Rice + lentils is the ultimate poverty lifehack. A well-stocked spice drawer (expensive, but lasts a long time) plus those two ingredients can provide like 80% of your food indefinitely. Don’t waste your time or money on ramen
It REALLY depends on where/how you get them. The tiny McCormick bottles are a ridiculous scam, charging like $6 for a thimbleful. Meanwhile, a lot of health food stores, if you just bring a mid-sized jar (just clean out an old pasta jar or something) you can put a bunch of spice in it for maybe $3 or less.