Live Below the Line - Could you live off of £1 a day for 5 days?

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Matt
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Morning :)

Is anyone taking part in LBL this year? It's an awareness/fundraising campaign with the challenge to live off of just £1 a day for 5 days in May. All food and drink consumed needs to be included in the £1 budget. The £1 is calculated based on the World Banks 'Extreme Poverty' line.

Fab website and you can choose which charity you would like to raise money for.

More info - https://www.livebelowtheline.com/uk

I am doing it mainly out of interest as I spend a fair bit on food - I see it as a way to gain a tangible experience of how many people in the world live compared to how comfortable my life is - and to appreciate it a bit more.

Do you reckon you could live off of £1 a day?
 
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no, and i also think my £1 or local currency equivalent would go a lot further in other parts of the world than it does here.
 
Check out the website Lynty - there is a lot of maths involved in the £1 figure - it is calculated using purchasing power parity so is equivalent to 'other parts of the world'.

More info - https://www.livebelowtheline.com/uk-why-1/ second half of page.

:)
 
neil_g said:
i struggle to live off my monthly salary at the moment.. :D :(

#firstworldproblems
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+1!!!

It's all relative IMO........ There are people less fortunate than me who have daily struggles just for food/water. For that I am grateful for what I have in life.

There are also people who are a lot better off than me who wouldn't be able to understand how I manage on my current level of income.

I'm pretty certain I couldn't live off £1 per day and luckily I don't have to and I don't feel I need to prove anything by doing so.

Good luck to those trying it though.......
 
Dont see the point - poverty only exists if there is something to compare. My grandparents as kids lived in what would now be classed 'poverty' but they never thought it was that at the time.
 
I am doing it mainly out of interest as I spend a fair bit on food - I see it as a way to gain a tangible experience of how many people in the world live compared to how comfortable my life is - and to appreciate it a bit more.
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Very Best of luck to you mate. Hope you let us know your experience.
 
cambsno said:
Dont see the point - poverty only exists if there is something to compare. My grandparents as kids lived in what would now be classed 'poverty' but they never thought it was that at the time.
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My Granddad used to tell us about what he used to do for "fun" as a kid........

He and his siblings would stick their legs under the bed clothes (normally an old overcoat) for about a minute, hop to the bathroom and plunge their legs into a bath of cold water, whoever had the most amount of fleas drop off their leg was the winner :eek:
 
Not possible for me. Even if i lay in bed all day that costs me £30 (rent, electric, water etc).

I would be interested to see what constitutes £1 of food in this country though.

While poverty is something that needs to be addressed by percieved wealthy nations, there is also a nagging doubt that countries in this situation are not doing themselves any favours.
 
MG TF 135 said:
Not possible for me. Even if i lay in bed all day that costs me £30 (rent, electric, water etc).

I would be interested to see what constitutes £1 of food in this country though.

While poverty is something that needs to be addressed by percieved wealthy nations, there is also a nagging doubt that countries in this situation are not doing themselves any favours.
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Quite right, many 'poor' countries are run by dictators with fleets of Rolls/Bentleys and lots of arms - I also question how much aid actually gets through and not goes missing in bribes and more guns? We have been giving aid for years but has much actually changed? We are still being asked to give aid - in 50 years time will we still be asked?
 
neil_g said:
i struggle to live off my monthly salary at the moment.. :D :(

#firstworldproblems
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:D Agreed. Mind you - I always find funds for camera gear lust!

Russ77 said:
+1!!!

It's all relative IMO........ There are people less fortunate than me who have daily struggles just for food/water. For that I am grateful for what I have in life.

There are also people who are a lot better off than me who wouldn't be able to understand how I manage on my current level of income.

I'm pretty certain I couldn't live off £1 per day and luckily I don't have to and I don't feel I need to prove anything by doing so.

Good luck to those trying it though.......
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Cheers sir. I dont 'feel the need' to prove anything - just the reasons outlined above.

cambsno said:
Dont see the point - poverty only exists if there is something to compare. My grandparents as kids lived in what would now be classed 'poverty' but they never thought it was that at the time.
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Interesting point Simon - the western and developing world is certainly getting richer, whilst the rest remain in deepening poverty.

NigelPaul said:
Very Best of luck to you mate. Hope you let us know your experience.
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Cheers sir :)

Russ77 said:
My Granddad used to tell us about what he used to do for "fun" as a kid........

He and his siblings would stick their legs under the bed clothes (normally an old overcoat) for about a minute, hop to the bathroom and plunge their legs into a bath of cold water, whoever had the most amount of fleas drop off their leg was the winner :eek:
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Whoa!

MG TF 135 said:
Not possible for me. Even if i lay in bed all day that costs me £30 (rent, electric, water etc).

I would be interested to see what constitutes £1 of food in this country though.

While poverty is something that needs to be addressed by percieved wealthy nations, there is also a nagging doubt that countries in this situation are not doing themselves any favours.
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The £1 a day covers only what you consume in terms of food and drink.

cambsno said:
Quite right, many 'poor' countries are run by dictators with fleets of Rolls/Bentleys and lots of arms - I also question how much aid actually gets through and not goes missing in bribes and more guns? We have been giving aid for years but has much actually changed? We are still being asked to give aid - in 50 years time will we still be asked?
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Fair point again Simon - and the reason I like the LBL Campaign is that you actually select from a number of different charities that do specific work - or you can choose bigger organisations such as Unicef.

darkman said:
Not a flipping chance
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:D
 
smooth said:
Fair point again Simon - and the reason I like the LBL Campaign is that you actually select from a number of different charities that do specific work - or you can choose bigger organisations such as Unicef.
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Indeed. A lot of people don't realise that registered charity organisations publish their accounts, so you can see where the aid money goes. I've been supporting UNICEF for years - they do amazing work around the world with demonstrable results. I've also been sponsoring kids in Kenya through Plan International for about five years now and they're very good about keeping you up to date with their work and showing you how the money is being spent.

Having spent the first 25 years of my life in Africa, I grew up with a firsthand view of the ravages of third world poverty, and as such, I've always felt it very important to donate to charities who are working to alleviate the suffering of our fellow human beings.

So all the best to you with your endeavour.
 
Thanks Leigh - your wise words and encouragement are very much appreciated. Kudos also for continuing your support throughout these tough financial times.
 
At one time my local Job Centre seem to think I can.

All the best on your mission, though.
 
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We have to feed 2 matches worth of burly rugby players (55 of them inc subs and a ref) on £30 after their matches on Saturdays. It's tough!

Good luck with it Matt :thumbs:
 
Did that years ago when I was a lot younger, I had to as things were pretty tight. I do not fancy giving it a go again, as I can remember what it was like. But good luck with it !!
 
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12p bag of noodles 4 times a day....... Easy! :cool:

Beer and fags £40 a day :eek:
 
Splog said:
12p bag of noodles 4 times a day....... Easy! :cool:

Beer and fags £40 a day :eek:
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Shut it pal! How did you know my diet anyway?
 
smooth said:
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The £1 a day covers only what you consume in terms of food and drink.
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Lovely idea, good on you for taking the time. :clap:

I cant see how this figure is right myself, tap water alone is a minimum of 70p a day, and the cheapest loaf of bread around here is 53p. I guess nationally it might squeeze in but you'd die of malnutrition soon enough... :gag:
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
Lovely idea, good on you for taking the time. :clap:

I cant see how this figure is right myself, tap water alone is a minimum of 70p a day, and the cheapest loaf of bread around here is 53p. I guess nationally it might squeeze in but you'd die of malnutrition soon enough... :gag:
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Water is around 70p per day, but what you would actually drink would be a very small fraction of that. Most of that would be taken up by shower/bath/washing machine etc which is not part of the challenge.

Also, if you're going to eat a whole loaf of bread in a day, you're not really getting into the spirit of the challenge. :p
 
I think this is more about experiencing something of the deprivation that's pretty common in Third World countries, not survival. You could get through five days without eating much, if anything, providing you have access to water, although it wouldn't be comfortable or sustainable. I know a few guys who took part in military and special unit police selection courses in South Africa, which involved extreme sleep and food deprivation for up to a week too. Doing this voluntarily, with a goal in sight, knowing that it's finite and that you can give up if you want to, is very different from the grinding poverty that traps people throughout their lives.

You can't really replicate this sort of hardship without living it, but this is a worthy effort.
 
smooth said:
I see it as a way to gain a tangible experience of how many people in the world live compared to how comfortable my life is -
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Sorry I know you mean well.Your hearts in the right place and all that.... but its a bit of an insult to the poor to think you can experience there life as easy as that.
 
£1 a day would be spent on 2 Greggs Sausae rolls and then I would die for the remaining 23:30hours!
Bast of luck though!
 
KIPAX said:
Sorry I know you mean well.Your hearts in the right place and all that.... but its a bit of an insult to the poor to think you can experience there life as easy as that.
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:( I meant the phrase 'tangible experience' as dealing with just one aspect of the struggles that people go through the world over NOT experiencing 'their life'.
 
Thanks for all your kind words and support all :)

Anyone else fancy giving it a try?
 
fabs said:
Water is around 70p per day, but what you would actually drink would be a very small fraction of that. Most of that would be taken up by shower/bath/washing machine etc which is not part of the challenge.

Also, if you're going to eat a whole loaf of bread in a day, you're not really getting into the spirit of the challenge. :p
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:D ..half a loaf. ;)

I think you've missed the point mate ..where are you getting your glass of water from? ;)
 
I don't think it's possible in this country to live of that amount if you take fuel/power usage into account. Even if you did manage to buy cheap beans and bread, by the time you toasted it you would be well over your £1 budget!
Maybe if you went to the hills and made a makeshift home and hunted your own food you might offset the cost of the lighter used to make a fire.. :D
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
:D ..half a loaf. ;)

I think you've missed the point mate ..where are you getting your glass of water from? ;)
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I must be missing the point Adam because I don't know what you mean. Surely this is about food and drink consumption for a day being no more than a pound. The glass of water that comes out of your tap has an actual cost of virtually nothing. Yes, you may be paying 70p a day for the supply of water to your home but it's about the actual cost of just that glass.
 
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