Budget for fictional couple each making $15/hr.

[spdrun]

Why would they need to take a loan for $2950/mo? They should be paying under $2000/mo for mortgage/maint/re taxes and can afford to, even in the current market.

BTW – furniture can be picked up for nearly free on Craigslist and in thrift shops. Other than mattresses, it’s silly to buy new. Same goes for TVs. I can grab a 32″ LCD for under $100 on my local CL any day of the week, and it’ll still be 1.5x bigger than the 19″ screens we watched growing up.

The crapola people throw out is also amazing. My desk chair broke last week. I picked up an old wooden banker’s chair that someone had left out in the street for the garbagemen to pick up. Needed an arm reglued, but if I re-finish it, it might go for $150+ on EBay, though I’m planning to keep it for personal use.

Same goes for a stereo amp someone threw out that just had a blown fuse. I won’t go as extreme as freegans as far as dumpster-diving or eating castaway food, but old furniture and electronics are fair game!

[Coronita]

The first step to saving a lot of money off or your groceries is shopping at places like Zion Markets off of clairemont instead of places like Vons or Ralph’s at full price.

I think the last time I was there at Zion, I bought 3lbs of peaches for like 89 cents total, when Vons and Ralph’s were selling peaches for like $1.50 per pound…

And yes folks, they were USA peaches, not grown in China…

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jun/25/zion-market-san-diego-relocation-clairemont-mesa/

[livinincali]

If you’re willing to do a diet that’s mostly grains and vegatables with limited protein and those grains are self cooked (i.e. steamed rice instead of store bought bread) a dollar per meal is doable. The problem is if you’re used to a western diet of meat and potatoes you’ll never stick to that diet.

Asians eat that way because they grew up that way and the vast majority of people in those countries can’t afford to eat differently. They eat rice noodles and vegatables with little bits of protein because protein is expensive there. In most 3rd world countries food is a much larger part of the budget compared to here where shelter is a huge part of the budget.

While it’s theoretically doable to come up with a budget that lives on 60k per year with kids and can save for a condo in San Diego. The reality is the people buying those condos aren’t a family of 4 making 60k year. Most people older than 40 to 50 can’t afford to buy a place where they currently live and their kids can’t buy that property either. Consider what that means for your estate.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=AN][quote=harvey]Ok, but that’s still $1/meal for one of the cheapest options possible. The budget I’m skeptical about is $1.38 average.

No doubt there are inexpensive dishes, but it would be tough to eat them exclusively, three meals a day, 365 days a year. All while working two full time jobs. And, like CAR said, there’s more to grocery bills than just food.

Are there holiday meals or an occasional celebration? Those could easily break the $1.38 average.

Another challenge with maintaining such a tight budget is medical costs. The $250/month estimate is for insurance only. That policy likely won’t cover all costs. The only way to maintain that budget is to never be sick.

There’s also no fun in that budget. Do the kids play sports?

I suppose the budget is theoretically possible, but this is a good week to be thankful that I don’t have to make it work.[/quote]As I’ve stated, I can give you a big long list of all the dishes you can make with that budget. This is just one of the many. But I didn’t feel the need to do so.

The rest of your post is essentially saying, you can’t afford luxury on a bare bone budget. Of course you can’t. But that was never the point of UCGal’s post or mine. All we’re saying is, it’s very doable. You can stay within that budget and be fully fed.

What’s the point of bringing up fun budget and sports?When you have limited income, you have to prioritize and food is much more important than sports or trips. If you make more money, then you can afford to do those other luxury things.

BTW, I’m not talking about theory here. I’m talking about plain old facts. My grocery budget on average for a family of 4 is between $400-600. My parents’ budget is much lower than that. So, it’s not just theoretically possible. It’s realistically possible.[/quote]

Totally agree, AN. My grocery budget (incl non-food personal/hshld items) was ~$170 mo for 1.5 people before my last kid turned 18 (when I lost my military commissary privileges). It is now ~$160 mo just for me and my pets. However, the months of Nov-Dec usually cost me $230-$300 mo, depending on how much entertaining I am doing at home.

Grocery outlet has good prices but does not carry several items I use (or only carries them sporadically). Sprouts is cheap for produce and Vons is good for (markdown) dairy and meat. Ralph’s has the best markdown (dry) grocery table and bakery rack in town and Albertson’s has the best markdown OTC drug and personal items rack in town. I’m fortunate enough to be able to conveniently shop at all of these stores. The trick is to shop at about 8:30 am for the best selection in markdown mdse. I’ve also gone into CVS on several occasions emerging with ~$80 worth of hsld/personal items for $15-$20 using their loyalty program benefits in combination with mfr coupons.

There are people out there on utube (yes, from CA) instructing the masses on how to properly use store loyalty programs to their benefit. That’s how I first learned how to “game” CVS a few years ago 🙂

edit: between 11/12 and 11/19, Albertsons had a deal for two for one Butterball turkeys (of similar size). They do this every year one week in advance of TK. I got two 12-pounders for under $20.

[an]

[quote=flu]The first step to saving a lot of money off or your groceries is shopping at places like Zion Markets off of clairemont instead of places like Vons or Ralph’s at full price.

I think the last time I was there at Zion, I bought 3lbs of peaches for like 89 cents total, when Vons and Ralph’s were selling peaches for like $1.50 per pound…

And yes folks, they were USA peaches, not grown in China…

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jun/25/zion-market-san-diego-relocation-clairemont-mesa/%5B/quote%5D
Exactly. Here’s Zion’s sale for this week:
http://www.zionmarket.com/sale/store1.htm

You can get 4.4lb box of Korean grape for $7.99, 7lb of lobok for $0.99, 3lb of Fuji apple for $0.99, 4lb of Kabocha squash for $0.99, 2lb of persimmon for $0.99.

As for those who say, you can’t have steak and potato and live with that budget. Of course you can’t. That’s like saying I can’t afford a house in Carmel Valley while making $100k/year, so it’s impossible to buy a house. There are many ways to live with your budget. You just have to open your eyes and your mind.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=FlyerInHi]Don’t buy paper towels that enrich the Koch brothers.

I just buy a big pack of regular towels at Costco in the auto department to use as rags. Then I wash them….[/quote]

I don’t use them either. I just use old rags for cleaning and handiwipes for glass, then wash everything and reuse it. Paper towels are a waste of money.

[Coronita]

[quote=FlyerInHi]Don’t buy paper towels that enrich the Koch brothers.

I just buy a big pack of regular towels at Costco in the auto department to use as rags. Then I wash them.

Most OTC medications just mask the symptoms. Don’t need them. And better not to use them.[/quote]

Oh geesh.. That’s like say, don’t buy a an Apple product because it’s assembled by Foxconn.

Or for that matter, don’t buy anything electronics because it contributes to the People’s Republic of China.

[Anonymous]

I once saw a TV show about one of those coupon shopper fanatics. Some lady managed to buy $1000 worth of groceries and pay only $10 or so (I don’t remember the exact numbers but they were extreme.)

It took many hours of prep time and many hours in the store.

One issue was what she actually got; I recall that she had two cartfuls of cake frosting mix. She did get a helluva bargain though.

[Coronita]

[quote=harvey]I once saw a TV show about one of those coupon shopper fanatics. Some lady managed to buy $1000 worth of groceries and pay only $10 or so (I don’t remember the exact numbers but they were extreme.)

It took many hours of prep time and many hours in the store.

One issue was what she actually got; I recall that she had two cartfuls of cake frosting mix. She did get a helluva bargain.[/quote]

Well, there’s a point of diminishing returns on excessive coupon clipping.. I mean, it doesn’t exactly make sense to save $2 extra on something that ends up costing you $4/gallon to get there unless you were going to be there to begin with…

I consider myself to be an opportunistic coupon clipper… But I almost never buy food things that are full price. I’d rather change my eating selection for that week or two and buy the stuff that’s on sale.

[an]

[quote=harvey]Thanks, I already know how to cook spaghetti and pour milk into a bowl of corn flakes.[/quote]Many people spend a lot of money on spaghetti, so you’re set.

[quote=harvey]Actually what I’m saying is that if this couple takes on a mortgage of $2950, they are going to spend an awful lot of their time sitting in an unfurnished home eating rice and praying that nobody ever gets sick.

I guess they could cut their cable bill, since there’s no budget for a TV.[/quote]Holy molly, $2950/month mortgage? A 2 bedroom PITI + HOA in Mira Mesa can be had with a mortgage of ~$1400/month. You can get a condo in other part of San Diego for less than that. Spending $2950/month on mortgage is a luxury. Your complaints are like those who complained that they can’t afford to live in La Jolla Farms on their engineering income, so life must suck and you can’t afford to buy a home.

[an]

[quote=flu]Well, there’s a point of diminishing returns on excessive coupon clipping.. I mean, it doesn’t exactly make sense to save $2 extra on something that ends up costing you $4/gallon to get there unless you were going to be there to begin with…

I consider myself to be an opportunistic coupon clipper… But I almost never buy food things that are full price. I’d rather change my eating selection for that week or two and buy the stuff that’s on sale.[/quote]Exactly. That’s how people live on a budget. Either you make more money, then you can eat whatever you want whenever you want, or you learn to eat what fits in your budget. Even if it means you have to change up your diet based on what’s on sale.

[Coronita]

[quote=AN][quote=flu]The first step to saving a lot of money off or your groceries is shopping at places like Zion Markets off of clairemont instead of places like Vons or Ralph’s at full price.

I think the last time I was there at Zion, I bought 3lbs of peaches for like 89 cents total, when Vons and Ralph’s were selling peaches for like $1.50 per pound…

And yes folks, they were USA peaches, not grown in China…

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jun/25/zion-market-san-diego-relocation-clairemont-mesa/%5B/quote%5D
Exactly. Here’s Zion’s sale for this week:
http://www.zionmarket.com/sale/store1.htm

You can get 4.4lb box of Korean grape for $7.99, 7lb of lobok for $0.99, 3lb of Fuji apple for $0.99, 4lb of Kabocha squash for $0.99, 2lb of persimmon for $0.99.

As for those who say, you can’t have steak and potato and live with that budget. Of course you can’t. That’s like saying I can’t afford a house in Carmel Valley while making $100k/year, so it’s impossible to buy a house. There are many ways to live with your budget. You just have to open your eyes and your mind.[/quote]

Lol.. In that ad it says that the Cerritos store is selling 30 POUNDS of napa cabbage for 99 cents total….
I think if you go to Vons, 99 cents won’t even buy you one head of cabbage…

I’m really disappointed they price discriminate between the stores. In San Diego, 99 cents buys you only 5 lbs of oranges, while as in san diego that 99 cents buys you 10 lbs of the same oranges. Sheesh, what a ripoff!

[an]

[quote=flu]Lol.. In that ad it says that the Cerritos store is selling 30 POUNDS of napa cabbage for 99 cents total….
I think if you go to Vons, 99 cents won’t even buy you one head of cabbage…

I’m really disappointed they price discriminate between the stores. In San Diego, 99 cents buys you only 5 lbs of oranges, while as in san diego that 99 cents buys you 10 lbs of the same oranges. Sheesh, what a ripoff![/quote]
LoL. On a more serious not, I’m pretty sure you can make a lot of different dishes with cabbage if you do some research.

[Coronita]

[quote=AN][quote=flu]Lol.. In that ad it says that the Cerritos store is selling 30 POUNDS of napa cabbage for 99 cents total….
I think if you go to Vons, 99 cents won’t even buy you one head of cabbage…

I’m really disappointed they price discriminate between the stores. In San Diego, 99 cents buys you only 5 lbs of oranges, while as in san diego that 99 cents buys you 10 lbs of the same oranges. Sheesh, what a ripoff![/quote]
LoL. On a more serious not, I’m pretty sure you can make a lot of different dishes with cabbage if you do some research.[/quote]

What the heck are you going to do with 30 lbs of cabbage if you aren’t running a restaurant. I mean, it’s not like you can keep it for a long time..

Meanwhile, 5lbs of oranges at Vons this week… “Sale price” $5….
http://weeklyspecials.vons.com/customer_Frame.jsp?drpStoreID=2119&showFlash=false

Lol….

[spdrun]

Oh geesh.. That’s like say, don’t buy a an Apple product because it’s assembled by Foxconn.

Or for that matter, don’t buy anything electronics because it contributes to the People’s Republic of China.

I haven’t bought any new electronics for personal use for years, with the possible exception of an SSD module for my laptop. There’s so much used junk floating on C’list and Fleabay around at 25-50% of new cost that what’s the point?

And it doesn’t sadden me in the least that I’m doing my small part to slow down Chinese economic growth.

Hm, 5 lbs of oranges I could deal with. TSOR says the average orange weighs 200g or ~0.4 lb. That’s 12 or 13 oranges, approximately. They last at least a week, if one eats on per day and splits the haul with a family member, friend, or neighbor, it’s totally doable!

[Author]

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