Swordplay Charlie
Dryer sheet wannabe
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2017
- Messages
- 22
We spend a bit more than you but I've done the math ahead of time and we should be able to spend the same this year with a general list like this:
30 pounds of fresh produce a week @ 50 cents a pound average = $15
4 pounds of grains / dried beans / pasta = $2
18 - 24 organic eggs = $6
1 pound cheese = $3
1 carton yogurt = $2
4 pounds meat / fish / shrimp / chicken on sale / Costco @ $3 pound = $12
Weekly total = $40
I buy what is on special but that is my more or less my baseline list, and that leaves a fair bit leftover for extras like $5 Friday shrimp and steak, dried shiitake mushrooms, curry sauce, etc. I discovered outlet stores after ER and the prices are half or less for the same products, same brand, fresher produce as my local supermarkets. Sometimes the prices are 75% less. If I ever had a seven wonders of our personal retirement plan, simply changing where we grocery shop would be one of them.
Hyatt Place and Holiday Inn Express, mostly. Anything with free breakfast that's relatively cheap on points. Hyatts in particular are a steal at 5k or 8k per night, and Chase UR points are gold and easy to mint.
A poster here once said his housing cost was $60K/yr to rent a condo in SF.
Must have been me. It was closer to $70K for our 2-bedroom high-rise condo by the time we moved out. No regrets whatsoever though. I still have a poster-size photo of the fantastic view we had from our living room hanging on the wall of my home office.
We have since moved to Alabama to look after MIL and $100K (which is close to our actual budget for 2018) goes a long way here.)...
Our rental 3300 sq.ft. penthouse in Vancouver currently (2018) costs us $56k/yr Canadian all in (except cell phones). Currently $0.78 USD.
We spend a bit more than you but I've done the math ahead of time and we should be able to spend the same this year with a general list like this:
30 pounds of fresh produce a week @ 50 cents a pound average = $15
4 pounds of grains / dried beans / pasta = $2
18 - 24 organic eggs = $6
1 pound cheese = $3
1 carton yogurt = $2
4 pounds meat / fish / shrimp / chicken on sale / Costco @ $3 pound = $12
...
Your price is pretty darn good, for the SF location. We do not get much lower, if any, here in the SW. The main thing is to know where to go, and then watch for their daily specials.
Go up north, past the 49th parallel, and prices like the above are unthinkable.
Right, knowing where to go and getting the daily specials are key. I do the same with event tickets.
Just curious, but what do you use 30 pounds of fresh produce a week for? Seems like a lot given the other foods on the list.
People eat about 5 pounds a food a day, so 2 people X 7 days a week X 5 = 70 pounds of food a week. I don't weigh the produce I buy, this is just a spreadsheet template I made up thinking about how we could eat healthy and optimize our grocery expenditures. I have a more detailed list with calories, not pounds, but it is too detailed to put in post here.
I didn't know that people eat an average of 5 pounds of food per day. I know DW and I don't. Five pounds seems like a lot. No wonder the U.S. population is so obese and unhealthy.
A pound of apples has 237 calories and a pound of lettuce is 63 calories. 5 pounds of lettuce would only be 315 calories.
There are 8000 calories in 5 pounds of bread or pasta, so obviously it depends on a person's diet.
There are 8000 calories in 5 pounds of bread or pasta, so obviously it depends on a person's diet.
Whereas my wife and I rent in Mountain View (it costs more than it cost us to rent in SF!!), and so our current housing costs us $49,800 a year.
A pound of apples has 237 calories and a pound of lettuce is 63 calories. 5 pounds of lettuce would only be 315 calories.
I didn't know that people eat an average of 5 pounds of food per day. I know DW and I don't. Five pounds seems like a lot. No wonder the U.S. population is so obese and unhealthy.
Vancouver is outrageously expensive. The rich immigrant Hong Kongese were said to drive up real estate prices, but I am sure there are other factors.
From all of the "reports" I have seen lately, $500k is way high for 90%. I have read where 70% have less than $100k....
Oh yes. 180 degrees from downtown and Stanley park through English Bay and Vancouver Island to Bowen Island and Hollyburn Ridge (Cypress). No high rise obstruction of views. Attached is a sampling.Does that penthouse have water views or something?
Oh yes. 180 degrees from downtown and Stanley park through English Bay and Vancouver Island to Bowen Island and Hollyburn Ridge (Cypress). No high rise obstruction of views. Attached is a sampling.
Yeah, we're a little OT but I had to chime in because I just got back from grocery shopping. In a typical week I go through 2 lbs. of brussels sprouts, 2 lbs. of cabbage, 3 lbs. of onions, 6 sweet peppers, a few pounds of bananas, and 2 lbs. of baby carrots. I also have a cauliflower in there that will be gone in a week. I stir-fry a lot so add the broths and sauces and it ay be that I take in 5 lbs. of food per day. I'm 5'7" and weigh 128.