Comments on: Daily Links: Too Many Good Articles Edition

By: Schizohedron

Schizohedron — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:13:20 +0000

Cool! At least the article let me know that, as a nonsmoker, I would’ve been a rich man as a POW. That is, if I could resist the lure of chocolate.

By: allen

allen — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:24:42 +0000

I love the idea of mixing up the normal advice/sucess/failure stories with other observations on economics and money management.

Personally, these types of things always throw the rest into perspective. Like melange.

By: t

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:44:19 +0000

My take in meals are usually fairly cheap.

A main dish
-Beans, Beans w/Veggies, Veggies
-Tuna Sandwich
-Noodle dish
*on rare occasion a meaty dish

2 Fruits

Yogurt

My meals probably come out to 2-4 dollars.

By: J.D.

J.D. — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:33:29 +0000

Schizohedron, I don’t mind that you posted the link. I wasn’t going to post it in the main body because it would “steal my own thunder”, so to speak.

By: Schizohedron

Schizohedron — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:12:44 +0000

J.D., I hope posting this is cool: The POW-camp economy story (which is indeed fascinating, especially in the broader context of econ papers): http://www.albany.edu/~mirer/eco110/pow.html

By: mrsbnickel

mrsbnickel — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:15:00 +0000

Thank you for posting all three articles! I used to be a sucker for get-rich-quick schemes, so my heart really goes out to the football players who have lost millions of dollars on scams.

The original list of lunch items in the Wall Street Journal was insane! For example who uses 1/4 lb. of lunch meat on one sandwich? LOL

By: guinness416

guinness416 — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:13:20 +0000

I said it at the other site, but I think the reason the WSJ sandwich was five bucks is that they were literally constructing an NYC deli sandwich for an apples-to-apples comparison. And those things are huge.

By: Everyman

Everyman — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:34:57 +0000

$5 per day to bring a lunch? You can get an entire loaf of bread and a weeks worth of meat for that where I’m from! Even an orange or apple can’t cost more the $0.50 if you buy it in bulk at the store.

http://everymansmoney.blogspot.com

By: LoveandSalt

LoveandSalt — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:26:17 +0000

If you brown bag leftovers, as I usually do, you could even say lunch is free, considering how much food is thrown out in American households, and the fact that lunching on last night’s supper may be the only thing that saves it from the trash (or hopefully compost.)

By: plonkee

plonkee — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:37:04 +0000

Please, please post the link to the economics of a POW camp it sounds absolutely fascinating. I think part of the good thing about link roundups is that it gives you the chance to mention topics that are tangentially related, or you wouldn’t actually write about yourself.

By: Tyrone Solee

Tyrone Solee — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:29:04 +0000

I hope you can also link my site. It’s entitled Aspiring Entrepreneur. In this blog I share my personal experience on investments, personal finance, money management and financial freedom as an employee as I take the Journey towards becoming a successful entrepreneur.

By: Mike Bahr

Mike Bahr — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:34:33 +0000

I haven’t quite gone to Klug’s ascetic degree, but I like to eat a consistently similar meal most days, and I stick with Old Reliable: a pair of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches on wheat grain bread, two cans of decaf diet pepsi, and a banana. From protein to potassium, few lunches that come in under a dollar can match both the nourishment AND the excellent taste. That meal passes the critical test: I don’t get hungry again until dinnertime.

Plus, that gives me my soda fix for the day. I try to drink only water at home now because I used to drink so much diet soda that I was having alkaline dehydration (or so said my doctor). Problem is, much like a smoker reaching for his pack and lighter, it becomes easy to develop a tic for popping a can of aspartame cola at the outset of a household chore, errand, or project session. The water is far, far cheaper, though, and it’s about the healthiest single substance a person can ingest. Converting from constant soda to constant water drinking is a habit I’m happy to continue to put effort into breaking, and other readers who try it will appreciate its effect on their wallet at the end of the week.

By: Klug

Klug — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:53:55 +0000

I’ll bet I can be $5 a day; I might even beat $5 a month. I eat a bowl of oatmeal for lunch every day. It’s about $0.59/lb; I eat about 2.5 lbs a month. Then again, it’s pretty monotonous. (But cheap!)

By: Mar

Mar — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:46:43 +0000

I love the article about Debt in America. I find this type of stuff totally fascinating because you never hear about these things when studying history (although it does make me want to go start fact-checking just to be sure it’s accurate). It’s a nice addition to your usual articles; just don’t lose the focus of the blog because it’s great.

$5 to take your lunch to work???? Yes, I can do better! Heavens, you can buy frozen meals and take your lunch to work for less than that. Maybe they’re buying at a high-end grocery story in Manhattan?