Alright, I’m crunching the numbers on this Food Stamp Challenge, called 3SquaresVT in Vermont. As a single person, I’d be eligible for food stamps if I made 185% of the poverty level, which is $1,723/month gross. I may then be eligible for up to $38/week in benefits. That would be $152/month for groceries. Here’s how it would work for my personal finances:
This Food Stamp Challenge, called 3SquaresVT here in Vermont, to live on $38/week of food was not at all easy. I blew it in so many ways.
Day 4 (Wednesday) was a relative good day. I ate half an apple for breakfast, with coffee, cream and sugar. I ate the beans, rice and veggies that I’d prepared in advance for lunch. I skipped snacks and sodas at work, and then had sesame tofu for dinner.
Unfortunately, I had a coffee pot malfunction in the morning and lost a lot of coffee. I looked at the bag of grounds and looked at what was left in the pot of coffee. I decided I couldn’t really waste the coffee, so I filtered the grounds out of the pot and drank what I could.
This Food Stamp Challenge, called 3SquaresVT in Vermont, has been an unique experience.
Here’s a check-in from the first few days on the Challenge:
Day 1 (Sunday) was pretty easy, considering that I (unwisely) blew money on a coffee shop visit, did the grocery shopping for the week, and then enjoyed beans and rice for dinner (actually, one of my favorite meals).
The Greatest Books Challenge started in 2008, when I started reading fiction. Before then, I bet I hadn’t read more than five books of fiction outside of a classroom in my entire life. I just preferred non-fiction and that was that. But in 2008, I was trying to relax – my mind, my body, my use of time – and only fiction could do that for me.
So, in a truly un-relaxed way, I decided to do some searching and see if there were lists of the greatest books with which I should start. I found more than a few, and I’ve updated the links for your reference and use too:
Today is the first day of the Food Stamp Challenge, known as 3SquaresVT here in Vermont, in which I live on $38/week, the average weekly food benefit of a single person.
It took me about an hour yesterday to plan my recipes and grocery list for the week. Not surprisingly, it didn’t take me long to shop for the grocery items pictured to the right. Here’s the start of my menu for the week, along with costs.
3SquaresVT is what we call food stamps in Vermont. And from November 11-17, I’ll participate in the 3SquaresVT / Food Stamp Challenge, living on $38 in groceries for the week.
Here’s the deal:
“The 3SquaresVT / Food Stamp Challenge seeks to highlight what it is like to eat on the average 3SquaresVT benefit — approximately $1.80 per meal for a single person. The many people who have taken the Challenge have learned first hand what it is like to try to make ends meet on the average benefit.
Did you know, if you put a numerical list in a blog title, you’ll get more hits?
Some of these lists can be very hard to process in one sitting. How do you work your way through 100 affirmations for a full life? Or 40 questions to ask yourself to find out if the entrepreneurial life is for you?
I’ve tried to sit down with a few lists before and journal my way through the answers, but my interest fades shortly after question #7, like a drawn-out homework assignment.
I needed a way to take these valuable lists a bit more slowly and intentionally.