According to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), a person is not “food poor” is he or she is able to budget P64 a day for three meals. This is of course doable because the government said so. And we are here to prove it.

In fact, we have come up with a really nice daily budget that will give you a chance to one, have dessert, and two, have just enough savings to splurge the next day.

The first step is to skip breakfast. You don’t need this. Water is free and diabetes is expensive. Usually, the food we Filipino eat during breakfast make us prone to diabetes. So, it’s better to save yourself from potential pain, hospitalization, and possibly, death. Remaining budget after breakfast: P64.

For lunch, don’t order rice. Too much carbs is bad for you anyway. Okoy is P40, so look for someone who’s willing to split the bill. Order Maxx for dessert. You know what, order two because you’re food rich anyway. Don’t let the government be the only one to gaslight you. Gaslight yo’self. Budget remaining: P42

Since Neda said “P20” per meal, we assume that they mean that P64 is only to be budgeted for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But we’re doing something extra just to prove that this is more than enough. How about some snacks? Kwek-kwek is life. Five pieces for P20 is a steal. The seller loses, and you only win. Save the sauce for later meals. We never throw away free sauce in this country. Budget remaining: P22

For dinner, we eat healthy, so take one tablet of paracetamol. Eat one Skyflakes Oat Fiber, because remember, tonight you should be healthy. Budget remaining: P7.5

Splurge the remaining P7.5 tomorrow, my rich friend.