$40 a Day

$40 a Day
Title card from 2002 to 2003
Genre	Travel, food
Created by	Rachael Ray
Starring	Rachael Ray
Theme music composer	Jonathan Merrill Killer Tracks
Opening theme	"Money Money Money"
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	77
Production
Executive producer(s)	Allison Page Tara Sandler Jennifer Davidson Scott Templeton
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Pie Town Productions
Release
Original network	Food Network
Original release	April 1, 2002 – December 12, 2005
External links
Website

$40 a Day is a Food Network show hosted by Rachael Ray. In each episode, Rachael takes a one-day trip to an American, Canadian, or European city with only US$40 to spend on food. While touring the city, she finds restaurants to go to (often based on local recommendations), and usually manages to fit three meals and some sort of snack or after-dinner drink into her small budget.

The show premiered on April 1, 2002, five months after the debut of 30 Minute Meals, making it her second show on the Food Network. Some clips are sometimes used in Ray's later series, Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels. Another Food Network series, Giada's Weekend Getaways starring Giada De Laurentiis, is similar in format. In 2010, The Travel Channel began airing reruns of the show. As of 2013, the show is no longer in reruns on the Travel Channel.

According to Ray, visiting a fast food restaurant, particularly those of national chains, is considered cheating (she says so explicitly in the Orlando episode). On occasion, smaller sit-down restaurant chains (such as Bahama Breeze in the Las Vegas episode, or Bongos in the South Beach episode) are visited. Generally, non-food items and non-food-related activities are not included in her budget.

Rachael always offers tips on what to see in the various cities, as well as hints on how to save money and find bargains while traveling. She also emphasizes researching whatever city she plans to visit through the Internet and asking the local citizens for their recommendations.

Initially, Rachael only used item prices against her $40 limit. She started including applicable taxes and tips during the first season. On occasion, she does go over budget; however, during her trips to Philadelphia and Arizona, she did so on purpose. Her cheapest day was in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2003, when she spent just under $25 USD including taxes and tips (at the time, less than $40 Canadian, although she budgeted for $40 USD). On occasions, she has had to get creative to stay on-budget; for example, she accidentally blew half her budget on her second meal in her first Miami episode.