When advertising senior David Lee went to Central Market in late August, he was disappointed to find his dinner would only consist of coffee and pineapple samples.
Lee’s food budget was about $75 dollars per week until he decided to see if $20.09 would last him 20 days, which not only reduced his food allowance but prompted him to seek free meals from grocery store samples.
“I had not eaten much, thinking I was going to be finally eating some good and tasty foods,” Lee said. “I was expecting to eat some fancy appetizers or even some red meat.”
Lee decided to challenge the value of the dollar from Aug. 17 until Sept. 6 and promote the University Federal Credit Union’s “What Can You Do With $20.09” video contest, which he promoted for FG Squared, a marketing and advertising agency that publicized the event.
The contest, the first of its kind for the credit union, challenged participants to creatively and efficiently use $20.09, said Lyndee Bennett, the credit union’s marketing specialist. The contest ended Wednesday, and winners will be announced on or around Oct. 9.
“The message we were trying to get across is people should be more careful with how they spend their money, especially because of what the economy is going through,” Bennett said. “They can get back out there and enjoy life and not be too intimidated to make smart choices financially.”
Lee said to achieve his goal of spending $1 per day, he had to sacrifice meat, fruit and snacks, and he could not eat out. The groceries under his budget included one dozen eggs, a sack of potatoes, pinto beans, sausage, two jars of peanut butter and bread.
“I wasn’t sure if he could do it,” said Lee’s roommate Nathan Tucker, 32. “We both kind of agreed if he were in another country, it’d be no problem, but in America, it’s really tough to do that.”
When his family visited him during the challenge, they decided to go to a popular restaurant in town. While they insisted Lee break his challenge, he declined and ate peanut butter sandwiches instead, he said.
“I ate [the sandwiches] while they were enjoying the fiesta,” Lee said.
To prepare for the challenge, Lee ate “very well” in the days leading up to it. He shared one of his last pre-challenge meals with his girlfriend at his favorite restaurant, where the bill was more than $85.
“It seems kind [of] ridiculous how the tip alone costs [almost as much as my] budget for the next 20 days,” he said on a blog he kept to track the 20 days.
Lee’s first meal of the challenge consisted of a potato, a sausage, an egg, two tortillas and half a cup of orange juice. He concluded his first day’s blog entry, “I don’t know how I’m going to make it, but we’ll see.”
After successfully completing the challenge, Lee said his grocery budget has been cut in half and he now conserves more food.
“I learned how to take advantage of coupons and discount deals, how to find events that offer free food, how to store food properly to [preserve] the maximum freshness and how to be creative with potatoes,” he said.
Bennett said she enjoyed following Lee’s blog and seeing how he creatively used his money.
“It was interesting to see his development throughout the campaign,” Bennett said. “He started off basically saying, ‘What am I going to do?’ but he proved that there are ways to spend money wisely and still be prosperous.”
Food challenge tests the value of the dollar
Published: Thursday, October 1, 2009
Updated: Thursday, October 1, 2009
 "Photo: Derek Stout/The Daily Texan")
Derek Stout/The Daily Texan
Advertising senior David Lee holds a 20-dollar bill, which was almost his entire budget for food over the course of 20 days.
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