That week I lived off a $10 bag of rice and a jar of salsa

My car broke down last month and I had to fix it, so my food budget for the week was basically zero. I found a big bag of rice on sale for $5 and a jar of store brand salsa for the same price. I ate rice with salsa for lunch and dinner for five days straight. It was cheap, but I was so sick of it by Friday. Has anyone else had to stretch one or two ingredients that far, and what did you add to make it less boring?

3 comments

3 Comments

patricia38518d ago

You said your food budget was zero, but you still spent $10. Been there, it's more like a super tiny budget.

blair50618d ago

Saw a whole thread about this exact thing. People get so caught up on the word "budget" meaning a set number. Sometimes zero just means you have no plan to spend, but life happens. That ten bucks might be the last cash in your pocket for the week, so it FEELS like zero because there's nothing after it. Calling it a super tiny budget is actually more honest. It frames it as a real limit you're working within, not a total failure.

felix4785h agoMost Upvoted

Honestly the whole "super tiny budget" thing feels like a cop out. If you say your budget is zero but you spend ten bucks, you just blew your budget. Calling it a tiny budget after the fact is just moving the goalposts to make yourself feel better. Words should mean something, otherwise why even talk about budgets at all? It's not about failure, it's about being clear with what you're actually planning.