Could you live on $5 a day?

[Tina Nord]

So I had a bit of misfortune this last week and had some bills auto pay out of my account because I forgot about them. I thought auto pay would be a good thing, but looks like I can't manage it very well and have now shut it down. Long story short, I have about $15 to last me for the next 4 days. Luckily I have just about everything I need to survive until payday, but it got me to thinking- if all your bills were paid, could you live on $5 a day?

 

[Trellum]

Not with the prices like they are over here. I am having a hard time surviving already with what I have, now imagine if I only had $5 a day to spend... maybe if I only ate those nasty noodles that come in those cups, you know, the ones you just need to add boiling water to? Those. I think I could make it with those.

 

[tangela]

Definitely not with the prices of where I'm living...but if hypothetically I have to live on $5 a day for a few days and I already have food in my fridge, I'll be okay for sure. But anything beyond that like if I have to grocery shop there would be no way I can survive on $5 a day unless I'm buying only instant ramen.

 

[cupcakechef]

I could but it would have to be pretty basic and I would be buying generic only brands. For instance oatmeal and milk, a packet of spaghetti and some inexpensive sauce, some fruit or vegetables to snack on - that $15 could go far but you'd be eating the same meals over and over for those few days!

 

[Diane Lane]

As long as there's food in the fridge, and bills are paid, yes, but if I had to fill the car up with gas and buy food, no way. I'm not a fan of auto-pay, as it can lead to problems, but sometimes it can offer discounts on bills, which can be nice. What I've done is switched some of my auto-pay items from my bank account, to PayPal, since I usually have a few dollars in there.

 

[Tina Nord]

As long as there's food in the fridge, and bills are paid, yes, but if I had to fill the car up with gas and buy food, no way. I'm not a fan of auto-pay, as it can lead to problems, but sometimes it can offer discounts on bills, which can be nice. What I've done is switched some of my auto-pay items from my bank account, to PayPal, since I usually have a few dollars in there.

Paying your bils via PayPal is a good idea, and now I have the debit card they offer so it would be easy to do. I was really upset with myself over all of this because I thought I was doing so good. I only have 2 more days left until payday so I will survive.

 

[Diane Lane]

Paying your bils via PayPal is a good idea, and now I have the debit card they offer so it would be easy to do. I was really upset with myself over all of this because I thought I was doing so good. I only have 2 more days left until payday so I will survive.

I've used the PayPal debit card at the register at Kroger, and also have paid my AT&T bill online with it, and have received cash back in both instances. It's not much, but even 1% eventually adds up, and since the AT&T bill is over $150, it can make a difference. I don't recall if they offer the cash back when I shop at Walmart, but I do about half of my Walmart shopping online, so get some money back that way by using Ebates.

 

[Tina Nord]

I've used the PayPal debit card at the register at Kroger, and also have paid my AT&T bill online with it, and have received cash back in both instances. It's not much, but even 1% eventually adds up, and since the AT&T bill is over $150, it can make a difference. I don't recall if they offer the cash back when I shop at Walmart, but I do about half of my Walmart shopping online, so get some money back that way by using Ebates.

I use Receipt Hog which I think is the same principle as when you use Ebates. I snap photos of my receipts when I go shopping and then I get points. Once you reach 1000 points you can cash out for $5. It is not a lot of money, but it is earnings for shopping I do anyway.

 

[ReadmeByAmy]

As long as there's food in the fridge, and bills are paid, yes, but if I had to fill the car up with gas and buy food, no way. I'm not a fan of auto-pay, as it can lead to problems, but sometimes it can offer discounts on bills, which can be nice. What I've done is switched some of my auto-pay items from my bank account, to PayPal, since I usually have a few dollars in there.

Yes this is absolutely true for me also as long as I had foods in my refrigerator and if all my bills in the house are already paid I can live on a $5 a day. Here in our place even all people had their own cars we always do the walking everywhere in going to the mall, supermarket, park...you can see all the people are walking and its the way of life here. And one thing because of the good climate here most of us had our own vegetable plants at home that is why we do not need anymore to buy this kind of foods.

 

[cupcakechef]

Yes this is absolutely true for me also as long as I had foods in my refrigerator and if all my bills in the house are already paid I can live on a $5 a day. Here in our place even all people had their own cars we always do the walking everywhere in going to the mall, supermarket, park...you can see all the people are walking and its the way of life here. And one thing because of the good climate here most of us had our own vegetable plants at home that is why we do not need anymore to buy this kind of foods.

That's awesome that you grow a lot of your own veggies! I would love to have more space to do more fruit/veggie growing - right now all I've been able to grow in my yard are cherry tomatoes, some peppers and herbs. But one day, when I hopefully have a bit more space, I would love to be completely self sufficient when it comes to fruit/vegetables!! What kind of things do you have growing?

 

[ReadmeByAmy]

That's awesome that you grow a lot of your own veggies! I would love to have more space to do more fruit/veggie growing - right now all I've been able to grow in my yard are cherry tomatoes, some peppers and herbs. But one day, when I hopefully have a bit more space, I would love to be completely self sufficient when it comes to fruit/vegetables!! What kind of things do you have growing?

We had lettuce, tomatoes, eggplant, chili and bell peppers, onion leeks and parsely... We are not buying anymore this kind of vegetables and we are using this everyday in our cooking and in preparing some of our foods. At least we can save even a small amount of money from this plants.

 

[Tina Nord]

I would love to grow my own veggies, but do not have the space quite yet. I am hoping that changes in the near future when we buy a house. I want to be as self sustainable as possible. It would be great to cook and bake everything from scratch.

 

[Diane Lane]

We had lettuce, tomatoes, eggplant, chili and bell peppers, onion leeks and parsely... We are not buying anymore this kind of vegetables and we are using this everyday in our cooking and in preparing some of our foods. At least we can save even a small amount of money from this plants.

That's a nice assortment of vegetables. I love eggplant, and sometimes it's difficult to find around here. I've grown lettuce and tomatoes here, but didn't grown anything this year. Hopefully next year will be a different story. I don't have to plant them much in advance, thankfully, because if I do, I forget what I've planted. The cats ate the lettuce because I had forgotten I'd planted it, but the tomatoes were really delicious. That can not only save money, but also trips to the store, since produce doesn't last long.

 

[Winterybella]

That would be around $10 in my currency if you are talking US dollars. I just might be able to make it if I have stuff in the fridge and the bills are paid. What's more my mom has land and she still grows some things in her old age so I always say I will never be hungry as there is always in the land even if it's just grass. This last year has been quite challenging but I have learned that I can 'survive' on a lot less than I thought I could. The question is - do we really just want to survive? I don't.

 

[ChesterV]

Yes, I could.......if I weren't diabetic and had to eat certain things.

When I graduated high school and got out on my own, I pretty much had to live off $10.00 a week!
I learned how to REALLY stretch a penny!!!!

 

[justme4910]

I went flat out broke,years ago and didn't have much money at all,I lived on soup beans and taters for several weeks and even ran out of taters,so all I ate was soup beans for a week or so,I even ran out of ketchup for the beans,needless to say,I didn't eat soup beans for a veeeeeeery long time afterwards

I still don't eat them very often now and i use to love em

 

[CherylTorrie]

Sure I could live on $5.00 a day if all of my living expenses were paid and I had clean clothes to wear. I probably live on that or less than that three weeks out of the month now. Rent week, utility week and car payment and insurance week all come way to close together. I simply eat simple easy cheap meals (usually pasta) that I prepare myself at home and drink a lot of water or coffee. Oh and of course if I want something special to eat I let my boyfriend take me out to dinner. Is that cheating?

 

[Mara]

It's possible to live on $5 if you don't have bills to pay, but even if you did, with some clever budgeting you could still. These days people have survived on less, and you look at what you need, rather than what you want.

I have lived on $10 a week for groceries and still ate well. Nothing is impossible and baking and cooking for yourself is much cheaper and nutritious.

 

[joycemcgregor]

Unfortunatly, I already live on $5 a day. I am a senior citizen with a very small SS check and only $67 a month in food stamps. I buy meat from the mark down section and divide it out so I have meat for one meal a day for the month. Then I buy canned soups, ramen noodles, eggs for breakfast, ect. I look for whatever is cheapest in the frozen vegie area and then just be careful. I never eat anything out, I do all of my own cooking. Sometimes I would like to have a steak or such, but it just is not in my budget.

 

[ChesterV]

Unfortunatly, I already live on $5 a day. I am a senior citizen with a very small SS check and only $67 a month in food stamps. I buy meat from the mark down section and divide it out so I have meat for one meal a day for the month. Then I buy canned soups, ramen noodles, eggs for breakfast, ect. I look for whatever is cheapest in the frozen vegie area and then just be careful. I never eat anything out, I do all of my own cooking. Sometimes I would like to have a steak or such, but it just is not in my budget.

I hear you and I feel for your situation.
I am nearing that point in my life now, where I have to start worrying about how things are going to get paid for.

Even though I have learned to budget to the point of being a Master of it.......everything still costs money, regardless of how much you budget.

I can give you a few super "cheap and easy" recipes I've had to live on during the past years.
If you are interested, just start a personal conversation with me!!!