Feb 16, 2024
Life is difficult for many right now, but what if you compared it to how our Victorian ancestors lived?
Dr. Bernadette “bird” Bowen is doing just that. The media and communication academic recently posted a TikTok about how she’s been looking to the past to comfort her when she can’t afford groceries.
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“You want to know a real thing I’ve been doing lately to deal with poverty?” she says in her video. “I try to remind myself that if my ancestors had the food that I had right now, they’d be like, ‘Damn, you got pistachios?’”
Bowen’s video is a good reminder to be grateful for what you have — even during tough times.
But that mindset doesn’t take away from the fact that grocery costs rose 1.2% in January 2024 from a year earlier, according to the latest inflation report. So if you’re having some trouble feeling as grateful as Bowen for your bag of pistachios, there are ways to stretch your food budget, even as costs rise.
Buy potatoes
In Bowen’s video, she mentions that alongside her pistachios, she has frozen potatoes to last her until her next paycheck.
“‘They’re frozen, you have access to heat them up?’” she imagines her ancestors saying to her. “‘You’re living a life of luxury.’”
Bowen is correct that potatoes can take you far. Mashed potatoes are found to be particularly satisfying, according to a 2020 study in a journal aptly called Nutrients. The study adds that white potatoes aren’t just filling, but healthy; they contain vitamins, minerals and fiber, giving you energy.
Plus, potatoes can be cooked in so many different ways — mashed, boiled, baked — so you won’t get bored of eating them day after day.
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The best part about potatoes is that they only cost an average of 97 cents per pound across U.S. metros, according to the most recent numbers from Federal Reserve Economic Data. You really get the most bang for your buck with them.
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Fluids and fish
Bowen mentions that she has coffee, a kettle and water in her apartment. This, she suggests, is compelling to her ancestors.
“‘You got water in a bottle?’” she says, imitating her ancestors. “‘You got enough to last until you need more? Damnnn.’”
Water can help you feel full and reduce hunger, but you absolutely need to find cheap, nutrient-rich foods to be healthy.
Fish is a good example of this. Seafood is quite expensive, but shopping hacks expert Lora McLaughlin made a TikTok about her money-saving trick: buy frozen fish, which she says is up to 40% cheaper. It may not taste as good as the fresh stuff, but you’ll still get those omega-3s — and at a fraction of the price.
Her other tips include avoiding items at the eye level, buying whole produce and choosing Wednesday to shop since that's when stores tend to restock and have the best deals.
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Sabina Wex is a writer and podcast producer in Toronto. Her work has appeared in Business Insider, Fast Company, CBC and more.
