[Mose]

Our church has issued a challenge - can we live on $2.50/day per person (75% of the world's population live on less than this) for 5 days from 2-6 July.

DH is unconvinced about the point - we have so much, it's not like this would give us a real vision of poverty. Also if you factor in mortgage, utilities etc, well, you just can't in Australia whilst providing what is considered a "fully functioning" home for your family.

But I think it's worthwhile, just to give us an idea for what it's like to "go without", and also to donate the savings to a charity that can actually help with world poverty.

So, $37.50 (there are 3 of us - me, DH and 18mo DS). 5 days, 15 meals + snacks.

Breakfast
Milk $4.00 (2*2L)
Bread $3.00 (1.5 loaves - 2 slices for me, 1 for DS, plus 1 for DS for lunch, and 2 for us each for lunch on days with no leftovers, which by my calculations would be 4 of the 5 days. This will be a struggle for me, I normally by Helgas at an eye-opooing nearly $5/loaf!))
Vitabrtis (1/3rd packet) $1.61
Spreadable butter (1/3rd tub) $1.13
Vegemite (1/20th jar) $0.43
$10.17 for breakfasts, miscellaneous milk + bread for lunch)

Lunch
Packet ham $3.00
8 cheese slices $3.20
1/5 jar chutney $0.40
Lunch $6.60
[DS will have 3 day-care lunches. Is cheating, but am ok with that!)

Dinners
Macaroni mix-up (will do two lots of dinner) $7.24
Fried rice (two lots of dinner) $3.62
Pasta with tomato sauce (one lot of dinner, plus two left-over lunches) $4.15
Dinner $15.01

Snacks
Cruskets (1/2 pack) $1.70
Bananas (500g) $2.00
Yoghurt (2/3 tub) $4.00
Apples (1kg) $2.20
Snacks/desserts $9.90


And I'm already over my $37.50! Any ideas (need to keep DS and DH vaguely on side, so don't want to be too extreme)

and anyone want to join me?

[PatG]

I did food for $2 a day last year for 5 days. but it was just me. I wouldn't include a child but you and your DH should be able to do it. Ideas: no desserts, cheapest fruit for snacks (I think I had 50c/kg mandarins), a cheap vege stew ($1/kg carrots, soup mix lentils, potato etc), cheapest bread here is $1 per loaf for woolies white homebrand - not that it is really bread!, cheap jam or something on bread instead of ham, mince for protien. Doable but you have to think about why you are doing it - I wrote in a community blog about mine and essentially we were encouraging teenagers to think about poverty (they didn't do the challenge but talked about what we adults were doing). I like your idea of donating the savings.

[anabh]

My kids eat more than that a day in fruit it would be really hard to do.

Good luck with it.

[FauxPas]

I think it is a good concept in theory but as PP said real concern over including a child in this (or really point of including child in this). My DS eats more than $2.50 in fruit alone per day.

Also, as your DH stated we can't include mortage, car loan, utilities etc so it is not a realistic view.

ETA - sorry, didn't mean to sound like a party pooper - all the best with it! Hope it goes well.

This post has been edited by FauxPas: 17/06/2012, 05:58 PM

[red_squirrel]

Does this include medicines. We have over $100 a week in medicines. I guess we wouldn't be alive in the 3rd world.

[suline]

Check out some ideas on the "Live below the line" and $2 a day challenge.

I do this challenge every year, and donate what I would normally spend to a certain charity - I haven't done it with kids, but my meals have been boring - rice and lentils each day, cheaparse frozen veggie mix, and whatever I can get reduced at the fruit and veg market. I think kids over a certain age would be fine to go without a huge variety of fruit/vegies/meat/luxury items for a few days .

[suline]

Just to add, I have only based my $2 day challenge only ever on food. never medication or anything else.

It does take me a huge amount of restraint and sacrifice, as I normally spend a fortune on food, and do a lot of baking and experimental cooking.

[Mose]

TBH DS is such a fussy eater, he is the easiest to fit in! We'll mostly be eating the stuff he actually likes for a few days! Dinners include mainly frozen veges - the only type he actually eats. Not too concerned as long as he gets his fruit, which is where most of his vitamins come from at the moment anyway, which is why I don't want to compromise on the apples and bananas. He'll also be getting a good variety at daycare, which is the usual pattern anyway (eats anything for them and next to nothing for me)

But of course as you say, it's only food that I'm counting. Even if you counted in nappies, wipes, cleaning products, soap...you just couldn't do it.

That and I'm not pushing too hard or DH will just put his foot down! You'll note coffee beans are excluded....no way am I getting into that debate!!

[wilding]

Check out some ideas on the "Live below the line" and $2 a day challenge.

I do this challenge every year, and donate what I would normally spend to a certain charity - I haven't done it with kids, but my meals have been boring - rice and lentils each day, cheaparse frozen veggie mix, and whatever I can get reduced at the fruit and veg market. I think kids over a certain age would be fine to go without a huge variety of fruit/vegies/meat/luxury items for a few days .

[Drowningnotwavin...]

Frankly I think the idea is a bit hypocritical. We don't live in a country were we can live on $2.50US a day. Why try? It's not the same thing anyway -to feel a bit poor for the day? Phfft try donating $2.50 a day instead.

Just IHO.