Here's the shopping

With only a few days before we start living below the line we've finished the shopping. Disappointingly the cheapest apples are not 7p but 13p! So we'll be managing on even less fruit. On the upside we did manage to get some cheaper veg.

Here's a pic of the shopping, colour provided by Aldi. I'd struggle to get excited with this much yellow every week!

Strangely enough I'm quite looking forward to next week.

Going Shopping

The supermarket shop has been done for most of the food for next week with value items dominating. It was a challenging experience. Irene had carefully planned the meals and list - all I had to do was find it on theshelf.
Last night was the end of what had been a busy supermarket day. This meant I could not get some of the things on the list.
It felt really difficult when I could not pick up a substitute.
When the choice is to go without when the item you need is not there it feels very difficult. Living below the line is an artificaial exercise - but it does generate some valuable lessons. Next week is going to be difficult - not just because of the food!

Less than a week to go!

With less than a week to go I've finally sorted out the shopping list. It took an awfully long time for such a small list! I pity those with a limited budget trying to decide what to eat each week.

The biggest issue has been to get fruit and veg into the menu, when the cheapest item of fruit is a value apple @ 7p you'll see why.

I'm really looking forward to sharing the experience with my husband John and daughter Rachael - I really don't know how a single person would survive doing this on their own.

Next task is to get my act together on fundraising! And I've just noticed I said this over five weeks ago....

5 weeks and counting

5 weeks to go and planning for Below the Line - eat and drink for £1 a day between 2 and 6 May - is going well. Nearly got all the evening meals sorted - just to plan for breakfast and lunch now. At 5p a portion butter is looking like a luxury too far at the moment! Need to get on promoting it now!