I've got an idea for a more realistic "survival" show. I call it "Living Paycheck To Paycheck". How to survive on the ever-famous "transitional job". Some highlights from what would be my first episode:
1.) Buy the 115 stick pack of Gorton's fish sticks. When they're on sale for $10, they're cheaper than the packs of lesser quantities. You can eat for a long time on this and they're relatively healthy.
2.) You can find some pretty decent food at low prices (some of it actually pricey gourmet food that got overstock dumped) at Big Lots.
3.) In areas where rabbit hunting is year-round, you can get a lot of mileage out of a rabbit if you reduce the carcass (along with vegetable cuttings) to soup stock after you eat most of the meat. A shotgun guarantees the meat, but you can save more money using a bow. No shotgun pellets to spit out and the arrow can be reused, lowering your cost-per-pound of meat to the price of the gas to get to your hunting spot.
4.) Super WalMart is not cheaper for meat in most cases. People just think it is because it's WalMart.
5.) Rice is your friend! Most of the world lives on it. The bigger the bag, the cheaper it costs. Rice, some leftover pork, an egg, chinkiang vinegar, and soy sauce, and you got fried rice just as good as any at a Chinese restaurant.
6.) No need to buy storage containers for the kitchen. That's what coffee cans are for, especially the new plastic ones with handles.
7.) A wok, cast iron skillet, and stainless steel stock pot are essential economic survival equipment. Throwing away a roast chicken or turkey carcass is throwing away money. With the stock pot, you can reduce them to broth of a quality you can't get in the store, plus it's basically free.
8.) Save your vegetable parings in the freezer. Add them to your stock pot when reducing carcasses to broth.
9.) Don't weed your yard. Eat your dandelions.
10.) Natural food stores are expensive, but the bulk bins have some great deals.
Just sayin'...