.

Okay, I will add to this discussion. There is poor and there is very poor. I think the media has pretty well documented the stories about middle-aged working women being forced to live in their cars and "tent cities" springing up all over the country. Either way would be a horrible, demeaning way to live. The "tent cities" have no sanitation system and will contribute to public health problems in the long run. It's not the fault of the people forced to live that way. It's just that adequate public sanitation has been a way of life in America since the 40s, and it's sad to see things go backwards. Plus the human suffering must be immense.

The women forced to live in their cars is my nightmare.

I have had a chain of weird, unforeseen events. I was in an automobile accident and totaled my paid-off car. My supervisor at my job was furious at me for taking time off for my injuries (yes, she was psycho) and I suddenly found myself laid off. At the same time, a doctor treating my accident injuries found abnormal cells in my bone marrow, necessitating a seven week cancer work up. Fortunately, I don't have cancer but I do have a rare, serious disease that I have to go to NYC to have more evaluation before I can be treated. I have health insurance for 17 more months.

I pay $800 a month in rent. Austin has an oversupply of rental property, so it's easy to get a lot of space for a relatively low amount.

With no income, I'm living on family help and some savings. Now that I have been cleared for work (for the time being) I have applied for unemployment insurance.

My salary was low before I was laid off, and with a lot of debts, I couldn't get ahead. I had two pairs of shoes -- one for winter and one for summer -- and the rest of my wardrobe was hand-me-downs or gifts. After the accident, the discovery of my illness, and the loss of my job, my family pulled it together and helped me pay off my debts. This is not a common thing. I've gotten through 30 years of independent life without help from anyone.

How have I cut back? I cut off my cable and found I was going nuts without access to the news. (Hey, this isn't New York City where there is an endless supply of free channels.)

I don't eat out, except for two inexpensive places where I'm known. The wait staff in each have known me in better times and know I'm going through a hard time and always find ways to trim the bill. It's great, because I live alone and would be very socially isolated if I couldn't get out now and then.

I gave up red meat years ago as being too expensive. I also think it's unhealthy. Otherwise, it's hard to cut the grocery bill because buying in bulk is not particularly easy for an apartment dweller nor really sensible given the rate I use things up. I am amazed at what the grocery bills come to. I watch the item prices closely. Some upper end groceries sell certain things for surprisingly low prices, so I go there for some items. Other groceries sell other things for less. I know what I use and I have the item prices memorized. I buy shampoo in huge bulk sizes at Target.

Certain things I have done in the past are a memory. I went to a wonderful, congenial salon in Austin and had my hair cut and colored each month. No more. I color it myself and I have it cut at whatever chain hair-cutting salon offers the lowest price. I don't go to the same hair-cutting salon more than once, because I don't want to develop a relationship with a stylist and feel like I need to leave a nice tip. (I do always tip 15%. If you can't afford the service, stay out of the establishment. People depend on tips.) Cleaning services are amazingly expensive so I do it all myself, unless the magazines have really piled up and it's beyond me. Since I'm not working, it's not going to be beyond me for the forseeable future.

However, the bright side is that in some ways, I feel like I've been let out of prison. I enjoyed the work at my job but the supervisory system was well out of whack and if you asked for a raise, they treated you like you were Oliver at the poor house and asked for more soup. I thought everyone was slaving under the same conditions until a Houston newspaper printed everyone's salary. My God, did I get a shock! My immediate supervisor was so abusive to me after the car accident I was relieved I no longer had to go in every morning and see her. When my debts were paid off, I suddenly could do simple things that I hadn't been able to do for years -- like buy a new pair of sneakers (Keds, for $24), or buy paperbacks or a CD. I have worked so hard over the years, first learning a profession, then raising and supporting a child, that I didn't have time for a life of my own. Suddenly, I have time, and I'm finding out I don't have enough time for everything I want to do!

I'm optimistic that my health will be restored after treatment and that I'll find a way to support myself better than at the last miserable job that I was hanging on to because of fear of the recession. In some ways, I've been very unlucky, and in some ways, I've been lucky indeed.

All of you who are creative, all of you who have been laid off, all of you have been affected by the recession -- good luck to you. It's pointless to say Americans don't know what poverty is -- we know what better times were like, and for those who are suffering, why would we want it to be any worse?

I know a young woman that has to survive on that much working full time and caring for two kids. And she does it without any public assistance other than medical.

Slowdown has it nailed. Zarazame, many of us absolutely do not need bread, milk, and eggs every week.
In university, i kept my food budget to between $50 and $75 a month consistently, for all 4 years. My food philosophy? Eat like most other people in the world:
- Basic grains, pulses, and legumes, cooked from dry. Once a week, i cooked up a big pot each of rice, beans, and lentils, and froze half of each in small portions. They were extremely versatile, and the base for at least one meal a day: added salsa for mexi night, cooked into curry, added home-canned tomatoes to make a delicious soup, mixed with frozen peas & corn for grain salads at lunch, etc.
- Learn to eat the same food, or similar food, multiple days in a row (freeze into small portions if concerned about bacteria/going off). i would often work through a pot of soup for 3 or 4 days in a row.
- Packaging=added price. Buy bulk, buy dry. Eat oatmeal for breakfast, not packaged cereal.
- Explore ethnic foods! Often a source of inexpensive spices and intense flavors.
- Learn to can and dry your own foods, in season. The jars are a bit of an initial $$ output, but are 100% reusable! AND, these cheap, home-canned vegetables are a very inexpensive and welcome source of veggie nutrition in winter months when fruit/veggies are out of season.
- If you eat meat, buy meat with bones (like whole chickens) to cook down into soup. Like others have said, easily 2-3 meals, sometimes 4.
- Eat with other people, and share resources.

These foods are not fatty or filled with preservatives - on the contrary, they are vitamin, mineral, and nutrient rich... can't say i was worse for it after 4 years of eating this way.

yah, remember he makes his own bread. he's a young dude in his mid-20s, i doubt he cares about nutrition!!!

my rent was 500 and it WAS a closet. whatever, he is an artist he doesn't need space or a desk now does he? stop being so critical people! he knows he should stop smoking but buying ur own paper and rolling your own tobacco is equivalent to 2x the number cigs instead of a normal pack (not that i condone smoking).

i loosely follow these people. they live in brooklyn, for two they live on $30/mo.

http://thirtyaweek.wordpress.com/

I am a single mother of one. We spend about $35 a week to feed both of us well. Some is bought in bulk from Sam's Club and such, so that is a guesstimate. Bread is made from scratch, as most everything we eat, including treats like donuts and pies. Occasionally I will get a pack of lunch meat like ham or something cause my kid loves it, but when we do she knows it has to last.

To those who complain about how little he pays, we don't need as much as most people think we do. I live in Kentucky, have purchased my own home, own my own car and have NO house or payments other than a lot rent payment of a hundred bucks a month. When I get enough saved we will buy land and that payment will leave as well.

We are living on just my income. That's it. I make less in a month than most earn in a week and we do well indeed. My daughter is raised by me instead of a stranger, and we don't get welfare or food stamps, yet all of our bills are paid. And no, we don't eat Ramen every day and we eat meat frequently.

I was raised by parents who grew up during the Depression and they taught me how to stretch a buck. I am SO thankful for the experience! The only times I have ever had to struggle for money was when I tried to be like everyone else and buy all that junk and put it on credit cards - dumbest move I have ever made! I hope these times teach others how to better manage money, for I have learned a lot!