Live Below the Line, 2013

[limeandpepper]

I know there is an old thread floating around about this but no one actually participated in the challenge.

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/live-below-the-line/

So I reckon it'd be good to have a new thread for this year, because it hasn't started yet, so anyone who's interested can quickly start thinking and preparing now. And if it goes well, we can make a challenge thread every year!

https://www.livebelowtheline.com/

I actually did this last year, by myself, and I found it really tough but really worthwhile. The budget for each country is calculated for "purchasing power parity". In Australia we get $2 a day (so $10 over 5 days), while USA gets $1.50 a day ($7.50 over 5 days). Keep in mind you can do this together with friends/family, buying and sharing your groceries together, which makes it easier as it gives you a bit more bang for your buck, as well as variety in your ingredients.

I think these rules I quoted below are what most people find difficult, and I know some people who cheated a bit. But I did it strictly by the guidelines and managed to survive. ;)

The full cost of all the items you consume must be included in your budget. This means budgeting for whole packets of rice, sugar, eggs, etc. You can share the cost of ingredients amongst a team though, as long as no participant spends more than their $10 budget.
You must include the store price of any other food you get - including food from the pantry, the garden, or "donated" by friends.

To be honest I don't know if I'll do it again this year, I'm still thinking about it. But it IS doable. I might do it again because it's an awesome challenge, or I might wimp out and do a less extreme version, I do love my food...

But yeah. Anyone up for it?

Edited to add - who's doing it:
- expatartist - https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/ebriel

[expatartist]

Wow, L & P, this is fascinating. We've just been talking about how to reduce our food/drink costs, and I've been trying to figure out a budget. This is a great challenge with awareness, too.

I'm definitely be up for doing this for a month to try it out. Calculating things like oil could get tricky. The Man eats loads more than I do, but he can supplement his diet with protein from other sources...

Starts 29th April? I've just signed up to help support the Somaly Mam foundation, thanks for posting this!

[Edited to add: https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/ebriel

I'll blog about the markets I go to in Beijing to buy groceries, and other food-type stuff. Been in a writing rut lately, this may get me out of it!]

[limeandpepper]

Hi expatartist, the actual challenge is only 5 days. But if you do this for a month that'll be even more impressive!

Regarding things like oil, I didn't use any in my cooking for those 5 days, as strictly speaking, the rules don't allow pro-rata calculation and I didn't want to spend a part of my budget on a whole bottle of oil. But as I've mentioned, I know some people bend the rules a bit.

And oops, I didn't realise that the start date varies for different countries! I'll update my original post. As I reside in Australia, I only looked at the Australian site where the dates are 6th - 10th May. I can see now for other countries it says 29th - 3rd May. I don't quite understand this, as I recall last year it was the same for all countries, and it fostered a sense of solidarity - e.g. on Twitter I could click on hashtag #livebelowtheline and read snippets of other people's experiences all over the world. Hmm. Still, I hope there is still enough time for those who want to do it, to think about their meal plans and do their shopping, over this weekend?

It is most definitely a great challenge for awareness! That time last year was the most careful I'd ever been with my food expenditure, ha!

[expatartist]

It's relatively easy to eat on that much in China, if one's conscious about it and doesn't do expat-ty kinds of things. I like the idea of getting creative for a month! We'll be eating lots of beans, rice and lentils over the next month, but it'll be a good experiment.

I think I'll just do the per-oz cost for oil, etc: "For items such as salt, pepper, herbs and spices, simply work out the cost of each item per ounce and budget your shopping proportionally" from http://www.livebelowtheline.com/us-how-does-it-work#sthash.lWJ0pYrE.dpuf "

[limeandpepper]

You're quick on the signing up! Looking forward to your blog posts on your LBTL experience. :D

[expatartist]

Shucks - it'd be good to start this at the same time...maybe we can swap recipes!

Looking forward to seeing what you're up to during the following week. I plan to continue & fundraise till 31st May, so we'll have some overlap.

[limeandpepper]

I'm still thinking about whether to do it! I know I am capable, because I've done it before, and it is only 5 days, but I do remember feeling rather deprived last year... hahaha.

I'm surprised you're the only one who has jumped on board so far expatartist. Surely this is the kind of challenge the MMM community would embrace? Or is it too extreme even for most members here?

[expatartist]

I suppose it sounds kind of extreme! But I've been looking at some frugal blogs via this site, like these women who feed their families for $100/month: http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/ and http://theprudenthomemakerblog.blogspot.com/ so I think it's doable. Also this is a good site: http://agirlcalledjack.com/category/below-the-line-budget-recipes/ It's easier for women than men as we eat less. My guy is cooking his own bigger meals this month.

Lots of people on this forum seem to go for more of a paleo diet which costs quite a bit more $ and requires dedication.

What clinched it for me was:

* it's an opportunity to document the markets I go to in Beijing and try new recipes
* it'll benefit the Somaly Mam foundation (Cambodia's the kind of place you never forget)

I'm starting off today with a homemade oatmeal, banana, pineapple, coconut milk & ginger smoothie. Not feeling deprived yet!

[dragoncar]

The side-effect of doing this in the first world is that we could easily do it as a 5-day fast.  That could have it's own benefits, but misses the point.

[limeandpepper]

Lots of people on this forum seem to go for more of a paleo diet which costs quite a bit more $ and requires dedication.

What clinched it for me was:

* it's an opportunity to document the markets I go to in Beijing and try new recipes
* it'll benefit the Somaly Mam foundation (Cambodia's the kind of place you never forget)

I'm starting off today with a homemade oatmeal, banana, pineapple, coconut milk & ginger smoothie. Not feeling deprived yet!

That is true - I try to eat more wholesome food, and it can be cheap, but not this cheap! When I did the challenge last year I remember having to go for cheap calories over nutrient-rich.

You're off to a great start! Since you're not in any of the countries listed in the challenge, what is the budget you've assigned for yourself? Have you bought most of your food yet? Would be keen to see a break down of the ingredients/costs, and the meals you make from it. :)

P.S. I added your link to my original post. It's a great cause.

[expatartist]

Since I'm originally from the US, I joined that site. $1.50/day is just over 9.3RMB according to oanda.com, and the RMB tends to be pretty stable with the US$. The average person in China spends about 8RMB/day on food, while like most in the capital, I usually spend loads more! I'm not a big fan of white rice/pasta etc, but this month is a kick in the pants to explore more food options in the markets near where I live. I'll be posting some of the recipes I'm using, costs, etc. starting tonight on the fundraising blog. Buying non-taxed (Chinese) products is key.

Generally: lots of beans and lentils, eggs and tofu and oats to come in the diet this month, fresh/overripe fruit & veg in season. (Just had homemade wheat/oatmeal bread for lunch w/homemade hummus, all portioned to add up to 3.5RMB.) Making wheat bread & tortillas from scratch rather than buying them. Food basics in China are pretty cheap, but the western stuff I like isn't.

Since moving to more developed places (after Cambodia), my lifestyle's gotten bloated and I take a lot for granted. This gives me the chance to scale back for a month, get off the sugar high, and look for other ways to appreciate daily life. I never do diets, but for fundraising, this is a good challenge. A reminder what it's like to be hungry, and what my students there experience every day.

[expatartist]

Post from day 1: what I ate/drank, and for how much
https://www.livebelowtheline.com/blogs/10904?lang=en

NB: After another visit to the market I've had to scale down the ambition of doing it for an entire month: the only options for filling food at this price level are eggs and white rice/noodles, and we're currently TTC. I can do a week of this, but don't want to chance too many dodgy eggs at the bottom end of China's food chain for an entire month when there's another bird flu strain going on.

[mpbaker22]

You must include the store price of any other food you get - including food from the pantry, the garden, or "donated" by friends.

This doesn't seem to make much since.  Don't people who live on $1.50/day tend to have their own gardens and what not?  Isn't that really how they survive?  So if you wanted to mimic that, shouldn't gardens actually be encouraged in this exercise?  or am I missing something?

[limeandpepper]

You must include the store price of any other food you get - including food from the pantry, the garden, or "donated" by friends.

This doesn't seem to make much since.  Don't people who live on $1.50/day tend to have their own gardens and what not?  Isn't that really how they survive?  So if you wanted to mimic that, shouldn't gardens actually be encouraged in this exercise?  or am I missing something?

I think the idea is that some people are literally living day by day or week by week and may not have food in the pantry, or a garden (if they even have a decent roof over their heads to begin with), and don't have a reliable source of food donations. Think, for example, a street beggar, someone in a really poor country. Besides, if you allow all these things, it makes it all too easy for some people. Someone with a well-stocked pantry and a flourishing garden and generous friends could eat like a king, without spending much. Having such restrictions level the playing field and gives you a proper sense of what it's like to do it tough. Frugality is not the point here, it's only the side effect. Comfort is not the point. The point is to awaken a sense of what it's like to live in poverty and to raise awareness (and funds) to tackle the issue.

From the website:

Live Below the Line is a campaign that's changing the way people think about poverty—and making a huge difference—by challenging everyday people to live on the equivalent of the extreme poverty line for 5 days.

[Jill the Pill]

When I first saw this challenge elsewhere, I expected to see a different "line."  I'll explain it here, because it's both practical (more than just awareness/solidarity) and able to be maintained long-term.

In the US, Canada and Australia, we seem to emit about 17-19 metric tons of CO2 per person per year.  The median income per capita in those countries is 25-30K US dollars.

The planet is approaching 400 ppm atmospheric CO2 (350 was supposed to be the safe limit).  Quickly cutting our emissions to zero doesn't seem possible, especially not at a personal scale (i.e. it will require society-wide changes at the government and corporate level).  But, cutting our emissions in half is a reasonable goal.  It would mean living closer to the world average lifestyle -- both in terms of income/expenditures and emissions (the two are related). 

The world median income is 12K, and the world median emissions per capita looks to be around 5 tons/year -- the "line."  Countries whose residents live around that line are Poland, Portugal, Chile, Israel -- sort of world-middle-class. 

So, how's that for a challenge?  Instead of (or in addition to) eating like the poorest-of-the-poor for a week, try living like the world's average person  . . . . indefinitely. 

Your car emits 9 kg/gallon (wow, mixed units) -- which would be a metric ton for every 111 gallons you use. 
1500 kWh electricity = about a metric ton
200 "therms" of natural gas = a metric ton
84 gallons home heating oil (2 barrels) = a metric ton
and, of course, meat . . . but I don't have a conversion for that.

[limeandpepper]

Jill: That's a different way to go about it, and pretty interesting. For me, though, I'm probably already good for those figures. I don't own a car, haven't used the heater or cooler since the last couple of years, and often make accidentally-vegetarian meals, or when I have meat it's often one of the many elements in the dish, not the main feature. I can see your suggestion being practical for those who consume a lot more though. I find the Live Below the Line challenge tough, not least because I love eating - so for me it really hits where it hurts, and in the context of the campaign and what it aims to achieve, that's not a bad thing.

[limeandpepper]

Post from day 1: what I ate/drank, and for how much
https://www.livebelowtheline.com/blogs/10904?lang=en

NB: After another visit to the market I've had to scale down the ambition of doing it for an entire month: the only options for filling food at this price level are eggs and white rice/noodles, and we're currently TTC. I can do a week of this, but don't want to chance too many dodgy eggs at the bottom end of China's food chain for an entire month when there's another bird flu strain going on.

Thanks for posting! It's really interesting to read about everyone's experiences. And of course, you gotta watch out for yourself and not endanger your health.

[expatartist]

Jill, that's an interesting challenge. How close to that line do you live?

Like Limeandpepper, I tend to live close to that line as well. For the previous 5 years my income was extremely irregular and quite low - last year I lived off of, usually, less than the average resident of Beijing. I've never owned a car. My meat/dairy consumption is irregular and similar to L&P's: in Asia, we don't eat big slabs of meat, it's more of a condiment than a main course. This year I'm keeping my travel to a minimum. Living in a place where most of the world's cheap consumer goods are produced - and breathing, eating, seeing and smelling the toxic results - has made me rethink how and what I consume.

I think it tends to be people who live in these ways who are drawn to this kind of challenge.

[Jill the Pill]

How close to that line do you live?

Not very, I'm afraid.  For us (family of five) it will be a big challenge.  We do a good job on being very meat-stingy, and we buy nearly no new consumer products.  A major life change this year will decrease my weekly driving from 200+ miles to local errands only.  We also just found out that our attic insulation is woefully inadequate, so that project should save us a lot of heating oil.  We don't use a.c., but here you do need heat.   Though we keep it at 61F, I almost choked when I saw how little oil = a ton of emissions. 

But, you start where you are. 

[expatartist]

Posting updates as I write them:


Life Below the Line Day 3: Beijing Bubbles & Squeaks: http://ebriel.com/life-below-the-line-day-3-beijing-bubbles-and-squeaks
Living Below the Line Day 2: Sesame from a Van: http://ebriel.com/living-below-the-line-day-2-sesame-from-a-van
Living Below the Line Day 1: Cleaning Out the Pantry: http://ebriel.com/living-below-the-line-1

[limeandpepper]

Nice blog expatartist! You have a rather interesting life, I bet you have heaps of stories. :)

The challenge should be done by now, did you get through the 5 days fine?

[expatartist]

I made it! It would've been easier if I'd eaten white rice - that fills you up better. Was a wimp and 'broke the fast' at midnight with a beer and sandwich. Been biking around BJ and working on essays over the weekend for a catalogue & will put up more recipes & final 2 posts this week.

[limeandpepper]

Well done! I totally broke the fast last year with cake. Haha.

I've decided not to do it this year, but in recognition of it I'm planning to eat very frugally these few days. I've been eating simple congee on the weekend, and for the next couple of days I'm having very basic pasta meals.