> If you must live on a diet of Lean Cuisine, try the Swedish meatballs.
I don't understand this part. Eating healthy isn't much more expensive than eating poorly. Why sacrifice your health and risk your mental abilities by eating crap? That seems like a stupid investment.
If you want to cut back on food bills, lose the energy drinks... especially Red Bull. That's my personal experience.
Also, fruits, vegetables, breads, nuts... these things can be eaten at your desk while you work.
Fruits and breads are expensive because of how much time it takes to obtain them. You have to buy them fresh every few days, which means taking time out to visit the supermarket.
And there are many cases where healthy is more expensive. A tiny bottle of pom wonderful is $5, where a huge bottle of off-brand soda is $1.50. Breaded fish sticks are a lot cheaper than a fresh salmon and a lot easier to prepare.
If you downmodded the above post, I would be interested to know why. Feel free to email me at the above username @goladus.com if you do not wish to post publically. Put "ycombinator" in the subject line.
I consider it succinct, informative, and accurate; if there is a problem with it I do not know what it is. I would be happy to clarify if there is any confusion.
While Red Bull may be delicious, you can also add caffeine to your diet by buying kola nut or guarana. Iamshaman.com has kola nut powdered for $.99 an ounce. The guarana is $2.99 an ounce. They're both great flavors. If you make a strong kola or guarana solution, you can use it to flavor rum and cokes and other drinks. A house teaspoon of either is about equal to a cup of a coffee, which makes them a cheaper source of caffeine than any energy or coffee drink.
This place lets you get it wholesale if you want to try reselling it, they've also got bulk extracts with guaranteed caffeine levels. federalabs.com/1kilopricing.htm.
My preferred stimulant is Kratom.. Sometimes productivity boosts are worth using performance enhancing drugs, caffeine or otherwise. My Kratom site is http://www.getkratom.com and please email if you have any questions.
Then there are other drugs that can make you smarter, or at least measurably increase working memory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracetam. Get your nootropics at www.bulknutrition.com.
If you're just gunning for maximum return on investment, note that (in my experience) you get the most protein per dollar from breadcrumbs, and the most calories per dollar from coconut milk. If you're going to be cheap and unhealthy, be that way sensibly.
Food is something you eat every day. In this case, it's pennies that add up-- and pretty quickly. My monthly food bill (when I'm not skimping) is typically second only to rent and taxes.
Consider- 1/4 a box of that barilla pasta I mentioned... 400 calories costs maybe $0.50. Add sauce and you're maybe up to 500 calories and $1.00 for the meal. Drink water, or maybe a cup of gatorade for another $0.50. A meal for around $2.00. Cereal for breakfast is probably similar, $2.00-$2.50 per meal.
Ruling out breakfast, consider 2 meals a day for a month. At $2 for lunch and $2 for dinner for 31 days, that's $124/mo. A $7 lunch and a $10 dinner is $527/mo. In 3 months you'll have saved $1,200.
Krasdale seasoned bread crumbs have 96 calories for $1.69 pretax (in the C-Town grocery store in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn). I couldn't find a cheaper source. You?
I claim that food shouldn't have to be "extremely" inexpensive, merely reasonable. Eating a poor diet may save you $100 per month, but you risk getting sick and decreased productivity. That's like saving a minute while driving to not put on your seatbelt, eat, and talk on your cellphone.
@ rms: check out Trader Joe's. It's not a bargain, but it's much better than Safeway (which seems to be a front to sell soft drinks and snacks, not a grocery store). There's one in the San Antonio shopping center.
I recommend multi-grain pasta (Barilla seems to be good enough and very tasty). Lots of protein and complex carbs, some vitamins, and fiber. More expensive than regular pasta, but with tomato sauce it's still around a buck or two a meal (depends on how much you eat of course).
More hassle to prepare than Ramen, but not by much.
> If you must live on a diet of Lean Cuisine, try the Swedish meatballs.
I don't understand this part. Eating healthy isn't much more expensive than eating poorly. Why sacrifice your health and risk your mental abilities by eating crap? That seems like a stupid investment.
If you want to cut back on food bills, lose the energy drinks... especially Red Bull. That's my personal experience.
Also, fruits, vegetables, breads, nuts... these things can be eaten at your desk while you work.