When I was young and broke I used a very different strategy.
I love breakfast but seldom eat it, but if you’re broke- breakfast is one of the easiest meals to come by. Lots of places like rental car agencies, car dealerships, and such put out donuts (or they used to), fruits, higher end places often have some granola bars laying around, things like that. If you work at a place that offers this perks or can find a few on your daily route, you can usually score free breakfast, but donuts and the like are often $1 or less.
Then you skip lunch entirely unless you come up on some food or have leftovers. For dinner you want a filling and hopefully satisfying meal. If money is very tight, buy beans and rice. They are cheap and filling and easy to make and leftovers keep. If money is slightly tight you can go beans and rice and save the rest to splurge on a special meal or two either a Friday thing or when you “need it” for a boost or social reason etc.
Here’s an example schedule.
You go to bed at 10pm, wake up at 6am. If you eat breakfast at 8am or so, then don’t eat a non free meal until 8pm, then sleep at 10 and repeat…
8pm to 8am is 12 hours without eating- which is fairly normal for many people. Then not eating from 8am to 8pm is another 12 hours. Since 12 hours without food is very common and doable due to sleep- you are likely fully capable of making it 12 hours. Repeat that in the day and you only need to worry about 2 meals a day. If you get used to it, you won’t even feel hungry anymore and likely can even skip breakfast and do one meal a day.
If you are particularly active or have health conditions this may not work for you. You can also supplement your calorie intake with cheap calories from things like butter (often free at many restaurants), milk, etc. a gallon of milk is generally around 2400 calories and packed with carbs and fats and can usually be had even with todays inflation for $5 or less.
Drinking lots of (free) water can also help keep your stomach feeling full and help trick you into ignoring or not feeling hunger. You have to drink water through the day and plenty of it.
Of course there are many other ways from underhanded to questionably hygienic or arguably undignified to get food- but these are some of the less objectionable strategies that served me well when I was young and couldn’t easily get food.
I love breakfast but seldom eat it, but if you’re broke- breakfast is one of the easiest meals to come by. Lots of places like rental car agencies, car dealerships, and such put out donuts (or they used to), fruits, higher end places often have some granola bars laying around, things like that. If you work at a place that offers this perks or can find a few on your daily route, you can usually score free breakfast, but donuts and the like are often $1 or less.
Then you skip lunch entirely unless you come up on some food or have leftovers. For dinner you want a filling and hopefully satisfying meal. If money is very tight, buy beans and rice. They are cheap and filling and easy to make and leftovers keep. If money is slightly tight you can go beans and rice and save the rest to splurge on a special meal or two either a Friday thing or when you “need it” for a boost or social reason etc.
You go to bed at 10pm, wake up at 6am. If you eat breakfast at 8am or so, then don’t eat a non free meal until 8pm, then sleep at 10 and repeat…
8pm to 8am is 12 hours without eating- which is fairly normal for many people. Then not eating from 8am to 8pm is another 12 hours. Since 12 hours without food is very common and doable due to sleep- you are likely fully capable of making it 12 hours. Repeat that in the day and you only need to worry about 2 meals a day. If you get used to it, you won’t even feel hungry anymore and likely can even skip breakfast and do one meal a day.
If you are particularly active or have health conditions this may not work for you. You can also supplement your calorie intake with cheap calories from things like butter (often free at many restaurants), milk, etc. a gallon of milk is generally around 2400 calories and packed with carbs and fats and can usually be had even with todays inflation for $5 or less.
Of course there are many other ways from underhanded to questionably hygienic or arguably undignified to get food- but these are some of the less objectionable strategies that served me well when I was young and couldn’t easily get food.