$21 A Week
The local talk radio station has taken up a crusade on a group of elected officials that are promoting an underused government program. There is a campaign to promote that people on food stamps are living on only $21 a week. They are implying that the poor are being starved to death while those that “have” are living in the lap of luxury or at least enjoying three squares a day. In a nation suffering the plague of obesity, the idea that anyone is starving to death, it not only absurd but implies that what we see every day must be an illusion.
Now, I know that I could feed my family on $21 per week. A family of 5 would get $105 per week to live on. I know because I was unemployed for a few months in 2002 and managed to live on $70 a week. That included laundry detergent and toilet paper also which although food related are not edible. The key to living on $21 per week may be foreign to many Americans but to those who think it through, it is quite simple; eat at home. Yes, I know that you can get a double cheeseburger at McDonalds for $1.00 but that would be one per meal every meal all week. I love McDonalds cheeseburgers but I think I would be tired of the after three or four days.
Cooking at home, that lost art, is a tried and true method of reducing and maintaining your food costs. It is simple to watch for sales at the local grocery stores and stock up when sales hit. It is amazing the variety of things you can prepare using simple ingredients. If you stay away from the prepared foods it is even less expensive. I don’t have time you to cook you say. I come home from work and get a meal prepared in less than an hour. Planning ahead makes all of the difference. Don’t have time to plan you say. Wow, you have time to sit in a restaurant or a drive through and think about what you are going to have but cannot spend 5 minutes thinking through a menu. I don’t think it is lack of time to plan. There is another term that the rest of the world loves to call Americans; lazy. I would hate to think it true but as the government takes over more and more of the responsibilities, it provides us less and less to do. Sitting around getting fat is not leisure, its laziness.
So, think about spending $21 per week for food and take the challenge. You may find that you enjoy preparing meals or at least having a few more dollars to spend each week.
Icool
Cobb
Now, I know that I could feed my family on $21 per week. A family of 5 would get $105 per week to live on. I know because I was unemployed for a few months in 2002 and managed to live on $70 a week. That included laundry detergent and toilet paper also which although food related are not edible. The key to living on $21 per week may be foreign to many Americans but to those who think it through, it is quite simple; eat at home. Yes, I know that you can get a double cheeseburger at McDonalds for $1.00 but that would be one per meal every meal all week. I love McDonalds cheeseburgers but I think I would be tired of the after three or four days.
Cooking at home, that lost art, is a tried and true method of reducing and maintaining your food costs. It is simple to watch for sales at the local grocery stores and stock up when sales hit. It is amazing the variety of things you can prepare using simple ingredients. If you stay away from the prepared foods it is even less expensive. I don’t have time you to cook you say. I come home from work and get a meal prepared in less than an hour. Planning ahead makes all of the difference. Don’t have time to plan you say. Wow, you have time to sit in a restaurant or a drive through and think about what you are going to have but cannot spend 5 minutes thinking through a menu. I don’t think it is lack of time to plan. There is another term that the rest of the world loves to call Americans; lazy. I would hate to think it true but as the government takes over more and more of the responsibilities, it provides us less and less to do. Sitting around getting fat is not leisure, its laziness.
So, think about spending $21 per week for food and take the challenge. You may find that you enjoy preparing meals or at least having a few more dollars to spend each week.
Icool
Cobb
posted by Cobb at
1:36 PM
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