Before I pass the blog over to Residence Life Helen, I would like to let you know about a lecture taking place this evening (Wednesday 29 April) at 6:15pm in the Moot Room, Amory Building. Professor Patrick Porter is giving an inaugural lecture titled “The Fog of Peace: Defence and Uncertainty” followed by a drinks reception in Xfi. The lecture is exploring the question “If we can’t reliably predict the future, how can we be wise in preparing for it?” Please visit the event page to find out more information and email ssis-events@exeter.ac.uk if you wish to attend.
Don’t forget, if you wish to speak to a member of the Accommodation Office, we are available in The Forum (via SID) Monday to Friday between 12:00pm-2:00pm. No question is too big or small!
Now over to Helen to update you on her week…. (Accommodation Catherine)
So, this week I’m doing Live Below the Line – a 5-day challenge to spend no more than £1 per day on food and drink – and (once they’d picked their jaws up after we’d established that yes, I meant every meal and not just lunch) the Accommodation Office team asked me to blog about it.
I wanted to participate for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because it’s such a good cause – the challenge aims to raise awareness of, and funding for, the 1.2 billion people around the world living in extreme poverty. Secondly, though, I was thinking about the students I sometimes meet who are short of cash, and this seemed like a really good way to develop some practical tips I could pass on.
My approach to shopping on such a small budget was to plan, plan, and plan some more, and I found this really helped. I shopped around to get the cheapest deals – even a 2p difference between economy brands affected my ability to buy other things – and, yeah, I’m afraid I had a spreadsheet.
I also decided to eat the same thing every day throughout the week, to make the most of my purchases. So, breakfast is a banana and lemon-curd sandwich (which sounds odd but is actually really yummy); lunch is split-pea soup (super filling); and dinner is spaghetti with tomato sauce (rather like the one our chefs Russell and Anthony demonstrate here, but with added bits of sausage). With that, plus biscuits and chocolate for snacks, I’m definitely not going hungry, and it all tastes pretty decent (even if the sausages are rather like the ones from a tin of beans).
I’d be feeling relatively pleased with myself at this point – except, that £1 a day? That’s the UK equivalent of the purchasing power someone living in extreme poverty has to pay for everything. Not just food, but housing, healthcare, clothes, transport, education… and no amount of messing about with spreadsheets is going to make that sum come out right.
My plan is simple – doing the challenge will enable me to donate my weekly shopping budget to Unicef. You can also read more about my progress here, including my full shopping list. Why not take the challenge yourself? And, if you’re living on a tight budget, it’s worth checking out the site – there are some fantastic, super-cheap recipes that you might find useful.
Residence Life Helen