Live below the line

Have you every heard of Suspended Coffee? Or you have you ever heard of Live Below The Line? Last week, a bunch of friends at work embarked on a very challenging quest to live for just £1 a day for 5 consecutive days. At first, I thought it was going to be easy because at school I used to live off just noodles and some snacks. Like most colleague students, they don’t eat much but play more. I spent 8 hours a day sitting on a computer playing games without eating anything or just one meal a day. So, I decided to participated the quest.

On Sunday, because I was working in Manchester and I had to travel from London so I didn’t have much time to shop at all. When I got in Manchester most shops were closed only a few supermarket open, so I went straight in there just to find some breakfast for the next day. And I only found these.

I only got a bag of slices and two tins of baked beans. I spent £1.85.

On Monday, I ate two spoonful of baked beans and two slices of bread and I felt really full. I had to drink plenty of water in order to keep my stomach happy. At lunch I ate some baked beans which I wasn’t satisfied at all, after the break my stomach kept calling me that this wasn’t enough at all. Because yesterday I didn’t have time to do some shopping so I went to China Town just to get some more supply and I got these. 4 packs of instant noodles and a bag of celery.

On Tuesday, the breakfast and lunch still the same baked beans and bread. Today, I wasn’t hungry as yesterday I think because my body adjusted to the situation already but I couldn’t wait for dinner, because I was going to have my first hot meal, Mama.

On Wednesday, the breakfast still the same but I decided to not have baked beans but packed my instant noodles for lunch instead and dinner I had just celery sticks and carrots. Today, I decided to spent a little bit more because I was fed up with baked beans already. So, I got more supply, bananas and a bag of carrots which my seemed to be really popular among my live below the liners.

This evening I decided to take a little blissful walk in the City centre and my feeling was kinda mixed when seeing people eating their ice-cream or drinking coffee. I wish I could do that and I knew that most hungry people who felt the same as I did.

On Thursday, I packed my celery sticks and carrots and banana for my lunch it was like luxury for me. But today I wasn’t hungry at all I guess my body just knew what I was trying to do there.

Last day, I ended up with just one carrot left on the train back to London and I gave one of my bananas to my friend who forgot to bring his lunch.

So I spent £4.98 in total for 5 days. and I raised £40 from my friends, thank you very much Suksant and Seema. I really appreciate this.

At the end, I knew this wasn’t even close to what millions of people have to live with and they have to spend £1 for anything else as well apart from food. But I realised not just that I could totally live on £1 a day, but also raised my awareness that they are lots of tough sleepers out there who don’t have the luxury as we all have.