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[Flying Dice]

Yeah, the only thing that'll really kill you is rent, given how high prices are being jacked these days. If you can bus/bike to work (especially if you can get a university/city ID and ride for free) you save on gas, and you can easily keep yourself alive and reasonably healthy on ~$15 a week for food, and that if you're buying fresh fruit and vegetables.

[EnigmaticHat]

and you can easily keep yourself alive and reasonably healthy on ~$15 a week for food, and that if you're buying fresh fruit and vegetables.

I question this assertion, but its possible I've never been desperate enough to test the limits of "reasonably healthy".

[Frumple]

Depends a fair bit on where you are*, but most of the places I've lived ~$2 USD/day is pretty doable, and indeed able to manage fairly healthy. I didn't, due to some dietary issues, but still. Not particularly enjoyable, and bumping it up to $3-4/day (or ~100 USD/month, in other words) makes things a lot more comfortable, but it's pretty viable if the local prices aren't too jacked up. Multivitamin or whathaveyou probably wouldn't hurt, either, but those are frankly pretty cheap.

*From what I've seen, food price wise you can expect a larger urban area to cost around 150%** more than smaller ones or rural areas, ferex. Which is still well under 500/month, but that's obviously only a fraction of living costs. Not too sure about regional or national variances, for what that's worth.

E:**Well, the places that aren't ripping you off, anyway. And providing you avoid the pointlessly marked up name brand junk, o'course. The usual stuff.

[Flying Dice]

Yeah, it's stretching things a bit thin, but $2 a day will keep you alive and $4 a day will be relatively enjoyable.

Here's what I do:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Lots of dried beans, lentils, brown rice, some pasta. These are inexpensive (store brands are often $1 or less for a bag that can make 6+ meals), filling, and healthful. Supplement with whatever fresh organic veggies are cheapest and can mix reasonably well; it's worth shelling out a bit more to avoid pesticides and they'll be better for you than canned. If you do buy canned, make sure to get stuff that doesn't have added sodium. Fruit is the same, go for stuff that's on sale. Another option is the mini-cans of mandarin oranges, they're usually ~$0.60 and carry enough for 2-3 meals; try to get lite ones to cut down on the sugar.

If you can get meat on sale, do so occasionally. Don't buy super-cheap meat, it's a waste of money and tastes/feels terrible, just avoid American portion sizes and only use a little meat for a lot of whatever the staple food is. Buy a store-brand tin of spices every other week until you've got a decent selection, aim for stuff that's on sale. These are a bit much ($3-6 depending on the spice and size), but you can stretch them for a long time. Chili powder, garlic, basil, and lemon pepper are all good and relatively cheap ways to flavor meals.

Most groceries even in the U.S. will have relatively cheap baked goods if you've got a hankering for bread. Baguettes can go for ~$1.20 and will last you for 4-5 meals if you're careful, though it's better to eat them sooner than later. Sandwiches are easy, but they're also an easy way to waste money, because lunch meats are expensive. If you must, go for cheese and PB&J rather than meat, or only use a little meat per sandwich.

Yogurts are good, they're usually ~$0.40-0.60 per cup, and can combo with a bit of celery or tomato for a cheap and nutritious meal. Microwave burritos aren't particularly good for you, but they'll help fill you up, meet the craving for flavorful food, and are about as cheap as a yogurt.

Noodle dishes are easy, you don't need sauce or meat for them. Just add a little salt, pepper, margarine, and maybe a dash of paprika for color.

Don't do ramen regularly, it's terrible for you. If you do, add vegetables and skimp on the salty flavoring in favor of your own spices.

RE: Canned foods: ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS check sodium. A lot of them are terrible and can have upwards of 1000mg per can. If you must, buy store-brand unflavored beans; they're cheap and you can add your own spices.

And as Frumple said, buy a big jar of multivitamins and take those, they'll help cover for things you miss.

FWIW I typically spend ~$60-70/mo. on food, and that's with me indulging my taste for pretzels and Mexican coke.

[Orange Wizard]

I see. Food prices are higher here (lousy farmers), rent is sodding insane (lousy earthquakes/investors), and travel costs are also high (lousy taxes).

[Jopax]

It's a bit past 1 AM here, I just walked home from a gig/movie/hangout type of deal. My building is flanked on two sides by police stations (one would be city one the other the equivalent of a county one I guess). As I was walking past one of them I saw a cop casually walking in front of it with an AK-47/74 in one hand, just swinging it about as he walks.

I have no idea what was going on and am glad that I'm home.

[smjjames]

Progressive's (an insurance company) latest ad which is all about 'action flo' with action figures and whatever. I was like 'the heck O.o ? "

[TheBiggerFish]

Progressive's (an insurance company) latest ad which is all about 'action flo' with action figures and whatever. I was like 'the heck O.o ? "

Did you see the sepia-tone one with the milk chugging?
Also WTF.
But yours WTFs more than that.
Haven't yet encountered it, strangely enough.

[Cthulufaic]

College applications AAAAAAAAAAALLTHEESSAYQUESTIONSARESTUPIDAAAAAAAA!!!
but seriously how in the fuck do they expect people to write 250 words about what their favorite word is and why

[TheBiggerFish]

College applications AAAAAAAAAAALLTHEESSAYQUESTIONSARESTUPIDAAAAAAAA!!!
but seriously how in the fuck do they expect people to write 250 words about what their favorite word is and why

'Least you just have to write essays, I have to figure out where to apply and that is a Big Problem as I have waaaay too many colleges asking me to apply.  Seriously.

[Spehss _]

College applications AAAAAAAAAAALLTHEESSAYQUESTIONSARESTUPIDAAAAAAAA!!!
but seriously how in the fuck do they expect people to write 250 words about what their favorite word is and why

I didn't even need to turn in any essays to be accepted to colleges. Good thing too, because they're stupid topics.

[Flying Dice]

College applications AAAAAAAAAAALLTHEESSAYQUESTIONSARESTUPIDAAAAAAAA!!!
but seriously how in the fuck do they expect people to write 250 words about what their favorite word is and why

'Least you just have to write essays, I have to figure out where to apply and that is a Big Problem as I have waaaay too many colleges asking me to apply.  Seriously.

First things first, figure out what you want to do -- are you planning on going into a graduate program, or into the workforce? Figure out what Master's/career you want to end up in, then talk with people and research what would be a good undergraduate base for that. Once you've figured out what Bachelor's you want to pursue, search for universities where the relevant department is strong and well-regarded -- one key tell can be a large number of senior professors in the department for the former.

Lots of places will try to get your money. Lots of those will be shitty places with subpar programs or worse. Take, for example, my home state of Kentucky: UK and U of L are the most widely known public schools, but both have some problems. Western and Murray are both solid state schools that are slightly less well-known but still solid. There are a crowd of overpriced private schools. And then there's Kentucky State University.

Wherever you live will probably have similar statistics available. In addition to program stats, check out retention and graduation rates: if they're low, it's probably for good reason.

[Lightningfalcon]

College applications AAAAAAAAAAALLTHEESSAYQUESTIONSARESTUPIDAAAAAAAA!!!
but seriously how in the fuck do they expect people to write 250 words about what their favorite word is and why

At least you don't have to write about what some word means to you. At least with getting to choose you own word you can pick something awesome.

[TheBiggerFish]

College applications AAAAAAAAAAALLTHEESSAYQUESTIONSARESTUPIDAAAAAAAA!!!
but seriously how in the fuck do they expect people to write 250 words about what their favorite word is and why

'Least you just have to write essays, I have to figure out where to apply and that is a Big Problem as I have waaaay too many colleges asking me to apply.  Seriously.

First things first, figure out what you want to do -- are you planning on going into a graduate program, or into the workforce? Figure out what Master's/career you want to end up in, then talk with people and research what would be a good undergraduate base for that. Once you've figured out what Bachelor's you want to pursue, search for universities where the relevant department is strong and well-regarded -- one key tell can be a large number of senior professors in the department for the former.

Lots of places will try to get your money. Lots of those will be shitty places with subpar programs or worse. Take, for example, my home state of Kentucky: UK and U of L are the most widely known public schools, but both have some problems. Western and Murray are both solid state schools that are slightly less well-known but still solid. There are a crowd of overpriced private schools. And then there's Kentucky State University.

Wherever you live will probably have similar statistics available. In addition to program stats, check out retention and graduation rates: if they're low, it's probably for good reason.

Thank you!

[Arcvasti]

College applications AAAAAAAAAAALLTHEESSAYQUESTIONSARESTUPIDAAAAAAAA!!!
but seriously how in the fuck do they expect people to write 250 words about what their favorite word is and why

Say your favourite word is "Irrelevant" because of its many real-life applications regarding people who assign meaning to silly things.