Eating on the Cheap

[jujubeans]

1 Large can of "canned cow" (Keystone, made in Ohio), 1 small box of rice...7 bucks- eat all week!

They also have canned pig, chicken and the big bird..any rice left over can be used with road kill!

Ken got a can and I think I'm gonna try it with buttered parsley noodles..or maybe a mushroom soup gravy?

[fortwayne]

or hold tight and King Obama will have everyone so dependent on the government that they will feed us 3 squares a day every day.
Just think:

(1) buy a car - government
(2) buy a house - government
(3) buy health insurance - government
(4) need financial ad to go to school - government
and the list goes on and on..............

just remember the King has said if government can provide competition to the private sector it would make the private sector more competitive and responsable -------so if he thinks we all need health care, I can only guess even he knows we all need food - in there goes the government takeover of the big food warehouses and grocery chains!

WHO NEEDS DRIED UP WEINERS WHEN WE HAVE KING OBAMA! Here's a thought - leave us the hell alone and let us obtain and earn what WE WORK for!

[aristotle]

I suspect many shippers and receivers would be very uneasy entrusting their shipments to expediters who are operating on budgets so sparse they struggle to provide lunch for themselves. Trying to operate OTR with insufficient funds is like playing Russian Roulette with the customer's freight. One mechanical breakdown or medical bill will put some on the ropes.

Perhap our industry should consider establishing standards of financial solvency for owner-operators. Wouldn't that be a hoot.

[chefdennis]

I can eat food in the Van i have cooked at home and packaged for right around 120.00....thats 21 meals, all homecooked and large enough to feed most anyone enough that you won't need seconds.....meatloaf, mash taters and gravy....mmmm good!!!

Oh and Pot Roast is often in the frig, beef, veggie, and taters....and Beef tips and Noodles too Juju!!!

If i get a hotdog at a TS or even a Hot Dog Joint, its strictly because i have a craving for one, which happens about once a month......

[supertom]

amen! a pot of beans and rice and i can go for a week,good ideas though you guys are good!

[OntarioVanMan]

I posted this because there are guys/gals living load to load..and we've all run into them....newbees and people well with bad business skills or just running on a real tight budget because of some very bad set of circumstances( insert LUCK here)...They have to chose between eating and fuel with less then 2 dimes to rub together....most of them should not be out here like this BUT they are at leasts trying to work and support themselves without a handout from the government...lets give credit where it is deserved...

While some downplay the Hot Dogs value sometimes that is all between starving and filling the stomach.

[chefdennis]

ohhh yea red beans and rice on mondays!!! MMMM good!!!

[supertom]

definetly an amen to that ,leave my health care alone ! i pay for it and fine with,so why do i have to pay for everyone out there that dont want to work! bs,we have enough trouble trying to work against the illegals comming in here stealing our work now they want to give em all a free citizenship! bs, a citizenship in this country is something we earn and shouldnt come cheap!, food for thought.

[OntarioVanMan]

definetly an amen to that ,leave my health care alone ! i pay for it and fine with,so why do i have to pay for everyone out there that dont want to work! bs,we have enough trouble trying to work against the illegals comming in here stealing our work now they want to give em all a free citizenship! bs, a citizenship in this country is something we earn and shouldnt come cheap!, food for thought.

Hey Chef...Layout...Lookie...another candidate for the Soapbox...we'll fit right in...*lol*


Welcome SuperTom!

Hey Tom..don't worry bout our resident critic Greg...I've been here forever and I have never been right either...in the world according to Greg...*L*

[cheri1122]

OVM is correct: one can be temporarily short of cash, rather than longterm.
One thing that I notice, though, is the total absence of nutrition in many of the suggestions - hot dogs? Ramen noodles? Even with limited funds, we can do better than that. Try Healthy Choice soup, tuna sandwiches, [pick up the mayo at the truckstop] Even peanut butter has more to offer than hot dogs: a loaf of brown bread, peanut butter, and "Simply Fruit" jam will feed you lunch all week for the same cost as hot dogs, but with more nutrients & fiber for the money.
I eat inexpensively [restaurants are rare, fast food even more so], but try to make nutrition a priority too. It can be done, if you want to do it.
Oh, and I'm not a health food nut, either. I eat candy bars, popcorn with real butter, etc - I just don't feel guilty about it because most of my diet is pretty healthy.

[chefdennis]

Yeap OVM, you are right, at least they are workin to not be on the gov dole.....and while i do believe that no one should go into a business as a "self employed" person without properly setting themselves up to begin with, i am not going to bust on anyone that finds themselves in the situations you brought up here. As Greg pointed out we talked about something close to this a while back when Phil gave a driver cash....you know id like to think that even though some might not have a appreciation of however someones gets to this point, I'd like to think that most would help out anyone they can, even if it doesn't "Fix" the issue, it helps in the short term.....

Thanks for bring it up Ken, and the next time we run into each other, ask if i have any "Pot Roast" in the frig, i am sure it won't be as good as Juju has for you at home, but i know you will "enjoy".....

And Oh Yea, SuperTom will fit right in!!!

[OntarioVanMan]

I've given my spare shower credits to a few now...and even though it ain't a meal..the smile when they are done walking across the lot makes ME feel good...they have a smile from ear to ear...nothing like that clean feeling to lift the spirits...

[LDB]

Interesting topic and the primary point is valid, there are times when economy is the primary factor to be pursued. Also valid is the suggestion to pursue the healthiest and most nutritious options possible. Hot dogs may not be the best meal one can consume but as stated, they can be filling and satisfying at times.

Playing devil's advocate, how many of those drivers that can't really afford both meals and gasoline still aren't without their smokes? And how many of those eating the healthy foods/fruits/nuts/etc. are smoking?

[OntarioVanMan]

Interesting topic and the primary point is valid, there are times when economy is the primary factor to be pursued. Also valid is the suggestion to pursue the healthiest and most nutritious options possible. Hot dogs may not be the best meal one can consume but as stated, they can be filling and satisfying at times.

Playing devil's advocate, how many of those drivers that can't really afford both meals and gasoline still aren't without their smokes? And how many of those eating the healthy foods/fruits/nuts/etc. are smoking?

Very Valid point Leo....no money but a pack of smokes...

[cheri1122]

Yep, Leo, you got me: I eat healthy, and I smoke. What contradictory cusses we humans can be!
However, the subject was those who eat cheap because they need to, and that's not why I avoid restaurants & fast food. I would rather make my own, and get exactly what I want. [I'm making spaghetti right now]
But pinching pennies doesn't have to mean a diet of nutritional junk, which is all that was mentioned in the first few posts on stretching the food budget, ok?
Now I'm going to stir the sauce, and take the Reese's Cups out of the fridge, so they'll be ready for dessert.