For many years, we were a family of 4, living below the poverty line, getting no assistance, eating more healthfully than 9/10ths of the people around us.

I didn't see a lot of mentions of potatoes. My friends in the UK eat potatoes and beans on/with/in everything.

Tip: Soak your own beans, and freeze them in single serving size containers. Then you can just microwave them when you need them for a meal later. The time involved in soaking beans isn't so bad if you soak 4 times what you normally do and parcel it up.

The other day, I brought home 2 gallons of milk, 32 ounces of organic (plain) yogurt, and 4 6-packs of Jello pudding (something I would never buy) for 75 cents. I was tickled pink. The kids eat them so fast they'll never go bad.

Now, we get 99% of our produce from our garden. We're slowly expanding what we can/put up.

My parents would eat pasta with a different kind of condensed soup for a sauce EVERY night when they were just starting out.

To the nutritionists warning about how this isn't a healthful way to live. Well, no duh. People don't live like this for years for fun. Obviously they didn't cover the very real hunger problem in class.

(Has anyone else noticed how expensive condensed soups/tuna has gotten in the last year? The staples of the low-budget diet.)

Biggest tip? Don't move too far from your parents. Your mom is always good for a free meal, especially when she sees how skinny you're getting!! thanks for this post, I enjoyed it a lot!