re: Protein shakes...
I was in Wal Mart the other day and was thinking to get some of these. I then noticed they also had those shakes that go with diet plans. Looking at the labels/ingredients, I see they are very much similar. The diet shake has about the same protein content(just doesn't really say if it is "soylent", plant based tho). The pricing diff was what caught my eye.
So, I got the diet shakes, even though I'm not on any diet plan. They can be used the same as any protein shake, at a lower cost.
If anyone has other money saving ideas, please don't hesitate to post them here.