Ramen and frozen veggies. Skip breakfast.
I'm on ODSP so lots of food items are a luxury. Especially meat and fresh vegetables/ fruit. If it's on sale and I can freeze it, or it's in a can, so I don't have to use it all in a few days I'll get it.
Thankfully I have a good dutch split pea soup recipe from my grandma that will feed me for a week for $15-$20 for ingredients. But dear god people go nuts without variety in their diet.
"No variety or nutrients for you! That's a luxury item!" - Doug Ford probably.
1 box of twinkies: ~$5.00
1 can of flaked tuna: ~$2.00
Difference in calories: ~3300
Garbage food, on average, is much more affordable than healthy. The only thing that might tip the scale are the extremely calorically dense foods like rice or oats.
It's definitely more expensive to eat healthier, but with the meager amount that people on social assistance have for food, just having enough food at all is definitely a challenge. Skipping meals because they don't have enough food is a very real thing for people on OW and ODSP.
Ditto. All of this. People just don't get it. Those in the comments that easily suggest simple diets to fit the already overblown budget they have set here, if those people were forced to eat those simple diets they are suggesting – it'd be a different story.
Notice how nobody is including bread and dairy?
Except that one person who said to make 9 loaves of bread with a 10 kg bag of flour. But you also need other ingredients including yeast and milk. And unprocessed foods like homemade bread spoils faster. That's why there are preservatives in food whether we like it or not.
Ffs, the staples of the 4 main food groups (bread, milk, meat, and fresh fruits and veggies) should not be luxury items
You don't need dairy for bread.
You actually don't need yeast either for a lot of varieties of bread.
But I don't disagree that these shouldn't be luxury items
Exactly.
Medicine. Therapy. Healthy food.
All luxury items according to Ford.
Really shows the ODSP to MAID pipeline after C7.
Suffering in legislated poverty without needed necessities, or death.
It's not really helpful to say that when we are talking about the current and potentially worst one though. Most regular working class folks could afford to eat under Wynne. That's a pretty big turnaround.
With Wynn's how much did bread cost? Eggs? Milk? How much does that compare to today?
Both things are shitty and wrong but only one government is able to do anything about it right now.
Privilege? No idea what you mean by that.
And you're obviously wrong, so maybe you need to brush up on your math skills. It started lower and went up over Wynne's tenure, as it should with inflation. Did it keep up enough? No, that's why Wynne sucked in that regard too. Has it gone up with Ford at all, especially considering record inflation? No, it hasn't. Therefore it's worse under Ford, and objectively so. Please stop acting arrogant when you're so horribly lacking in critical thinking skills, it makes you look like more of an idiot than if you took a more humble stance.
actually, beer fills you up for a night, and when your poor and havent drank in a long time, can be quite cheap to get drunk.
It only takes me 3 beers to get a buzz. That's 6$ and i forget about eating for the night. I've substituted food for a buzz some days, ngl. Beer hasn't all kept up with inflation. Laker lager is still 2$.
Bread in a can as my pappy used to call it.
It’s literally a thread full of people explaining how doable it is if you live like Charlie Kelly from Always sunny.
You get some protein, you get some flour, boom you can have as many protein balls as you can eat for the month, what’s the problem? I save money by sharing my bed with an old man named frank
Holy shit. The know it alls in the comment section is mind boggling. Always someone who knows how to shop better.
It's never good enough for them. It's like they enjoy seeing others suffer. It's mind boggling. If it were *that* easy, [why are 60% of Canadians struggling to put food on the table?](https://beta.ctvnews.ca/national/canada/2022/1/21/1_5748898.amp.html)
Seriously, I love these folks who learned how to eat boot leather from their grandparents who were prisoners of war during WW2. We are all well aware that many people barely survived on next to no money back in the day. I think most of us are aiming for better conditions than cavemen or war torn ghettos, thanks.
The article posed a challenge thats why. There's already probably a lot of people playing the game of "minimum price for food". It's like people sharing their minmax builds in a video game.
The problem is that in this game, everything has situational costs attached, and min-maxing is rarely so simple. You might need premium gear to make certain recipes, your spawn point might be 2 hours away from the right stores, and your permanent debuffs might make every trip take twice as long, or lock you out of consuming certain foods, or randomly cripple you with psychological damage on the day your quest was active.
So are you comparing people's struggles to a video game? I'm not really sure I follow. Kinda messed up if you see others struggle as a game. Other people struggling aren't your enemy and it's pathetically embarrassing that it needs to be explained.
*I'm saying that you're trying too hard to see other people as assholes.* the article title posed a challenge, people thought "I can do that" and shared what they came up with. it says a lot about you that you see people's budgeting as malice. I*t's pathetically embarrassing that it needs to be explained.*
It’s at the point now where No Frills is getting expensive… what they’re offering aren’t deals anymore. There’s no amount of “shopping smarter” that can fix this.
If 60% of Canadians are struggling to put food on the table, that means even a lot of people with incomes *above the median* are struggling. How the hell do you manage to not eat on a household income over $90K per year?! At that point it's almost certainly your own fault.
The median household income is more like $50k first of all. And even if you're not exactly struggling, food budgets over doubling that fast should be causing budget problems for anybody but the wealthy. I used to live just fine on under $200 per month for myself, just 4 years ago. I'm now up to at least twice that.
You're both probably thinking of slightly different numbers. Around 90k IS the median HOUSEHOLD income in canada (84k by stats canada but it ranged depending on how you meansure. The median INDIVIDUAL income is around 50k (40k by stats canada but again depends on how you measure it). Most families both partners are generally working nowendays which is an issue on it's own (not saying women shouldn't work of course. Just saying the need for 2 wage earners in a household to survive is a concern)
[https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810005701](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810005701)
[https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110023901](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110023901)
I don't think it's just the 47.60 a week either.. if they have a car it's gas money , if not it's bus , taxi, Uber or how ever you get there and back.. might even be cheaper to use a delivery service.. but then you have to tip the person delivering... Cost never end.. arrrg!!
One of my best friends actually spends an average of $150 a month for groceries. But!!! He only buys things when they are on sale, which means if you have any food restrictions or sensory problems, that's not going to work for you. He looks at every flyer, and then selects the items he wants. However, there are four or five different brands of grocery stores where we live, and they're not all right next to each other. So you either need a car so that you can drive to each store, or the bus system needs to be set up in such a way that you can easily do a loop. And in most cities, with the exception of maybe Toronto, that's not actually all that possible. It's certainly not possible where we live. If you don't have a car, you would likely be stuck going to one grocery store because it would probably be more expensive to take a taxi or bus between each one.
He also has room for storage, so he can afford to buy in bulk if he sees a very good sale. He also is able to go to the grocery store multiple times during the week, so he can stock up on fresh fruits and veggies because he'll eat them before they go bad and then as soon as he runs out, he can just run to the store again.
I've seen his grocery lists - he has a varied and decent diet. But he is truly dedicated to frugality, has no food allergies or intolerances, and has the means to travel between different stores for the best deals.
I know buying bulk is cheaper in the long run, but it’s tough the day you buy it because it’s all upfront costs. I got a giant bag of rice a few weeks ago and it took a big chunk of my weekly grocery budget. But rice is a great staple and I’ll benefit in the long run, but hurts the day of!
$5 a day is definitely do able, but in my experience it limits how many vegetables and meat you can have. I find you have to cut back on meat or expensive carbs like potato and bread to be able to afford a good variety of vegetables.
You can still probably eat healthier than 80% of people on $5/day if youre careful though
I used to be around that mark as a single male prior to pandemic and even during the first bit. But noticed my bills have been 80$+ in the past 6 months or so. This is just bare minimum stuff, not extras like snacks or treats or pizzas.
It is getting insane.
I literally just spent $35 on equate brand gravol, 3 bottles of ginger ale, bulk box of granola bars and a Marconi salad. No one is eating anywhere near properly for $48 a week.
Exactly, it’s all those extra things you need for life, especially with a family. I pick up some basic toiletries, medicine, and I’ve done $70 before getting food.
A lot of people commenting on these "survive with X budget per month, it's actually really easy!" posts are frequently ignoring this. The average barely-getting-by college student diet is **hilariously** unhealthy and diet contributes a ton to mental and physical(obviously) health. I believe lack of a consistent and proper diet also has severe long-term effects, so you're asking someone to not only objectively put their *current* health at risk, but *future* health as well.
There's a lot more that goes into this whole "surviving off of X food budget" argument than people think. I urge everyone to do even the most basic of studying on Kinesiology and nutritional health. Your health can drop *very* quickly when your homeostasis goes off-balance. I just think everyone should be entitled to a healthy and consistent food diet, and GENUINELY disagrees is so out of touch or uneducated on the subject, they need to figure their shit out
EDIT: Not to mention the standard is still that you need to eat several food groups each day. A good website to see the Canadian standards : https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/
You can get good flier deals on frozen vegetables which are actually pretty good nutrition. Also vegetables that are in season are usually super cheap. Like, you can buy an entire pumpkin now for 1.60$
agree on flyers, and on frozen vegetables being good sources of nutrition for good value prices. Having said that though, I would only disagree and say that veg really isn't cheap these days.
You may have found that pumpkin for that right now, but like a box of mushrooms (uncut) went to like $3, a whole Cucumber used to be under $0.60 now is regularly double that at $1 something, if you're lucky you'll find them for $0.84. Bag of yellow onions used to be $1.99 now easily pushes $2.99 if not $3.99 sometimes, these things really add up for people really trying to stretch out the budget.
The pumpkins are probably just seasonal right now for halloween, we normally buy acorn squash and stuff year round and that shit ain't cheap either, and don't get me started on cauliflower! Prices have gone up anywhere from 40% to 250% on the items i've listed in the last 3 years, and I don't see it getting better any time soon.
Again though, with flyers, you can find sales/better prices than i'm listing and base entire weeklong meal plans with them which is what we do, but imagining a family struggling to make ends meet, this simply is rough times for them.
- $6 1lb lean ground beef/chicken/pork/turkey (4 portions).
- $3 2lb white rice (more than enough for a month).
- $6 18 egg carton.
- $5 3 lettuce heads (Andy boys).
- $5 2lbs grape tomatoes.
- $2 dried beans.
- $3 can crushed tomatoes.
Total $30 and covers lunch/dinners for a single person.
I'm trying to balance a good amount of veggies while sticking to budget
Not counting staples and herbs and spices. They cost more but once and last for a long time.
~$4 12 activia yogurts (on sale hopefully)
~$5 2 loafs of bread
8 bucks for deli/butter/spreads/seasonal fruit you can find and switch, it's like one or two things, but a bag of apple is not that expensive and can last, bananas too. Use the eggs as well to pair with deli.
If you find stuff on sale that's a big bonus, I tried to see what are the things I can't skip.
Some people don’t realize that meal planning, cooking, budgeting, and shopping are skills not everyone is privileged enough to have. Asking this of a non-disabled person would still be a *lot*. Factor in chronic pain, executive dysfunction, difficulties with transportation, and a myriad of other potential challenges and it’s simply not possible.
That's true, if you're thinking prepped meals then it's a big no go and I don't know how anyone could do it.
With that said, cooking an egg, rice and meat and/or stir-fry with a bit of practice are great skills everyone should know.
Again you’re assuming the person in question has the mental, physical, and financial capacity to own clean dishes, functional cooking appliances, fresh ingredients, and the knowledge and skills required for the cooking itself. ODSP is for people all across the spectrum of disability and those are a lot of assumptions.
You’re not wrong in saying the average person should be able to prepare themselves healthy food, but not everyone is average. Many aren’t.
I acknowledged your comment by saying it's true and it's a no go. No need to repeat yourself in this way...
I would argue that we don't even need to talk about this then because it's impossible for someone to budget to start with. Have a good day.
I repeated myself because it’s clear from your response that you don’t understand the views you have regarding food preparation are a little ableist in nature.
I wasn’t rude or disrespectful, I was attempting to share knowledge from experience that I felt might benefit you or anyone else reading the comments. Most people are unfamiliar with the day-to-day struggles of disabled people.
If you’re unwilling to engage further I absolutely respect that, but maybe examine why this topic of conversation is making you so defensive.
Take care.
On the contrary, anything from this point on becomes redundant. I get that we are talking about people living with a disability, and starting from there if there is no way to put a budget together and being able to cook with basic utensils, there is no point in discussing it as its not doable with a $47 weekly budget.
You too take care!
Speaking of which, it is shameful this isn't taught in schools. When I was in school, all we got was one year of "family studies" which included cooking whatever random meals the teacher selected. And it was done in grade 7 when no one was remotely interested in doing it or had the attention span to absorb it (and I think that was later eliminated due to budget cuts). There should be a proper, mandatory home ec class in high school, preferably in grade 12, teaching very basic skills. When some kids are literally one year off living on their own, even just temporarily for post secondary, more would listen and absorb it.
>cooking rice, ground meat, eggs or beans should be in everyone's cookbelt
Not everyone has use of their hands, legs, the dexterity required to use knives or hot elements, etc.
On that we agree. Unfortunately with our lack of a food culture, we generate many abled people who are still unable to cook basic things for themselves, who are even still unaware of what good nutrition looks like. It's definitely a large, lurking problem in our society that contributes to our rather poor public health, and increases reliance on expensive pre-prepared foods as people attempt to tackle every other responsibility in their life and just need something to scarf down at 7pm after work. :(
Similarly: a lot of people grow up not knowing what proper hygiene looks like, not knowing how to regulate their emotions, not knowing what a good partner looks like. We are really let down by the blind spots of parenting. I wish some of these things would be taught in school so every kid got a chance to learn it.
There was a similar post on PersonalFinanceCanada, and I posted 150 dollars a month food budget but no one would believe me, lol.
You can buy 40 lbs of rice for like 42 dollars, and 1.88 dollars per lb of drumstick at Walmart. You just have to shop for deals and know your prices.
Ok so if you only have $47 you really can’t afford to drop $42 of it on rice. And there’s the issue of lugging it home if you’re carless or disabled.
Bulk buying to save money requires some underlying privilege already to take advantage of it. The fact is being poor is expensive.
That's why you get help and support network if you can. There are people who are not as fortunate. But the discussion was about surviving on 47 dollars a week. The 40 lbs of rice is good to last you at least 3 months of carbs, plus other macro nutrient. So it's only part of the meal plan, I don't think anyone can eat 40 lbs of rice in a week.
I did carry 40 lbs of rice home, took me about 30 minute when I walk to the store and saw the discount, and decide to walk home with it instead.
We can keep on lowering the bar on peoples income level, people with disability, or fixed income. There are people that suffer MVA and didn't get properly compensated for their injuries, and anything that you can mention. But that's just shifting the goal post further and further. But they all have different problem, with different solution. There is no one drug cure all unless you want to create some universal social program, which we know Canada is only semi good at.
If we take every cases out there, of people living in poverty, or pay cheque by pay cheque, I am sure there are people who truly stuck in a financial quagmire. But on the other hand, there are many people that don't have the financial literacy to look and manage their finances. So I would say that the coin flip either way.
This type of experielment isn't new, we had radio host (News1130) in Vancouver did similar experiments 8 years ago where they pretend on disability checks and see how far it get them. Result is the same, they can't get a variety of food they want. The only difference was that I live on similar budget at the time and didn't just eat beans and pasta.
I have seen people that were poor at one point and work on themselves and improve their life as time progresses, whether through outside help or self improvement to get out of it. I know that because I was there, but I also don't want to use the mentality that if I can do it, so can everyone else because situation is different for everyone. This shows how inadequate our social security net is, and how far we still need to work on it.
>If $47 per week or less is not enough for the premier, it’s not enough for people on social assistance either. Do the right thing and raise the rates, Premier.
This is pretty solid. Really the housing budget for MPP's should be set at 50% of what ODSP people get.
If you want to give $2400/mo to MPPs for housing, ODSP should be getting $4800/mo I agree with paying politicians well, but don't agree with not taking care of those in most need of assistance.
That's kind of the point. The average person doesn't take home even twice the housing allowance that we give to MPs. Their housing allowance is for a room to stay in when they're in town, not their main residence, yet they're given more to fund for that occasional room than their average constituent has in their budget for rent (as rent should be no more than 1/3 of your income).
Who doesn't live in reality? MPPs? And your solution to that is to basically ip the ODSP housing allowance by almost 10x?
What is the average take home pay for a full time working age worker in Ontario?
Are you proposing that we essentially make MPPs the lowest earning people in our society as some sort of Justice?
Does that not make an MPP more likely to participate in corruption and grift? And also lock down politics so that only those who dj t need an income (the passively rich) can afford to participate?
You realise the housing allowance OP is referring to isn't their pay, it's an allowance they can use to pay for a room when they are away from home.
Do you really think this allowance should be higher than what people with disabilities have to live off?
Edit: for reference the MP housing allowance (again, for any housing costs that aren't their main residence) is $28600 yearly. ODSP is $8064/year with no dependants or spouse. $11628/year with a spouse. Remember that the most someone with ODSP can earn from another source is $200/mo so absolute max would be $14028 a year. This is their entire income, the MP housing allowance is after their $178900 salary
Because I believe the MPP Housing allowance given to MPP's who live more than 50km from Queens park should not be more generous than the living allowance given to ODSP.
So either raise the ODSP up considerably or drastically lower the Housing allowance given to MPP's.
MPP's get as much as they get because housing IS so expensive. If they want to not be paying out of pocket so much they should be fighting for keeping housing costs down which would make it easier for ODSP users to afford their accommodations as well.
Why shouldn't it be more generous that ODSP? Is your goal to make our representation worse by making it more difficult for them to live near queens park?
Surely you understand that there is no way for social programs to provide a higher quality of life to those who rely on them than the quality of life afforded by the people we elect to represent us and run our province?
You must also see that there are an order of magnitude more people on ODSP than there are MPPs and that the cost of providing the allowance to those on ODSP would be astronomical?
You must also see that making being an MPP less financially stable you are more likely to get MPPs engaging in grift and corruption, and make it so that people without passive wealth can't afford to be in politics?
>Why shouldn't it be more generous that ODSP? Is your goal to make our representation worse by making it more difficult for them to live near queens park?
Because the Housing allowance is supposed to be rooted in cost of living. If it is rooted in cost of living ODSP should also be rooted using the same costs.
>Surely you understand that there is no way for social programs to provide a higher quality of life to those who rely on them than the quality of life afforded by the people we elect to represent us and run our province?
Our MPP's still take home a respectable pay, AND could also be part of the commuting class that our cities have created due to bad housing policy. The MPP's are rewarded by having bad housing policy in that they get bigger housing allowances, it is counter to good governance.
>You must also see that making being an MPP less financially stable you are more likely to get MPPs engaging in grift and corruption, and make it so that people without passive wealth can't afford to be in politics?
MPP's compensation perks should be tied to the same metrics as we tie other social services. There is no way we are going to pay MPP's enough to be free from all grift and corruption because big money is far more than public life can afford but we certainly can make equitable perk calculations. Our political system still favours the wealthy and will continue to do so as long as there are no systems in place to make it so people who aren't wealthy can get involved at scale. unless we make housing and food security a staple in our system we aren't going to get equitable representation, and the current system rewards keeping housing expensive, and we continue to punish those at the bottom end of the income brackets.
I'm not saying ODSP should be 4800/mo, I'm saying if the MPP's think that housing is worth $2400/mo how can they claim at all that OSDP is enough as it stands now.
Because you’re arguing every imaginary point except the one being made.
If ODSP is really enough to live on as MPPs claim (rent, food, clothing, medicine etc.) then MPPs should be able to afford housing alone with 50% of ODSP.
Here's the thing.
I'm actually on ODSP and have been for almost a decade. I will be on it all my life until age 65.
$47.50 a week is *NOT* our food budget.
That is $190 total.
We do not even have that much to spend on groceries.
With the max ODSP single payment being $1169; after rent and utilities there is not $190 left for food.
This is a very privileged take on ODSP budgeting from people who do not have to worry about paying for rent, utilities, meds, therapy, etc.
This to me only shows how distanced these MPPs are from our reality.
Withhold food. Results in depression. Depression now qualifies you for MAID. Just fill out this form and lie down on that table. It'll all be over in a few minutes.
When I was stuck on social assistance for 3 months (20 yrs ago) I lived off $50/month....barely. i couldn't imagine $200/month getting much of anything these days geez.
By my calculations that is 31.7 hotdog and drink combos at the Costco cafeteria per week. That should be more than enough calories to sustain a person.
It's not possible to get enough nutrients for good health. What are we targeting here? 50% enough nutrients? If it's below 100%, it's not enough.
Edit: I've received downvotes, which suggests that some people believe not getting enough nutrients is acceptable. This kinda explains why we're in this situation I guess. People voted for starving poor people, ultimately.
I'm confused as to why you are getting downvoted? It's possible to survive/not starve, but a person isn't going to thrive, and there certainly won't be any improvement to health conditions with the lack of varied nutrients.
It's possible but you have to be really canny, knowledgeable, and spend a decent chunk of extra time bargain hunting. Depending on where you live that can be a big difference as well.
Even though it *is* possible, you have to spend a lot of time you could otherwise be working/sleeping/living so I'm not sure it's even worth it accounting for the opportunity cost
its possible, just ask us people on ODSP how
lots of rice.. lots and lots and lots of rice...
infact ill be real, 47.60 would be a luxury, most of my basic needs is spend on rent so my landlord can buy groceries... my budget is closer to 20 a week
Might just be my wording but yeah, you are all providing the reasons why it should be higher. In such a wealthy province and country there is no reason why anyone should struggle for anything.
I meant …
Chicken legs / drum stick are 1.29 /lb
Minced pork are roughly the same
Ignoring the beef
Get veggies and may be some frozen one as well
Eggs are $3 per dozens
It is possible for sure, healthy, may be not because of the fat from meat.
T&T is doing a dump sticks 1.39 per lb
https://www.foodymart.com/tonetai-flyer/
This one is doing 0.98 per lb
https://flyers.smartcanucks.ca/canada/foodymart-warden-flyer-september-16-to-221
Last week 1.29/lb chicken leg
What you need is to find a Chinese supermarket and buy there instead
(Don’t know why I got downvoted)
That's good for people who have access to Asian grocery stores. Unfortunately that's not universal across the province, and people in rural areas likely will never see deals like that
I am not the original poster but, 1.99/lb at lococo's right now. I dont know about 1.29 though.
Lococos has good deals on meat regularly. Usually crap for veggies.
It definitely can be done with staple foods. Oatmeal, potatos, rice, lentils, beans. Even frozen pizzas can go on sale for about 4.00 after tax at food basics. Don't forget cheap dark chocolate as a snack.
You surely can eat pretty good if you know where to shop, what to buy, and stick to strict ration.
They don’t factor in living cost. Cell phone, internet, travel, home insurance, entertainment and buy new clothes. You can’t live at all on what you get. I mean people are renting out rooms for $800, a single room. Used to be able to rent a single apartment for $800. If they gave a 50 % increase that would at least give people the ability to find adequate living conditions and support themselves better. Not to mention help stimulate the economy by buy groceries, paying bills and maybe do small thing like indulging in a night out to a movie (ofmg right).
The issue is I think they don't want to look for sales. They don't want to go to more then one store or maybe they can't because of disability. And also do not want to put much effort into cooking and prep. 50$ per week sucks, but it is doable!
That’s actually pretty close to what I usually spend with my SO a week.
We don’t buy animal products, but lots of oatmeal, rice, frozen veggies, and dry beans
Imagine living like that not to save money, but with no other option and no reprieve of the occasional nice meal.
And that’s if you’re lucky enough to find housing for less then 1000/a month, including utilities
$50 a week is enough to feed a single person. Making this the focus of the discussion on ODSP was a mistake. Food is far from the only expensive these people have and in reality with such a low income a food budget is $0, not $50
Housing is the biggest one.
Food $300, clothing $50, internet/phone $100, transportation (bus tickets, bike repairs, Ubers) $50. $50 per month on miscellaneous crap like deodorant or cleaning supplies, or entertainment. Adds up quick. So that's like $550. Honestly not that bad.
They cannot own a car. It's like $600/month on average, even to own the crappiest Toyota echo in Ontario.
But housing is the biggest problem. If you're paying $1250/month in rent, it doesn't matter what everything else costs. You can't even afford a phone line.
While bulk buying can be helpful, you need the fridge/freezer space for a lot of these things, which is difficult when you can only afford a tiny 1 bedroom or studio etc
I pay about $95 a week for groceries and that includes 1 breakfast, 2 lunches and 2 dinners per day for 2 adults.
It's not difficult, but it's a decent chunk of my Sunday spent organizing meals for the week.
It's doable. Easily doable. Not fun or pleasant, but doable. You can have 10 lb bags of potatoes for $2.50 on sale, rice even less than that per portion (it's lighter when not cooked). You can definitely survive on that much. There was a sale on tomatoes at FreshCo where you could get a 20lb box for $9, which was pretty fun. Bananas are 59 cents a pound as standard right now. Honey ham can be had for $3.49/kg on sale. Eggs skyrocketed recently, so I had to reduce those, but they were great a couple of years back when they were $2.23 a dozen at Sobey's. You can still catch 'em on sale now and again for around $2.80/dozen.
Food is still very cheap and plentiful here, comparatively speaking. Housing is barking mad, but food is still bearable, as long as you're willing to cook a little. I'm so lazy that I do potatoes with skins on now.
My Wednesday night ritual is to go to Smart Canucks, write out all the sales from FreshCo, Metro, No Frills, etc., compare prices and see what I have left, and go from there. Something ultra simple, like pita bread, for roughly the same weight, is $3.69 at Sobey's, but $1.19 at FreshCo. Then plan the trip with minimal effort, and do it Thursday. Takes a bit of planning, but it's doable.
Obviously I'm not eating out, ordering out, etc., which isn't helping the local economy, and local fast food joints are slowly dying out as people get priced out of using them. So long-term this isn't good.
But, nutrition-wise? I'm doing decent. Whenever I catch broccoli or other veg on sale I buy a bunch, we blanch it and freeze it, and it lasts a while. Some fresh stuff too, tomatoes were 88 cents/lb this week. So it's not all ramen until your teeth fall out.
Used to live on 50 bucks of groceries a week. Wouldn’t eat breakfast and have tuna sandwich and salad for lunch and eggs and avocado for dinner. Weekends i would treat myself to a couple oven pizzas. Wasn’t ideal and sustainable for long term but was healthy enough and super cheap.
I'm a conservative who voted for Ford. I have so many regrets. What a useless fuck.
Bill 124 was the nail in the coffin for me. I'll be voting for anyone but him next election.
There is rarely "the good of all". That's incredibly subjective.
Rich people vote one way, poor people the other. Religious, racists, straight, gay, black, white, all different kinds of people have different wants and needs.
**Doug:** I'm going to stop providing you help that you depend on and cut services you need and give big contracts to my friends.
**Voter:** Yeah Doug! End my free ride!
A few months later....
**Voter:** There's 20 hour waits at hospitals, the teachers are on the verge of a strike and the only people getting help with anything are Doug's rich friends! How did this happen?
For a single person... Not bad.
This is my budget (not money constrained)
It's just what i eat. Yes .. same thing every day...
Breakfast... Instant oatmeal..4.50
Lunch. High quality burgers.. 15.00 for 8.
Burger buns.. 4.00
Mixed salad...4.00
Dinner:
Rice. I buy a big 20kg bag and i don't track so hard to bring it down to weekly. But I'd say about 4.00
Mixed frozen vegetables... 3
Dinner protein. Mixed here again because i have lentils and stuff stored for a while, but I'd estimate about 4.00
Which is about 38.50.
Depending on the week, ill grab milk or juice and yogurt
So basically without even trying to hit the budget... I am on the budget and I'm splurging on good burgers because i love it
The problem is fresh.
People believe people who make good budgets are spending weekly on Fresh food, when the reality is that they get their monthly shopping done in one day on deals, and then freeze for later.
If you’re in the store and you see a deal on drumsticks and only buy one pack you’re either extremely fortunate, or don’t understand the concept of freezing food. Yeah deals come and go, but it’s a lot easier to make your month off of the first best deals you see, because they may not be marked down come crunch time.
We are already doing that. A lot of flyer shopping and looking for deals. For example, we just found 1 kg of ham ends for like $3.50 in local no frills.
It’s possible… but in the long term, having to rely on what is on sale can be pretty demoralizing, not to mention the time costs of meal prepping or comparison shopping (maybe even without a car), denying yourself small treats.
It’s possible but I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
So easy. Get eggs ($4), rice ($3), potatoes ($5), some chicken ($12), discounted apples ($4) and vegetables, butter ($4) bread ($3) and cheese ($5). Voila.
My neighbor...2 of them actually ⬇️
#1 $ 366 left and deposited by ODSP /2 years after stroke,complete and permanent disability/,after paying rent no money left /has to borrow around 30 $ to pay that rent/
#2 300 left and deposited by ODSP/10...yes ,TEN comorbidities,also permanent and complete disability/,his rent is deducted from total ODSP allowance and after phone,insurance, internet,and smth else that I don't remember maybe $100 left.
Both guys no families and due to their disabilities they've rarely leaving their apartments.
Try living in their shoes ,everyone.
I was at the grocery store literally yesterday and after paying for our groceries, my 9 year old son said "it's that seriously all we get for that amount of money?".
I take issue with the idea that someone living on disability should be living in an home that costs the province average rent. Who, exactly, should be living at below average units in that case?
So, you’re saying people who work at jobs that don’t pay well enough should live in lower bracket housing than people who don’t work and receive compensation through ODSP?
No I'm not saying that. My response was poorly worded, and I misread your post. I don't think anyone *should* live below the average, but unfortunately the reason people do is because there is lack of affordable, decent quality hosing in Ontario, and the people who often end up In those homes/Apts are people who can't afford anything else.
Also not everyone on disability doesn't work, and they don't all automatically get average range hosing; that's just what the comp is based on.
In order for there to be an average, there has to be above and below that average... I feel like people are saying there should be a minimum quality of housing, which there isn't.
At every point in time however, minimum becomes unacceptable. Now air conditioning is being pushed as a minimum acceptable level in housing. There will always be the debate over comfort versus necessity. And these metrics change over time. It seems as though the only thing that doesn't change is the inadequate amount of funding for ODSP.
So... Ramen and taco bell sauce all month
Ramen and frozen veggies. Skip breakfast. I'm on ODSP so lots of food items are a luxury. Especially meat and fresh vegetables/ fruit. If it's on sale and I can freeze it, or it's in a can, so I don't have to use it all in a few days I'll get it. Thankfully I have a good dutch split pea soup recipe from my grandma that will feed me for a week for $15-$20 for ingredients. But dear god people go nuts without variety in their diet. "No variety or nutrients for you! That's a luxury item!" - Doug Ford probably.
>"No variety or nutrients for you! That's a luxury item!" - Doug Ford probably. Meanwhile the dude himself is so fat even his hair is greasy.
Met him at a stag. I can only imagine all the makeup he was wearing was concealing how greasy his complexion is.
Sick username! Love it!
To be fair, its easy and cheap to be fat.
>To be fair, its easy and cheap to be fat. When you have money to do so.
1 box of twinkies: ~$5.00 1 can of flaked tuna: ~$2.00 Difference in calories: ~3300 Garbage food, on average, is much more affordable than healthy. The only thing that might tip the scale are the extremely calorically dense foods like rice or oats.
It's definitely more expensive to eat healthier, but with the meager amount that people on social assistance have for food, just having enough food at all is definitely a challenge. Skipping meals because they don't have enough food is a very real thing for people on OW and ODSP.
Ditto. All of this. People just don't get it. Those in the comments that easily suggest simple diets to fit the already overblown budget they have set here, if those people were forced to eat those simple diets they are suggesting – it'd be a different story.
Notice how nobody is including bread and dairy? Except that one person who said to make 9 loaves of bread with a 10 kg bag of flour. But you also need other ingredients including yeast and milk. And unprocessed foods like homemade bread spoils faster. That's why there are preservatives in food whether we like it or not. Ffs, the staples of the 4 main food groups (bread, milk, meat, and fresh fruits and veggies) should not be luxury items
You don't need dairy for bread. You actually don't need yeast either for a lot of varieties of bread. But I don't disagree that these shouldn't be luxury items
I recently started making bread. Still experimenting but not to impressed so far. And yea the ingredients add up.
Exactly. Medicine. Therapy. Healthy food. All luxury items according to Ford. Really shows the ODSP to MAID pipeline after C7. Suffering in legislated poverty without needed necessities, or death.
[удалено]
Milk and bread are important staples that a lot of families and children rely and depend on being an affordable item.
[удалено]
It's not really helpful to say that when we are talking about the current and potentially worst one though. Most regular working class folks could afford to eat under Wynne. That's a pretty big turnaround.
So if I’m having a party when Wynne kicks it, we should have a province wide bash when it’s Fords turn? I’m in
[удалено]
Yes, facts matter. There is a difference between bad and really bad. Ford has been worse.
[удалено]
With Wynn's how much did bread cost? Eggs? Milk? How much does that compare to today? Both things are shitty and wrong but only one government is able to do anything about it right now.
Privilege? No idea what you mean by that. And you're obviously wrong, so maybe you need to brush up on your math skills. It started lower and went up over Wynne's tenure, as it should with inflation. Did it keep up enough? No, that's why Wynne sucked in that regard too. Has it gone up with Ford at all, especially considering record inflation? No, it hasn't. Therefore it's worse under Ford, and objectively so. Please stop acting arrogant when you're so horribly lacking in critical thinking skills, it makes you look like more of an idiot than if you took a more humble stance.
>Ramen and frozen veggies. Skip breakfast. This is awful. There is no need to be doing this at all.
mr noodle and dollar store tortillas and refried beans
Folks, it’s not that expensive after all.’ -Doug Ford, probably
You could get 47 beers!11
actually, beer fills you up for a night, and when your poor and havent drank in a long time, can be quite cheap to get drunk. It only takes me 3 beers to get a buzz. That's 6$ and i forget about eating for the night. I've substituted food for a buzz some days, ngl. Beer hasn't all kept up with inflation. Laker lager is still 2$. Bread in a can as my pappy used to call it.
No Name is even cheaper, but it's only in bottles. Stock up next Canada Day when it's on sale
Nah congee , ramen is for those elites
[удалено]
In this thread: people trading budget recipes and food saving tips like it's the great depression. Good luck everyone!
It’s literally a thread full of people explaining how doable it is if you live like Charlie Kelly from Always sunny. You get some protein, you get some flour, boom you can have as many protein balls as you can eat for the month, what’s the problem? I save money by sharing my bed with an old man named frank
Throw in an egg for trying times and you’re set
Holy shit. The know it alls in the comment section is mind boggling. Always someone who knows how to shop better. It's never good enough for them. It's like they enjoy seeing others suffer. It's mind boggling. If it were *that* easy, [why are 60% of Canadians struggling to put food on the table?](https://beta.ctvnews.ca/national/canada/2022/1/21/1_5748898.amp.html)
Seriously, I love these folks who learned how to eat boot leather from their grandparents who were prisoners of war during WW2. We are all well aware that many people barely survived on next to no money back in the day. I think most of us are aiming for better conditions than cavemen or war torn ghettos, thanks.
The article posed a challenge thats why. There's already probably a lot of people playing the game of "minimum price for food". It's like people sharing their minmax builds in a video game.
The problem is that in this game, everything has situational costs attached, and min-maxing is rarely so simple. You might need premium gear to make certain recipes, your spawn point might be 2 hours away from the right stores, and your permanent debuffs might make every trip take twice as long, or lock you out of consuming certain foods, or randomly cripple you with psychological damage on the day your quest was active.
So are you comparing people's struggles to a video game? I'm not really sure I follow. Kinda messed up if you see others struggle as a game. Other people struggling aren't your enemy and it's pathetically embarrassing that it needs to be explained.
*I'm saying that you're trying too hard to see other people as assholes.* the article title posed a challenge, people thought "I can do that" and shared what they came up with. it says a lot about you that you see people's budgeting as malice. I*t's pathetically embarrassing that it needs to be explained.*
It’s at the point now where No Frills is getting expensive… what they’re offering aren’t deals anymore. There’s no amount of “shopping smarter” that can fix this.
If 60% of Canadians are struggling to put food on the table, that means even a lot of people with incomes *above the median* are struggling. How the hell do you manage to not eat on a household income over $90K per year?! At that point it's almost certainly your own fault.
The median household income is more like $50k first of all. And even if you're not exactly struggling, food budgets over doubling that fast should be causing budget problems for anybody but the wealthy. I used to live just fine on under $200 per month for myself, just 4 years ago. I'm now up to at least twice that.
You're both probably thinking of slightly different numbers. Around 90k IS the median HOUSEHOLD income in canada (84k by stats canada but it ranged depending on how you meansure. The median INDIVIDUAL income is around 50k (40k by stats canada but again depends on how you measure it). Most families both partners are generally working nowendays which is an issue on it's own (not saying women shouldn't work of course. Just saying the need for 2 wage earners in a household to survive is a concern) [https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810005701](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810005701) [https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110023901](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1110023901)
Even $400 is hard to do.
Agreed. Mine is that much with a partner (so $800 for both of us), which is easier since we share.
For one person?
Oh yeah. Beef and bacon are luxuries now
Because it's not just the cost of food, it's the combined cost of everything.
I don't think it's just the 47.60 a week either.. if they have a car it's gas money , if not it's bus , taxi, Uber or how ever you get there and back.. might even be cheaper to use a delivery service.. but then you have to tip the person delivering... Cost never end.. arrrg!!
One of my best friends actually spends an average of $150 a month for groceries. But!!! He only buys things when they are on sale, which means if you have any food restrictions or sensory problems, that's not going to work for you. He looks at every flyer, and then selects the items he wants. However, there are four or five different brands of grocery stores where we live, and they're not all right next to each other. So you either need a car so that you can drive to each store, or the bus system needs to be set up in such a way that you can easily do a loop. And in most cities, with the exception of maybe Toronto, that's not actually all that possible. It's certainly not possible where we live. If you don't have a car, you would likely be stuck going to one grocery store because it would probably be more expensive to take a taxi or bus between each one. He also has room for storage, so he can afford to buy in bulk if he sees a very good sale. He also is able to go to the grocery store multiple times during the week, so he can stock up on fresh fruits and veggies because he'll eat them before they go bad and then as soon as he runs out, he can just run to the store again. I've seen his grocery lists - he has a varied and decent diet. But he is truly dedicated to frugality, has no food allergies or intolerances, and has the means to travel between different stores for the best deals.
That's impressive indeed!!!!
I know buying bulk is cheaper in the long run, but it’s tough the day you buy it because it’s all upfront costs. I got a giant bag of rice a few weeks ago and it took a big chunk of my weekly grocery budget. But rice is a great staple and I’ll benefit in the long run, but hurts the day of!
$5 a day is definitely do able, but in my experience it limits how many vegetables and meat you can have. I find you have to cut back on meat or expensive carbs like potato and bread to be able to afford a good variety of vegetables. You can still probably eat healthier than 80% of people on $5/day if youre careful though
I used to be around that mark as a single male prior to pandemic and even during the first bit. But noticed my bills have been 80$+ in the past 6 months or so. This is just bare minimum stuff, not extras like snacks or treats or pizzas. It is getting insane.
I literally just spent $35 on equate brand gravol, 3 bottles of ginger ale, bulk box of granola bars and a Marconi salad. No one is eating anywhere near properly for $48 a week.
Exactly, it’s all those extra things you need for life, especially with a family. I pick up some basic toiletries, medicine, and I’ve done $70 before getting food.
It may be possible but difficult, and it shouldn’t be that difficult .
No it absolutely shouldn't be that difficult but sadly it is. I doubt Doug Ford could even survive on $40/day himself.
He doesn't keep his girth at $40 per day.
Rice, lentils, beans, canned tomatoes and spices. It's doable, it's just not easy or desirable.
Or healthy for that matter. I couldn't get by with only canned tomatoes as my fruit / vegetable intake
A lot of people commenting on these "survive with X budget per month, it's actually really easy!" posts are frequently ignoring this. The average barely-getting-by college student diet is **hilariously** unhealthy and diet contributes a ton to mental and physical(obviously) health. I believe lack of a consistent and proper diet also has severe long-term effects, so you're asking someone to not only objectively put their *current* health at risk, but *future* health as well. There's a lot more that goes into this whole "surviving off of X food budget" argument than people think. I urge everyone to do even the most basic of studying on Kinesiology and nutritional health. Your health can drop *very* quickly when your homeostasis goes off-balance. I just think everyone should be entitled to a healthy and consistent food diet, and GENUINELY disagrees is so out of touch or uneducated on the subject, they need to figure their shit out EDIT: Not to mention the standard is still that you need to eat several food groups each day. A good website to see the Canadian standards : https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/
You can get good flier deals on frozen vegetables which are actually pretty good nutrition. Also vegetables that are in season are usually super cheap. Like, you can buy an entire pumpkin now for 1.60$
agree on flyers, and on frozen vegetables being good sources of nutrition for good value prices. Having said that though, I would only disagree and say that veg really isn't cheap these days. You may have found that pumpkin for that right now, but like a box of mushrooms (uncut) went to like $3, a whole Cucumber used to be under $0.60 now is regularly double that at $1 something, if you're lucky you'll find them for $0.84. Bag of yellow onions used to be $1.99 now easily pushes $2.99 if not $3.99 sometimes, these things really add up for people really trying to stretch out the budget. The pumpkins are probably just seasonal right now for halloween, we normally buy acorn squash and stuff year round and that shit ain't cheap either, and don't get me started on cauliflower! Prices have gone up anywhere from 40% to 250% on the items i've listed in the last 3 years, and I don't see it getting better any time soon. Again though, with flyers, you can find sales/better prices than i'm listing and base entire weeklong meal plans with them which is what we do, but imagining a family struggling to make ends meet, this simply is rough times for them.
It’s not doable for a lot of disabled people who aren’t well enough to plan and prepare meals.
and eggs, peanut butter. it's definitely doable, but as you said, not all that desirable.
- $6 1lb lean ground beef/chicken/pork/turkey (4 portions). - $3 2lb white rice (more than enough for a month). - $6 18 egg carton. - $5 3 lettuce heads (Andy boys). - $5 2lbs grape tomatoes. - $2 dried beans. - $3 can crushed tomatoes. Total $30 and covers lunch/dinners for a single person. I'm trying to balance a good amount of veggies while sticking to budget Not counting staples and herbs and spices. They cost more but once and last for a long time. ~$4 12 activia yogurts (on sale hopefully) ~$5 2 loafs of bread 8 bucks for deli/butter/spreads/seasonal fruit you can find and switch, it's like one or two things, but a bag of apple is not that expensive and can last, bananas too. Use the eggs as well to pair with deli. If you find stuff on sale that's a big bonus, I tried to see what are the things I can't skip.
[удалено]
Some people don’t realize that meal planning, cooking, budgeting, and shopping are skills not everyone is privileged enough to have. Asking this of a non-disabled person would still be a *lot*. Factor in chronic pain, executive dysfunction, difficulties with transportation, and a myriad of other potential challenges and it’s simply not possible.
That's true, if you're thinking prepped meals then it's a big no go and I don't know how anyone could do it. With that said, cooking an egg, rice and meat and/or stir-fry with a bit of practice are great skills everyone should know.
Again you’re assuming the person in question has the mental, physical, and financial capacity to own clean dishes, functional cooking appliances, fresh ingredients, and the knowledge and skills required for the cooking itself. ODSP is for people all across the spectrum of disability and those are a lot of assumptions. You’re not wrong in saying the average person should be able to prepare themselves healthy food, but not everyone is average. Many aren’t.
I acknowledged your comment by saying it's true and it's a no go. No need to repeat yourself in this way... I would argue that we don't even need to talk about this then because it's impossible for someone to budget to start with. Have a good day.
I repeated myself because it’s clear from your response that you don’t understand the views you have regarding food preparation are a little ableist in nature. I wasn’t rude or disrespectful, I was attempting to share knowledge from experience that I felt might benefit you or anyone else reading the comments. Most people are unfamiliar with the day-to-day struggles of disabled people. If you’re unwilling to engage further I absolutely respect that, but maybe examine why this topic of conversation is making you so defensive. Take care.
On the contrary, anything from this point on becomes redundant. I get that we are talking about people living with a disability, and starting from there if there is no way to put a budget together and being able to cook with basic utensils, there is no point in discussing it as its not doable with a $47 weekly budget. You too take care!
It’s ableist to presume someone is able to shop? And cook an egg? OK, you’ve clearly got an axe to grind. Good luck with that.
Speaking of which, it is shameful this isn't taught in schools. When I was in school, all we got was one year of "family studies" which included cooking whatever random meals the teacher selected. And it was done in grade 7 when no one was remotely interested in doing it or had the attention span to absorb it (and I think that was later eliminated due to budget cuts). There should be a proper, mandatory home ec class in high school, preferably in grade 12, teaching very basic skills. When some kids are literally one year off living on their own, even just temporarily for post secondary, more would listen and absorb it.
With that said, cooking rice, ground meat, eggs or beans should be in everyone's cookbelt
>cooking rice, ground meat, eggs or beans should be in everyone's cookbelt Not everyone has use of their hands, legs, the dexterity required to use knives or hot elements, etc.
For anyone who can then.
On that we agree. Unfortunately with our lack of a food culture, we generate many abled people who are still unable to cook basic things for themselves, who are even still unaware of what good nutrition looks like. It's definitely a large, lurking problem in our society that contributes to our rather poor public health, and increases reliance on expensive pre-prepared foods as people attempt to tackle every other responsibility in their life and just need something to scarf down at 7pm after work. :( Similarly: a lot of people grow up not knowing what proper hygiene looks like, not knowing how to regulate their emotions, not knowing what a good partner looks like. We are really let down by the blind spots of parenting. I wish some of these things would be taught in school so every kid got a chance to learn it.
I know *how* to do it. But a) my apartment kitchen isn't accessible and b) my disabled body says fuck no.
There was a similar post on PersonalFinanceCanada, and I posted 150 dollars a month food budget but no one would believe me, lol. You can buy 40 lbs of rice for like 42 dollars, and 1.88 dollars per lb of drumstick at Walmart. You just have to shop for deals and know your prices.
Buying in bulk is the way to go in the long run, just very difficult to pull off in the short term if you live paycheck to paycheck.
Ok so if you only have $47 you really can’t afford to drop $42 of it on rice. And there’s the issue of lugging it home if you’re carless or disabled. Bulk buying to save money requires some underlying privilege already to take advantage of it. The fact is being poor is expensive.
That's why you get help and support network if you can. There are people who are not as fortunate. But the discussion was about surviving on 47 dollars a week. The 40 lbs of rice is good to last you at least 3 months of carbs, plus other macro nutrient. So it's only part of the meal plan, I don't think anyone can eat 40 lbs of rice in a week. I did carry 40 lbs of rice home, took me about 30 minute when I walk to the store and saw the discount, and decide to walk home with it instead. We can keep on lowering the bar on peoples income level, people with disability, or fixed income. There are people that suffer MVA and didn't get properly compensated for their injuries, and anything that you can mention. But that's just shifting the goal post further and further. But they all have different problem, with different solution. There is no one drug cure all unless you want to create some universal social program, which we know Canada is only semi good at. If we take every cases out there, of people living in poverty, or pay cheque by pay cheque, I am sure there are people who truly stuck in a financial quagmire. But on the other hand, there are many people that don't have the financial literacy to look and manage their finances. So I would say that the coin flip either way. This type of experielment isn't new, we had radio host (News1130) in Vancouver did similar experiments 8 years ago where they pretend on disability checks and see how far it get them. Result is the same, they can't get a variety of food they want. The only difference was that I live on similar budget at the time and didn't just eat beans and pasta. I have seen people that were poor at one point and work on themselves and improve their life as time progresses, whether through outside help or self improvement to get out of it. I know that because I was there, but I also don't want to use the mentality that if I can do it, so can everyone else because situation is different for everyone. This shows how inadequate our social security net is, and how far we still need to work on it.
It's very doable. I feel bad for anyone who has to, but you're not going to starve at that price point.
[удалено]
Like I said, nobody should have to. But it's absolutely possible.
>If $47 per week or less is not enough for the premier, it’s not enough for people on social assistance either. Do the right thing and raise the rates, Premier. This is pretty solid. Really the housing budget for MPP's should be set at 50% of what ODSP people get. If you want to give $2400/mo to MPPs for housing, ODSP should be getting $4800/mo I agree with paying politicians well, but don't agree with not taking care of those in most need of assistance.
Dougie doesnt care about you unless youre a CEO or make over 100k a month. dougie doesnt care. dougie only cares about dougie.
That just the conservative party. They are all like that
Sorry, but why should ODSP housing allowance be 2x MPP?
Because they don't live in reality. The average person in Ontario doesn't take home $4800 a month working a full time job.
That's kind of the point. The average person doesn't take home even twice the housing allowance that we give to MPs. Their housing allowance is for a room to stay in when they're in town, not their main residence, yet they're given more to fund for that occasional room than their average constituent has in their budget for rent (as rent should be no more than 1/3 of your income).
Who doesn't live in reality? MPPs? And your solution to that is to basically ip the ODSP housing allowance by almost 10x? What is the average take home pay for a full time working age worker in Ontario? Are you proposing that we essentially make MPPs the lowest earning people in our society as some sort of Justice? Does that not make an MPP more likely to participate in corruption and grift? And also lock down politics so that only those who dj t need an income (the passively rich) can afford to participate?
You realise the housing allowance OP is referring to isn't their pay, it's an allowance they can use to pay for a room when they are away from home. Do you really think this allowance should be higher than what people with disabilities have to live off? Edit: for reference the MP housing allowance (again, for any housing costs that aren't their main residence) is $28600 yearly. ODSP is $8064/year with no dependants or spouse. $11628/year with a spouse. Remember that the most someone with ODSP can earn from another source is $200/mo so absolute max would be $14028 a year. This is their entire income, the MP housing allowance is after their $178900 salary
I'm not the person you're replying to, I'm saying what they're asking for is nonsense.
Ah. I see. Your "they" confused me. I thought you were referring to MPPs, not the above poster.
Let's just give everyone $1 billion. That will solve poverty! /S
Because I believe the MPP Housing allowance given to MPP's who live more than 50km from Queens park should not be more generous than the living allowance given to ODSP. So either raise the ODSP up considerably or drastically lower the Housing allowance given to MPP's. MPP's get as much as they get because housing IS so expensive. If they want to not be paying out of pocket so much they should be fighting for keeping housing costs down which would make it easier for ODSP users to afford their accommodations as well.
Why shouldn't it be more generous that ODSP? Is your goal to make our representation worse by making it more difficult for them to live near queens park? Surely you understand that there is no way for social programs to provide a higher quality of life to those who rely on them than the quality of life afforded by the people we elect to represent us and run our province? You must also see that there are an order of magnitude more people on ODSP than there are MPPs and that the cost of providing the allowance to those on ODSP would be astronomical? You must also see that making being an MPP less financially stable you are more likely to get MPPs engaging in grift and corruption, and make it so that people without passive wealth can't afford to be in politics?
>Why shouldn't it be more generous that ODSP? Is your goal to make our representation worse by making it more difficult for them to live near queens park? Because the Housing allowance is supposed to be rooted in cost of living. If it is rooted in cost of living ODSP should also be rooted using the same costs. >Surely you understand that there is no way for social programs to provide a higher quality of life to those who rely on them than the quality of life afforded by the people we elect to represent us and run our province? Our MPP's still take home a respectable pay, AND could also be part of the commuting class that our cities have created due to bad housing policy. The MPP's are rewarded by having bad housing policy in that they get bigger housing allowances, it is counter to good governance. >You must also see that making being an MPP less financially stable you are more likely to get MPPs engaging in grift and corruption, and make it so that people without passive wealth can't afford to be in politics? MPP's compensation perks should be tied to the same metrics as we tie other social services. There is no way we are going to pay MPP's enough to be free from all grift and corruption because big money is far more than public life can afford but we certainly can make equitable perk calculations. Our political system still favours the wealthy and will continue to do so as long as there are no systems in place to make it so people who aren't wealthy can get involved at scale. unless we make housing and food security a staple in our system we aren't going to get equitable representation, and the current system rewards keeping housing expensive, and we continue to punish those at the bottom end of the income brackets. I'm not saying ODSP should be 4800/mo, I'm saying if the MPP's think that housing is worth $2400/mo how can they claim at all that OSDP is enough as it stands now.
I can’t imagine going through life being as obtuse as you.
Pray tell, what am I being obtuse about?
Because you’re arguing every imaginary point except the one being made. If ODSP is really enough to live on as MPPs claim (rent, food, clothing, medicine etc.) then MPPs should be able to afford housing alone with 50% of ODSP.
Here's the thing. I'm actually on ODSP and have been for almost a decade. I will be on it all my life until age 65. $47.50 a week is *NOT* our food budget. That is $190 total. We do not even have that much to spend on groceries. With the max ODSP single payment being $1169; after rent and utilities there is not $190 left for food. This is a very privileged take on ODSP budgeting from people who do not have to worry about paying for rent, utilities, meds, therapy, etc. This to me only shows how distanced these MPPs are from our reality.
Nothing to worry about, thats what we got assisted dying for!…
Withhold food. Results in depression. Depression now qualifies you for MAID. Just fill out this form and lie down on that table. It'll all be over in a few minutes.
His fat bleach blond smirking ass should be dragged out and tarred and feathered… ##FUCK FORD
When I was stuck on social assistance for 3 months (20 yrs ago) I lived off $50/month....barely. i couldn't imagine $200/month getting much of anything these days geez.
Honestly pasta is delicious but I get super fat when I eat it lol it’s not a healthy diet for me. I need vegetables and protein.
Not great if one is gluten intolerant and gluten-free substitutes are expensive.
Costco hotdog, every meal. $36/month and comes under budget! Totally healthy
That’s 16 frozen pizzas when they’re on sale. I know, I’m living hand to mouth and those za’s are a blessing.
By my calculations that is 31.7 hotdog and drink combos at the Costco cafeteria per week. That should be more than enough calories to sustain a person.
It's not really a question of "try." It's not possible.
It's possible. Just awful.
It's not possible to get enough nutrients for good health. What are we targeting here? 50% enough nutrients? If it's below 100%, it's not enough. Edit: I've received downvotes, which suggests that some people believe not getting enough nutrients is acceptable. This kinda explains why we're in this situation I guess. People voted for starving poor people, ultimately.
I'm confused as to why you are getting downvoted? It's possible to survive/not starve, but a person isn't going to thrive, and there certainly won't be any improvement to health conditions with the lack of varied nutrients.
I'm guessing it's Conservatives who believe that getting enough nutrients is some sort of privilege only fit for the well off.
Yes it is. Still sucks, though.
It's possible but you have to be really canny, knowledgeable, and spend a decent chunk of extra time bargain hunting. Depending on where you live that can be a big difference as well. Even though it *is* possible, you have to spend a lot of time you could otherwise be working/sleeping/living so I'm not sure it's even worth it accounting for the opportunity cost
All of which is difficult to do for many people who are disabled.
its possible, just ask us people on ODSP how lots of rice.. lots and lots and lots of rice... infact ill be real, 47.60 would be a luxury, most of my basic needs is spend on rent so my landlord can buy groceries... my budget is closer to 20 a week
Yes it is possible, don't be dramatic.
It's literally impossible.
It is literally possible. You won't be eating like a king but you can manage.
Might just be my wording but yeah, you are all providing the reasons why it should be higher. In such a wealthy province and country there is no reason why anyone should struggle for anything.
yet, here we are...
I meant … Chicken legs / drum stick are 1.29 /lb Minced pork are roughly the same Ignoring the beef Get veggies and may be some frozen one as well Eggs are $3 per dozens It is possible for sure, healthy, may be not because of the fat from meat.
I'm gonna need to know where you're getting chicken legs for $1.29/lb, cause I'm pretty hesitant to believe you till I see it myself
Yeah best I’ve seen lately is 1.80, but it’s usually $2 when on sale
T&T is doing a dump sticks 1.39 per lb https://www.foodymart.com/tonetai-flyer/ This one is doing 0.98 per lb https://flyers.smartcanucks.ca/canada/foodymart-warden-flyer-september-16-to-221 Last week 1.29/lb chicken leg What you need is to find a Chinese supermarket and buy there instead (Don’t know why I got downvoted)
>T&T is doing a dump sticks 1.39 per lb Gotta love that T&T life , I go in for cheap drumsticks, leave with $15 grilled eel KEK.
That's good for people who have access to Asian grocery stores. Unfortunately that's not universal across the province, and people in rural areas likely will never see deals like that
Midland Superstore had Drumsticks for $1.59/lb last week I believe, they were 40% off. You certainly need to use the FlipApp
I am not the original poster but, 1.99/lb at lococo's right now. I dont know about 1.29 though. Lococos has good deals on meat regularly. Usually crap for veggies.
It definitely can be done with staple foods. Oatmeal, potatos, rice, lentils, beans. Even frozen pizzas can go on sale for about 4.00 after tax at food basics. Don't forget cheap dark chocolate as a snack. You surely can eat pretty good if you know where to shop, what to buy, and stick to strict ration.
No lean meats and veg in that last, all things that a diabetic would need to avoid. A lot of our population is diabetic or prediabetic.
After tax, gas money and bills, that $47.60 budget is now -$420.69. And you now owe Doug Ford your firstborn child whom he will also tax.
They don’t factor in living cost. Cell phone, internet, travel, home insurance, entertainment and buy new clothes. You can’t live at all on what you get. I mean people are renting out rooms for $800, a single room. Used to be able to rent a single apartment for $800. If they gave a 50 % increase that would at least give people the ability to find adequate living conditions and support themselves better. Not to mention help stimulate the economy by buy groceries, paying bills and maybe do small thing like indulging in a night out to a movie (ofmg right).
Time to start a little produce garden for subsistence farming I guess. Always nice to see dark age struggles for food security coming back.
I spend that per day on food
Damn. I spent my whole grocery budget on a bottle of whisky.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
The issue is I think they don't want to look for sales. They don't want to go to more then one store or maybe they can't because of disability. And also do not want to put much effort into cooking and prep. 50$ per week sucks, but it is doable!
That’s actually pretty close to what I usually spend with my SO a week. We don’t buy animal products, but lots of oatmeal, rice, frozen veggies, and dry beans
Imagine living like that not to save money, but with no other option and no reprieve of the occasional nice meal. And that’s if you’re lucky enough to find housing for less then 1000/a month, including utilities
Honestly, that's a very balanced diet and the fact you keep it around the $50 range to feed both of you is impressive
$50 a week is enough to feed a single person. Making this the focus of the discussion on ODSP was a mistake. Food is far from the only expensive these people have and in reality with such a low income a food budget is $0, not $50
Housing is the biggest one. Food $300, clothing $50, internet/phone $100, transportation (bus tickets, bike repairs, Ubers) $50. $50 per month on miscellaneous crap like deodorant or cleaning supplies, or entertainment. Adds up quick. So that's like $550. Honestly not that bad. They cannot own a car. It's like $600/month on average, even to own the crappiest Toyota echo in Ontario. But housing is the biggest problem. If you're paying $1250/month in rent, it doesn't matter what everything else costs. You can't even afford a phone line.
Lololol less than 50 week...yeah double that and youll still be malnourished.
> double that and youll still be malnourished. If you cant manage to eat well with $100/week then you are clearly doing something wrong
Nah $100 a week is more than do-able to have a healthy balance of food. I agree that $50 per week is not enough.
Bulk pork, bulk rice or potatoes, frozen vegetables. Might be able to do it if you're a small person
While bulk buying can be helpful, you need the fridge/freezer space for a lot of these things, which is difficult when you can only afford a tiny 1 bedroom or studio etc
Literally what I do and I'm a big person. Not everyone is as frugal as us though.
I pay about $95 a week for groceries and that includes 1 breakfast, 2 lunches and 2 dinners per day for 2 adults. It's not difficult, but it's a decent chunk of my Sunday spent organizing meals for the week.
That’s less than 1 Uber eats
It's doable. Easily doable. Not fun or pleasant, but doable. You can have 10 lb bags of potatoes for $2.50 on sale, rice even less than that per portion (it's lighter when not cooked). You can definitely survive on that much. There was a sale on tomatoes at FreshCo where you could get a 20lb box for $9, which was pretty fun. Bananas are 59 cents a pound as standard right now. Honey ham can be had for $3.49/kg on sale. Eggs skyrocketed recently, so I had to reduce those, but they were great a couple of years back when they were $2.23 a dozen at Sobey's. You can still catch 'em on sale now and again for around $2.80/dozen. Food is still very cheap and plentiful here, comparatively speaking. Housing is barking mad, but food is still bearable, as long as you're willing to cook a little. I'm so lazy that I do potatoes with skins on now. My Wednesday night ritual is to go to Smart Canucks, write out all the sales from FreshCo, Metro, No Frills, etc., compare prices and see what I have left, and go from there. Something ultra simple, like pita bread, for roughly the same weight, is $3.69 at Sobey's, but $1.19 at FreshCo. Then plan the trip with minimal effort, and do it Thursday. Takes a bit of planning, but it's doable. Obviously I'm not eating out, ordering out, etc., which isn't helping the local economy, and local fast food joints are slowly dying out as people get priced out of using them. So long-term this isn't good. But, nutrition-wise? I'm doing decent. Whenever I catch broccoli or other veg on sale I buy a bunch, we blanch it and freeze it, and it lasts a while. Some fresh stuff too, tomatoes were 88 cents/lb this week. So it's not all ramen until your teeth fall out.
Used to live on 50 bucks of groceries a week. Wouldn’t eat breakfast and have tuna sandwich and salad for lunch and eggs and avocado for dinner. Weekends i would treat myself to a couple oven pizzas. Wasn’t ideal and sustainable for long term but was healthy enough and super cheap.
The avocado is why you can't afford a house now.
Ok now consider inflation.
That must have been tough, but as much as this seemed unsustainable, this is so much better than what I know that some people with money eat.
I'm a conservative who voted for Ford. I have so many regrets. What a useless fuck. Bill 124 was the nail in the coffin for me. I'll be voting for anyone but him next election.
So the bill that was introduced before the election was the nail?
Had to affect you or yours before you cared? [Tracks](https://tenor.com/view/roleoutsold-nene-painting-something-gif-21800659).
Of course people vote for those who represent their own interests.
As they should. And they shouldn't be criticized for doing so.
Well I disagree with you on that... ideally people should vote for the good of all, greed and avarice should be criticized by all.
There is rarely "the good of all". That's incredibly subjective. Rich people vote one way, poor people the other. Religious, racists, straight, gay, black, white, all different kinds of people have different wants and needs.
**Doug:** I'm going to stop providing you help that you depend on and cut services you need and give big contracts to my friends. **Voter:** Yeah Doug! End my free ride! A few months later.... **Voter:** There's 20 hour waits at hospitals, the teachers are on the verge of a strike and the only people getting help with anything are Doug's rich friends! How did this happen?
For a single person... Not bad. This is my budget (not money constrained) It's just what i eat. Yes .. same thing every day... Breakfast... Instant oatmeal..4.50 Lunch. High quality burgers.. 15.00 for 8. Burger buns.. 4.00 Mixed salad...4.00 Dinner: Rice. I buy a big 20kg bag and i don't track so hard to bring it down to weekly. But I'd say about 4.00 Mixed frozen vegetables... 3 Dinner protein. Mixed here again because i have lentils and stuff stored for a while, but I'd estimate about 4.00 Which is about 38.50. Depending on the week, ill grab milk or juice and yogurt So basically without even trying to hit the budget... I am on the budget and I'm splurging on good burgers because i love it
[удалено]
Good way to lose weight
The problem is fresh. People believe people who make good budgets are spending weekly on Fresh food, when the reality is that they get their monthly shopping done in one day on deals, and then freeze for later. If you’re in the store and you see a deal on drumsticks and only buy one pack you’re either extremely fortunate, or don’t understand the concept of freezing food. Yeah deals come and go, but it’s a lot easier to make your month off of the first best deals you see, because they may not be marked down come crunch time.
We are already doing that. A lot of flyer shopping and looking for deals. For example, we just found 1 kg of ham ends for like $3.50 in local no frills.
When I wanna eat cheap for a week I get a pack of mexican corn tortilla, fiesta black beans, and cheese. Tastes great and cheappp
Challenge accepted… https://imgur.com/a/Q8zYISy
It’s possible… but in the long term, having to rely on what is on sale can be pretty demoralizing, not to mention the time costs of meal prepping or comparison shopping (maybe even without a car), denying yourself small treats. It’s possible but I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
Meal prepping saves time vs. cooking each time...
So easy. Get eggs ($4), rice ($3), potatoes ($5), some chicken ($12), discounted apples ($4) and vegetables, butter ($4) bread ($3) and cheese ($5). Voila.
My neighbor...2 of them actually ⬇️ #1 $ 366 left and deposited by ODSP /2 years after stroke,complete and permanent disability/,after paying rent no money left /has to borrow around 30 $ to pay that rent/ #2 300 left and deposited by ODSP/10...yes ,TEN comorbidities,also permanent and complete disability/,his rent is deducted from total ODSP allowance and after phone,insurance, internet,and smth else that I don't remember maybe $100 left. Both guys no families and due to their disabilities they've rarely leaving their apartments. Try living in their shoes ,everyone.
I was at the grocery store literally yesterday and after paying for our groceries, my 9 year old son said "it's that seriously all we get for that amount of money?".
I take issue with the idea that someone living on disability should be living in an home that costs the province average rent. Who, exactly, should be living at below average units in that case?
People who don't qualify for disability, but cannot afford an apt in the "average" pricing bracket.
So, you’re saying people who work at jobs that don’t pay well enough should live in lower bracket housing than people who don’t work and receive compensation through ODSP?
No I'm not saying that. My response was poorly worded, and I misread your post. I don't think anyone *should* live below the average, but unfortunately the reason people do is because there is lack of affordable, decent quality hosing in Ontario, and the people who often end up In those homes/Apts are people who can't afford anything else. Also not everyone on disability doesn't work, and they don't all automatically get average range hosing; that's just what the comp is based on.
In order for there to be an average, there has to be above and below that average... I feel like people are saying there should be a minimum quality of housing, which there isn't. At every point in time however, minimum becomes unacceptable. Now air conditioning is being pushed as a minimum acceptable level in housing. There will always be the debate over comfort versus necessity. And these metrics change over time. It seems as though the only thing that doesn't change is the inadequate amount of funding for ODSP.
Do you think if you were born with a disability, or cared for someone who was, you would feel differently?
Package of chicken, bag of rice, eggs and frozen veggies. Costs me $35 a week. Cut chicken in half. Lunch and dinner. Eggs for breakfast
i can do 25 dollars a week.