My investments have been doing very poorly. I am making a loss thus far on all my investments (except my cash investments). All my NZ and AUS stocks are incurring losses. Mind you I have not received any dividends yet.
There has been talk in NZ in the last week about a second recession looming for NZ. There has been talk in Australia for the last couple of months about a recession looming in Aussie. The economy in Canada has been experiencing successive contractions and is expected to be declared in recession (first two quarters) once the June data is released. China appears to be doing poorly. The only place which appears to be on the rise is USA. I am now quite paralysed about where to invest. NZ currency rate is at a 10 year low against USD so I don't want to buy any US stocks. Even my two managed funds which I suspect are mainly USA stocks are making a loss anyway. Even though exchange rate is ok with Canada and Aussie I don't want to buy any more Aussie, or NZ, or Canadian stocks as I feel the stock markets are about to enter a recession in all three countries.
So I don't really know what to do other than sit on cash for a while. I'm open to any ideas about beginning/pre recession investing.
Part time work full time happiness
Re: Bon voyage
I think Jacob sat on his cash for the first few years and didn't really invest until the end of his 5 year work period. Remember, compounding doesn't really play a large part in the accumulation stage when you're saving 70%+ and expect to start drawing within a short time. I am fairly hesitant to invest at this point as well and am considering sitting on most of the cash. In a few years I'll have a large sum to invest that would churn out nice dividends.
That said, I'm also not sure how much of an advantage buying dividend stocks at lower prices has. It raises the yield a bit but they could also reduce the dividend payments. If you are choosing companies with a good track record of paying, you'll be fine in the long run no matter what I think.
That said, I'm also not sure how much of an advantage buying dividend stocks at lower prices has. It raises the yield a bit but they could also reduce the dividend payments. If you are choosing companies with a good track record of paying, you'll be fine in the long run no matter what I think.
Re: Bon voyage
Thanks for your comments Cmonkey. Yep im quite keen to invest but have just become hesitant now because there are so many points pointing to a recession - in, NZ, Canada, Aussie and maybe even China. Just before a recession seems to be the worst timing. Throwing away almost. Maybe gold would be a wise option.
I might just sit on cash for a bit.
I might just sit on cash for a bit.
Re: Bon voyage
I enjoy reading your log! Regarding investments, you really shouldn't look at the short term at all. The markets will fluctuate and there's nothing you can do about it. In fact, a dip while you're still accumulating capital is probably good for you in the long term, since once it rebounds you'll have gotten some cheap stocks! Remember: it's not about timing the market, it's about time in the market. Just ignore the day-to-day fluctuations, or you risk buying and selling too much and decrease your returns by incurring trading fees.
I'd also strongly recommend you to look up the data on index funds. Do some reading at the bogleheads.org forums and look at some videos at ifa.tv. And read John Bogle's Little Book of Common Sense Investing. Remember that playing the stock market is a zero-sum game. Every time you're buying a stock, someone else is selling it -- someone who believes just the opposite of what you believe about its future. And the market is a lot smarter than the average investor, making it very difficult to beat. If professionals whose full-time job is to play the stock market (fund managers) are unable to consistently beat the market, do you really think you're smart enough to do it yourself? I know I'm not, so I'm buying low-cost index funds and I'm not selling until I need the money.
Here's a good video on dividend stocks: https://www.ifa.com/videos/ep_100_homemade_dividends/
EDIT: And here's a good video on market timing: https://www.ifa.com/videos/ep_110_the_p ... ming_pt_2/
I'd also strongly recommend you to look up the data on index funds. Do some reading at the bogleheads.org forums and look at some videos at ifa.tv. And read John Bogle's Little Book of Common Sense Investing. Remember that playing the stock market is a zero-sum game. Every time you're buying a stock, someone else is selling it -- someone who believes just the opposite of what you believe about its future. And the market is a lot smarter than the average investor, making it very difficult to beat. If professionals whose full-time job is to play the stock market (fund managers) are unable to consistently beat the market, do you really think you're smart enough to do it yourself? I know I'm not, so I'm buying low-cost index funds and I'm not selling until I need the money.
Here's a good video on dividend stocks: https://www.ifa.com/videos/ep_100_homemade_dividends/
EDIT: And here's a good video on market timing: https://www.ifa.com/videos/ep_110_the_p ... ming_pt_2/
Re: Bon voyage
Hey Ari !
Thanks so much for your feedback and the videos were very informative.
Thanks so much for your feedback and the videos were very informative.
Re: Bon voyage
Month two of my ERE journey has been a cracker for me. I have hit my 55% savings goal right on the line. Might not be much to some mega savers here but its a big deal for me. My NW has also increased substantially. My assets are now $79k and my student loan is $20k, leaving me with $59k. This is an increase of $9.5k in two months. Most of this has been from savings but some has been from my investments now finally adding some value. Watching investments go up and down has been quite exciting. A friend had the perfect analogy of it being like a person popping a yo yo up and down while being on an escalator. I love it when the yo yo is on the upward climb on an escalator.
I think there are a couple of spending areas I could do some work on. One that is standing out is food and groceries. I have not seen anyone on here spend as much as I do on food. I might post more on this later and seek suggestions.
I think there are a couple of spending areas I could do some work on. One that is standing out is food and groceries. I have not seen anyone on here spend as much as I do on food. I might post more on this later and seek suggestions.
Last edited by thrifty++ on Sun May 28, 2017 5:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Bon voyage
9.5K in two months is impressive, it's numbers like that that will make you FI before you know it.
Re: Bon voyage
Thanks Spoonman. Here's hoping such numbers can continue 
So my biggest expenses that cause me difficulty are rent and food/groceries. For now I think I have chopped down my rent to as much as possible in this expensive city. That leaves food. I have been consistently spending around $550 a month on food and groceries (includes all stuff eg grooming products and cleaning products). This is too much. While that sounds bad, before I became frugal, about 4 years ago, I would spend $750/$800 . Too much takeaways! But $550 is still too much. I am really interested in some suggestions to reduce costs. Here are some things I already do:
- Buy almost my entire food and groceries at the supermarket. I would eat takeaways only about once a week on average. Every meal I make.
- With everything I always buy on sale. Being on sale dictates what I eat for the week.
- If there are any vegetables I can get frozen I will go for the frozen ones first (cheaper).
- Almost every item I buy is fresh whole foods. Very little of what I buy is in a packet (sadly I think packet food is probably cheaper anyway).
- Only do grocery shopping once a week.
Here are things I am not prepared to do:
- grow my own food. I tried this last spring and as a result of having a small balcony and limited gardening skill this cost me loads of money. If I had an actual yard space it would be worth while but not where I live now.
- compromise my nutrient dense diet. I would not want to eat cheap high carb food all the time like rice or bread. I eat a varied nutrient dense diet of fruit, vegetables, grains, and lean meats.
- shop at the cheapest supermarket - the cheapest supermarket is an $8 return bus trip away. With that cost plus the loss of my time I am not prepared to shop there to save $20 a week in groceries.
I also think that a key problem for me is that I simply eat too many calories. I should eat less food. I am by no means fat but I am currently carrying about 4kgs more than I would like. So I could certainly afford to eat less.
I have now set myself a strict budget of $500 per month and will be watching it like a hawk This will force me to eat less and control my eating and spending. Hopefully this will be some help. Then maybe I can gradually reduce my spend per month to $450 then $400. Maybe even $350 at some stage in the future.
But I am really interested in suggestions on food cost reduction or any ideas anyone might have.
So my biggest expenses that cause me difficulty are rent and food/groceries. For now I think I have chopped down my rent to as much as possible in this expensive city. That leaves food. I have been consistently spending around $550 a month on food and groceries (includes all stuff eg grooming products and cleaning products). This is too much. While that sounds bad, before I became frugal, about 4 years ago, I would spend $750/$800 . Too much takeaways! But $550 is still too much. I am really interested in some suggestions to reduce costs. Here are some things I already do:
- Buy almost my entire food and groceries at the supermarket. I would eat takeaways only about once a week on average. Every meal I make.
- With everything I always buy on sale. Being on sale dictates what I eat for the week.
- If there are any vegetables I can get frozen I will go for the frozen ones first (cheaper).
- Almost every item I buy is fresh whole foods. Very little of what I buy is in a packet (sadly I think packet food is probably cheaper anyway).
- Only do grocery shopping once a week.
Here are things I am not prepared to do:
- grow my own food. I tried this last spring and as a result of having a small balcony and limited gardening skill this cost me loads of money. If I had an actual yard space it would be worth while but not where I live now.
- compromise my nutrient dense diet. I would not want to eat cheap high carb food all the time like rice or bread. I eat a varied nutrient dense diet of fruit, vegetables, grains, and lean meats.
- shop at the cheapest supermarket - the cheapest supermarket is an $8 return bus trip away. With that cost plus the loss of my time I am not prepared to shop there to save $20 a week in groceries.
I also think that a key problem for me is that I simply eat too many calories. I should eat less food. I am by no means fat but I am currently carrying about 4kgs more than I would like. So I could certainly afford to eat less.
I have now set myself a strict budget of $500 per month and will be watching it like a hawk This will force me to eat less and control my eating and spending. Hopefully this will be some help. Then maybe I can gradually reduce my spend per month to $450 then $400. Maybe even $350 at some stage in the future.
But I am really interested in suggestions on food cost reduction or any ideas anyone might have.
Last edited by thrifty++ on Sun May 28, 2017 5:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Bon voyage
For food I am prepared to spend what it takes to be my healthiest. I would rather have health than money anyday even it means FI is a little further away.
How much are your individual items? Without knowing that its more difficult to assess.
How much are your individual items? Without knowing that its more difficult to assess.
Re: Bon voyage
@cmonkey - I totally agree. I would never scrimp on health. Yes your question is quite true. I might have to give more detail to allow for meaningful suggestions. I might post my groceries receipt after the next time I go shopping.
Re: Bon voyage
Ok I am going to type out my groceries list for the week:
- Delmaine chick peas 390g can $1.80
- 2 packets of 120gm Real Foods sour cream n chives corn thins rice cakes $5
- 1 packet 120gm Real Foods tasty cheese rice cakes $2.50
- Celery $3.50
- Homebrand gherkins 500gms $1.79
- broccoli $2.49
- 169gms button mushrooms $1.86
- Homebrand baked beans 420gms in can 79c
- 982gms granny smith apples $2.95
- 250gms Fresh Harvest Mung Beans $1.29
- Premium eye fillet steak $6.95
- 2.5kgs potatoes $4
- 125gms fruit n nut mix $2.50
- 1.5kgs onions $2.70
- 2.32kgs oranges $4.66
- Salad leaves 500gms $4
- 100gms sugar snap snow peas $2.79
- 602gms packham pears $1.81
- 2 x100gms Aussie Bodies HLC Protein bar $10
- 150g slimmers choice natural yoghurt $1.39
- Farmer Brown 6 pack eggs $2.50
- Sealord tomato and basil tuna 185gm in can x 4 = $9.16
- Watties chunky frozen vegetable mix 750gms broccoli cauliflower and carrots $4
- Healtheries St johns wart tea 20 pack $2.99
- bouton d'or feta cheese 200gms $3.50
- Body moisturising cream 400mls $6
- meadowfresh cottage cheese 250gms $2.60
- watties 400gms can four bean mix $1.59
- goldensun canned baby corn 425gms $1.69
- Freshlife 400gms sultanas $2.50
TOTAL is $105.50.
So that is basically my whole groceries for a week for all of my food. But also add another $10 as that is what my flatmate and I put into the kitty for cleaning products, coffee, cooking oil, toilet paper, and milk. Bear in mind I also have another frozen chicken breast from last week. Typically you would also add another $5 to the above for that too. Its unusual I have any left over.
The expensive steak above is an outlier. I hardly ever eat steak. Maybe once every 3 months for health reasons to keep my iron up and get the protein. But I am disgusted by any steak which has gristle or fat or white bits in it. So I can only eat the most expensive cuts of it.
I am really hoping to get my total food and groceries under $500 per month but am struggling so any suggestions would be awesome!
- Delmaine chick peas 390g can $1.80
- 2 packets of 120gm Real Foods sour cream n chives corn thins rice cakes $5
- 1 packet 120gm Real Foods tasty cheese rice cakes $2.50
- Celery $3.50
- Homebrand gherkins 500gms $1.79
- broccoli $2.49
- 169gms button mushrooms $1.86
- Homebrand baked beans 420gms in can 79c
- 982gms granny smith apples $2.95
- 250gms Fresh Harvest Mung Beans $1.29
- Premium eye fillet steak $6.95
- 2.5kgs potatoes $4
- 125gms fruit n nut mix $2.50
- 1.5kgs onions $2.70
- 2.32kgs oranges $4.66
- Salad leaves 500gms $4
- 100gms sugar snap snow peas $2.79
- 602gms packham pears $1.81
- 2 x100gms Aussie Bodies HLC Protein bar $10
- 150g slimmers choice natural yoghurt $1.39
- Farmer Brown 6 pack eggs $2.50
- Sealord tomato and basil tuna 185gm in can x 4 = $9.16
- Watties chunky frozen vegetable mix 750gms broccoli cauliflower and carrots $4
- Healtheries St johns wart tea 20 pack $2.99
- bouton d'or feta cheese 200gms $3.50
- Body moisturising cream 400mls $6
- meadowfresh cottage cheese 250gms $2.60
- watties 400gms can four bean mix $1.59
- goldensun canned baby corn 425gms $1.69
- Freshlife 400gms sultanas $2.50
TOTAL is $105.50.
So that is basically my whole groceries for a week for all of my food. But also add another $10 as that is what my flatmate and I put into the kitty for cleaning products, coffee, cooking oil, toilet paper, and milk. Bear in mind I also have another frozen chicken breast from last week. Typically you would also add another $5 to the above for that too. Its unusual I have any left over.
The expensive steak above is an outlier. I hardly ever eat steak. Maybe once every 3 months for health reasons to keep my iron up and get the protein. But I am disgusted by any steak which has gristle or fat or white bits in it. So I can only eat the most expensive cuts of it.
I am really hoping to get my total food and groceries under $500 per month but am struggling so any suggestions would be awesome!
Re: Bon voyage
thanks Jacob. I will explore those links.
Re: Bon voyage
I'm in love with tofu.
Due to the very real struggles I am experiencing with keeping my food and groceries bills within $500 this month I have started to explore new ways to trim costs. Tofu is the blessing to my budget. There is a Chinese supermarket near where I live and I can buy 1kg of tofu for $2.50! Sufficient substance for three meatless meals. Much to my delight I noticed that tofu is 70% protein. I had no idea that tofu puts meat to such shame. Last night I dined on brown rice, corn, onions, and tofu. It was all in a garlicy, chilliesque, cuminy, vinegary, soya saucy tastiness. Vegetarianism is not c calling my name but tofu will definitely be a meat replacement a couple of times a week from now on.
Part of my cost reduction plans include stocking up on quinoa and dried beans. The prices at the Chinese supermarket did not look overly enticing so I will check out the supermarket prices today before making any commitment.
The timing with the days of this month means I need to buy groceries 5 times, so It will be especially challenging this month to stay within $500.
Lately I have been feeling a little bit bored with life. Being all about work, saving and investing money it has become a little bit like uncooked unspiced tofu. I have decided to get involved with an acting/theatre group/class. This has been something I have been wanting to do for a while. My comedic and creative side really needs something like this. I have been looking around for a free group to join and there is only one group which looks like shit. I was going to test it out but they even cancelled the first meeting. So I am going to stop being a tight ass and shell out $160 for an acting class which looks really fun. It will be tight on my budget this month but I can fit it in.
I have been holding off on a few things I would like to spend money on. The class was one. The other is hiring a personal trainer at the gym. In the last few years I have suffered injuries through gym and other sports which I think have been contributed to by poor form and insufficient care to body health when working out. I would like to hire someone for a while to help me with technique perfection, injury risk minimisation, stretching and exercise ideas for a while. This will be expensive. But I guess I put a high price tag on my health so I think I will do this next month.
Due to the very real struggles I am experiencing with keeping my food and groceries bills within $500 this month I have started to explore new ways to trim costs. Tofu is the blessing to my budget. There is a Chinese supermarket near where I live and I can buy 1kg of tofu for $2.50! Sufficient substance for three meatless meals. Much to my delight I noticed that tofu is 70% protein. I had no idea that tofu puts meat to such shame. Last night I dined on brown rice, corn, onions, and tofu. It was all in a garlicy, chilliesque, cuminy, vinegary, soya saucy tastiness. Vegetarianism is not c calling my name but tofu will definitely be a meat replacement a couple of times a week from now on.
Part of my cost reduction plans include stocking up on quinoa and dried beans. The prices at the Chinese supermarket did not look overly enticing so I will check out the supermarket prices today before making any commitment.
The timing with the days of this month means I need to buy groceries 5 times, so It will be especially challenging this month to stay within $500.
Lately I have been feeling a little bit bored with life. Being all about work, saving and investing money it has become a little bit like uncooked unspiced tofu. I have decided to get involved with an acting/theatre group/class. This has been something I have been wanting to do for a while. My comedic and creative side really needs something like this. I have been looking around for a free group to join and there is only one group which looks like shit. I was going to test it out but they even cancelled the first meeting. So I am going to stop being a tight ass and shell out $160 for an acting class which looks really fun. It will be tight on my budget this month but I can fit it in.
I have been holding off on a few things I would like to spend money on. The class was one. The other is hiring a personal trainer at the gym. In the last few years I have suffered injuries through gym and other sports which I think have been contributed to by poor form and insufficient care to body health when working out. I would like to hire someone for a while to help me with technique perfection, injury risk minimisation, stretching and exercise ideas for a while. This will be expensive. But I guess I put a high price tag on my health so I think I will do this next month.
Last edited by thrifty++ on Sat Apr 06, 2019 3:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Bon voyage
Sometimes the journey to FI can feel very much like a bland "rinse and repeat" experience. That's what Spoongirl and I used to call it, especially after coming home tired from work knowing that we would have to repeat the same thing the next day. I think you are doing the right thing in taking proactive steps to reduce the monotony of it all.
Re: Bon voyage
Thanks Spoonman. Yes my hope is to focus on reducing spending primarily on the mundane aspects of life, but to be less stringent with the spice of life. I will try to spice up my life as much as possible doing free and cheap things but on occasion will spice it up with things which cost money when there is no alternative.
Re: Bon voyage
Its that time of the month again. I have set out my months expenses below.
Rent 1000
Power 81.5
Internet 29.5
Food and groceries 520.5
gym 111
Insurance 71
Sunbed 16
Transport 12.5
Lotto 12
Medical 55
Netflix 13
Mobile phone 20
Fixed shoes 60
Haircut 30
Entertainment 40
drycleaning 28
Party and event tickets 52
Work spending on parking 2
Dining and drinks 271
Total 2425
I have made it exactly on the spot for a 55% savings rate which was my target. Man it has been a really tough month for savings. I have felt it. It has been made harder by the fact that I have had 5 rent payments this month and had to buy groceries 5 times. This is just how things work with weekly arrangements. Next month will be easier as I have 4 rent payments and need to buy groceries 4 times. Even though I have a bit more slack next month I am not going to lift my savings target any higher than 55% as I need to relax a bit.
Despite another phenomenal savings month my net worth has not changed as much as I had hoped:
- Assets $80,800
- Less student loan of $19100 and tiny credit card balance
Net worth of $61,600
The depressingly low increase to my net worth is a result of all my investments taking a battering with all the looming bad economic news. All of my investments are loosing capital. I hope that I have not begun investing at the peak of an economic cycle. But who knows maybe it will all be up again in a months time. I hope. Doesn't seem that way though. My saving grace is that I only invested a portion of my assets and the rest is in cash. I will certainly be clinging to and hoarding cash until it feels like we are hitting the bottom and starting to climb again.
I am pleased that I met my savings target of 55% but I am disappointed that I could not remain within my food budget of $500 which seems quite a challenge. I hasten to add that there is not a single purchase of takeaways in that sum. I had even started eating only vegetarian dinners for the last two weeks since I noticed funds were getting tight. I notice other people on here with grocery bills of like $200 per month. I cant understand that. I wonder if food is just more expensive here. I am going to look at making my own protein bars as that I something I usually spend $12 a week on. I am not sure if it will work out much cheaper though as I would still need to buy protein. Also I am thinking of making my own face moisturising cream. But I am not sure how to do that with spf? Typically this can cost $12 each time I buy from the supermarket.
Rent 1000
Power 81.5
Internet 29.5
Food and groceries 520.5
gym 111
Insurance 71
Sunbed 16
Transport 12.5
Lotto 12
Medical 55
Netflix 13
Mobile phone 20
Fixed shoes 60
Haircut 30
Entertainment 40
drycleaning 28
Party and event tickets 52
Work spending on parking 2
Dining and drinks 271
Total 2425
I have made it exactly on the spot for a 55% savings rate which was my target. Man it has been a really tough month for savings. I have felt it. It has been made harder by the fact that I have had 5 rent payments this month and had to buy groceries 5 times. This is just how things work with weekly arrangements. Next month will be easier as I have 4 rent payments and need to buy groceries 4 times. Even though I have a bit more slack next month I am not going to lift my savings target any higher than 55% as I need to relax a bit.
Despite another phenomenal savings month my net worth has not changed as much as I had hoped:
- Assets $80,800
- Less student loan of $19100 and tiny credit card balance
Net worth of $61,600
The depressingly low increase to my net worth is a result of all my investments taking a battering with all the looming bad economic news. All of my investments are loosing capital. I hope that I have not begun investing at the peak of an economic cycle. But who knows maybe it will all be up again in a months time. I hope. Doesn't seem that way though. My saving grace is that I only invested a portion of my assets and the rest is in cash. I will certainly be clinging to and hoarding cash until it feels like we are hitting the bottom and starting to climb again.
I am pleased that I met my savings target of 55% but I am disappointed that I could not remain within my food budget of $500 which seems quite a challenge. I hasten to add that there is not a single purchase of takeaways in that sum. I had even started eating only vegetarian dinners for the last two weeks since I noticed funds were getting tight. I notice other people on here with grocery bills of like $200 per month. I cant understand that. I wonder if food is just more expensive here. I am going to look at making my own protein bars as that I something I usually spend $12 a week on. I am not sure if it will work out much cheaper though as I would still need to buy protein. Also I am thinking of making my own face moisturising cream. But I am not sure how to do that with spf? Typically this can cost $12 each time I buy from the supermarket.
Re: Bon voyage
I like this time of the month as the journal section gets pretty busy. 55% is still pretty impressive savings rate.
With regards to the groceries, it does look as though your prices are a bit higher, but I'm not good at comparing metric and imperial measures. They don't look a LOT higher, just slightly. For example you are paying $5/dozen for eggs, which is quite a bit higher than what I was paying ($3.39), but someone in a large US metro area they would pay $5+ for a dozen eggs.
For things that I can see that are comparable in size (oranges, tea, yogurt) that tend to come in pretty standard sizes (across metric/imperial), the prices are nearly identical to what we pay. Other things (like the potatoes) seem a lot higher or you eating a lot of them. $4 worth of potatoes would translate to about 10-20 lbs of potatoes/week where I live!
Also, I don't count body products with groceries so this would help to bring the food category down. (I generally don't buy anything but soap/shampoo ) The aggregate wouldn't change.
We purchase around $100/month/person right now but we also eat a LOT out of our gardens. More than I realized. I always wondered why we never had a drastic reduction in the summer (or a corresponding hike in the winter) and its because we preserve so much and just eat that as opposed to purchasing. I think we'd be closer to $200/person/month if not for the gardens.
It really looks as if you are purchasing a lot of fresh food (fruit and veg) and leaving out a lot of carbs & meat which have a much better $ to calorie ratio. Staples like dry beans, rice and flour add a lot of calories and can really round out a meal and bring down that ratio a lot. Have you done a calorie analysis?
With regards to the groceries, it does look as though your prices are a bit higher, but I'm not good at comparing metric and imperial measures. They don't look a LOT higher, just slightly. For example you are paying $5/dozen for eggs, which is quite a bit higher than what I was paying ($3.39), but someone in a large US metro area they would pay $5+ for a dozen eggs.
For things that I can see that are comparable in size (oranges, tea, yogurt) that tend to come in pretty standard sizes (across metric/imperial), the prices are nearly identical to what we pay. Other things (like the potatoes) seem a lot higher or you eating a lot of them. $4 worth of potatoes would translate to about 10-20 lbs of potatoes/week where I live!
Also, I don't count body products with groceries so this would help to bring the food category down. (I generally don't buy anything but soap/shampoo
) The aggregate wouldn't change.We purchase around $100/month/person right now but we also eat a LOT out of our gardens. More than I realized. I always wondered why we never had a drastic reduction in the summer (or a corresponding hike in the winter) and its because we preserve so much and just eat that as opposed to purchasing. I think we'd be closer to $200/person/month if not for the gardens.
It really looks as if you are purchasing a lot of fresh food (fruit and veg) and leaving out a lot of carbs & meat which have a much better $ to calorie ratio. Staples like dry beans, rice and flour add a lot of calories and can really round out a meal and bring down that ratio a lot. Have you done a calorie analysis?
Re: Bon voyage
Thanks for your feedback CMonkey. So 20 pounds of potatoes is So much more than 2.5kgs. Closer to 10kgs! So potatoes are much more expensive here.
Your right I do not eat a lot of carbohydrates. I try to avoid calories so I eat a lot of low carb nutrient dense food. I also eat a lot though so that might be my problem. If I ate more carbs I would probably get fat with the amount I eat. I have recently started buying big bags of dried beans though. I am happy with their nutrient density and they are cheap. I have been mixing with brown rice and tofu and egg for a bit of a protein bomb.. I think generally I just need to eat less.
Your right I do not eat a lot of carbohydrates. I try to avoid calories so I eat a lot of low carb nutrient dense food. I also eat a lot though so that might be my problem. If I ate more carbs I would probably get fat with the amount I eat. I have recently started buying big bags of dried beans though. I am happy with their nutrient density and they are cheap. I have been mixing with brown rice and tofu and egg for a bit of a protein bomb.. I think generally I just need to eat less.
Re: Bon voyage
Raw food typically requires more calories /intake to achieve the same fullness you would get from carbs and meat in my experience. That would explain why you eat more. We try to balance at 1 part carb to 3 parts raw (generally, we don't track it religiously).