Day 2 of Live Below the Line has been successfully completed!
Although I was ready for my breakfast, I think it was more because this challenge has been so much on my mind for weeks all I am thinking about is food, rather than because I was overly hungry. I and the three boys all slept well, so there were certainly no rumbles in the night.
I’d set the menu today as a “treat” day to keep the boys’ spirits up, hence the fishfingers (which are nutritionally pretty great when oven-baked or grilled), and Dominic’s choice of tinned spaghetti in tomato sauce. I’d intended to “oven-chip” the potatoes, but having bought the salad ones at much less than the bag I’d intended, it seemed to make most sense to boil them. Dominic commented that “these are new chips” (thank goodness for the naivety of five year olds!), but most importantly there was not a single morsel left on any of the four plates.
The boys are all still excited about the peaches and the pineapple – only another six tins to go and then they’ll never want to eat them again!
Today’s menu and costs can be found at Meal diary TUESDAY, and please don’t forget you can still sponsor us at www.livebelowtheline.com/me/teamwhiten
Day 1 of Live Below the Line is complete, and no tummies are rumbling, although I did have a wobble about 4.30pm so decided it was time to make the evening meal!
Today was meatballs and pasta day. I based the meatballs recipe on my usual, but DRASTICALLY stripped, as you can surmise! Instead of the usual basil, oregano, white wine vinegar, sugar and chicken stock I only had gravy granules for seasoning. I usually use olive oil to brown the meatballs but instead used a small amount of the sunflower spread ….. and found there’s a reason they state “not suitable for baking”. I had originally costed-in an egg for binding the meatballs, as per the usual recipe. The Live Below the Line team had suggested the egg could be pro-rated rather than having to cost a full box. However, on mixing the meat, breadcrumbs & onion, the mixture seemed bound-enough without it. This saved us £0.17, which of course could go onto other food items. The down-side was that the combination of no egg and “not suitable” spread meant the meatballs stuck in the pan a little, but on the basis I usually cut the two youngest boys’ meatballs up anyway, this was no great loss.
The main aim of this day was to manage the boys’ expectations in terms of “treats” and food availability throughout the day, and they did brilliantly.
“What do you think of the first day of the challenge, Dominic?” I asked. “Good,” was the reply. Ending the day with pineapple, a biscuit and a chocolate cornflake cake was a good strategy!
See our food intake and what today’s food cost at Meal diary MONDAY, and don’t forget, you can still donate at www.livebelowtheline.com/me/teamwhiten
So the shops have been hit, the £20 note has been broken, and there’s a few quid still in the purse for the “renewals” later in the week. My eldest son (5 years old) has never been SO excited to see a pile of shopping as I laid it out to photograph, and then we set it out in days! Needless to say, I went ALONE to the shops – 3 little boys’ worth of pester power in the bakery department would have broken the strongest mind!
I came away with some further observations as I took the menu planner spreadsheet I’ve been working on for the past five weeks or so. Firstly, I had to surmount the growing terror inside that I might have mis-calculated and that we would be tummy-rumbling for the week, at which point I’d have had a visit from the grandparents with a food parcel – “will SOMEBODY think of the children”, to quote the Simpsons.
However, once I’d managed Aldi (I’m sorry to appear above my station but what is WITH those customers?!) and still had money in the purse I knew the plan was starting to come together. I also had a result; I thought Basics Tuna was £0.75 according to the price-check I’d done on-line last night, so imagine my joy when I found tuna for £0.49 in Aldi, and even more when the price had gone up to £0.80 in Sainsbury’s overnight. That jar of coffee is still looking within grasp, I’m thinking!
Next stop Sainsbury’s…..
As expected, a much more relaxed and pleasant affair, although a mixed-bag in terms of pricing and stock availability. I have the luxury of a car, and I know one item which I shall need for tea tomorrow and which wasn’t in-stock today (Basics Beef Mince, would you believe?!) I can call for on my way past the store to collect my youngest son from nursery. If I had to walk or use public transport, what additional decisions would I have had to make in the light of not being able to get the meat at the cost I need to complete the meal within the £4.00 complete day’s food allowance…..?
And don’t get me started on carrots! I usually buy Basics Carrots at £0.65-ish for 1 ½ kg. Not being able to afford £0.65 this week, and only needing one carrot, I had guesstimated £0.20 max for a “loose” carrot. What I hadn’t appreciated was the insane pricing disparity, particularly as I had always believed packaged were more expensive than loose. The bag of Basics equated to £0.46/ kg. The loose carrots are £0.90/kg. Admittedly, with Basics, they are all shapes, sizes, blah, blah. However, it meant that the ONE carrot I needed for the week cost me £0.22!!!!
You will see from the menus which I shall post for each day that FRESH fruit and vegetables barely feature. I am blessed with children who LOVE tinned fruit (well, all fruit for that matter); therefore I have used tinned fruit and tinned vegetables as a good method of portion control, and minimising waste. My usual shopping trolley brims with fresh fruit and vegetables – it is simply NOT AFFORDABLE on £1 per head unless you can drop-on the “Aldi 6”, the reduced counter, or offers. However, to have any chance of not visiting the shops every other day, I did not find it achievable.
Finally, for those friends who know Wendy without coffee, there were a few prices down (and up, needless to say!), but I think I can still just about squeeze to the Morrison’s Savers Coffee for £0.47. In the interest of the environment, I shall pop-in as I pass the door between the pre-school and nursery collection in the morning….
You can still donate to us at https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/teamwhiten
In preparing the menus for our Live Below the Line challenge, I have learnt a lot about myself and my shopping psyche. Having 3 small children I visit the supermarket probably 2 or 3 times a week to buy bread & milk, although I can often spend a minimum of £15-20 a visit.
“What on earth am I spending our money on?” I’ve been asking myself!
Life (and shopping!) is all about choices
I must point out at this stage that not included in the £1 per day per head of Live Below the Line are any toiletries, washing powder, toilet rolls, etc., etc. I presume living in the real world on £1 per day one prioritises food over shampoo and conditioner….
However, even these things don’t in and of themselves account for the additional spend I make every time I visit the shops.
What I have come to recognise in my buying rituals is the power of disposable income.
Because I visit the supermarket regularly, I see offers come in, BOGOFs, ½ price, buy 2 for £-reduced, and so on, and I can choose to purchase now because I have the spare cash to do so. I am also an avid voucher user.
And THAT I think is what disposable income gives you – CHOICES.
I can choose whether to stock-up now taking advantage of offers on things I know I’ll use in the future.
I can choose to put my Voucher Sort voucher towards something because I can afford to pay the balance.
I can choose whether to buy Weetabix or Basics Wheat Biscuits, Heinz Baked Beans or Basics Baked Beans. The difference in price is almost 2-fold. There is definitely a difference in taste, but is it 2-fold as “un-tasty”?
I can choose whether to buy-up the cabinet of on-date meat and put it in my freezer for later consumption, likewise fruit and vegetables.
I can choose to buy the bigger pack where the price per gram is sometimes almost ½ the price per gram of the smaller pack.
On Live Below the Line I can’t do any of the above. We have to start from an empty store cupboard and buy everything we will eat for the 5 days from our £20 total. I know for some readers this is how you always shop. It has NEVER been the case for me, who has the cash to grab a bargain and can always think of a use-up recipe for the on-date food.
The interesting revelation in preparing for the challenge is that the more money you have, the more economically you can shop, and therefore the further your £ goes.
On another note, I’ve drafted out menus for the 5 days, but they will have to be refined before the challenge as this week the price of one of the items rose from £0.30 to £0.33 and another item from £0.37 to £0.39; that may only be 2 or 3 pence per item but we don’t need many items to increase by a few pence each to not be able to afford to buy them. It’ll be interesting to see how many other items on the menu need to be altered before 29th April …..
D. G. Controls Ltd has always been run according to the highest ethical and moral values, and is well-aware of its wider social accountability; to use the correct terminology, its “Corporate & Social Responsibility” or CSR. Being a long-established business, but even more so in this present economic climate, the company is also well-aware of its costs of operation, and the need to maximise return on every £ spent. This is just the same in the personal lives of our employees. However, for thousands of people in the UK, and millions worldwide, the matter goes beyond “awareness” to crucial need. To those who do not have the luxury of so-called “disposable income” or assets, affording the basics of life can be a daily struggle.
It was especially horrifying during the recent Comic Relief event to see the interviews of mothers and fathers who have access to HIV anti-retroviral drugs but can’t take them as they don’t have enough food in their bellies (the drugs become toxic if taken on an empty stomach). They choose to give what little food they have to their children, and therefore sacrifice themselves. What a tragic situation.
“But what can you do?” is an understandable response.
Well, D. G’s Operations Director Wendy Whiten, and her 3 little boys are taking up a challenge set by The Global Poverty Project called “Live Below the Line”, to live on £1 per day per person for 5 days, and in the process hopefully raise awareness and money to support aid agencies trying to tackle the world hunger scandal. Follow their preparation, observations and fund-raising efforts on the deegee blog and join them on their own journey of discovery.
It’s often said that one person can’t change the world; but wouldn’t it be awesome if four people could change one person’s world?
