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

Explanation: OL was mighty unimpressed very recently with a $2 a day living exercise carried out by many Australian Journalists [and many others] over a 1 week period and how they almost all complained greatly about lack of variety and especially a lack of coffee and or chocolate etc.

Personal Disclosure: So I am here to disprove that as best I can!

I used the Woolworths online shopping website to source all prices! [current as of this posts date ONLY ok]

Woolworths Online Shopping Link [www.homeshop.com.au/]

You MAY use my suburbs postcode of 2902 to see the same prices as I get in my area if I bought online.

Some prices are cheaper [a few cents here and there] in my local Woolworths store... which for me is within 500mtrs of my home.

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... pls note that HB stands for Homebrand]

2$ a day.

Shopping List:

1 x HB coffee freeze dried 100g $4.19 [20 cups of coffee as 1 teaspoon is 5g]

1 x HB Sugar Raw 1kg $1.37 [200 teaspoons worth... I need 80 for my 20 cups or 400grams...leaving 600grams for toffee. I would have bought 1kg of white sugar which is cheaper... but its not available online ..only in store so I adapted here.]

2 x 1Lt HB uht milk containers at $1.14 each = $2.28 [20 x 100mL for coffee] The reason for uht milk was so can go the time frame without having to go buy twice [with fresh milk] and doesnt need a refrigerator.

Note: $7.84 covers all coffee for 2 weeks at nearly 3 coffee's a day for the allotted time period. [see below]

1 x 10pack of HB noodles [chicken] $2.30

1 x 500g block of HB tasty cheese $3.99

1 x 185g tin of HB tuna in oil $1.16 [needs a can opener to be opened...not a ring pull top ]

1 x massel Beef stock cubes 35g eack [7cubes 5grams each cube] $0.67

1 x HB snax biscuits chicken flavoured 200g box $1.45

1 x HB Pasta Spaghetti 500g $0.65

1 x HB Sauce Cheese 35g $0.80 [makes 125mls of sauce]

1 x HB Potatoes Tinned Whole 425g $1.58

1 x HB Bacon Middle Cut Rashers 250g $2.89

1 x HB Ice Cream Chocolate Coated 10pk 860ml $3.21

1 x Onion Brown Large - Each $0.89 [this price [as were all prices ok] was sourced from woolworths online shopping...its cheaper in the shops]

1 x HB Soup French Onion 40g $0.48

Total Cost: $27.91 saving 10cents [because in Australia woolworths rounds that down to $27.90]

[please check my maths ok]

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 3 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 snax biscuits and 125 grams of cheese per each meal.

= 185 grams tin of tuna 200 grams of snax biscuits and 500 grams tasty cheese block.

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! [4 to 5 rashes and about 2 small tinned spuds per rasher] = 4 meals

Toffee... 600grams. [homemade OK] 12 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 a fortnight on food OK!

I shop OFTEN and I even take my gran shopping and I save 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 ... NOT Stupid! What??? Did they think the two things ment the same thing!

What have my fellow members to say on this issue!

Were these Journalists fibbing or were they just nieve???

Great thread! Always enjoy your threads. S & F for you!

reply to post by OmegaLogos


That is a hardcore budget you got there OL. Reminds me of this vid somehow.



$&F.

reply to post by OmegaLogos


Only someone who has truly cut the shopping budget to the bone, knows how to stretch the pennies the furthest. I commend you on your creative shopping and versatility. Cudos BT

Great thread.

S&F

It's just so hard to not buy the fake and tasty stuff like ho hos and such!

This is good stuff though. To me it would take a bit of the enjoyment out of eating, but that's not really the point. This seems to have enough variety that you won't die of boredom induced hunger.

You have done well OL. I once went for a week on a jar of Vegemite and the occasional piece of cheese and /or salami at the supermarket taste test stand.Good times.

You did very well. Now to really feel and imagine how a pensioner or disabled person on a fixed and very limited income really feels you need to do it for a year...or five or ten or until the end of your life.

Explanation: All replies have been St*rred! Thanks for all your contributions and subsequent thread bumps so far!
I appreciate them greatly!

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www.livebelowtheline.com.au...

www.abc.net.au...

dandenong-leader.whereilive.com.au...

www.moreechampion.com.au...

www.aidemocracy.org...

Personal Disclosure: I lived in a suburban not for profit community organization called Wyuna Community for a Decade as a fully active member of that organization. I have been on the pension for 17yrs now [since 1994]

I understand completely how it feels to scrimp and save on every cent and make decisions between do I have Vegemite or do I have coffee etc. Bang for Buck!

I also understand I have 50 x the purchasing power of anybody in the 3rd world OK! I'm poor not stupid!

reply to post by OmegaLogos


Very impressive, I don't know how you do it... I take my hat off to you.
I can't even feed my pets on $28 per week.

Explanation: Bumped to help generate ad revenue!

Personal Disclosure: Enjoy!