Singaporeans show how they survive on less than $10/day without cooking

Thanks to a ton of things out of our control, there are just those months that we need to survive on a shoestring budget. But is it possible to survive on a mere $10 a day? These pros can. They even make a $10-budget seem like a luxury.

Here are some great suggestions from people who live on $10 a day–you may find something that fits your sensibilities here.

Some people suggest you buy a loaf of bread and some sandwich spread for breakfast. The weekly or bi-weekly purchase for breakfast already puts your first meal of the day at less than a dollar a day.

This commenter also suggested that you eat a lot of boiled eggs. They are nutritious, since they have a lot of good protein and the right amount of fat–but some experts say that you can only have two boiled eggs in a day.

If you can find chicken rice for $2 and supplement your meal with free coffee and tea from the office pantry, you’d still have quite a lot of change left.

This other commenter, however, insists that the daily budget include transportation to and from work. His budget exceeded $10, but still acceptable at $15. He also thoughtfully included the allowance that you will have to give your parents if you live with them.

Compared to the previous guy, this guy prefers to skip breakfast and then splurge on lunch and dinner. Not very helpful, though.

This person is strict about eating only bread for breakfast and keeping to economy rice during lunch and dinner. But if you need to include transport in your budget, this is a good suggestion.

This person reminds people to stop drinking alcohol and smoking, as indulging in such vices would eat into the $10 budget quite quickly.

We wish these people would also tell us where we could get these magical cheap meals that taste good enough that you’d have them regularly.

This suggestion is quite specific. If you’re tired of the cai png and nasi lemak, you can go to McDonald’s and have a burger – not the meal though, just a la carte.

Another suggestion was to have coffee and eggs in the morning and the ubiquitous cai png for lunch and dinner. Perhaps you could go to different hawker centres each day so you get a wide selection of dishes?

This person, on the other hand, likes to brag about getting free food and drinks at work then splurging on fruits and sausages for the rest of the week. Not helpful at all.

It’s good to note that eating at hawker centres could still be cheap filling, but may not be healthy. You don’t want to be penny-wise and pound-foolish by racking up all sorts of medical bills from lifestyle-related chronic ailments, do you? Nonetheless, in the food paradise which is Singapore, it can be hard to say no to temptations.

What are your suggestions for people who want to survive on $10 or less a day, and yet eat healthy and nutritious meals? Leave a comment!