What is $5 Worth
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (105166)
United States
August 5, 2024 2:42pm CST
It's not much, honestly. But it's still worth SOMETHING. I like to do these posts sometimes just to help to illustrate that to some extent.
With $5 you can buy 2.7 dozen eggs at Ruler at $1.79 a dozen. You can buy 4.2 loves of Smart Way wheat bread at Ruler at $1.19 a loaf that would make 58 sandwiches. You can buy 4 pounds of yellow onions and 15 pounds of Russet potatoes.
Boxes of macaroni and cheese are 49 cents each at Ruler and you can buy a little over 10 boxes. You can buy 5 sticks of real butter. 1 1/2 pounds of ground round. You can buy 2.6 pounds of pork steaks at Walmart at $1.94 per pound.
You can buy a 40 pack of bottled water (they sell them for $4.99 at Ruler). It will get you 1.3 gallons of gas that can take you (based on the average MPG of 25.4) 33 miles down the road.
It will pay 1/3 of a Netflix subscription. It will give you 2 days of Internet access based on average Internet cost of $75 per month. It will give you 21 cents of additional spending power if you save it in an Ally savings account paying 4.2% interest.
$5 doesn't go far. But it does help. And it does matter depending on how you use it, where and how you shop, and what you do with it.
What can $5 get YOU? I want to know.
19 people like this
21 responses
@moffittjc (125218)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Aug 24
That’s funny you mentioned Ally, because I put at least $5 in my Ally savings every week. Most of the time much more, but I will at least do $5 each week.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (125218)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Aug
@porwest I started off putting my money in an envelope, but then realized two things: 1) it was too tempting to reach for the money to spend on something I would probably regret later on; and 2) money in an envelope isn't earning any interest. So I put it all into my PayPal savings account, which is currently earning 4.3% interest.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (125218)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Aug
@porwest The temptation for me was not necessarily to grab the money out of the envelope and spend it lavishly on foolish things, but instead the temptation was to spend it on things I needed that I should have been budgeting for separately. Other than that, I am disciplined.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (79001)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
5 Aug 24
You're right. 5 dollars doesn't get you a lot. If I didn't have to pay for delivery fees. 5 dollars would get me a meal at mcdonold's with change left over. It also can get a gallon of milk and a couple other items at Aldi, too.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (79001)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
16 Mar
@porwest I was never good at math, but I know.
1 person likes this
@porwest (105166)
• United States
17 Mar
@kaylachan I am trying to help people to be a little better at math. I don't think I am succeeding. lol
1 person likes this
@marguicha (228133)
• Chile
5 Aug 24
Eggs are more expensive here. But you can buy 2 kilos of good bread. I agree that it all helps.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (228133)
• Chile
6 Aug 24
@porwest In my country supermarkets are different. There are no coupons either that could help. As I see it, the way to save is not to buy food that you will end throwing away.
1 person likes this
@porwest (105166)
• United States
3 Aug
@marguicha That's one thing I do not do in my house. That is, throw food away.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (87823)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
4 Aug
A gallon of chocolate milk for $3 and some change and a Banguet chicken pot pie for $1,
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (87823)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
5 Aug
@porwest I like those too and who said they're not healthy. Living alone like this if I listened to what is or not healthy or good I might as well not eat at all, I order groceries on Saturday and believe me I will have 4 tubs of ice cream,
1 person likes this
@porwest (105166)
• United States
6 Aug
@RasmaSandra They are LOADED with salt. That's part of it. I make my own pot pie from scratch, but it's a process and quite time involved, and so sometimes eating these is simple and easy and relatively cheap, and so I don't mind resorting to them. Plus they taste good. I usually buy and make 4 of them and we have 2 each. Because one is not nearly enough.
I still have them on the list, but there are none currently in my freezer.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (47323)
• Staten Island, New York
5 Aug 24
$5 can get me two rides on a local bus or subway and I'd have twenty cents left over. it's $2.90 each way.
Land-o-Lakes half-n-half, quart container, costs $4.49 so I can get that and have 51 cents left to spend.
I can get 26 bananas at Trader Joe's (@19 cents each) and I'd have 6 cents left.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (47323)
• Staten Island, New York
16 Mar
@porwest I think the Trader Joe’s bananas went up in price.
1 person likes this
@porwest (105166)
• United States
16 Mar
@lovebuglena I have never found the Trader Joe's banana thing to be a good deal. When you break it down to what you pay per pound, you definitely pay a lot more than just buying them by the pound. Or, at least, that's what I find most of the time.
@thislittlepennyearns (65632)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
5 Aug 24
While you can buy the stuff to make boxed mac and cheese for that price, Id rather make a big batch of homemade.
1 person likes this
@porwest (105166)
• United States
3 Aug
Right. Me too. But that will cost you WAY MORE than $5 by the time you add up all the ingredients. I was looking for things you can buy for $5. MAYBE you could make it for AROUND $5. It's just noodles, cheese, milk, butter, and bread crumbs, of course.
@thislittlepennyearns (65632)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
3 Aug
@porwest No I can make it for 5
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (38192)
• Toccoa, Georgia
5 Aug 24
A half gallon of almond milk and a few eggs.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (87823)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
5 Aug 24
Yep, most of the things you mention, and due to the prices I order Walmart Great Value brand because most of the products are for a lot less than expected.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (87823)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Aug 24
@porwest the reason I chose Walmart is that they deliver direct from the store. I used to do Publix and then went to Aldi but they both go through Instacart and when Instacart started to charge also for the gas needed to make my delivery I moved to Walmart. I order once a month and at least I get what I need and it comes straight to my house,
1 person likes this
@porwest (105166)
• United States
6 Aug 24
Great Value actually does, in most cases, offer great value. But of course, not everything is cheaper. The macaroni and cheese boxes is a good example of that. So is bread. It's cheaper elsewhere. Eggs are cheaper elsewhere. Cheese is cheaper elsewhere. Produce is cheaper elsewhere. Salsa and dips are cheaper elsewhere.
There are MANY examples, including bottled water. It's cheaper elsewhere. You just have to know your prices and know who has the best price no matter what you buy.
1 person likes this
@porwest (105166)
• United States
7 Aug 24
@RasmaSandra I am not complaining. I own stock in Walmart. Spend away. lol
1 person likes this
@JESSY3236 (20853)
• United States
3 Sep
But you have to pay tax on some that stuff. So the water would be more than 5 dollars.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (197258)
• United States
6 Aug 24
Two and a half loaves of my Bimbo Bread. Did you know that Bimbo makes Sara Lee and Thomas's products? Have a good day.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (197258)
• United States
13 Aug
@porwest I didn't know that Hostess/Wonder went bankrupt.
1 person likes this
@porwest (105166)
• United States
13 Aug
@LindaOHio Oh yeah. Years ago. Remember when everyone thought their Twinkies would forever be gone? Eventually a couple of companies bought the brands and the recipes and brought the products back.
1 person likes this
@JimmyDeen (250)
•
9 Aug 24
I'd probably get a kids meal deal at McDonald's. That's the cheapest meal I can find that includes a drink. . .
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (165285)
• United States
6 Aug 24
I am grateful for every $5 that comes my way. I cans of food for Bruno, which translates to 24 meals. 5 bags of cheap chocolate at Dollar general, before taxes. If I hit a deal like I did last time I was in a Dillons store, I can get a package of four beef patties that are chuck and brisket mixed and very flavorful. Sometimes 4 pork steaks, or a tray of fresh fruit already peeled and seeded. $5 was the cost of admission to a summer musical put on by a group of students through the recreation commission.
1 person likes this
@Orson_Kart (7679)
• United Kingdom
6 Aug 24
$5 gets me about £3.75 in good old English pounds. That’s if I don’t have to pay commission or exchange fees.
£3.75 gets me a coffee in Starbucks or Costa. That’ll give me thinking time to wonder where my next $5 is coming from.
1 person likes this
