Engineer eats efficiently for $2.50 a day (2016)
An engineer’s 2015 experiment to eat on $2.50 a day prompts debate over how inflation, regional price differences, and changing grocery markets make that target much harder to hit today. Commenters trade concrete tactics for ultra‑cheap eating—bulk rice and beans, frozen vegetables, meal prepping, gardening, and even meal-replacement powders—while arguing over hidden costs like cooking energy, refrigeration, and time. Many warn that optimizing purely for calories per dollar risks poor nutrition and long‑term health problems, and link individual food choices to broader issues such as CPI accuracy, food deserts, and politically driven food insecurity.
Inflation and Today’s Equivalent Cost
- Many try to inflation-adjust $2.50/day: CPI calculators give ~$3.30–3.37; some argue real food inflation is higher, closer to $5/day in practice.
- Debate over official CPI vs “felt” cost of living:
- One side trusts BLS methodology and notes food inflation spiked post‑COVID then slowed.
- Others say CPI underweights assets and expensive items via substitution, masking true monetary inflation.
- Some distinguish “money supply inflation” from consumer-price inflation and argue hard assets show higher true inflation.
Food Prices and Regional Variability
- U.S. grocery prices seen as shockingly high by some, especially brand-name and single‑serve packaged items.
- Others report much cheaper options at Aldi, Lidl, ethnic/discount grocers, farmers’ markets near closing, and restaurant‑supply stores.
- Prices also vary by season and geography; midwestern U.S. and certain chains still have very cheap meat, while coastal Walmarts can be expensive.
Cooking, Energy, and Equipment Costs
- Several note hidden costs: refrigeration, cooking fuel/electricity, water, and cleanup.
- Microwaves and rice cookers cited as efficient; long-simmered dried beans may cost more in energy than canned.
- Coin-fed electric meters in the UK make oven use genuinely expensive for some.
Nutrition, Calories, and Health
- Multiple commenters compute the author’s menus at ~1,300 kcal/day, often low in protein and vegetables; consider it unsustainable long term.
- Concerns about ultra‑processed foods, cheap non‑organic spices and oats (toxins, glyphosate), and overreliance on carbs.
- Counterpoint: many cheap, nutritious staples exist (rice/beans, lentils, oats, pasta, potatoes, eggs, frozen veg, tempeh, chickpeas, sardines), and careful planning can keep costs low without malnutrition.
- Extended debate on “perfect” or complete meals: Soylent/Huel, DIY powders, Plumpy’Nut, potato‑based diets, all‑meat/carnivore vs plant‑based; no consensus, significant ethical and health disagreements.
Time vs Money and Quality of Life
- Some see $2.50/day as an impressive engineering challenge; others call it extreme or “masochistic” and prefer a comfortable $5–10/day home‑cooked budget.
- Many emphasize batch cooking, freezing, and simple, repeatable recipes as a realistic compromise.
- A recurring theme: optimizing only for minimal cost risks long‑term health; “nutrients per dollar” and sustainability (time, effort, enjoyment) matter as much as absolute spend.