Poor vegan, cheap living

[vava]

I bought it a couple of weeks ago and I don't have the reciept anymore. People are funny about that sort of stuff here. They are like "prove that you bought it from us"

What a waste
don't suppose you bought it on a card did u? Proof from bank then.

[vava]

:( Annoying, that. I always lose receipts, too. I suppose I need a System for keeping them.

four drawer filing cabinet

three drawer filing cabinet

two drawer filing cabinet

single drawer filing drawer

junk drawer

large cardboard box

shoe box

tissue box

effing enormous purse!:dizzy:

[samariah]

i really need to get serious about saving money so i need to i need to seriously implement buying only cheap foods and logging how much i spend on food. ive successfully stopped going out to eat but i still rely to much on costly foods. so im going to limit myself from now on to 15 dollars a week. shouldnt be too hard if i rely on cheap staples like dried beans for protein, look for sales, do some foraging, and actually use up whats left in my cupboard.

[Rebbecca]

Anyone have any suggestions as to how to get greens cheaply? I'm not really in a tight spot (yet), because my parents still pay for my food... but if I start having a nice big green salad every day for lunch, that'll get expensive with the greens the prices they are.... How much cheaper would it be to buy greens individually instead of bags/cartons of them?

Local greengrocers are cheaper than the supermarkets, you'll have to prepare the salad yourself, but it will save you loads of money. I find that lemon juice preserves salad quite well.

[ms.vegan]

Hello there! new(ish) vegan, and brand new to the forum! getting to know my way round it, slowly like! Just been reading some of the threads in this conversation, some of the comments. "dumpster dining?" I never heard of anything so gross, but I sppose most of us, vega or not, have been down the supermarket at the end of the day for the cheapies . . . come on, admit it! I think that having a thread about living cheap is a good idea, I live on benefits, and do sometimes struggle, especially since the cheapest brands of some products, bread, for example, aren't always "vegan friendly", and not all of us have the time/resources to make our own? there is a fab website, certainly for use in the uk, I dunno if I can mention it . . dare me?
www.isitvegan.info
yav probly all heard of it, but it's very very helpful, tells us what supermarket branded products are suitable for us, even if they're not labelled as such. Cooking from raw/fresh is, of course, always the cheapest and most cost effective way, but I also find that cooking up a good size slow cooker full of veg and vegan style mince, economical to use, and enough to do a couple of meals, with rice etc, will help keep costs down! Peace, and love to vegans everywhere! Jennie.

[piggy]

i know one could eat really cheaply by relying mainly on things such as grains, legumes, pulses as a base, and then just adding some fruit and veg. my problem is that if i don't consume HUGE amounts of fresh veg, and especially fruit, i just don't feel well. and unfortunately fruit is just about the most expensive vegan item you get, apart from processed foods of course, which i don't include, as i never buy any.
well, the only processed food that i get is yoghurt, anbd the vegan stuff is incredibly expensive down here.
i wish there was a cheap way to fruit and yoghurt :(
(i'm already buying at local markets instead of supermarkets)

[ms.vegan]

Hi Piggy. have just had an email with your latest post on this thread. It's all very well for people to say "eat this", "eat that", or crap about "dumpster dining", but everyone's different. If you say you don't feel well unless you eat a lot of fresh fruit/vegetables, I find that rather worrying. Yes, of course we all need plenty of that sorta thing, but if you're regularly feeling unwell . . . email me honey, or send me a private message, tell me a bit more about your situation, I don't bight, honest! I haven't been a vegan long, but I'd like to try and help you with ideas etc, if I can. It's your call, it can't do any harm. Jennie. xx

[fiamma]

^ I don't think piggy means she feels unwell, I imagine she means she doesn't feel her best, and I'm the same, I don't think it's such an uncommon thing, especially among vegans who consume a lot of fruit and veg. Fruit and veg is expensive here, whereas nasty white bread and similar things aren't... go figure :rolleyes:

[ms.vegan]

I'm genuinely, honestly sorry if I have misinterpreted anything, and hope to god I haven't offended anyone, that's the last thing I want to do. :( Jennie. xx

[Hemlock]

:( Annoying, that. I always lose receipts, too. I suppose I need a System for keeping them.

I have used the same cheap system for many years and it works a treat!
One large plastic box from pound shop.
Packet of cheap A4 cardboard folders.
File things into separate folders i.e bank stuff, receipts, household utilities.
Label folders.
Stand folders up in box and put lid on - can be stored anywhere in the house.

[BlackCats]

(I don't think you offended anyone ms.vegan.:))

I need to find somewhere for cheaper fruit and veg, I just ordered food from Tesco and I seemed to leave lots of "luxury" stuff off and it still came to £110.:confused: I might try Aldi or Asda but they don't deliver (and I'm lazy.:D)

[piggy]

^ I don't think piggy means she feels unwell, I imagine she means she doesn't feel her best, and I'm the same, I don't think it's such an uncommon thing, especially among vegans who consume a lot of fruit and veg. Fruit and veg is expensive here, whereas nasty white bread and similar things aren't... go figure :rolleyes:

Exactly, it makes me cross to think that food which is a lot less processed, therefore requiring less labour, is more expensive than the highly processed nasty whiter bread and the likes. not so long ago, vegetables were the poor man's food, but now they're just about more expensive than animal products and definitely more so than refined flours (which on the other hand used to be rich man's food). But of course in sellers' minds, these days people who prefer to eat veg and fruit rather than a big mac, musty be some crazy, mult-bilionaire helth-freak celebrity, and therefore they can pay a lot.

Anyway, thanks for the concern, ms. vegan, but no need to worry.
as fiamma says,. it's that i just feel a lot healthier if i eat a lot of raw fruit (would it be too much detail to add that not eating lots raw fruit causes symptoms such as bad breath, constipation, gout, general restlessness :D)

as fiamma says, in italy veg n fruit is more expensive than refined stuff. i'm wondering whether in other countries this is the same? my guess is that this is true for all industrialised counbtries, but maybe less so for less industrialised places.

[cobweb]

i think it's pretty general, piggy, more annoying somewhere like Italy though where it's warm enough to grow lots of healthy foodstuffs locally.

if we just bought the 'economy' branded, highly refined foods here we could fill ourselves up very cheaply :no_expression:. I suppose refined crap keeps well for a long time so has a good shelf life for the stores.

[ms.vegan]

(I don't think you offended anyone ms.vegan.:))

I need to find somewhere for cheaper fruit and veg, I just ordered food from Tesco and I seemed to leave lots of "luxury" stuff off and it still came to £110.:confused: I might try Aldi or Asda but they don't deliver (and I'm lazy.:D)

[ms.vegan]

Thankyou BlackCats, the last thing I wanna do is offend anyone, I'm new to this forum, and am friendly, sociable and chatty, not inclined to make enemies! sickens me though, how one can't live on the basics, raw fruit/veg, etc, without needing to take out a mortgage almost, every time ya wanna go shopping? I mean, we always hafta "shop around", and it seems the prices of everything are going up aren't they? The thing that makes me cross also, is that we hafta pay extra for specialist things we need, dairy free this, egg free that, meat free the other . . . it's not fair! we're penalised for trying to help our health, save the animals, and preserve the planet we're living on! Woopse, could start a feisty debate here! Hmm . . . thanks again. Jennie. xx

[pavotrouge]

as fiamma says, in italy veg n fruit is more expensive than refined stuff. i'm wondering whether in other countries this is the same? my guess is that this is true for all industrialised counbtries, but maybe less so for less industrialised places.

this scares me about moving abroad. in Germany, fresh produce and grains is still about 20-30% cheaper than processed foods.

[fiamma]

Don't worry jennie, you haven't offended anyone :)
I do realise though after watching today's news that really I'm in a privileged position as far as food goes; a third of the world's population can't afford to feed themselves :(

[Sarah_]

i"m off to buy beans and brown rice.

[Hemlock]

I've suddenly remembered how I lost 4 stone several years back! I bought truck loads of diet tonic water and drank loads of it all day, for some reason it really kills the appetite *Hemlock running off to Morrisons as we speak*.

[cobweb]

really? did you have it plain? is it good for you?

i want to lose weight right now...............

(i mean this minute, i'm so bored with trying)

[missbettie]

what is tonic water? is it that bubbly water?

[cobweb]

no it's bitter stuff with quinine in it, icky! :amazed_ani:

edit - it is fizzy though, yes

[missbettie]

o...i get mineral water sometimes...but it has a flavor...not a good flavor but a flavor none the less.

[Sarah_]

Well I started eating six times a day, with 3 smaller meals than usual and snacks in between, along with two cups of green tea a day. is it odd to drop 11 pounds in two days? because according to this scale I have. O.o Confused, but not unhappy. Thank you to Amy.

[jonnie falafel]

I thought it would be a good idea if we had a thread about cheap vegan living. It seems that most of us here are definately not rich, and it would be cool if we could share ideas and tips on how to save money/get by and be a tightass :p

From the top of my head, things I do to be cheap are:
- use dried beans, not canned
- cook from scratch, enough for a couple of days
- freeze bread and only take it as I need it, so none gets wasted
- feed Odi leftovers and his own cooked meals made from older unused vegetables from the week, plus rice/barley etc...
- have an idea what we are going to eat for the week and have a shopping list that we CANNOT stray from

These are excellent ideas... but given the price of fuel is it really more economical to use dried beans? Does anyone know the answer? I suppose you could boil up masses and freeze for later use... but freezing's not free.... anyone wanna do the mathematics?

Chill leftovers and have a leftover day.
I have a 'melange soup' with the dregs of my veg box at the end of the week.
Use stale bread to make things like bakes & puddings.
Don't throw stuff away because of a blemish or a bit of mould.