Day 15

Well today is the last day!! Woot! There were a few times I didn't think I would make it, yet here I am. I have $3.50, a carrot, an onion, 3 oranges, some oats, a little bit of pasta, some noodles and a tiny scrape of butter. I think I will survive the day, but I may never eat noodles again.

Tomorrow morning I will find the fanciest cafe I can and enjoy at least one, probably several, lattes. I will also be having steak for dinner with a selection of vegetables in colours other than orange.

But I still just have to make it through one last day.

Thanks to the generosity of some wonderful people, oxfam have received $323 via

http://www.oxfamunwrapped.com.au/ChooseFromWishList.php?id=894

Including fruit trees, chickens, a piglet, farming supplies, seeds and more. It's actually pretty fun to browse the gifts and to know precisely what your donation will fund. Plus it's tax deductible. And just plain nice.

So I'm still $687 short of my goal. Perhaps I set the goal too high? Or perhaps there are still generous strangers sitting waiting in the wings to see to it that I finished the whole 15 days. If you are one of those, or you just didn't get a round tuit, I have attached one here so you can whip away and complete your random act of kindness for today.

Day 14

Well I just couldn't drag myself out of bed this morning.  The snooze button was so appealing.  By the time I finally did get out of bed I had run out of time to eat a whole bowl of blistering hot oats, so I just scoffed what I could and rushed out the door.  I forgot my lunch.  Boo.

Normally this wouldn't be such a big deal, I would buy a sandwich (or preferably a piece of grilled salmon served with asparagus, crushed potatoes and hollandaise), but alas I can't afford even the smallest morsel because the cupboard is looking rather bare and I need my $2 to get some tinned tomatoes on the way home, at the very least.

Tummy grumbly and cranky, I finally did get home and eat my lunch at about 3pm (thank goodness it was only a half day at uni today).

Very much looking forward to being able to eat normal food again.  Here are a few things I have noticed:

* I miss fruit and veges more than I miss junk food
* Cheap food is basically all the same colour - beige
* When you think of everyday things in terms of "how many $2 would I need to buy this" it is amazing how much money we spend on our first world problems (like 6 months worth of food to replace my hard drive, or 4 days worth of food to take the train to uni and back)
* I'm hungry - I may have mentioned that

Day 13

Unlucky for some?

Much easier to get up this morning knowing that I had a warm thermos of coffee to take with me.

Off to the hospital to get the results of my TB test and I'm all good there. Got the results of my blood test and all good there too! That's the final component of my vampire requirements for uni. Hip hooray! Now all I have to do is learn stuff. Should be pretty simple :-/

The lovely Kathryn bought a gift for me at her trip to the Ekka (that's Australian for exhibition, like the a&p show for the Kiwis) which was a yummy bag of chocolate. As you know, I need to count the value of everything I eat regardless of whether I actually paid for it. She tells me it cost $2, which is super timing, because I have left over veggies and noodles for dinner (much as I would prefer anything different at all) so a bag of choc counts for today's spend.

Nom nom nom.

Day 12

Breakfast = coffee + eggs on toast!!

Well that's almost like a normal Sunday!!

I spent most of the day trying to fix my computer... A friend in New Zealand had suggested, via email, that it was a problem of wires coming loose and would be fixed by opening the laptop at the back. I thought "surely not, I must be able to fix this myself."

With my little laptop, I downloaded a repair file and later a copy of windows to reinstall onto the big laptop. But the little laptop doesn't have a CD drive so I had to work out how to put it on a USB... First world problems, right??

I'm just glad I had coffee to see my through the ordeal.

After much swearing it became apparent that this was indeed beyond my capacity as a geek so I phoned and booked a repair man. At $158 minimum charge I would have to save for 3 months on my current budget. Luckily I don't plan to eat the computer in the next 3 days.

Day 11

This morning was another early one.  Thankfully I was able to score a lift from a lovely classmate, so not nearly as early as it could have been.  Phew.  I got to sleep in until 5:30.  We went to Ipswich Hospital maternity ward and tested newborns as part of a research trial.  We were really lucky to get two very settled sleepy babies who responded well to the testing.

On the way home we stopped at a fruit and veggie place that a noticed with signs saying 69c per kilo for various things.  I managed to score a huge bag of oranges, sweet potatoes, carrots and onions for just over $3.  I know that nutritionists say to eat a rainbow of colours in your fruit and veggie intake, however at this rate I can only afford to eat the orange part of the rainbow.

Other than the first few torturous $2 days I have basically managed to leave two or three days between shops by getting big packets of things like noodles, eggs and pasta.  This means that for the most part I have $6 when I walk into a shop, which isn't nearly as impossible to deal with as just $2.  Well today was an exciting day.  I managed to buy some coffee.  Yes, that's right... I will be enjoying caffeine with my breakfast tomorrow.  Things are looking up!

Day 10

So I woke up this morning with Kiddie Quads.  That is the pain experienced the day after a school screening, caused by crouching down to look into the ears of about a trillion primary school children.  Please bare in mind that each child has two ears, so that is a lot of crouching.

Another early morning made earlier still by the need to cook oats for breakfast and make a packed lunch.  Don't get me wrong, I understand the value of packing a lunch, but I normally have much more convenient options.  In order to live on this amount of money it is necessary to choose the least convenient options that require the most preparation.

What is it with my timing?  Last year when I was living below the line I was embarking upon a horrifying series of injections and blood tests required for uni before they will allow me to interact with the public.  This week, it so happens, is the tail end of that process.  I had a blood test on Wednesday to see if my Hep A and B immunity was all good, then today a nasty little TB jab which forms an itchy blister under the skin. 

 

Oh - I just realised that picture is of a lady trying to force a cat to smoke.  I thought she was giving it medicine when I saw the thumbnail.  Too bad.  It's there now.  You will enjoy it and you will laugh.  That is an order.

OK.  Well I'm off to make myself some soup now.  I have the remains of the chicken wings, 1/4 of an onion and 2 carrots.  This soup will be delicious.  Last year I made some soup and tried to stretch it too far, it was not delicious.  I will be careful not to put in too much water. 

Day 9

I miss snacks so bad!

I got up squincey wincey early in the pitch dark, cooked my oats for breakfast, got the egg sandwich I made last night, got a mandarin.

So that's today's food sorted until I get home at 5pm. I miss snacks. I miss coffee so bad.

School screening today. I got to the school half an hour early and the lovely ladies offer me tea or coffee. I miss coffee so bad. I caved. But seriously, how much could a teaspoon of instant coffee be worth? I know. That's not the point.

The school hearing screening was great. Last week we had all the prep kids; so 4-5 year olds. This week we had a mix of ages from 5 to 9 years old. It's quite a difference. With a 4 year old you can say "are there any bunny rabbits in your ears? I'll have a look". If you suggest to a 7 year old that perhaps they have bunny rabbits in their ears they'll look at you like your crazy. Offer an 8 year old a sticker for being good and they'll say "Um... No thanks."

50 kiddies, 50 learning styles, 50 tiny attention spans later and we were all pooped. I sure could use a glass of wine when I get home. No such luck. Any wine I could afford to buy, I really do not want.

-----------------

I feel bad about accepting the free cup of coffee this morning so next time I have the opportunity I'll donate $1 from my food budget to a charity or a busker. That's how much I'd need to pay for a cheap takeaway coffee from 7/11.

Day 8

So here's what happened.

I wanted to go to a fruit and veggie shop to spend the $4.95 I've saved up. So I googled and much to my surprise I found a place just a few k's down the road. I had no idea!

So I hop on my motorbike and click on the GPS and off I go: shop 16/ 8 Old Pacific Hwy. When I get to 8 Old Pacific Hwy, not only is there no 'Shop 16' but there are no shops at all. Grass and trees. Boo. What now?

So now I'm in the exact opposite direction I need to be to get to Aldi. The closest supermarket is Woolworths, which is arguably the most expensive supermarket around. Double booo. So I decide to just go to Woolies to see what I can find. Perhaps they might have some amazing gourmet dip reduced to clear for 20c... Hmm wishful thinking.

Anyways, I found some fruit and veggies for a decent price and then, while drooling over the deli department I spotted a miracle packet of chicken for $1.78. I just grabbed it before anyone else could and ran. How exciting.

So I have pasta, tinned tomatoes, half an onion... Tonight I shall feast!!!

Day 7

Had to get up at 5am to get to my 8am uni class. Cooked myself some noodles for lunch, oats for afternoon tea and cut my final carrot into sticks for morning tea. The inconvenience of cheap food is exaggerated when it is so early it's still dark outside.

By the time I got home at 6pm I was so tired. Made myself eggs on toast (with a frivolous addition of butter, it was delicious) watched about half an hour of TV then went to bed. Asleep at 8pm. Hence this update was not posted last night.

Thankfully no Wednesday classes so I can sleep in.

Thank you to my wonderful friends whose generosity in the last couple of days put over a hundred dollars more into the mix for this year's fundraising. Perhaps that was due to my recent whinging or perhaps it was because you are cool dudes. Perhaps both.

Anyone else keen to donate? G'won. You'll love it:

http://www.oxfamunwrapped.com.au/ChooseFromWishList.php?id=894

Is it really only day 6??

I'm so hungry.

Full uni day with lectures and pracs. This morning's oats overflowed in the microwave due to using a different shaped dish to normal so I only had half of my normal breakfast.

Lunch was left overs and an apple. That was yummy. But no budget for an afternoon snack.

I missed the bus so I missed the train. Half an hour at the train station and no budget for the vending machine.

Living below the extreme poverty line sucks. I have no energy to write an inspiring or amusing post so I'll upload some entertaining photos and call it a day.

Day 5

What an exciting day!

After all my saving I have $6.15 to spend today. Veggies here I come.

Aldi happened to have a 1 kilo packet of veggies with potato, carrot, onion, parsnip, swede and celery for only $1.79. I also got an apple and a mandarin, a loaf of bread and a dozen eggs. Total spend $5.70.

Sorry, Jess, they are not free range eggs. I'm pretty sure they are free range potatoes though. Those spuds have been free to frolic in field to their hearts' content.

I think I'll have an omelette for dinner tonight.

I would love a bit of butter on my toast. But alas, no. Such is the fate of one living in extreme poverty.

Day 4

Dr Atkins would be rolling in his grave if he had seen my diet for the past couple of days. Oats. Noodles. Oats. Pasta.

I didn't shop yesterday. I'm saving up for eggs, you see. No shopping again today. Oats. Noodles.

Feeling a bit over it today. For people living in extreme poverty there is no end in sight. Thankfully I have a finish date.

Enjoying the olympics. NZ have 3 gold! Loving that we are sitting above Aussies on the medal board too!

Day 3

Oats for breakfast. Reminds me of my holiday in Edinburg. Let me be clear, they tasted nothing like the holiday oats; how could they without brown sugar and a big slurp of cream?

But filling? Yes!

Noodles for lunch.

When I got home, my lovely girlfriend attempted to donate a mince savoury to me. However the rules are clear "You must include the cost of any other food you get - from the pantry, the garden, or 'donated' by friends."

But why? "Living in extreme poverty means having $2 a day for all your food, shelter, health, education transport and any other living costs, in Australia." The point of the challenge would be defeated if I just accepted freebies from friends and family. Imagine: I go over to Kerry's house, she makes me a three course meal and send me home with a packed lunch. Well that's not so much a challenge about extreme poverty as social networking.

Anyway, I'll make you a deal: I'll get down off my soap box if you choose a gift from my oxfam wish list.

http://www.oxfamunwrapped.com.au/ChooseFromWishList.php?id=894