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Survival Shopping in Oz with OL, on $35 budget for 2wks with coffee, bacon, icecream!
#1
Explanation: I was surfing youtube when I recieved a suggested video to watch ...

1 Day, 1 Pound, 3 Meals - Limited Budget Food Challenge




So I watched it and it was pretty good IMO and it reminded me of a 10yr old ATS thread I authored called ...

Survival Shopping in Oz with OmegaLogos on $28 budget for 2wks with coffee, bacon and icecreams!!!

Well it has been 10yrs and I got something wrong in that thread [about how far the coffee goes] so its time for an update.

Firstly I looked up what 1 British pound Stirling is worth in Australian currency [AUD]...

And asking google showed it was worth about $1.93 or about $2 AUD.

Next I asked google what the inflation rate was since 2010 and here is that table ...

Value of 2010 Australian Dollars today

Quote:Value of Dollar over time (by year)
Period Value
2010 28
2011 28.77
2012 29.63
2013 30.29
2014 31.12
2015 31.65
2016 32.19
2017 32.66
2018 33.29
2019 33.88
2020 34.5
Today 34.51

Or about $35 meaning about $2.50 per day in a 14day period [2weeks]. Or a 25% increase over 10 years.

So I then went to Woolworths online and looked up all the items I wrote about and their prices and did the maths and here is what that that data set revealed ...

https://www.woolworths.com.au/

Quote:coffee [freeze dried] x 100g                $4 or 200g [instant granulated] $3.70* [20 cups of coffee as 1 teaspoon is 5g ... double that to 40 for 200g jar]
sugar x 1kgwhite                               $1 or 2kg $1.79* [400 teaspoons worth... I need 80 for my 20 cups or 400grams...leaving 1600grams for toffee.]
milk [uht] 2 x 1lt $1each                    $2 [20 x 100mL for coffee] The reason for uht milk was so can go the time frame and doesnt need a refrigerator.]
stock cubes [vegetable]                     $1
french onion soup packet                   $0.45
1x raw brown onion large                   $0.45
2x5pack noodles[beef&chicken]$1each $2
1x500g cheese block                          $5.50 500g $3.70 24x cheese slices*
1x185g tin tuna in oil                         $1.30* 425g $3
1x200g chicken flavored biscuits          $1.40
1x500g pasta spaghetti                       $0.65
1x35g cheese sauce                            $1* premade $2 165g
1x425g tinned potatoes whole              $1.60
1x250g bacon rashes [3 full rashes]      $3.50
1x10pk 860ml ice cream chocolate        $3

Subtotals                                            $‭28.85‬          $27.55**

1x loaf white bread [sandwich]             $1.60 [all loafs are same price for wholemeal/multigrain/toast]
1x jar Vegemite 235g [special 20%off]  $3.70
1x butterx250g [special 50%off]           $1.50* or 500gmargerine $1.40 1kg $1.60 or 250g salted butter $2.60
1x carrot large                                    $0.40
1x Woolworths plastic bag                    $0.15

Totals                                                 $36.20          $34.90**

*: Note that items listed with a * are the prefered cheaper item for same or greater weight.
**: Note  this subtotal and total result are from all *items being bought and used.

Note that we break budget in both cases ... it costs 85c more to buy the same stuff as in 2010 and with all the extra wanted stuff we break budget by $1.20c.

However if we stick to the cheapest stuff * then we come under budget for both cases [sub $28 and $35]

Here is my cooking guide ...

Quote:This shopping list was designed to suit my tastes but I am sure it can be modified to suit others needs etc especially if one is inside Australia.


Budget: $28.00 for food ONLY!

TimeFrame: 14 days [a typical 2wk pension/unemployment welfare payment plan in Australia ... ]

2$ a day.

Now I need to show how that all breaks down to cover my food usage over the 2wk period.

Ok here goes...

10 packets of noodles and pack of massel stock cubes = 10 individual meals of noodles ... chicken or your choice of stock cube [fish or veggy etc] I choose beef. ]

That is 1 garanteed fill your belly meal every day after work for the 10 working days in a fortnight period.

10 chocolate coated Ice creams... 1 per working day for desert!

I showed above that there was 20 cups of coffee or about 1.5 cups a day! [miss out only on last coffee on 2nd Sunday night dinner]

Now 4 days of weekends meals [lunch instead of dinner]...

45 grams of tuna with 50 grams of snack biscuits and 125 grams of cheese [6 slices] per each meal.

= 185 grams tin of tuna 200 grams of snack biscuits and 500 grams tasty cheese block or slices.

So whats that leave ... Oh yes...

French onion soup bulked out with 1 whole onion! 1Ltr = 2 medium meals

Pasta with cheese sauce! about 625grams worth! = 2 small meals

Bacon and tinned potato's! [ 3 full rashes [cut in half] and about 4 small tinned spuds per full rasher] = 6 meals

Toffee... 1600grams. [homemade OK] 32 x 50gram chunks

Now this isn't a shtf survival shopping list OK. This is what I would buy if forced onto that small budget!

I spend more than $28/$35 a fortnight on food OK!

I shop OFTEN and I even used to take my gran shopping and I saved her heaps of $$$ and stress [and my parents as well].

But don't tell me there isn't variety or coffee... Thats SCAMMING and TOTALLY WRONG!

Damn You Aussie Journo's and Damn the scam of 1 week test...because at that level u cannot afford jack squat!

If only they had realized that going an extra week longer...would be so beneficial to EVERYTHING!

They were gutless IMO!


Especially when most get paid fortnightly and shop once per fortnight like me and my gran do! [both pensioners]

I am The Australian Urban Grocery Shopping Warrior!

Imagine what could be bought If I had decided to work this out over a month! Even More variety Thats what!


I appreciate the issue being brought to light but thats no reason to go and distort the truth!

P.S. I'm Poor Pensioner ... NOT Stupid! What??? Did they think the two things meant the same thing!


What have my fellow members to say on this issue!

Were those Journalists fibbing or were they just naive???

And with the extra $7 in items bringing total up to $35 ...

Quote:10 x 2 slices of bread + 25g Vegemite sandwiches with butter spread. 10 extra meals.
1x carrot large gets shredded and added to pasta with cheese sauce. [no extra meal but bulks 1 meal out]

So Woolworths has kept prices down consistently over the past ten years with only a 3% increase in prices over that time frame.

Now for comparison a cheap packet of 20 cigs cost about $28 now a days in Australia at Woolworths.

The above does NOT take into consideration things like toilet paper and toothpaste etc, [toiletries and cosmetics, especially feminine hygene products] nor does it take into consideration and extra costs of living such as communications [mobile phone /internet connectivity], mobility [petrol, vehicle maintenance , public transport etc] , clothing, rent/mortgage, energy and water bills etc.

It ONLY covers food and food that I am willing to eat. You Mileage May Vary Ok!


Here is a website that covers these issues better than I can ...

Eating on $2 can look like this

Quote:Eat on $2 a day for two or five days, raise funds and empower young people to help end poverty.

The rules are simple: 
1. This May, feed yourself on $2 a day for two or five days
2. Ask your friends, family and co-workers to donate to your profile
3. Be part of a community where thousands of Australians are taking action

to help young people within our region have their voices heard. 

Not sure you want to take the two or five day challenge? No stress!
Host a Dine Below the Line dinner party and feed your guests on $2 a head.
Dine Below the Line retains the creative cooking challenge of Live Below the Line, but makes
it more
accessible and easier to involve your friends and family!

Why $2?

Imagine what it would be like going about your everyday life with just $2 to spend on everything.
That's food, accommodation, transport, medicine - $2 for every single cost. That's the reality for people who live below the extreme poverty line. $AU2 is the Australian equivalent of the extreme poverty line, adjusted to reflect the real cost of items in Australia.


Personal Disclosure:  As I have shown above it is not hard to live comfortably on a harsh and tight budget in today's western world.

In future posts to this thread I hope to show what can be done for $2 a day for both 2 days [$4] and 5 days [$10] and what recipes can be made for $2 per head.

And also for $2.50 per day and per head as well [takes into account inflation etc.]

Please share your food lists [according to your tastes and dietary requirements/restrictions], prices [for your local area] and recipe advice as laid out above.


Thank you for reading this far. Well done!
Cheers minusculebeercheers
OL at beez - "Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, it's a straw, you see? Watch it. Now my straw reaches across the room and starts to drink your milkshake. I... drink... your... milkshake. I drink it up!"

Do not engage in useless activity ... and ... from one thing, know many things!

Think Globally, Act Locally, Feel Internally ... Wash, Rinse, Dry and Repeat!

It's Just A Ride!
#2
Quote:Now for comparison a cheap packet of 20 cigs cost about $28 now a days in Australia at Woolworths.

Good lord! that's about $18.68 USD or 14.5 GBP - PER PACK! that's frikkin' robbery! Do y'all need some tobacco seed? DIY beats hell out of getting rolled on the daily! I quit smoking about 5 months ago, but when I quit I was only spending between $2.50 and $3.00 USD per pack - a far cry from $18.68!

Around here, ramen noodles run about 10 cents a pack, and I tend to get them in cases of 36, frozen burritos go for about $3.50 per 8-pack, and I stocked up on MRE's for about $1.50 per meal for the upcoming war. Additionally, rice is fairly cheap and keeps well - and comes in pretty filling once you expand it with water and cook it up. Beyond those staples, whatever you choose to spice them up or fill them out with varies as to cost. All prices above in USD. Beans and corn meal for bread are a staple, and none too expensive - they can be grown out back, which makes them even cheaper.

.22 shells are around 12 cents each, and one, well placed, can feed you for about 3 days or so, depending on what you shoot with it. In any event, supplementing the above supplies with what you can drag out of the woods doesn't hurt, and brings the price per meal down, some times substantially.

Wild food from the countryside helps in stretching the budget. For example, a weed called "goosefoot" (chenopodium sp.) can be eaten for greens, used to expand a meal, or - at the right time of the year - have seed harvested from it for pseudo-cereal grains. In fancy places, they call those seeds "quinoa" or "chia", but out here in the weeds, we just call it a cheap meal (and it has been so for over 5000 years)... so long as we don't use those fancy folks as a middle-man. They tend to mark it up a lot! Then again, ANY markup is "a lot" when you consider it's a weed free for the picking...

An example of how it works would be 4 packs of ramen noodles (40 cents), a can of chili (3.50) and a pack of cheese (2.00) can be made into a layered casserole that will feed one person for about 3 days - 5.90/3 days = 1.97/day to eat like a king... and it contains all of the basic food groups, including meat and dairy!
Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king.

Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’


#3
Explanation: As I said above i would be adding to this thread ... so ...

Quote:1 person [carnivore only] 5 days on $10 [$2 per day.]

1 x Roast chicken [stuffed] costs $10

2 breasts [each cut in half.]
2 legs and thighs
2 wings
stuffing [make croutons in oven for soup]
skin and scraps and parsons nose and neck goes to whoever butchers the chicken into peices
carcass bones [for soup stock]

10+ meals total [8 meals of breast, leg and thigh, wings, 1 meal scraps and skin, 1+ meal soup] = 2 meals per day

For $2.50 more [+50c per day] can have ...

1x loaf of bread [20 slices] $1.60

1x packet of french onion soup $0.45

1 x brown onion $0.45

total cost $12.50 [$2.50 per day]

*********************************************************************************************

8 person two course meal = Chicken and Coleslaw sandwich and Chicken with onion and carrot soup.


2 breasts [each cut in half]
2 legs and thighs
2 wings
stuffing [make croutons in oven for soup]
skin and scraps and parsons nose and neck goes to whoever butchers the chicken into peices
carcass bones [for soup stock]

feeds 8 [2meals each = 1/2 breast [feeds 4], wings + legs and thighs [feeds 4 more], soup [feeds 8]] + butcher [1meal = skin and scraps etc.]

cost $10 per roast chicken at Woolworths. [Must be gotten in store. not available online [or prices werent]]

cost per head = $1.25 [excludes butchers meal]
 
8 x $2.50 = $20 - $10 = $10 remaining.

$4.50 400g Coleslaw tub = 1 x 50g coleslaw scoops per head [8people]

$1.60 White sandwich bread loaf [20 slices = 2 slices each = 16 slices + 4 slices baked in oven to make soup croutons]

$1.40 500g table spread [31g per slice of bread per head]

subtotal $17.50

Soup materials ...

french onion soup packet $0.45

large brown onion $0.45

large carrot $0.40

Noodles 5 pack chicken flavored $1

Total $19.80 saves 20c

Cost per head $2.50 x 8 = $20

***************************************************************************

1 person [omnivore] 5days $10 [$2 per day]

1 x 5 pack noodles [beef or chicken] [1 meal per day] $1

1 x white bread sandwich loaf [20slices] $1.60

1 x 500g table spread [25g per slice] $1.40

1 x 425g tuna [springwater or oil] $3

1 x 500g peanut butter [crunch or smooth] $2.40

1 x brown onion $0.45

subtotal $9.85 saving 15c

For just $2.50 more [+50c per day] can have ...

1 x 2kg white sugar $1.80 [makes a lot of toffee]

1 x french onion soup packet $0.45

1x large carrot $0.40

Total: $12.50
*************************************************************

1 person 2day $4 [$2 per day]

2 x 95g tuna [various flavors] 90c each $1.80

1 x 100g jarlsberg cheese slices/shaved [8slices] $22/kg $2.20 [from the deli]

subtotal $4

For +50c per day extra [+$1] can have ...

1 x 250g traditional cracker $1

Or

1 x 125g Plain Water Cracker $0.95

Or

1 x 100g Rice Cracker Seaweed $0.90

Total $5

******************************************************

100 people on $2 per head [$200]

10x Market Value Thin Sausage 1.8kg $110 [$11 each] 24 sausages per pack =240 sausages

2x 2ltr BBQ sauce $5.25 each $10.50 280 servings

2x 2lt tomato suace $4 each $8 280 servings

2x 220g honey mustard $2.75 each + 2x 280g bbq mustard $3.50 each $12.50 140 servings

4 x 2kg brown onions $5 each $20

2 x 1kg table spread $1.60 each $3.20

13 x loafs of sandwich bread [20+slices each] 260 slices of bread $20.80

running subtotal $185

3 x iceberg lettuce $3.50 each $10.50

1 x 770g mayonaise jar $3

1 x stock cubes [7per packet] makes 14liters $1

1 x french onion soup mix makes 2lt $0.45

subtotal: $199.95 saving 5c

Feeds and army of 100+ people. 1 to 2 meals each.

For +50c per head extra [+$50] can get ...

10 x 10pk icecreams [100icecreams] $3 each $30

20 x 1.25lt soft drinks [100 cups [250ml] of drink] $0.85 each $17

6 x soup packets $0.45 each $2.70

Total $249.70 saves 30c

******************************************************************

Personal Disclosure: From 1 person to 100+ I can feed them all for $2 per head. tinysure

Taking account for inflation allows much better meals and its better to buy over a longer period of time offering far more variety.

Show Me Where Ya Noms At!

OL at beez - "Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, it's a straw, you see? Watch it. Now my straw reaches across the room and starts to drink your milkshake. I... drink... your... milkshake. I drink it up!"

Do not engage in useless activity ... and ... from one thing, know many things!

Think Globally, Act Locally, Feel Internally ... Wash, Rinse, Dry and Repeat!

It's Just A Ride!
#4
Maybe a bit OT but I remember many moons ago we had to survive in a city with very little money for 3 days. I did dumpster diving for food and slept in a paper collection bin. One of the guys went to a night club, picked up a girl and spent the nights with her, BASTAR#. Seems many others did the same during later training's
#5
Explanation: Hmmmm? ... 1 weeks worth of grocery shopping ...

How thrifty YouTuber made 21 meals from a $70 spend at Woolworths

Quote:$70 shopping list
  • Chicken thighs $14.08
  • Beef mince $9
  • Four cans tuna $6
  • Frozen fruit $4
  • Oats $6
  • Toilet paper $3.75
  • One lime $0.54
  • One onion $0.58
  • Two tomatoes $2.40
  • One capsicum $3.80
  • Two pieces of broccoli $4.16
  • One kilogram of pasta $3.90
  • Pasta sauce $6
  • One litre soy milk $2.45
  • Oranges $2.95

Total cost: $69.61


Using the Woolworths website ... can you do better? [NOTE: this is about food ... NOT toiletries ... you may spend the $3.75 for toilet paper on FOOD ok!]

Here is my attempt to outdo that ...

5 x 1pk of 5 noodle packs. $1.oo each x 5 = $5.oo (25 packets of noodles) [NOTE: with this purchase alone I beat her 21 meals.]

1 x 200g Coffee = 40 x 1tsp of coffee = 40 cups of coffee. $3.7o essentials granulated coffee.
1 x 2kg of white sugar = 400 x 1tsp of sugar = I have 4 sugars per cup = 40 x 4 = 160 x 1tsps ... leaves over 1kg of white sugar for home made TOFFEE! $1.79
2 x 2Lt of milk = 40 x 50mls of milk per cup = 2 x $2.39 = $4.78 (I prefer real milk to UHT milk ok. UHT milk is cheaper at $1.oo per 1ltr box.)

Makes 40 cups of coffee and over 1kg of toffee! [NOTE: Her list fails to cover coffee but she bought toilet paper for about the same cost.]

1 x 24 thin beef sausages. $11.oo (12 meals of 2 sausages each)
1 x 1kg of brown onions. $1.5o 
1 x 2lt of tomato OR BBQ sauce = $4.oo

2 x loaf of white sliced (sandwich) bread. 2 x $1.5o each = $3.oo [20 slices per loaf = 20 sandwiches total]
1 x 1kg Table spread (margerine). $1.6o

1 x roast chicken. ( 2 legs [1 meal each] 2 wings [ 1 meal only] 2 breasts [cut each in 1/4s = 8 meals] 1 carcass for soup). $10.oo  
1 x Woolworths Traditional Mayonnaise 470g. $2.6o

1 x single lettuce (bagged). $2.5o

2 x 500g Pasta (essentials). $o.8o each = $1.6o
1 x 700g Pasta Sauce (essentials). $2.oo
1 x 500g Cheese block. $5.5o
1 x 1kg  bag of carrots. $2.oo

1 x Massel vegetable stock cubes [7 cubes pkt] = $1.oo [for Soup. makes a lot of soup.]

1 x 10pkt of Chocolate IceCreams = $3.oo

sub total : $66.57

Variable choice for last items.{PICK ONE ONLY!}

1 x 485g tin of Tuna. $3.oo

OR

1 x 235g bottle of stuffed olives [anchovies]. $3.oo* {my personal choice here ok!}

OR

1 x 500g tub of NoName Peanut Butter. $2.4o

Total = SUB < $70.oo

MEALS:

40 x 1cup of coffee

25 x noodle meals

12 x 2 sausages with onion sandwiches [uses over a loaf of bread!]

8 x chicken, lettuce and mayo sandwiches [uses remaining loaf of bread!]

3 x chicken only meals [2 legs and 2 wings]

6 x 1 cup [250g] of made pasta and sauce with cheese and grated carrots.

4 x 1 cup [250ml] of home made soup. [use 2 stock cubes to make a strong 1ltr vege broth with and add chicken carcass and boil]

10 x 1 icecream [for dessert]

4 x 60g of stuffed olives. [for snacks]

over 1 kg of toffee and 5 stock cubes left remaining.

Personal Disclosure: Which list do you prefer? Hers or Mine?

I suggest that my list provides more variety and more meals than her list.

Please detail WHY you prefer which list ok.

Thanks. minusculebeercheers
OL at beez - "Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, it's a straw, you see? Watch it. Now my straw reaches across the room and starts to drink your milkshake. I... drink... your... milkshake. I drink it up!"

Do not engage in useless activity ... and ... from one thing, know many things!

Think Globally, Act Locally, Feel Internally ... Wash, Rinse, Dry and Repeat!

It's Just A Ride!
#6
Explanation: Bumpety Bump!

Personal Disclosure: Firstly I am shamelessly bumping this thread as I feel its rather important information right now ... 2ndly I hope to update it considering prices have soared upwards to about 7% ...

[Image: d8322a8c6c9be8577533c65d20a270e3]

I hope you enjoyed reading this thread! Cheers! minusculebeercheers
OL at beez - "Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, it's a straw, you see? Watch it. Now my straw reaches across the room and starts to drink your milkshake. I... drink... your... milkshake. I drink it up!"

Do not engage in useless activity ... and ... from one thing, know many things!

Think Globally, Act Locally, Feel Internally ... Wash, Rinse, Dry and Repeat!

It's Just A Ride!
#7
(03-20-2022, 11:53 PM)OmegaLogos Wrote: Explanation: Bumpety Bump!

Personal Disclosure: Firstly I am shamelessly bumping this thread as I feel its rather important information right now ... 2ndly I hope to update it considering prices have soared upwards to about 7% ...

[Image: d8322a8c6c9be8577533c65d20a270e3]

I hope you enjoyed reading this thread! Cheers! minusculebeercheers
My biggest expense is my little clove cigars, Djarum Blacks. I tried to quit them this last month , using nicotine patches. Did not go so well, but I have cut back on my consumption by half.
The Truth is Out There, Somewhere
#8
Loved that video OL. minusculebiggrin


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