...to sum up...
Seems like everyone so far has agreed on these 4 essential components for cheap living:
1) Dollar Stores -- for food, stationery, drinks, toiletries, possibly entertainment [found a bunch of $1 DVDs at one once--all sorts of horror and suspense classics]. For $2 you could buy a loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter and feed yourself for a week, basically.
2) Libraries -- for books, VHS movies, DVDs, and music CDs. Most let you check all these out for free.
3) Thrift Stores -- for clothing, household decorations, games and odds & ends
4) Dumpster Diving -- not necessarily literally getting in a dumpster--though that may be part of it--but seeing what is being thrown away by local businesses.
ONE THING FEW HAVE MENTIONED:
Churches and religious centers.
Many churches operate food pantries and give free bags of groceries to the needy.
I live a few blocks from a large Hare Krishna temple that serves vegetarian & vegan meals every day. They charge $8 per person--but most people do not know it is a RECOMMENDED DONATION. The temple doesn't advertise this very much--in fact, I only found this out a few months ago--as they want people to pay. But they will not deny food to anyone for inability to pay.
Every Sunday afternoon this same temple does hold a FREE public feeding of all-you-can eat vegan/vegetarian Indian foods. It's great. A lot of religious centers have similar events. Check around!
1) Dollar Stores -- for food, stationery, drinks, toiletries, possibly entertainment [found a bunch of $1 DVDs at one once--all sorts of horror and suspense classics]. For $2 you could buy a loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter and feed yourself for a week, basically.
2) Libraries -- for books, VHS movies, DVDs, and music CDs. Most let you check all these out for free.
3) Thrift Stores -- for clothing, household decorations, games and odds & ends
4) Dumpster Diving -- not necessarily literally getting in a dumpster--though that may be part of it--but seeing what is being thrown away by local businesses.
ONE THING FEW HAVE MENTIONED:
Churches and religious centers.
Many churches operate food pantries and give free bags of groceries to the needy.
I live a few blocks from a large Hare Krishna temple that serves vegetarian & vegan meals every day. They charge $8 per person--but most people do not know it is a RECOMMENDED DONATION. The temple doesn't advertise this very much--in fact, I only found this out a few months ago--as they want people to pay. But they will not deny food to anyone for inability to pay.
Every Sunday afternoon this same temple does hold a FREE public feeding of all-you-can eat vegan/vegetarian Indian foods. It's great. A lot of religious centers have similar events. Check around!