Did you know that 1.2 billion people in the world in this day and age live in extreme poverty? This means that nearly 20% of the world’s population have just 1 pound a day to live on , and this would need to cover more than just food and drink, such as housing, health, education and all of the other costs which many of us take for granted here in the UK.
I was approached by the charity Health Poverty Action to see if I would like to join countless other people in particpating in the Live Below The Line challenge
The challenge is to spend 1 pound a day to feed myself, to include my drinks too. I decided to accept the challenge because I struggle to budget my weekly grocery at £100 a week, so to limit myself to £1 a day will be a real eye opener, and will hopefully assist me in making better choices in the future. Plus I want to show Burton and Jenson, aswell as my social media followers and friends, how some people have to survive on very little, and show them how fortunate we are to eat as well as we do.
So last Monday I bought the following items which actually cost 5.49 – luckily for me a lovely and very kind lady at the checkout gave me the extra 49p after I explained what I was doing (and after her watching me put items back as I was over the budget and trying to decide what to keep and what to not!).
These items together with some staples from my kitchen, such as stock cubes, spices and dried herbs , some frozen veg and some eggs I had been given at the weekend, would be my inspiration for meals for the next 5 days.
Here is a breakdown of what I ate together with how much I spent per meal
Breakfast
cup of tea, cornflakes & milk and a sprinkle of canderal (which I already had opened)
Cost – 10p
Lunch
a friend visited bringing a fruit salad which I shared along with a yogurt
Cost – 8p
Dinner
Potato & Vegetable Curry Cakes with baked beans and a slice of bread and butter
(1/2 tin of new potatoes, handful of frozen mixed veg, some frozen onion, curry powder, flour and oil)
Cost – 56p
Plus 3 more cups of tea – 10p
3 rich tea biscuits – 2p
Total – 76p
Tuesday
Breakfast
cup of tea, cornflakes & milk and a sprinkle of canderal (which I already had opened)
Cost – 10p
Lunch
Egg fried pasta with broccoli
(pasta cooked in 1/2 veg stock cube, 1 egg, broccoli and garlic oil)
Cost – 25p
Dinner
Vegetable & Baked Bean Hash with a slice of bread and butter
(the other 1/2 tinned potatoes, 1/3 of the tinned carrots, frozen onion, 2 mushrooms which I found at the bottom of my fridge! and the other 1/2 tin of baked beans, oil)
Cost – 44p
Plus 3 more cups of tea – 10p
4 rich tea biscuits – 3p
Total – 90p
Wednesday
Breakfast
cup of tea, cornflakes & milk and a sprinkle of canderal (which I already had opened)
Cost – 10p
Lunch
2 cheese & broccoli bread quiches (I made 4 as I gave 2 to my friend who I visited for lunch) and a yogurt
(2 slices of bread , frozen onion, oil, 1 egg, splash of milk, broccoli, grated cheese)
Cost – 30p
Dinner
Tomato & Vegetable Soup
(1/2 packet of passata, frozen onion, remaining tinned carrots, 1/3 tin of new potatoes, 1/3 vegetable stock cube, dried oregano, garlic oil, )
Cost – 41p
Plus 2 more cups of tea – 7p
6 rich tea biscuits – 5p
Total Cost – 93p
(Late) Breakfast
Bread & Butter Pudding and 2 cups of tea
(crusts left from yesterdays quiches plus 2 slices, butter 1 yogurt, 1 egg, cinnamon and handful of mixed fruit),
Cost – 20p
Lunch
Vegetable & Pasta Broth
(Handful of mixed veg, broccoli 1/3 stock cube, pasta)
Cost – 28p
Dinner
Fishfingers, tinned potatoes and baked beans
Cost – 40p
2 cups of tea – 6p
4 rich tea biscuits – 3p
Total – 97p
Breakfast
Beans on Toast and a cup of tea
Cost – 10p
Lunch
Tomato & Herb Pasta
(pasta with 1/3 tin of passata, oregano and 1/3 stock cube)
Cost – 30p
Dinner
Fishfingers, broccoli & potato, 1/3 tin of carrots & beans
Cost – 49p
2 cups of tea – 6p
4 rich tea biscuits – 3p
Total – 98p
So I just managed to live below 1 pound a day!! Yaaaay 🙂
I have to say that I enjoyed doing this challenge because it really opened my eyes as to how much I spend on food each week and how it is not really neccessary really. I (and the boys) do enjoy eating fresh salad, vegetables and fruit and these are expensive. I was shocked that I could not afford fruit out of my fiver. I think with hindsight I could have forsaken a tin of carrots and bought one apple maybe but figured that the carrots might go further. I also appreciate that I had a few items in my freezer and store cupboard which enabled me to make the food I ate, because I could have just lived off beans on toast and tins of soup and bread and jam, which would have been filling and frugal.
I shared my food photos on instagram last week and was touched by the support and kind and supportive comments I received (you know who you are!). I also shared my progress with friends and they say it shocked them as to how little food people have to live on and how much they also take for granted being able to buy, within reason, what they can afford which is more than a pound a head. I found it quite easy making my meals last week and they were all tasty. Yes, I did feel a little peckish at times but I just drank some water to fill up on. However, I am not sure my fussy boys or OH would have enjoyed them as much!!
Although I enjoyed some chocolate, a Chinese take away and some fruit on Saturday once my challenge had finished, I still feel in low food budget mode. Sunday I had family visiting and instead of doing what I normally would, which would be to go shopping for food to cook for them, I ended up making fishcakes using up things from my freezer and cupboard and I made a pavlova using up the eggs I had been given. Ok so I did buy salad and bread to accompany the fish cakes, and fruit and yogurt to top my pavlova, but I spent much less then I may have done a week before. All this week I have been making my food go further and today was the first time I have had to pop to the shops since Sunday as I needed some milk, butter, veg and cat food! I really used up what I already had at home. *This* is what I had hoped this Live Below the Line Challenge would make me do and it made me think that I can live for less, and how lucky I am.
Do you think you could live on just 1 pound a day?
If you are feeling generous and would like to donate to Health Povery Action to sponsore me for taking part, I have a donation page set up which you can find HERE . I was asked to do this challenge which I accepted, but I was not paid to do so, I did it to support this campaign and help to highlight the extreme poverty that so many people have no choice but to endure.
HELEN
well done for doing this! I really fancied giving it a go but didn’t fancy giving up fruit & salads. It’s shocking that eating healthy is way out of a lot of peoples budgets.
lauracymft
Well done Jenny! It’s amazing how much you can make £1 stretch. It’s scary the amount of people and families who are living in poverty in the UK, especially in this day and age. I had to research this for my college course and it really opened my eyes. What’s really sad though is, the government are talking about people’s weight and children being obese but is it any wonder when fresh fruit and vegetables are so expensive?! Well done again x
shanegreen75
Oh my goodness Jenny, thats amazing. I think i waste a lot of money on food too and really need to cut down too but £! a day and not being able to afford fruit and salad is a shocker. well done you xx
shanegreen75
whoops sorry jenny its karen (wouldliketobe) on husbands computer