Live Below The Line

pennydreadful270
pennydreadful270 Posts: 266 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Wondering if anyone here has done live below the line before? https://www.livebelowtheline.com/

I've been thinking of giving it a go this year, and maybe donating the money I would have spent on food to UNICEF.

I'm not sure about it just now, because in order to live on £1/$1.50 a day you basically have to make your menu revolve entirely around carbohydrates. It's a radical switch from what I'm doing now, where I only have one potato or a couple spoonfuls of rice. But it's only for 5 days, so maybe I'm just being a wuss.


Anyone tried it? How did it go?

Replies

  • boroko
    boroko Posts: 358 Member
    My teenage son is doing it along with a group of friends and we've been looking into what he can eat - it's not exciting but it's not just carbs. There are menu and recipe suggestions on the website which include eggs, frozen mixed veg, tinned peas etc. so you can make a reasonably varied and nutritious menu plan if you think ahead and shop carefully.

    We're sponsoring him the amount of money we usually spend to feed him for the week including school lunches but will carry on eating normally as part of the reason for him doing it is to make him appreciate what he has! Meal times could be interesting!?

    It's only for 5 days and won't do you any harm. Go on and get other people involved and aware too.
  • paramedicsarah
    paramedicsarah Posts: 49
    I'm taking part a little later in the month. I work shifts as a paramedic so needed to arrange it when I'm not working!! The recipe book is pretty good but as I'm doing it on my own I'm not going to be able to vary things much as you're supposed to buy the items as a whole. So, it's porridge for breakfast & rice for lunch! A bag of flour is going to help with the snacks - chapatis from the recipe book!

    I'm raising money for Raleigh International who I went to Borneo on some voluntary work with. Good luck with yours! ????
  • Cr01502
    Cr01502 Posts: 3,614 Member
    I don't necesarily LIVE below the line.

    I do, however, spend a great deal of time down there.
  • squiggyflop
    squiggyflop Posts: 148 Member
    Um, am I the only one not feeling like its some great thing? I know well how to budget for this. Its not hard at all if you take the time to think ahead. How exactly is living like you ran out of money supposed to make you wanna donate money? Its not unheard of for my family to run out of money a few times a year. If not for my green smoothies I estimate that I eat about 2 bucks a day of food. The green smoothies are a new development in my diet but soon the price will drop rapidly for them as im very good at finding ways to save money

    What helps when you budget for lack of money or because you are very frugal?

    Couponing
    Stocking up when prices hit rock bottom
    Having even a small container garden
    Portion control
    Not eating chips, candy, or sugary things because they are very$$$$$
    Buying only frozen, canned, or marked down produce
    Buying in bulk

    Its not very hard. 1.50 is annoying but totally doable, 2 bucks is fine, and 3 bucks is super easy.
  • ToobieFit
    ToobieFit Posts: 12 Member
    I am taking part in Living Below the Line. Just doing the shopping for it was enlightening. I can't imagine having to shop/eat like this all of the time. My problem has always been eating too much. So food insecurity was not at the forefront of my consciousness. I will donate what I would have spent on food this week, along with any donations to a good cause.
  • beccarockslife
    beccarockslife Posts: 816 Member
    You can't do it like that for the challenge though. THe SUM of all your food has to come in under £5, so if you want to eat pasta you have to allow for the whole cost of the bag of pasta (95p) in your weekly budget. No coupons allowed. You couldn't afford to buy in bulk. If you grow stuff you have to consider the cost of growing the crops.


    Um, am I the only one not feeling like its some great thing? I know well how to budget for this. Its not hard at all if you take the time to think ahead. How exactly is living like you ran out of money supposed to make you wanna donate money? Its not unheard of for my family to run out of money a few times a year. If not for my green smoothies I estimate that I eat about 2 bucks a day of food. The green smoothies are a new development in my diet but soon the price will drop rapidly for them as im very good at finding ways to save money

    What helps when you budget for lack of money or because you are very frugal?

    Couponing
    Stocking up when prices hit rock bottom
    Having even a small container garden
    Portion control
    Not eating chips, candy, or sugary things because they are very$$$$$
    Buying only frozen, canned, or marked down produce
    Buying in bulk

    Its not very hard. 1.50 is annoying but totally doable, 2 bucks is fine, and 3 bucks is super easy.
  • ThatSoundsHard
    ThatSoundsHard Posts: 475 Member
    As a real life honest to goodness poor person who actually only has a very small budget and relies on food banks to feed my family at least once a year, coats for kids, fee assistance etc.. this kind of stuff really rubs me the wrong way.

    Living under the poverty line totally sucks guys. I appreciate the want to help and be able to sympathize with how the rest of us live.. I just find the whole endeavour somewhat insulting.
  • boroko
    boroko Posts: 358 Member
    As a real life honest to goodness poor person who actually only has a very small budget and relies on food banks to feed my family at least once a year, coats for kids, fee assistance etc.. this kind of stuff really rubs me the wrong way.

    Living under the poverty line totally sucks guys. I appreciate the want to help and be able to sympathize with how the rest of us live.. I just find the whole endeavour somewhat insulting.

    It's a real shame if you feel insulted by this. My teenage son has just completed 5 days of feeding himself on £1 a day and I think it has been very worthwhile. He did it with a small group of school friends and they took responsibility for planning, shopping and cooking for themselves. It has massively raised all their understanding of the reality of feeding yourself without parents putting food on the table and they have also raised a considerable amount in sponsorship which they are giving to Oxfam. As well as raising money to help others the sponsorship has given them the opportunity to talk to their friends and teachers about the issue of food poverty both here in the UK and in developing countries.

    I too have been put off by some of the media coverage but for my son and his friends it has not been about playing at being poor for a few days but about learning the reality of life for a very large proportion of the world. If nothing else I know now that he can feed himself a sensible and relatively healthy diet when he leaves home.
  • beccarockslife
    beccarockslife Posts: 816 Member
    I'm sorry you feel offended by it, I guess it's a little "poverty tourism" in a way, but what it does do it raise awareness that 1.2 billion people live like this every day, I know that lots of people I've talked about this with have been very shocked and are pledging their money to projects like food banks and things all over the country and world. I can't help but think that's worthwhile.

    For me its taught me yet another lesson in gratitude as well. I have so much and really forget that sometimes.
    As a real life honest to goodness poor person who actually only has a very small budget and relies on food banks to feed my family at least once a year, coats for kids, fee assistance etc.. this kind of stuff really rubs me the wrong way.

    Living under the poverty line totally sucks guys. I appreciate the want to help and be able to sympathize with how the rest of us live.. I just find the whole endeavour somewhat insulting.

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