I got bored and pondered poverty and used maths...

krooton

krooton

krooton

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Leafy outskirts of London
The discussion of poverty cropped up yesterday, and it reminded me of when I first moved to the UK and had to feed 3 people on £20 a week.

Using Sainsburys as a benchmark, I concluded that a person can eat 3 meals a day for under £1

Sainsbury's Apples, Basics (loose) 1kg = 69p = 7x 150g apples = 9.9p per apple

Sainsbury's White Loaf, Basics 800g = 38p = 18 slices = 4.2p per 2 slices
Sainsbury's Spaghetti, Basics 410g = 14p = 2x 205g servings = 7p per serving


Sainsbury's Rice, Basics 1kg = 73p = 7x 150g servings = 10.4p per serving
Sainsbury's Mixed Vegetables, Basics 1kg = 77p = 7x 150g servings = 11p per serving
Sainsbury's Red Kidney Beans in Water, Basics 420g = 19p = 2x 210g servings = 10p per serving
Sainsbury's Tuna Chunks, Basics 185g = 58p = 2x 90g servings = 29p per serving


Sainsbury's Muesli, Basics 1kg = 58p = 7x 150g servings = 8.3p per serving
Sainsbury's UHT Skimmed Milk, Basics 1L = 54p = 7x 150ml servings = 7.7p per serving.


Breakfast:

150g muesli + 150ml milk = 16p

Lunch:

2 slices bread and half a can of spaghetti = 11.2p
150g apple = 9.9p

Dinner:

150g rice + 150g frozen veg + half a can of kidney beans + half a can of tuna = 60.4p

Total day spend for 3 main meals = 97.5p

And that's using Sainsburys, could prolly get it cheaper at Asda/Tesco

Not nice food, but you don't starve...

Puts things into a funny perspective, given I paid £1.60 for a small Innocent smoothie this morning :eek:
 
I would! I'd eat more than a lot of that for breakfast an lunch, but I see your point.

Although for me, I can't eat half of that, so it goes something like, pack of Spaghetti £2, 2 slices of "bread" £1 and even flour (not on your list, but useful) £2 per bag... :p

As for the innocent smoothie, i'm starting to think they are not that much of a rip off actually, making your wom costs similar amounts (that's how expensive fresh fruit is :eek:).
 
I guess it'd just about sustain you for a while, but you couldn't live off that little for a long period I don't think. It looks reasonably balanced though overall.

I usually aim for under £2 for a main meal, mabye £4-5 a day, all with groceries from that supermarket. Of course, if you buy anything out it'll cost you far more and those smoothies are very expensive (though delicious!).
 
And there is people in The City spending £1000 on nights out.
And other people staying in the 7 Star Hotel at £15k a night.
 
You see I couldn't eat that cheaply I just like good food too much, besides that's just about enough for breakfast! :p However it is possible to live on a shoe string. I haven't worked out how much I spend on food on a daily basis, but I know it won't be a negligible amount! I don't go out drinking so I have the spare income for going mad with food. :)
 
Dr.EM said:
I guess it'd just about sustain you for a while, but you couldn't live off that little for a long period I don't think. It looks reasonably balanced though overall.

I usually aim for under £2 for a main meal, mabye £4-5 a day, all with groceries from that supermarket. Of course, if you buy anything out it'll cost you far more and those smoothies are very expensive (though delicious!).
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Yeah, was just a rough thing though, pretty sure you could have a very balanced week at £2 a day, albeit with crappy basics food.

A whole day's food for the price of a supermarket sandwich!
 
Yes you do raise a good point. We can make our own food/sandwiches for a lot less or with a lot better quality than the pre-made sandwiches/ready meals.

I pre-prepare 3 meals for the next day using organic and high quality ingredients, but they come to on average under £5 each since I buy large quantities. A) they are more wholesome b) healthier c) more of it! d) nicer!
 
The problem I'd have with living cheaply like that is boredom - I couldn't eat the same things day in and day out.

If I worked out other cheap meals, that would be fine, but by buying in bulk enough to get the prices low, and eating/living by yourself, by the time meal A has come round again, the food has gone bad.
 
timbob said:
The problem I'd have with living cheaply like that is boredom - I couldn't eat the same things day in and day out.

If I worked out other cheap meals, that would be fine, but by buying in bulk enough to get the prices low, and eating/living by yourself, by the time meal A has come round again, the food has gone bad.
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Well pasta/rice/canned goods/frozen goods have stupidly long shelf lives.

In fact, it's only fresh fruit and veg that would really be impacted.

But then when you are actually starving on the breadline, having variety with your meals is the least of your worries.
 
Dr.EM said:
I guess it'd just about sustain you for a while, but you couldn't live off that little for a long period I don't think. It looks reasonably balanced though overall.

I usually aim for under £2 for a main meal, mabye £4-5 a day, all with groceries from that supermarket. Of course, if you buy anything out it'll cost you far more and those smoothies are very expensive (though delicious!).
Click to expand...

£2? I assume you don't eat much/ much meat/fresh fruit and vegetables?

My main meals will vary fom around £2-£4-5 if I have proper food (instead of home made pizza/ spaghetti). A couple of pieces of meat and some fresh vegetables (including a potato) will set you back at least £4.
 
It's interesting when you work it out how little you can spend to get enough to live on but it's not really living in any useful sense, it seems more akin to doing just enough to stave off death. However it does go someway to belie the idea that you can't eat vaguely healthily cheaply - that is better than many ready-meal based diets which cost far more.
 
I spend about £25-30 every fortnight for my meals (including little shops here and there to top up) so that's roughly £2 a day and I still eat 3 big meals a day and avoid the sainsburys basics :p

Also, guys, the OP said this was a thought on poverty, so saying "it's not a balanced meal" or "you would get very thin" isn't exactly something to complain about for the poverty stricken countries who barely eat as it is...
 
semi-pro waster said:
It's interesting when you work it out how little you can spend to get enough to live on but it's not really living in any useful sense, it seems more akin to doing just enough to stave off death. However it does go someway to belie the idea that you can't eat vaguely healthily cheaply - that is better than many ready-meal based diets which cost far more.
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True, but eating a more varied diet and "well" (I use that term loosely) does cost more if you aren't filling your face with rubbish ready meals. A ready meal will cost around £2 each (less if you buy for more than one person) whereas a proper balanced meal will cost more than that (again less if cooking for more people).

On the other hand how people can eat that nasty ready meal stuff is beyond me.
 
int said:
I spend about £25-30 every fortnight for my meals (including little shops here and there to top up) so that's roughly £2 a day and I still eat 3 big meals a day and avoid the sainsburys basics :p

Also, guys, the OP said this was a thought on poverty, so saying "it's not a balanced meal" or "you would get very thin" isn't exactly something to complain about for the poverty stricken countries who barely eat as it is...
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Really? Although my bill is sqewed slightly by my dietary requirements I still spend around £30-40 a week, which leads me to wonder how big your big meals are? Having said that I do eat far more than most. (Third of a 500g bag of spaghetti, 2 chops/breasts etc)
 
There was a thread a few years back about what you could get for £2, receipt proof required. There was some pretty impressive shopping there. I wonder if that got archived....
 
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