Living on $2 a Day

I haven’t been able to access my computer lately, but I have lots of thoughts about days 4 and 5.  I hadn’t noticed any real change in my mood or ability to concentrate prior to day 4, but suddenly it became utterly apparent what kind of impact the reduction in calories had on me.  My plan to eat only once a day was shattered, and I began to consume more food than I had.

I found that consuming extra sugar helped with the concentration problems–but only temporarily.  I ate spoonfuls of apple jelly to keep my brain awake.  I also ate more potatoes and rice too, and I’m definitely going to the gym this week to make up for all the extra carbs.

My high school Spanish teacher told me that the poorest people tend to have the highest rates of obesity in our country.  She explained that the unhealthiest foods are the least expensive; buying cookies is cheaper than buying fresh fruit, and the same holds true for so many other types of foods.  I noticed a dip in my health while I was eating on $2 a day.  In development, we discuss the link between health and productivity, and after only 5 days, I felt a decline in my productivity. I can’t imagine what a huge impact that would have on me personally after several weeks, months, or years.

I’ve begun counting down days.  Only two more.  I feel spoiled because this is difficult, but I suppose it’s good I’ve realized just how spoiled I am…and that so many people are worse off than I am. 

It’s dark in my room right now, except for the light from my laptop.  I figured it would be OK to use it after dark because this is school work…I’m really glad we do get to use electricity for part of the day.  I can’t imagine what a shock that would be.  I’ve had a hard enough time turning lights off at dark.  For some people, this is reality though, and I need to be sensitive to that. 

On an unrelated note, having to avoid using electricity after dark has made me conscience of just how much I use the resource.  I suppose I thought that everything I used it for was necessary, but I’m beginning to see that’s not really the case.  I’ve cut back on my consumption, and most of the things I’ve cut back on haven’t really made me any less comfortable.  For example, I haven’t been able to shower, but I have washed my face with cold water several times; under normal circumstances, I would have used hot water, leading to more energy expenditure, but the cold isn’t really bad at all…it’s actually kind of refreshing.

I feel pretty gross as far as personal hygiene is concerned.  I’m having  a hard time concentrating on much else because I’m acutely aware of the disarray of my appearance.  I’ve worn the same outfit twice now; my hair is a greasy mess, despite my efforts to run it under cold water in the public restroom…which actually just left it wet, along with my shirt.  I’m pretty sure I’ve never smelled this bad in my life.  More than food, I look forward to a nice, long, hot shower. 

The change in caloric intake hasn’t affected me as much as I thought it would so far.  I’ve eaten very little; the first day, I had Ramen noodles; the second, I ate a bowl of split pea mush that my roommate pointed out looked remarkably like baby food.  Today, I had rice and tomatoes, which I’d been saving as a kind of treat (tomatoes are my abosolute favorite). 

I’ve treated the last few days as a kind of diet.  I’ve only eaten once a day because the foods I bought weren’t exactly the healthiest.  I figured I’d try to reduce the damage of only buying carb-heavy foods by not eating much for the rest of the day.  I know this wouldn’t be an option in the real world, and that makes me really sad.  I know I can go back to my previous consumption habits after a while, maybe after dropping one or two pounds, but for most people, that is not a possibility. 

I haven’t begged yet.  I feel like it would be fundamentally wrong…if I beg someone for something, that’s something someone else couldn’t have.  I’m so terrified of taking resources away from people who really need them.  I know it’s an important part of the experiment, but I just can’t bring myself to do that.

Whenever I’ve thought this has been difficult, I’ve remembered that for a lot of people this is so much worse.  That’s been enough to keep me motivated and away from straying.

I started $2 challenge yesterday, and I feel like I’ve already realized so much.  The past two mornings, I haven’t been able to have my normal morning routine.  I’m accustomed to waking up in the morning, brushing my teeth, and hopping into the shower.  Afterwards, I walk to my closet and begin to pick out my clothes for the next day.  The challenge has upset that routine.

I bought a toothbrush with my $10, but I didn’t buy toothpaste, expecting that I would be OK not having toothpaste for a few days.  I’m regretting that decision now.  My mouth feels pretty disgusting, but not showering is probably the worst part.  It never really occurred to me how priviledged I was that I could shower every morning.

More importantly, I’d never realized how lucky I was to have access to clean water.  I’d never really been aware how important that was until I was forced to boil water before using it for consumption.  It eats up more time than I would have expected, and I can’t even imagine how much more time it would consume if I had a family.

I’d never thought much about how much stuff I have either.  I decided to stay in my apartment rather than in the shanty town because I’m kind of a baby about bugs and temperature…but in a way, I think that might have been a worse decision.  In my apartment, there are temptations.  It’s difficult to remember to turn out the lights at dark and avoid watching TV with my roommates.  Remembering only to use electricity for school work is difficult, but I think it’s been an important realization.

I know this experiment will not give me full understanding of the conditions of poverty faced by many individuals every day, but I think it has given me some insight so far.  It has also rekindled my desire to help people in the world.  It breaks my heart to know that for some people, this is reality–that their reality is worse than anything I could experience here.  At the end of the day, I know on Thursday, everything returns to normal.  It must be awful to not have that thought to comfort one’s self…

Hi!  I’m Amanda, and starting tomorrow I’ll be living off $2 a day.  It didn’t seem that daunting of a task until I started really looking at prices and comparing them to that amount.  Two dollars.  How many things do we buy a day that aren’t really necessities?  How many of those things cost less than $2?

I bought a 20 oz. bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper last week; it was $1.70 at the on-campus eatery.  That could have been a day’s worth of food for some people, and for me it was a luxury.  Suddenly I began to think about all the other things I buy and just how spoiled I was.

Today I went to Wal-Mart to buy my supplies for challenge week.  I don’t think I have ever spent so much time grocery-shopping in my entire life.  My best friend came with me, and she really helped me pick out cheap items.  Since I only had $10 to spend, the price difference between store brand products and national brand became very important.  I couldn’t afford to be picky about which brand of canned tomatoes I preferred, instead having to choose the cheapest option.  I was forced out of my comfort zone.

Jessica and I wandered up and down the aisles.  We’d pick up different options, put some back, pick up others, and calculate over and over again how much money I had left.  When we finally checked out, I ended up spending $9.75, leaving me with a whole quarter left.  I couldn’t believe how excited I was to have a quarter!

My Purchases:

Corn Muffin Mix: $0.38

5 lb. bag of russet potatoes: $1.50

1 lb. of Uncooked Rice: $0.96

1 lb. of Split Peas: $0.68

Salad Dressing (to flavor rice and potatoes): $0.98

Apple Jelly (for corn muffins…and sugar cravings): $1.43

Chili Powder (for rice and potatoes): $0.50

Lemon Gelatin: $0.38

Toothbrush: $0.96

Canned Tomatoes: $0.87

5 Packs of Ramen Noodles: $0.17 each

Tax: $0.26

Total: $9.75

Well, I’m getting ready for bed, and tomorrow’s the first day of challenge week.  I’m excited and nervous.  I’ve already learned so much, and I can’t wait to see what this week will teach me.