// HYPOTHESIS_LOADED
Open any social media app, and you will see a financial "guru" yelling at you. They say the reason we are broke isn't inflation or rent—it’s because we buy $6 lattes and avocado toast.
They claim that if we just "cooked at home" and "bought beans and rice," we’d all be millionaires. Is that actually true? Or is being poor just expensive?
To find out, I embarked on the Extreme Poverty Diet. My budget for food for the entire week was $15.00 (approx. $2.14 per day).
> THE PARAMETERS
- RULE 01: Strict Budget: $15.00 cash. Not a penny more.
- RULE 02: No "Pantry Cheating": I couldn't use the spices, oil, or butter already in my kitchen.
- RULE 03: No Freebies: No office donuts, no dinner at a friend's house.
> THE SHOPPING: A LESSON IN HUMILIATION
Walking into the grocery store with $15 is a humbling experience. You realize immediately that the "middle aisles" (snacks, sauces, processed food) are forbidden. You are exiled to the dry goods section.
I stood in the aisle with my calculator app open, sweating over the price of onions.
> THE HAUL_LOG
- Rice (2 lbs bag): $1.80 (The filler)
- Dry Black Beans (1 lb): $1.50 (The protein)
- Eggs (1 dozen): $3.50 (The luxury item)
- Bananas (1 bunch): $1.20 (The only fruit I could afford)
- Frozen Spinach (1 bag): $1.50 (The vitamin C)
- Oats (Generic tub): $3.00 (Breakfast)
- Salt: $0.80
Total: $13.30. (I saved $1.70 for an "emergency"). Notice what is missing? Flavor. No butter. No hot sauce. No sugar. No coffee.
> DAY_01-02: FALSE CONFIDENCE
The first day wasn't bad. I made a massive pot of rice and beans seasoned only with salt. It tasted like... survival.
- Breakfast: Oatmeal with water and half a banana.
- Lunch: Rice, beans, and boiled spinach.
- Dinner: Rice, beans, and a fried egg (cooked in water because I couldn't afford oil).
I felt righteous. "Look at me," I thought. "I'm beating the system. I'm saving so much money."
> DAY_03: WITHDRAWAL & BOREDOM
By Wednesday, the experiment stopped being fun. I hadn't had coffee in 72 hours. The headache set in behind my eyes like a dull knife.
But worse than the headache was the boredom. When you are poor, food is no longer a source of joy; it is just fuel. You don't look forward to dinner. You dread the monotony of chewing the same salty mush you ate for lunch.
> DAY_05: THE MYTH COLLAPSES
On Friday, I hit a wall. I was physically full (rice does expand in your stomach), but I was mentally starving. I was sluggish. My brain felt foggy. I almost snapped at a coworker for asking a simple question. Why? Because my diet was 90% carbs.
To stay "healthy" and cheap, I had sacrificed fat. Your brain needs fat to function. But fat (oil, butter, cheese, meat) is expensive. I had plenty of calories, but I was malnourished.
> THE CHEATING_EVENT
On Saturday night, I broke. I didn't buy anything, but I found a packet of ketchup in my car glovebox from months ago. I squeezed it onto my rice bowl. It was the best thing I had ever tasted. The sugar and vinegar hit my tongue like electricity. That is when I realized I wasn't eating "healthy." I was eating like a prisoner.
> FINAL_ANALYSIS: THE COST OF BEING BROKE
After 7 days, I had lost 4 pounds. (Great for a diet, terrible for my health).
Here is what I learned:
- Poverty takes TIME. Cooking dry beans takes hours. Soaking oats takes time. If I was working two jobs, this diet would be impossible.
- "Healthy" is a privilege. You can survive on $2 a day. But you cannot thrive. You cannot have optimal energy, glowing skin, and a sharp mind on rice and salt.
CONCLUSION: The next time a millionaire on a podcast tells you to "stop buying lattes" to get rich, ignore them. Coffee isn't keeping you poor. It’s keeping you sane.
I’m going to go buy a burrito now. With extra guacamole.