This morning on Inside Edition - Couple eats on $30/month

**StaceyS** · 12-04-2008, 11:30 AM

This morning (really early - like 3:30?) I was watching INside Edition and they had a young couple, both teachers, who decided to eat on $30/month for both of them. They were very extreme. No fruits or veges at all. The wife made Polenta with a tiny bit of spahgetti sauce on to for dinner. It didn't look appetizing, but the husband said it was actually good.
Anyone else see it?

**Gardengal18** · 12-04-2008, 11:54 AM

No fruits or veggies? The money they are $aving will be spent double time on the health issues they will have to pay for down the road. There's being frugal and then there's being Insane.

**nuisance26** · 12-04-2008, 11:58 AM

~Well, polenta is corn and spagetti sauce is tomatoes so there's 2 veggies right there. Not very fiberous though. Did they say why they were being so extreme? Was it just an experiment?~

**DonnainME** · 12-04-2008, 12:12 PM

I think that's a little ridiculous. $30 for a month. There's frugal and then there's just insane. They are going to be in trouble health-wise later.

**StaceyS** · 12-04-2008, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by nuisance26

~Well, polenta is corn and spagetti sauce is tomatoes so there's 2 veggies right there. Not very fiberous though. Did they say why they were being so extreme? Was it just an experiment?~

I think they were trying to teach their students that it was do-able.

**momishem** · 12-04-2008, 12:22 PM

I saw it last night. I thought the polenta looked ok, but their diet was so limited. I mean PB&J every day for lunch would drive me crazy! But it does show that you can save a lot of money by doing that. It would probably be ok for a short time.

**nuisance26** · 12-04-2008, 12:38 PM

~I think I just found their blog: http://onedollardietproject.wordpres...-starts-today/ ~

**StaceyS** · 12-04-2008, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by nuisance26

~I think I just found their blog: http://onedollardietproject.wordpres...-starts-today/ ~

Yep, that's them. I guess it was $1/day each, not both. Thanks for the link!

**nuisance26** · 12-04-2008, 12:47 PM

~And it appears that they're eating on $30 a month each, a dollar per person per day. If I were to do that I would be spending $120 a month. I usually spend $225 and we eat great. By great I mean lots of meat, fresh fruits and veggies, snacks, sodas and baked goods. I might try doing this in January for a challenge. This month I'm doing the $25 per person per week challenge.~

**beks37** · 12-04-2008, 01:39 PM

The story on Inside Edition was very deceiving. They made it seem like it was $1.00/day for both combined, so $30.00/month for both and not $30.00 each per month. Also, they are only doing it for one month....not a year like Inside Edition said. I looked over the blog and found it very interesting....may have to save for later reading. The two in the story didn't seem too thrilled with their bit on Inside Edition either.

**The Muse** · 12-04-2008, 01:57 PM

It's not that insane if it's $30/each. I spend $80/month on groceries for DH and me and could cut it down another $20 if I had to. We're vegetraians and eat a lot of veggies, tofu, tempeh and beans.

I invest a lot of time in cooking things from scratch and we don't drink soda or eat packaged cakes or snacks. I needed a teriyaki marinade for tonights dinner, so I whipped one up from pantry ingredients last night instead of spending $2 on a bottled one.

They don't seem to be going about it in a smart way though.

**Contrary Housewife** · 12-04-2008, 02:17 PM

I didn't see the story, but I know I couldn't eat like that. I'd give up meat before vegetables. And corn/polenta isn't a vegetable, it is a starch like bread and potatoes and macaroni.

Obviously you won't starve on a diet like that, but it is no way to live, and I think it gives "frugal" a bad name. It's also misleading to say you can eat on $30 a month, because you aren't really eating, you're only surviving.

**cab54** · 12-04-2008, 02:30 PM

Originally Posted by The Muse

It's not that insane if it's $30/each. I spend $80/month on groceries for DH and me and could cut it down another $20 if I had to. We're vegetraians and eat a lot of veggies, tofu, tempeh and beans.

I invest a lot of time in cooking things from scratch and we don't drink soda or eat packaged cakes or snacks. I needed a teriyaki marinade for tonights dinner, so I whipped one up from pantry ingredients last night instead of spending $2 on a bottled one.

They don't seem to be going about it in a smart way though.

Muse, HOW do you live on $80 a month? I just went to the store and got a FEW fruits and vegetables (nothing else) and it was almost $30 ! Ok, some of it was organic........

**cab54** · 12-04-2008, 02:32 PM

BTW--I do the same thing. Teriyaki is essentially garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and a touch of sweet (sugar, honey, date sugar....) So easy to make, I never buy it.

**The Muse** · 12-04-2008, 03:21 PM

Originally Posted by cab54

Muse, HOW do you live on $80 a month? I just went to the store and got a FEW fruits and vegetables (nothing else) and it was almost $30 ! Ok, some of it was organic........

I shop the asian grocery and the day old produce cart at Stop & Shop. It's amazingly inexpensive. Tofu is around $1.25/package. Dried beans are less than $1.50/lb. Tempeh is less than $1.75/block.

Yesterday, I picked up a package of 2 green peppers and 2 red peppers for $.96, a large package of broccoli for $1.29, and 2 lbs. of mushrooms for .$87. I have a rough menu plan in place, but much depends on what's on the "rotting veggie stand" as I call it.

Out of the above $3 veggie investment, and with things I have on hand, I'll make a couple of tempeh dishes, a pasta and broccoli dish, general tso's tofu, a quiche, and maybe some omelets or fajitas.

Edited to say: Most of my recipes yield a dinner and a lunch for each of us.