The 3EUR Experiment

I had a strange notion hit me recently, and like most strange notions, I felt compelled to at least explore the possibilities of it.

This notion was born of the practical considerations of my living expenses. The apartment I am in has me thinking about food, possessions and usage of space. Given the limited space available to me, both for furniture and for food and, quite frankly, everything else, I need to make sure I'm maximizing this limited resource.

Since space for food storage is so limited, I am going to be practically forced to buy groceries on a daily or near daily schedule. Anything bought needs to be eaten relatively quickly, since there is hardly any place to keep it.

That line of thought has led me to consider that I could easily overspend on food, simply by buying things that are unnecessary or expensive. While I do not have a fixed food budget, I feel that implementing one is probably the best way to help minimize my total monthly costs.

So, I began thinking about budgets. I started thinking about spending per month. Then, spending per week. Eventually I came to ask myself: How little per day could I spend and still survive comfortably?

After some thinking, the number that came to mind was 3 Euros. And thus, the 3EUR Experiment was born.

An experiment like this in Canada, at the same dollar value (about $5), would be difficult. Potentially possible, but hard. But in Germany, the basic staple foods seem to be far cheaper. I think it is possible.

I've laid out a few ground rules for myself.

1. The experiment applies only towards my food and household budget. This includes any consumable item (any item expected to last less than 1 month with daily usage) . It does not include things like my water and power bill. It also does not include school or travel expenses. It does include any evenings out or fast food.

2. I'm free to take advantage of the generosity of others, as well as any free items I can find.

3. I am limited to 3EUR per day, and any unspent money will carry over to the next day.

I kicked off the experiment on Thursday the 27th. Of course, by the time I started it, I already had some consumable items (both purchased and found) for the apartment. In the interests of being fair, here's what I already had on hand:

1L orange juice

400g extra hot chili powder

100g sharp paprika

2x125g bar soap

500mL shampoo

125mL toothpaste

1 razor with 2 replacement blades

250g strawberry cake snacks

3 rolls toilet paper

part of a bottle of hand soap

750mL chili oil

On Thursday, I started with 3EUR. My purchases included:

1L milk 0.50

2 bananas 0.36

1Kg sugar 0.65

500g raw rolled oats 0.35

200g cottage cheese 0.49

For a total of 2.35, leaving 0.65 for tomorrow.

Since it was the first day, I was looking to get enough stuff in the house to be able to handle breakfast for the next day at the least. As well, I wanted to start setting up some staple foods that would last me for a while. Thus, the sugar and the oats. The milk should also last me a couple of days. With any luck, I'll be able to build on this, and get some more cooking staples together.

On Friday, I started with 3.65EUR. Purchases were:

1L sunflower oil 1.49

300g cottage cheese 0.89

loaf of bread 0.49

500g cream cheese 0.59

Total of 3.46, leaving 0.19 for Saturday.

With luck, I can save up some cash over the weekend, so I can make a few of the more expensive purchases on Monday.

I still have to pick up more cooking staples, like salt and pepper, and other basic spices. But those should be relatively cheap.