em wrote:
:: "Roger Zoul" wrote
::
:::
::: Worrying about cost where one's health is concerned is "penny-wise
::: and pound foolish".
::
:: I remember a time in my life, not so long ago, at a time that I
:: happened to be on a low-cal diet. My budget was so tight at the time
:: that, when buying food, one of my main buying considerations was
:: calories per dollar.

I can understand...however, "penny-wise and pound foolish" means that while
you're eating "low cost" the pounds are piling on.

::
:::
::: Besides, when one gives up junky overly processed foods, the cost
::: will go down because one typically will eat less (assuming one is
::: losing weight).
::
:: Junk food is pretty cheap. A loaf of bread. The dollar menu at
:: McDonalds. Cheap microwave pizza. Ravioli on sale for eighty cents a
:: can.
::

Yep. Certainly appears cheap at first glance. However, eating lots of carbs
tends to ramp appetite and people end up eating more food than really need.
A loaf of bread might be cheap, but when you eat 4 sandwiches at a time, you
go through it quickly while racking up a lot of calories. And you start to
get fat. Later on, it will cost you more.

:: There are a lot of inexpensive low-carb foods too. Canned meat
:: on-sale, such as tuna, chicken, etc., goes well with salad & cheap
:: lc dressing. I see tuna on-sale once and a while for $0.50/can.
:: Minute steaks, 12 oz "steaks" are $1 each. You can stock up on mayo
:: when its on sale. Eggs keep for a while and they go on sale
:: frequently. I see a lot of steak on-sale for $1.79 a pound, such as
:: London Broil (I think that's what its called.) I rarely pay more
:: than $3.99/pound for cheese. Buying bulk goods makes a big
:: difference, too. I see five pound blocks of cheese on-sale for
:: pretty cheap, and huge packages of five dozen hot dogs. "Back then",
:: I didn't have the storage space for that kind of stuff.

Good news. You'll pay less and eat less.

::
:: I almost always calculate out cost/pound when choosing food. A
:: difference of .05/oz in price comes out to .80/pound, for example.
:: You really have to watch the cents/oz when you're buying sandwich
:: meat and cheese. When money is tight, its tight. Down-to-the-penny
:: shopping can make a big difference.
::

Yes, cost of food is one thing. But the affect it has on how much you want
ot eat is another. I wonder if you knew then what you know now if your math
might have been different.

:: I guess a lot of this depends on where you live -- I'm in Los
:: Angeles, and I would guess that prices are higher here than they are
:: in many other cities.
::
:: Being broke sucks, by the way. I am a much happier person now that I
:: am (and have been) working steady for a while.

I was broke for many, many years. It does suck.