Day 5 - Cooking for 4
Today was my last day 'living below the line'.
My menu for today:
Breakfast - Porridge with water and a brown sugar - 7p
Snack - a Banana - 13p
Lunch - Baked beans on a toasted brown roll - 20.5p
Snack - an Apple - 5p
Dinner - Spanish Risotto - 41p
Total spend = 86.5p
My cheapest day! I had a friend coming round for dinner this evening and anticipated I might need more of my budget to cater for that, so I decided to find a cheaper option for my lunch than the soup. I had half a tin of baked beans left over from Tuesday's dinner so had those for lunch instead, saving me just over 10p, winner.
This week I've discovered it's much cheaper to cook for more than one person - it takes the same amount of time to prepare the food, uses the same amount of pots, and gas, and is somehow cheaper. Making meals for one just seem to cost more. You can add cheap ingredients to a meal to make it go further and serve more people. This evening the Spanish Risotto I made would have served 4, so I have another 2 portions which I can freeze for future meals!
Living below the line has taught me that living on a tight budget is possible, but you have to be very disciplined. I've learnt there are lots of things I take for granted, and just assume that everyone can do/afford, when really that is not the case. Going out for coffee with my friends was a no go - my favourite coffee in Starbucks costs £2.95, that's the equivalent of 3 days worth of food. I couldn't just eat when I felt the slightest twinge of hunger or even boredom - every snack I ate meant my meal later on in the day would have to be cheaper. I've learnt that it's possible to live on much less than I do and to save money by cooking in bulk and planning ahead - things I will try and do in the future.
People all over the world (1.4 billion to be a little more precise) go to bed hungry every day, that is more than 20 times the UK population. This week has really challenged me about what I take for granted in my life and how easy I actually have it.
People all over the world (1.4 billion to be a little more precise) go to bed hungry every day, that is more than 20 times the UK population. This week has really challenged me about what I take for granted in my life and how easy I actually have it.
Thank you for supporting me in my week of 'living below the line'.
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