"Giusi" wrote

> You have never been as skint as many here, Vilco. Having kids to feed for
> less than a dollar would wake you up!

True! Many in the USA do not realize that food overall here is much cheaper
(based on percentage of income) than almost anyplace else. Once you learn
(sadly, often the hard way) to shop places where such is not the norm, then
come back stateside, you find your bills at the market are radically less
than your friends.

I feed my family very well. I also average about 33$ a week per person or
just under 5$ a day each. While I'll grant we do not have the typical diet
of junk food and TV dinners and being not major meat eaters here, we still
have steaks, lobster, etc things at least once a week and some other meat
every day (rotisserie chicken, squid, shrimp, pork loin, pork or beef roast,
sweet-n-sour chile chicken, or various whole fresh fish baked ).

Today, we exceed the average. We are having a whole baked duck (8.80 at the
local asian grocery) stuffed with rice, dried spiced ebi (baby shrimps) and
shimenji mushrooms. Sides are fresh steamed water spinach, pumpernickel
breadmaker bread, and honey drizzeled dates. The meal adds up to about 4.40
each but we do not eat the whole duck so in reality thats 2 meals plus later
we make stock from the carcass. Call it in end effect, about 3$ each with
'2 free stock uses for other things'.

Lunch was Deli sliced ham and home sliced havarti on breadmaker pumpernickel
with brown mustard, and a bowl of congee for me and Don for about $1.85
each. Charlotte ate at school ($1.80).

Breakfast was a fast dashi-tofu-miso soup and toasted rye bread with honey.
(about .40c each).

So with the adjustment on the duck going for 2 meals, we ended up 5.25$ each
today. Add another .25c each for tea, coffee, tang.

It's not hard. People just make it sound hard.