Today (or Day 89) brings us to the almost end of our challenge... and perhaps we are just at the point where $5/day eating has become "natural". I naturally made my coffee in the morning, as opposed to purchasing it somewhere. I naturally thawed some meat in the morning... so I wouldn't be panicked when I came home from work and was mad starved as well desperate to resort to restaurants. The food we ate today wasn't incredibly interesting, but it was good.
My Huzbun had a bowl of cereal, I had a breakfast bar. I ate Lean Cuisine for lunch... not sure what Huzbun had. Then we grilled chicken and steamed vegetables for dinner.
I hope to do a longer piece on what we learned, what we liked and what we didn't like in the future... but I will keep myself to one observation for today. Although we have labeled this a "challenge" and at times it has been challenging, days like today make it feel pretty easy. It's really not hard for me to make coffee at home, it doesn't take that long, it generally tastes as good and sometimes better as coffee from a shop. I thought we would have to give-up more meat, and while steak was not really in the budget - we seemed to eat plenty of meat.
Between all the free BBQ food and food sharing we still ate pretty well. Not to mention Huzbun's business food, roommate taking us out for dinner food, and people being just generous. I hope that none of this generosity was brought on by our self-imposed situation (as we can in fact afford food)... and I do hope to pay it forward in the *near* future.
Talking about "paying it forward" brings me to some of the key reasons that I did this "challenge" in the first place.
1) Needs. American society consumes much more than we need to. We don't need coffee creamer. We don't need steak, and dare I say it we don't need Taco Bell. Eating on $5 / day has caused us to think about our consumption more and what we really need. Also, not just our consumption of food.
2) Money. Probably a fairly obvious one, but to explore it further... money is a very transferable form of value. For example, if I give you five dollars it will be worth five dollars to you. However, if I give you a beanie baby (which I paid approx. $5 for) it could be worth any range of values to you. That means that the $2 I save making coffee at home, the $30 I save by choosing to eat dinner at home... the few hundred dollars I've save the last couple months... as well as countless other examples could translate directly into the scholarship fund at the college I work at or starving children in Haiti, not to mention many other worthwhile causes. While I know this is not a perfect explanation, it's nearly impossible for me to escape the reality that money is like a closed loop system in which I am often choosing between Starbucks coffee or the welfare of others (or myself for that matter).
3) Proving. I think I wanted to prove that food was enjoyable - even on the cheap. So many food blogs and cooking shows (all of which I am a major fan) choose to improve food only by upping cost, when much food can be improved by doing the exact opposite. (Such as homemade bread, and pizza dough) Perhaps I proved this. I would also add here that there are ways to dress up food without spending too much extra (albeit more). A little secret here: I hope to do more of this in the future (challenge or not)
Thoughts - what's difficult about eating cheap? what's easy? What makes eating affordable a good idea? (or is it?)
That's some very interesting after-thoughts. Kind of sad to see this challenge/experiment comes to a close. But quite happy at the same time it came to a very successful end. So congrats to you! Any idea how much was actually 'saved' in terms of costs?
ReplyDeleteTo answer your questions/thoughts: What some people think makes eating 'cheap' difficult is the thought of being inhibited or not allowed to eat all they want, when they want it and how they want it. What’s easy? Getting creative. Throw a bunch of veggies, rice and some meat, and boom; you have a dinner you never even knew existed. It’s easy to focus on the money saved while still eating relatively good food and discover a bit about yourself in the process. What makes it a good idea? The savings! I remember reading from another blogger who went and ate for $5/day, and at the end made a donation of the money he would have otherwise spent in food to a food bank (ended up being about $200) for only 30 days. That’s a lot of money. Also, as you discovered, you can make healthier, better choices for you that are not all that difficult.
Congratulations on the completion of your experiment/challenge!!
ReplyDeleteI think that another benefit from eating cheaper is health! By avoiding fast food and going out to eat, you can really make a difference in your well being. Also, reduction of meat quantity as well as "filling out" meals with more veggies and fruit is a bonus.
I've had to curtail my eating out for health reasons and I've been AMAZED at how much "extra" money has been available. And my last bloodwork was much improved on every level, so it is a win win situation. I hope that I can keep it up.
Challenges about eating cheap: it is very easy to find something cheap and easy and just eat it all the time (or WAY too much, at any rate). Quesadillas are my downfall in this category.
I hope that you will continue your blog now that the experience is done. I have enjoyed reading about your activities!
Congrats on the soon to be completed 90 days. You insights have been valuable to me and help to keep myself on track in my own challenge. Will you continue to blog? Start a new challenge?
ReplyDeleteSince I have not been eating out for a month, + some days, I can already feel the added health benefits.
On the other hand I can't help feeling sometimes I'm missing out on the social gatherings. Missing out on conversations that happen when having a dinner date or lunch with friends, this doesn't mean that I would prefer to eat cheap. In fact I would prefer to go out and have wonderful dinner/lunch dates.
But NOW what I want more than anything is to be healthy in body and mind and to me you can't put any dollar amount on that.