The Rules

It's imperative to set up rules at the beginning of this experiment, or I will cheat like a broke and desperate cards player. Here are the rules:

1) I’m not taking $1 each day and going in search of something to eat. I can buy a $2 bag of rice that will last me for more than one day. I have to average out to $1 day, thus I can’t spend more than $40 for the 40 days.

2) I am starting from zero. I can’t eat anything out of my cupboards, freezer, or fridge. Since I tend to stock up, if these were fair game I would be eating very well for 40 days.

3) I can eat free things if everyone else has access to them. (e.g. samples at the farmer’s market, foraging for edible plants in a park).

4) I can eat food that is leftover from work meetings (e.g. bagels, lunch items). My reasoning here is that many poor people are able to go to food pantries and soup kitchens, so a bit of free food is ok. Anyway, we’re not talking about a lot of food here. I don’t work at Google with a free employee cafeteria.

5) I can dine as a guest at someone else’s house.

6) If I attend a potluck, I have to contribute something to eat.

7) I can't let friends pay for me to go out. I have a lot of generous friends who would say, "Let's go see _____ concert. Consider it an early birthday present!"