How To Live On Less Than Four Dollars a Day

I'm so sick of all these media reports about how to live on $50 spending money a day. Please! Even before the recession, I basically ate rancid tacos and drank dish water--anything to save a buck and keep my real money invested. And nowadays, if you're extra vigilant, it's truly possible to eat perfectly well on FOUR smackers a day. Even less, actually!

Simply go to Jack's 99 cent store on West 31 Street and buy two cans of sardines ($1.19 each) plus one package of pasta ($1). That gives you two completely edible meals. Thirsty? Well, for a dollar, you can also buy a box of 30 tea bags, which will net you 15 pitchers of iced tea. (Throw in some artificial sweetener. Jack's sells a whole bag of packets for, yep, $1.) That means each glass of iced tea will cost you a grand total of about two cents. That adds up to $3.40 plus tax for the whole day, the rest of which you should spend reading free brochures and going to comp events.

As for how to pay off your mortgage, cable bill, credit card debt, and travel expenses...sit by the highway selling cups of iced tea?