For 30 days beginning on January 14th, 2008 I intend to competently eat on an average of $2 a day. This may sound a bit ridiculous, and many of my friends have asked me how I’m going about doing it. I’m going to make sure everything is planned out just as if anyone would be able read what’s written and try it on their own. There’s not going to be any tricks or loopholes, and everything I consume will be things that a normal college kid who’s strapped for cash is probably already consuming. I’m not going to use any crazy cooking utensils or methods that someone doesn’t already have in their kitchen. I plan to use basic cooking materials such as an oven, stove top, skillets, and a microwave.
All meals eaten and all beverages consumed will be included and detailed in this experiment, with the exception of alcohol. If any liquor is consumed, the consumption of mixers will be included. I choose not to include alcohol as a part of the experiment because I take alcohol to be a luxury good or form of entertainment, not as a part of an attempt to feed and sustain myself.
The experiment will also include standard local sales tax that in Missouri (although tax is obviously different in other states, I don’t expect it to make more than a marginal difference), but will not include a bottle deposit. I chose to do this because the majority of people pay a sales tax and a majority does not pay bottle deposit. If I choose to buy things such as additives to foods such as vegetable oil or salt I’ll include this in our groceries. All of the things purchased will be based on their standard price at the local Wal-Mart and reflective of the everyday price, never the sale price. I want to make sure that if this can be done for $2 a day that it’s done on standard prices anyone can get, so if the experiment is successful then it will be even cheaper in some places where there are better supermarkets with more sales.
The purpose of the drill is to save money on food to more efficiently use elsewhere, for whatever that may be. As a college kid I’m constantly looking for a way to put my money to good use. This experiment surely extends beyond an audience of college kids also, as anyone who is paying for their own meals can benefit from this experiment.
I still plan to eat relatively healthy. I haven’t set the meal plan in stone yet but I’m positive I’ll be consuming plenty of calories, a solid amount of protein, and I am experimenting with the best ways to incorporate fruit into the diet. The diet itself should be fairly healthy because there won’t be room for fast food or junk food, and at $60 there isn’t much room for a strong consumption of soda.
Shortly before this begins on the 14th I will blog about how I have am eating beforehand and how my diet will be changing with the start of this experiment. I want to monitor quantitative things like calories, carbohydrates, proteins, and sugar the best I can, and I intend to pay attention to my energy levels. I definitely going to exercise on top of all this; playing basketball and lifting weights. I want to eat six smaller meals a day, which should keep my metabolism rolling. Hopefully by doing this I will be able to eat less throughout the day, keeping the consumption of food down as a whole, and by keeping the metabolism going I would predict I shed a few pounds in the process, but we’ll see.
All in all, I think the goal isn’t unreasonable whatsoever. I’m really excited for a new challenge, because I know this won’t come as a push over. I’m going to get creative, explore as many meals as I can think of, and always will looking for a new way of cooking from a college-style kitchen. Things should be a lot of fun and I look forward to blogging about the experiment. I’m always looking for more inexpensive meals and substitutions. I want to offer anyone who’s reading plenty of meal suggestions so they can enjoy and partake in this experiment at their own leisure if they so choose. The more expanded the menu is, the better. If you have ideas that you think I should rock, please drop me a line!
