How much a week do you spend on food?

I'm already aiming pretty high. My goals are very much extraordinary, and I know it. I've tried to reach out to people and find others with a similar mindset as me and have had little luck. When I talk to others my age about saving for retirement they look at me like I'm speaking german. So you aren't fooling anybody with this talk about not aiming high enough. I would think a babyboomer such as yourself would be happy to hear from a millennial whose thinking of the distant future, taking responsibility, not expecting the government to do it, and making long term goals and acting on them, but I guess not. I could aim higher but I want to have some time to enjoy the things I worked for before its too late or I'm too old to do so.

 

Are small propane tanks allowed inside a truck, for those little tabletop propane grills? Obviously won't be firing it up inside the cab, but to carry along and use when at a rest area or truck stop for the night. Or I could just get an electric foreman grill. I was thinking of buying a bunch of boneless meat like chicken breast, grilling an entire pack at once, then refrigerate and eat them cold throughout the day. It's what I do now. I love leftover cajun chicken breast when it's cold but still got that spice to it. I was also thinking of getting cans of spaghetti and meatballs, ravioli, etc. to eat when in a pinch. I would love to keep costs under $100 a week for food, cigarettes, and my cell phone bill when I start driving, but I highly doubt that. Maybe $125. $25 put back for phone and $100 spending money.

 

$50 for a microwave. $50 for a hot plate, a fry-pan and a quart-sized pot. Congratulations. You can now make almost anything not requiring baking. (Assuming you have an inverter).

You can eat, WELL on a truck, CHEAP. The determinate factor is always your level of energy and willingness.

Frankly, after a 12-16-hour day, my energy is pretty minute.
I try always to have something quick, satisfying and easy. Sometimes that's a can of Sardines (I LIKE sardines) and some bread. Sometimes it's a tomato, a few slices of onion, some avocado, some olive oil and some spices with prosciutto.

Sometimes, McDonalds is just calling my name.

I do real well out here, even when I'm lazy. But then again, I live in my truck, have no rent or family to support. If you DO have that family, just remember that that $9.00 sandwich you just bought means $6.00
you just stole from your kids.

I don't know how married guys make it out here. i DO know it's darned hard. And that self-discipline is a never-ending necessity if you don't want your kids to grow up poor.

 

Food wouldn't be the hardest thing for me to budget on, but cigarettes. I was hardly a smoker before my current job. Maybe a week a pack would last. Now at my job now I work 12 hour shifts. We are supposed to take 20-30-20-20 minute breaks but I work back near the loading docks with no supervision with other guy and we just take turns taking hour long breaks all night. I go through a pack or two a night now because it's so boring. Work hard for a hour, then sit in the break room for a hour watching TV and chain smoking. Nobody says a word. Even had a supervisor come in after me and leave before, saying nothing. I'm afraid that it'll be the same when I get into trucking, driving down the road smoking all day

 

Per Diem. 60 a day for two people.

Laraime WY walmart was a once montly stop to gather enough food, fluids etc for two people. Usually around 700 pounds at about that much cost which means we are free from all retail truckstop expense except fuel and shower. If one of us was not driving we were housekeeping, preparing food to cook a meal etc. We did well.

Prior to team, I ate where need to. in winter sometimes 5 meals without worrying about the cost. The more I worked, the more i ate and stayed at 135 back then. Now I barely eat one meal a day and have lost close to 70 pounds to less than 175. Im still working on it but may have hit a wall.

 

A Burton cook pot has a wide range of temperatures. Set it real low to use as a crock pot, or up to 350°F. You can bake bread in it. It's the only item I use for cooking anymore.

I used to use the microwave, but I'm going to have the owner take it out. It takes up room and is a never-ending source of rattles and squeaks.

The great majority of my "cooking" is making a "###### Slap Salad" (slaps your tongue silly) that features no lettuce or boring tomatoes. Instead I use fresh basil, chives, arugula, raddichio, Italian parsley, sugar snap peas, avocado, and minced garlic. The dressing is a liberal splash of turmeric and powdered ginger, then splash on some Cholula Chili Garlic Sauce and balsamic vinegar, then finish with a good pour of olive oil. This salad fills me up and keeps me going most of a day throwing tarps and chains. I calculated that I get about 550 calories from the olive oil each serving. The fiber breaks down for long term energy, because as we all know fiber = carbohydrates. Uncooked carbohydrates are the best source of energy.

Other than my BSS I eat lots of fresh organic fruit, plain yogurt, maybe throw in a can of salmon or mackerel. I have pretty much given up on eating bread or any other grains, not much interested anymore and I noticed I don't have a constant stuffy nose since I quit.

Now the Burton cooker is used about once a week or every other week to slow cook some diced ribeye or venison stew.

 

We spend about $600 a month for food. With this money we eat daily and store about two weeks of food. This way we have options. When we have too much food, we only spend a couple bucks for milk, eggs, and bacon. If we are low, we spend hundreds.

The food we buy we eat. This is how you save money.

Any money on this budget line item left over at the end of the year goes into savings.

Today, we will spend about $30.

 

Pretty much all of the non mom and pop Pizza chains have 5 dollar hot and ready pizza during all of their hours of business. Definitely look into it. You can survive all day on a medium pizza for sure.

 

No.

Get a big inverter. And a induction plate with temperature. Or use the 12 volt ovens and those cook half a day.

DO NOT whatever you do, introduce flammable. Hazmat etc inside that cab, life depends on it.

 

I spend about $70 a week on food. I have an inverter and a microwave. I also have a small fridge.

I permanently food on home time. Bitterly chicken breasts to make 2 meals. I'll cook 8-10 chicken breasts on the grill then vacuum seal them in 2s. I'll do the same with pork chops. I'll bring enough for 15-20 meals.
A few red potatoes and some frozen veggies that steam in the microwave.

I'll also cook up a couple lbs of ground burger to make tacos, burritos or whatever with.

Very simple with a little work.