Is $25 per day feasible$

[terranaught]

split peas, lentils, pearl barley, rice, when combined legume/grain provide complete protein and they are cheap, but also quick cooking which saves on fuel, natural greens are available in most areas, just get away from the road to collect them.
You might check out freegan web sites.

 

[wasanah2]

Zonie, Dollar Tree is way different than Dollar General or Family Dollar. EVERYTHING is a dollar (or less) 4 frozen chicken breast patties. 1 dollar--that's a quarter a piece. 8 Hamburger buns. 1 dollar. Carton of 8 eggs. 1 dollar. Bag of split peas. 1 dollar. Bag of rice. 1 dollar. Etc etc.

Also you can get a large bottle of laundry detergent. Yep, a dollar. But it's not the eco kind. It's fine for the laundermat though. 1 gallon of bleach is a dollar. Walmart's gallon of bleach is twice that. It is to the point that I go into Wally and only get stuff I can't get at Dollar Tree.

They have something new at Dollar Tree. It's a bag of frozen cheese ravioli. It's a LOT for a dollar. It's two generous servings. I put a third of a can of marinara sauce from there (of course, a dollar for that and tomorrow's pizza sauce for the next day) and it's a very nice meal. 2 lbs of straight cut frozen french fries for a dollar is one of my daughter's favorites. The bag lasts forever it seems. If you have a Dollar Tree near you, especially one with a freezer case, give it a try. It's a life saver for us.

Oh man, frozen fruit from there makes incredible smoothies. Stay away from the shredded CHEESE PRODUCT. It never melts. They also have real cheese. That's okay.

If you only have a cooler and no ice, you can get some freezer items for that day's use to keep the rest of the cooler cold while it thaws. We've done that with success.

 

[Dingfelder]

If you value your health, I'd take it easy on the processed, prepared foods. That's a reliable way to health problems for the average person, and I know plenty of people who have them who eat an unusual proportion of garbage food. Bad habits usually don't show immediate results, but that doesn't mean you aren't setting off bombs inside your body that you'll eventually pay a stiff price for.

Not all natural foods are completely healthy either, but you can get by on at least a minimal amount of atrocious foods by avoiding the massive amounts of sugar, salt, and fats (including dangerous trans-fats) in prepared foods. Why are they in there? Because they taste good and sometimes act as filler too. Think they won't be in there? Ask yourself if people selling them like making money. They're in there.

By all means, cook when you can. It's almost impossible to add as much garbage to ordinary cooking, even by accident, as food companies put into their junk on purpose.

 

[wasanah2]

If you value your health, I'd take it easy on the processed, prepared foods.  That's a reliable way to health problems for the average person, and I know plenty of people who have them who eat an unusual proportion of garbage food.  Bad habits usually don't show immediate results, but that doesn't mean you aren't setting off bombs inside your body that you'll eventually pay a stiff price for.

Not all natural foods are completely healthy either, but you can get by on at least a minimal amount of atrocious foods by avoiding the massive amounts of sugar, salt, and fats (including dangerous trans-fats) in prepared foods.  Why are they in there?  Because they taste good and sometimes act as filler too.  Think they won't be in there?  Ask yourself if people selling them like making money.  They're in there.

By all means, cook when you can.  It's almost impossible to add as much garbage to ordinary cooking, even by accident, as food companies put into their junk on purpose.

With all due respect, I find your comment exaggerated...Dollar Tree food is not garbage and will not "set off bombs inside your body."  I don't find most prepared food and fats dangerous.  If I had a sticks and brix house and my own organic garden and chickens in the yard, yeah, maybe I could improve on nutrition.  But if I had a sticks and brix house, I'd be miserable.  My health would surely suffer, not from food but from unhappiness.

Also I've lived long enough to see "experts" tell us that eggs are bad for you.  Then in another decade, eggs are good for you.  Then in another decade, only egg whites are good for you.  And then the eggs were bad for you again and then they were good for you.   I think the most shocking thing to me in my early adulthood was the health guru I closely followed ended up dying young of cancer.

Ha!  The experts did the same with coffee too.  It's bad for you, so you switch to decaf and then it's good for you and it's almost unhealthy not to have a daily coffee.  Amazing how so called experts preach to us all and we go and re-tweet their messages with blanket acceptance.  I'm skeptical that they know what they're talking about.

Additionally, eating food from Dollar Tree for some folks means the difference between being able to live this nomadic life and not.  Food is a huge budget item that is variable.  Unless you're growing your own food, there's no difference between what you'd get at the traditional grocery store and Dollar Tree.  The frozen bag of peas I have here has nothing in it but....peas.  If I go to the traditional grocery store, it's going to be also peas, but I'm going to pay double for it.

Some may never have considered Dollar Tree to be a place to get groceries.  I'm just saying, take a look and see if you can save on your food budget.  It might surprise you.  I've cut our food budget in half.  That means more miles on the road.  It means a bigger emergency fund.  It means having more than enough, and that leads to a better quality of life.

 

[A Savage Adventure]

Also I've lived long enough to see "experts" tell us that eggs are bad for you.  Then in another decade, eggs are good for you.  Then in another decade, only egg whites are good for you.  And then the eggs were bad for you again and then they were good for you.   I think the most shocking thing to me in my early adulthood was the health guru I closely followed ended up dying young of cancer.

I remember that. The incredible, edible, egg. What a ride that was. And now I am eating them more than ever. And I also knew a woman who was a nutritionist and organic food advocate. She ran one of those little stores where they sell, not only essential herbs and oils but organic produce and food. She passed away in her 40s.

We should do the best we can to eat responsibly, but in the end you never know what's going to get you. My late wife (RIP) ate way healthier than I do. She even ate salads and things I don't care for. Healthy food! She's the reason I know about that health food store. She passed away in 2015 at 45 from breast cancer. 

Granted, I have seen two movies, "Super Size Me", which now makes it so I don't eat at McDonald's anymore and "Fast Food Nation", which put the nail in the coffin for eating at pretty much ANY fast food place. That said, I do occasionally get a breakfast sandwich and/or hash brown from McDonald's. But I don't eat burgers and fries from those places. I would be willing to bet the food from Dollar Tree is better.

 

[wasanah2]

I remember that. The incredible, edible, egg. What a ride that was. And now I am eating them more than ever. And I also knew a woman who was a nutritionist and organic food advocate. She ran one of those little stores where they sell, not only essential herbs and oils but organic produce and food. She passed away in her 40s.

We should do the best we can to eat responsibly, but in the end you never know what's going to get you. My late wife (RIP) ate way healthier than I do. She even ate salads and things I don't care for. Healthy food! She's the reason I know about that health food store. She passed away in 2015 at 45 from breast cancer. 

Granted, I have seen two movies, "Super Size Me", which now makes it so I don't eat at McDonald's anymore and "Fast Food Nation", which put the nail in the coffin for eating at pretty much ANY fast food place. That said, I do occasionally get a breakfast sandwich and/or hash brown from McDonald's. But I don't eat burgers and fries from those places. I would be willing to bet the food from Dollar Tree is better.

I'm sorry for your loss.  I lost my husband young too, 20 years ago when our baby was 2 years old.  He ate super healthy, but he was a diabetic.  Back then his insurance would pay for only 2 test strips a day and meters were new and cost dear.  Blood sugar control was difficult.   Unfortunately when our 2 year old was 8, she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes too.  That said, the thing they watch the most is carbohydrates, so she can calculate how many she's eating and then her insulin pump delivers it.  There were no pumps back in my hubby's day.

I think there might be a prejudice against the dollar tree food, because to be honest, at first I was prejudiced against it.  Without even going through the food aisles, I thought it was probably outdated food, expired stuff and dented cans.  I was wrong.  And now I can't help but sing the praises and to encourage folks to at least check it out.  Food that's good for you doesn't have to be expensive.  There are bags of natural brown and white rice there and also good sized bags of beans and other legumes.  Frozen bags of fruit and veggies and of course, for you Mr. Savage, the incredible edible egg. 

I don't often say "I'm wrong" about things, but I was wrong about Dollar Tree.  Their food isn't expired or dented, and for the most part, it's healthy, not to mention the money saved by shopping there.

 

[Deb_A]

What an interesting conversation!

First, for the OP, I live right now on less than $1200 a month, and I pay $590 for rent and about $150 for utilities. I don't own a car, but if I lived in a van that was paid for, I would be able to live like a queen on $1200 a month. 

You can get plenty of decent food at the Dollar Tree, but you can get canned veggies cheaper elsewhere usually. When I was flat broke, I bought a lot of food at the DT and I didn't die. Heck, I was more likely to die from the greasy, sugary, salty Southern food I ate most of my life. I still buy food at the DT and Dollar General, and I'm 66 and not dead yet. 

You liver is a wonderful machine. It cleans up a lot of the food you eat long before your body absorbs it, so eat what you can afford. 

I sometimes think people who say it can't be done have never been as poor as I've been, so they don't know what can be done. I fed myself and my son once on $13 a week (probably the equivalent of about $30 now.) I've eaten quite well on $25 a week by making a big veggie soup out of canned veggies. I can make a whole pot of soup for $5 that lasts for 3 days.

If you want to do it, you can. That's all I'm saying. I've lived close to the poverty level for nearly 10 years now. You do what you have to do, and when you can do better, you do that. You might not be traveling as much on that kind of money, but you can just travel slower, stay in free places longer, get to know the locals and see the sights. That's what I plan to do. You don't have to be like these people on YouTube who are constantly driving somewhere. You miss so much doing that. 

That's just MHO, so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[IGBT]

I dunno, health almost seems like a lottery.   My friend ran three times a week, ate mostly fresh produce and lean chicken (sometimes buffalo).  Died of cancer at age 45.   I had a uncle who ate fried everything, biscuits and gravy, smoked a pipe.  Lived until 92 without ever going to the hospital more than a few times.

If you are living on $25 a day, it likely means you do not have a ton of assets to protect.   The idea of going without most of the typical insurances seems wise in this case.  I guess you need the very very cheapest automotive liability insurance but you don't need health insurance.   Your income would qualify you for Medicaid and if you happen to be out of your state of residence, you can get treated and stabilized at any hospital emergency room.  They will try and bill you but at $25 a day living expenses it would be like trying to take a donut from Kim Jong Un.  Not gonna happen.

Maybe $10 a day for food, $10 for vehicle maint./gas/insurance and $5 a day for medicine/clothes/internet?

 

[Dingfelder]

With all due respect, I find your comment exaggerated...Dollar Tree food is not garbage and will not "set off bombs inside your body."  I don't find most prepared food and fats dangerous. 

...

Additionally, eating food from Dollar Tree for some folks means the difference between being able to live this nomadic life and not.  Food is a huge budget item that is variable.  Unless you're growing your own food, there's no difference between what you'd get at the traditional grocery store and Dollar Tree.  The frozen bag of peas I have here has nothing in it but....peas.  If I go to the traditional grocery store, it's going to be also peas, but I'm going to pay double for it.

Any food scientist will confirm that pre-packaged foods tend to be extraordinarily high in salt and sugar, and quite often in fats.  Often in the least healthy fats, too. 

There's just no way around that. 

Sure, frozen peas are frozen peas.  Get them anywhere, the cheaper the better.  But I wasn't saying basic healthy foods and ingredients are bad for anyone.

 

[rvwandering]

I moved some of the posts that are off topic to another thread. They can be found here - https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=31198

 

[wasanah2]

Any food scientist will confirm that pre-packaged foods tend to be extraordinarily high in salt and sugar, and quite often in fats.  Often in the least healthy fats, too. 

There's just no way around that. 

Sure, frozen peas are frozen peas.  Get them anywhere, the cheaper the better.  But I wasn't saying basic healthy foods and ingredients are bad for anyone.

You're still overstating, Ding.  Scientists worth their salt (no pun intended) won't make blanket statements and won't dismiss a chain of stores because they sell pre-packaged foods that TEND to have this or that ingredient.  Scientists concern themselves with the facts.   I'm the mother of a type 1 diabetic.  So I read the facts on the packages and have for some time.  It's not the ingredient sugar that concerns us, the main thing we look at are all carbohydrates.  She has to count them and then shoot insulin so her body will process the food.

Our bodies make sugar from carbohydrates.  Sugar isn't the culprit here.  Your body is making sugar right now and that's because the human body uses sugar for fuel.   If you present your body with a salad of lettuce and organic cherry tomatoes and carrots, tofu and nuts and such, your body can't use it in that form; your body turns it to SUGAR.   It's the same fuel in the end.  Too much of your body's manufactured sugar means you need more human insulin to process it properly.   And if you don't have enough insulin, then other systems begin breaking down.

One of the nicest things about pre-packaged food is the label.  If I make the above mentioned salad (and I do), I have to estimate every ingredient to figure out the carbohydrates in it.  If I have a pre-packaged label, all the carbohydrate info (and serving size) is right there.  You just do the math regarding serving size.

As to sodium, you can count your amounts up much easier with the prepackaged label.  I find eating Dollar Tree food in balanced meals that we never exceed our daily threshold of sodium.  One item in the meal might have more sodium, but not everything on the plate does. 

My dietary rules are:  1/ read the label  2/ consider serving size  3/ do the math 4/ balance the meals in food groups and above all, 5/everything in moderation.  The great thing about Dollar Tree is, I can do all of that for less money, making $25 a day possible.

 

[Dingfelder]

What you've said didn't actually contradict what I said, though it appears to me that you're writing as if it did. I'm aware of the difference between glycemic index and glycemic load. It doesn't change the simple facts that I stated.

Most people do not benefit from high amounts of salt in their diets, and few of us don't get plenty of that as well as plenty of sugar and fat already. A diet that is particularly high in those things isn't going to do most people's health any favors.

 

[Random Painted Highway]

I really enjoyed reading this thread. I have been to Dollar before, usually for things other than food. I went to one of our local stores over the weekend and was pleasantly surprised at the food selection....this particular store does not have a freezer or refrigerated area, but they had a great selection of shelf stable items. Some food that i intend to purchase for a two week trip coming up includes, thin style pizza crust, ready for toppings, pizza sauce, dry beans, pasta, sun dried tomatoes, chopped garlic, tortillas, roasted red peppers and potato gnocchi! Unbelievably great bargains. I thought the food would be soon expiring or dented or in some way not on par with traditional grocers. I was wrong. I just wanted to say thank you for the thread and saving me some bucks in the process!