My First "Splurge"

Today just grated my nerves and, by the end of it, I needed to treat myself to something "fancy."

Cue Love'N'Haight Deli in Lower Haight, San Francisco. They have a spectacular selection of vegan sandwiches, and I had my eyes, heart, and tummy set on the vegan chicken-fried steak, hold the mayo, on a sourdough roll with avocado.

And I devoured that sonofabitch.

• Coffee: $0.60
• Apple: $0.70
• Sammich: $6.49
• TOTAL: $7.79

(Breakfast was a bagel as always and lunch was leftover fried rice.)

Back in San Francisco

I live in the Lower Haight section of San Francisco, but I work in the Financial District. I get to work via bicycle, so there is no expenditure here.

I still had bagels and Tofutti cream cheese from last week, so I enjoyed my favorite kind of breakfast.

And now to a regular routine: I discovered that the Lee's Deli across from my work charges only $0.60 for coffee if you bring your own mug. I have been doing this for about six months, and nothing will change during this project. (I understand brewing your own coffee is cheaper, but I really enjoy leaving the office for some "fresh air," folks.) On the same token, I also usually supplement my coffee with an apple purchased at the same time.

That being said: that's all I spent today. I had leftover homemade pizza for lunch (from last week) and a chunk of dark chocolate for dessert. When I got home, I discovered I had everything to make fried rice.

• Apple: $0.75
• Coffee: $0.60
• TOTAL: $1.35
  

Criticism

There has been some criticism about this blog that I would like to clear up.

This blog is not how to "barely survive." This is a lesson in budgeting and still being able to spend (minimal) money on entertainment in addition to food. This includes eating out if I so choose, as long as it's in the budget of $10-a-day. If I wanted to "barely survive," then yes I could just eat rice every meal, etc etc, but that is NOT what I am trying to prove. It's a budgeting exercise, not an exercise in living on as little as possible. That's why the budget is $10 rather than $1. (See this guy's try at it, though.)

Criticism on the fact that this is not including my rent and other bills is apparent. Well, that's ridiculous. It's impossible to live on $10-a-day in San Francisco while paying rent and utilities. It's just simply ridiculous to suggest unless I share a room with four other people and live only on dumpstered bread. If you disagree, make your own blog and prove me wrong. I choose to not include pre-existing bills due to, oh, reality.

Yes, I bought some shampoo and conditioner before the experiment. I was out. That's what people do. I did not buy anything else, but who cares if I had? People stock up on those things, and it wouldn't have been any different with me.

As far as a bagel holding me over until 1 p.m.: maybe I slept-in on those days. I was on vacation, after all. Trust me: I am by no means anorexic. I love my food - a GREAT deal. I am an average-sized woman with curves.

There was also criticism about letting the extra money move over into the next day. I haven't been practicing this at all thus far, and I don't really intend to. It seems that $10-a-day is just fine and I need no extra from another day. Trial and error, people. I've never done this before.

Any other questions before you get a knot in your knickers?

A Greyhound Ride

I had to ride Greyhound for about six hours yesterday, so there wasn’t a whole lot of cooking taking place.

That being said: my expenses were rather easy to handle.

I ate a bagel for breakfast and a bagel with peanut butter on it prior to getting on the bus. Homefries were made as a side for lunch, since I had purchased a large bag of potatoes prior to the New Year.

I also had an apple leftover from December that I took with me for the bus-ride. Clif Bars were on sale for $1.00 each, so I bought a few for the ride.

I had to buy fare on the city bus when I got into town, but I couldn’t locate a nickel. I paid $1.45 rather than the $1.50 fare.

Two Bagels: $1.00
Head of Garlic: $0.50
Onion: $0.42
Two Clif Bars: $2.00
Gum: $1.00
Lighter: $1.60
City Bus: $1.45
TOTAL: $7.97

As a side note, I should mention that I have been carrying around a Nalgene water bottle to ensure that I always have liquid on-hand. This will prevent me from unnecessary spending on bottled water or soft drinks. I am also a coffee-addict, but I have been brewing at home.

Purchasing More Than Food

Yesterday, my boyfriend and his roommates decided a trip to Virginia City, Nevada was in order. Virginia City was a boomtown back in the days of mining; the site of the Comstock Lode.

Nowadays, it's a tourist trap, if you can even call it that. It's mostly stores selling hokey "western" wear and fancy rocks...and bars. There are so many bars in a two-to-three block radius.

For breakfast yesterday, I just whipped up some homefries for breakfast. Before we left for Virginia City, I made a quick pb&j sandwich to hold me over.

I collect postcards. I keep some and mail away most of them. I bought four postcards in Virginia City. I also found some incense I haven't been able to locate since I moved to California from Missouri. (It's called Fizzy Pop and it smells amazing!) When I found a store with it in Virginia City, I had to buy a little bit. Other than that, I only spent money on a bit of "entertainment" and some candy at the candy shop.

I shot some rounds at a shooting gallery and watched a short comedy bit in an old antiquey slide-machine. (I can't remember what they're called. It's a private viewing thing.)

When we finally left, we drove to Los Gallos in downtown Reno and I got a burrito that held me over for the rest of the night.

• Incense: $0.50
• Postcards: $1.50
• Root Beer Sugar Stick: $0.25
• Old-Fasioned "Slide Show": $0.25
• Shooting Gallery: $1.00
• Burrito: $4.00
• TOTAL: $7.50

Not So Bad

The second day is practically over, and I won't be spending another cent.

I spent a bit more today, but I didn't even reach my $10 limit just yet.

I repeated a few meals again, today, as well, but I'm in Reno and vegan food has to be prepared at home in any way and I already had stock of several of the things I used.

This morning, I woke up and made my french-pressed coffee in-house. Boyfriend and I walked to the supermarket and picked up two bagels each. I ate my bagel with the same spinach dip-spread as the day before. The other bagel was consumed for lunch with some things I already had on hand (some hummus, tomato, avocado, and sprouts leftover from a sandwich I made prior to January).

During the day, I decided to make brownies, and (luckily) I didn't have to pick up any of the ingredients.

I made the fried rice again for several reasons. My boyfriend wanted to know how to make it, I had most of the ingredients already, the ingredients I didn't have were cheap, and, well, I liked it.

Tonight, some friends picked me up for pizza night, a weekly all-girl meetup at a pizza place in-town. Pitchers of PBR are $8 or so, so I put in $5 for one of two pitchers at the table. I didn't eat since I ate at home.

Today's expenditures:

• Two Bagels: $1.00
• Tofu: $1.49
• Onion: $0.48
• Beer: $5.00
• TOTAL: $7.97

And, as an added bonus, here's the recipe for the brownies. Most people who bake already have this stuff on hand, and they're probably the best vegan brownies I've ever had.

The Best Vegan Brownies I've Ever Had

-2 cups flour

-1 cup water

-1 1/2 cup sugar

-1 tsp salt

-1 tsp vanilla

-3/4 cup cocoa

-1/2 cup vegetable oil

-1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions:

Boil the water and 1/2 cup flour over medium heat until a semi-thick paste is formed.

Mix sugar, salt, vanilla, cocoa, and oil. Add the flour-water mix.

Mix in the rest of the flour and baking powder.

Pour into an 11"x9" pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Day One

It's the first day of my project, and conveniently the first day of 2009.

It's interesting to suddenly be so aware of cents in addition to dollars. Prior to this, I didn't care too much if something was $3.49 or $3.79 or $3.99. Now, that fifty cents matters.

I'm in Reno until Sunday night (visiting my boyfriend), so I am away from home and any "stocked" foods that I usually have at home (potatoes, rice, pasta, etc) so I made sure to stop by the store last night and grab a bag of brown rice, a box of linguini pasta, a loaf of bread and a 5 lb. bag of potatoes. (This was all relatively cheap, though...under $10 for sure.)

We rang in the New Year at his house with his housemates and a few of their friends. One of his housemates made an awesome vegan spinach dip from Tofutti cream cheese, so I used the leftover "dip" as a spread this morning on a bagel I got for fifty cents at supermarket Raley's here in Reno. The rest of my bill at Raley's included a bag of frozen peas and carrots, a box of tofu, and a small yellow onion.

Around 1 p.m., I got a little hungry, so I made homefries out of two potatoes, half of the onion and some garlic his housemates had. I plan on living on these homefries as a side quite frequently through this whole thing, because they are super cheap to make and super tasty.

Later on in the day, we went for a walk through downtown Reno to make a stop at my bank atm and withdrawal the money for tomorrow and Saturday. There are two corner-stores in Reno that carry Little Debbie pies that happen to be vegan, and they are only $0.75. I munched on an apple-stuffed one.

When we got home, I started on dinner: my first foray into fried rice (vegan-style). The experiment was hugely successful...so much so that Boyfriend asked how I made it, as it was so cheap and tasty. We killed the entire batch and now I rest at the end-of-the-day. I don't predict leaving the house at all, so I believe I can make note of today's expenditure (and save a few super-cheap vegan recipes).

• Frozen Peas & Carrots: $1.25
• Tofu: $1.49
• Small Yellow Onion: $0.43
• Onion Bagel: $0.50
• Little Debbie Apple Pie: $0.75
• TOTAL: $4.42

My only complaint is the health aspect thus far. The only veggies were spinach in the spread and the peas and carrots in the rice, and there's no real fruit to speak of. (I have an apple in the 'fridge. I might indulge in it later as a snack.)

Recipes for the day:

Yell's Homefries

-2 medium potatoes

-5 garlic cloves, minced

-1/2 onion, chopped

-salt and pepper, to taste

-oil (I usually use olive for health, but any others work fine)

Directions:

Saute the onion in the oil over medium-high heat until onions are transclucent. Add the garlic and saute a few more minutes. While the garlic and onion saute, chop the potatoes into squares about a cubic inch in size. (No need to peel the potatoes.) Add the potatoes to the garlic and onion and mix well. Sprinkle salt and pepper (be very generous!) onto the mix. Stir well. Saute the mix for about twenty minutes, stirring frequently.

Vegan Fried Rice

-1 cup brown rice

-1/2 onion, chopped

-1 box Firm Silken tofu

-1/2 bag frozen peas and carrots

-soy sauce

-seasonings (I used salt, pepper, sage, thyme, and a little bit of curry.)

-oil

Directions:

Bring 1.75 cups of water to boil. Reduce heat to low and add brown rice. Cover and let simmer for 50 minutes. Remove from heat and let set for 10 minutes before removing lid. DO NOT LIFT LID WHILE RICE IS COOKING - IT WILL LET THE STEAM ESCAPE. Stir rice with a fork.

Saute onion in a little bit of oil until translucent. Crumble tofu into the onion and sprinkle with a tablespoon-or-so of soy sauce. Season to your liking - but don't over-season! Saute for about five minutes, then transfer mix to a bowl. Pour about two tablespoons of oil into the pan and add the rice. Add a little bit of soy sauce and stirfry the rice for about five minutes. Add the half bag of veggies and mix well. Add in the tofu mix and cook for about five more minutes.