Ok, not really but good lord the headlines. Like there is a "hack" that will fix crap.
This is in response to multiple news outlets having well paid consultants talk with well paid reporters about how to "hack" a grocery bill if you are an actual poor person. Those well paid people don't have any special knowledge and are working from some sort of fantasy of how the people I know actually shop.
Here's a hack, if it's too expensive, don't buy it!
Try prioritizing and keep reviewing want vs need per like all the previous blogs.
Priorities:
Air (still free but I'm sure someone is trying to find a way to privatize and monetize it).
Water. drink tap water. UNLESS you know that your tap water is specifically toxic in the short term (is there a city boil order?) just drink it. It's cheaper than every other option. You do not "need" any other beverage and certainly do not pay for bottled water if you are at all trying to cut costs. You also do not need a fancy vessel to get the water to your lips. Whatever you already own is the very best choice.
Food. Yes, most of us need to eat. And we need to cook some of it because raw diets don't go well in the long run. Look at your cooking and storage options and work with them. Buy what is cheap, use the food banks, little free pantries and other free resources if you are in a giant bind. It's OK. Buy the most nutrition for the dollar, given your storage and cooking options. I get lots of eggs and canned fish because they work for me. I can cook, but it's hard to store left overs. These things come in roughly single serving options. Popcorn is great and lasts. UNPOPPED (remember when that was assumed?) and just from the bulk bin or the big bag of cheap kernels. Then, I pop it myself in whatever oil/grease I have. Or in the office airpopper. For fruit and veg, start with the discount bin/area if the store has one. After that, look for the lowest cost per pound. Grapes...I can't even! You can almost always get onions, cabbage, potatoes and big-bag-o-apples for under 1$/pound. Those last at room temp for ages. Same with carrots which are also generally cheap. For oil/fat to cook with or get enough calories, Go with the size you can store before it goes off. I don't buy it by the gallon because ick. And right now it's cheaper for me (given my storage and cooking options) to buy pig fat from a butcher shop I know at 2$/lb, cook it down to lard and store that at room temp. I also usually get a bottle of olive oil because I have enough money and it keeps well and I can use it to fry, put it on salad, or bake with it. I don't care for corn oil or other cheaper oils on salad and I don't have room for a wide selection of oils sitting around. It's good to eat greens. Get cheap ones or fry up dandelion greens or buy some sprouting seeds. Cabbage counts too. DO NOT buy prepared meals unless you truly have no way to cook. Dry beans store for ever, and you can sprout them. But, they take cooking. So, if you can't cook, try a can of black beans, package of tortillas, and dice up an onion with cabbage and throw on vinegar or lemon juice and some hot pepper (sriracha, cayenne powder, dried peppers, a fresh one, whatever) and voila...tacos. If you eat cheese and can afford it, you can add some. Cheap, easy, fresh.
Shelter. We need that. Cut the cost. I friend of mine just moved from a shared house costing over 1000$/month per resident to a room in a more shared house for 500$/month. This also cut the utilities. Be creative if you can, but we can't all move that quickly with those big expenses. So, when you are going to change housing, go for half or less of what the bank/online-calculator says you can afford. That way if you lose some income, you have a bit of time because you were saving that other 50%...right? Hope so.
Focus on total spend, not imaginary "savings". If you buy steak at 50% off to "save" 15$, you still spent 15$ for a couple of meals of protein. You could have bought 15 cans of beans, 3 lbs of ground beef, 15lbs of dry beans, etc. So you "saved" nothing. You spend 15$ poorly.
Good luck and stop with the hacks. Spend less.
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