Live Below The Line: Day 1

Remember my post about Living Below the Line?  Well, today was Day 1 of the 5 day challenge.  We live in the midst of such luxury and opportunity; we are able to buy more food than we need for just one day or just one meal, and safely store the remainder in our refrigerator and pantry to carry over for future meals.  So, what you'll read from me this week will be a combination of global poverty awareness, and tips on urban frugal living that keep our own expenditures down.

When I went shopping I tried to get rock bottom prices on items (as always) and I went to the bread outlet, which is always a huge savings - I bought 14 items and spent a little over $14 - awesome!  Some items I was also able to get free with coupons and deals so the fact that those cost nothing will be a big help as well. 

Just imagine what it would be like to live on exactly $1.50 per day without averaging the cost over a week or a month as we do.  That $14 bread outlet purchase would be unattainable.  Maybe you could secure an extremely high interest loan, nearly impossible to ever pay off, to enable you to buy bread.

The goal for this challenge is to not spend more than $1.50 on food and drink per person, so our family of 7 has $10.50/day.  David and I thought we should try and do $10/day so that is our goal this week.

We ARE going to beat that line, and we are going to THRIVE doing it.  I'm certain of it. 

How did we do today?  Great!!  We did it!!

Total for today = $9.67. 

Read on for all the details...

I am being extra careful in the accounting here; I actually measured out the hormone-free whole milk my kids drank and the all-natural organic peanut butter on their sandwiches, counted out the cheetos (hey my kids like cheetos), etc. so these calculations are accurate.  That loaf of 100% whole wheat bread that cost me $1 has 20 slices, so each slice counts for a nickel.  Could I buy just one slice of bread for a nickel?  I doubt it.  Think about it.

Here is the breakdown for our family of 7:

Breakfast: 5 packages of instant oatmeal, 2 cups of milk, water, banana, an extra piece of bread

($0.73 + $0.72 + $0.19 + $0.05 = $1.69)

Lunch: 4 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, 1/2 container of strawberries, 8 baby carrots, 1 apple cinnamon cereal bar, 1 blueberry cereal bar, lots of water

($0.59 + $0.63 + $0.22 + $0.19 + $0.19 = $1.82)

Snack: 6 whole graham crackers, 1/4 cup raisins, 2 servings of Cheetos, 1 banana and 1 apple

($0.39 + $0.17 + $0.26 + $0.19 + $0.37 = $1.38)

Dinner: 1 box Mac n Cheese (yes, the Kraft kind - some left overs), strawberries, 1/2 avocado with tortilla chips, 2 meat and cheese sandwiches, 8 baby carrots, 1 banana, crackers, popcorn, ice cream, 2 cups milk, lots of water, 1 pouch of organic baby food (spinach and pears) and 1 Baby Mum Mum

($0.96 + $0.62 + $0.33 + $0.15 + $0.84 + $0.22 + $0.19 + $0.75 + $0.72 = $4.78)

Total for today = $9.67 (GOAL MET)