Below the Line: Day 4

4 days down and one to go.
Wow, today was really tough for me. Not only was I given gifts from a professor, but my other professor decided to bring in pizza and snacks for our final, and guess who couldn't eat any of it? It took every ounce of restraint I could muster to not eat the food that was presented in front of me.
I took my final final I am ever going to take an an undergrad today. It's been surreal.
It is late, and I won't bore you with a long post.
Run down of my meals:

Breakfast:
2 eggs seasoned with pepper, salt, and Old Bay:
$0.40

Dinner:

2 slices of bread with a sliver of butter:
$0.16
1 Egg seasoned with pepper, salt, and Old Bay:
$0.20
1 slice of bread with a sliver of butter:
$0.08

Total:

$0.84

One day left!!

Erin

Below the Line: Day 3

I'm writing this entry early today because I have a lot to do tonight and I want to make sure that it get written.

Today has been a little more rough than the previous days. I went to sleep hungry and woke up starving. It was the type of starving that made me not want to eat, because I was that hungry. On my way to school this morning, I started getting a small headache from lack of food, and I remembered I still have two cans of tuna fish I can eat. I can assure you that canned tuna fish has never sounded so delicious.

Oh!! If you want to donate to the cause go here to donate to my page and your donation will go to my charity of choice which is Concern Worldwide!! It would mean a lot to me!!!


Quick run down of my meals today:

Breakfast:
Banana:
$0.11

Lunch:
2 cups of rice with corn:
$0.36

Dinner:
1 can of tuna fish:
$0.65

Total:
$1.12

Not too bad. I think I'm making up for not really eating yesterday.

I took my final final for Dr. Gibson today and like many of his finals, it was surprisingly easy. I have one more final to take today and a movie to watch tomorrow. Today/Tonight I do have to write 2 more short (2-3 page) essays and then my undergrad career is over. I'm too hungry to comprehend how I feel about that right now, but I'm sure Monday it will hit me like a ton of bricks.

Oh, so a quick shoutout to one of my previous professors, who I won't mention unless she is okay with, but I posted yesterday's blog on my Facebook and she commented on it "I really admire you for doing this, Erin, and for taking it so seriously." I was so happy that this challenge has brought such kind words. I really enjoy this challenge, and I'll talk more about it why on the last day, when I have all my thoughts and the challenge is over, but it reminds me of how privileged I am and how much I have.

Food for thought,
Erin

Below the Line: Day 2

Okay, so it's day 2 and I've taken my final final I will ever take for my advisor and professor. Not only was I taking a final, but as you know, I was also doing it while living below the line. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, but I went to bed hungry and woke up hungrier.
I left for my final around 9:30 and was at Wesley until 12:30. When I got home, I did some chores around the house and made dinner for my parents. As I was making the steaks stuffed with spinach, rice, and carrots, I realized this would be the first meal I've made that I would not eat. It was odd. After I made the dinner, I finished the several take-home exams I had, and didn't realize I hadn't eaten dinner until a few minutes ago. Here's a quick breakdown of my meals today:

Breakfast:
2 eggs seasoned with pepper, salt, and Old Bay:
$0.40
1 Banana:
$0.11

Dinner:
1 cup of rice:
$0.08
1/2 cup of corn:
$0.16

Total: $0.75

I'll probably have a late night snack of bread and butter, which will bring my total to $0.83.
Big spender over here.

Tomorrow I have 2 finals, one at 9am and the other at 2. I'm going to try and make eggs for breakfast, if not, I'll grab the banana and splurge on an extra helping of rice and corn.

Still going strong,
Erin

Below the Line: Day 1

Okay, so it's day 1 of  the #BelowTheLine challenge.

Here's a breakdown of my meals today:

Breakfast:
2 eggs seasoned with pepper, salt, and Old Bay:
$0.40
1 Banana:
$0.11

Lunch:
2 cups of rice with a sliver of butter:
$0.20
2 slices of bread with a sliver of butter:
$0.16

Snack:
1 Egg seasoned with pepper, salt, and Old Bay:
$0.20
1 slice of bread with a sliver of butter:
$0.08

Dinner:
1 cup of rice with a sliver of butter:
$0.10
1/2 cup of corn:
$0.16

Total:
$1.28

Today was actually rough for me. I had all these temptations around me and I felt sluggish and weak. I don't remember last year being this difficult. The one good thing about this challenge is how much water is makes me drink.

Until tomorrow,

Erin

Live Below the Line Shopping Day

Okay, so it's Friday and I have decided to go shopping for the Below the Line Challenge.
Here is my grocery list:

• Banana
• Bread
• Eggs
• Tunafish
• Pasta/Rice
• Frozen Corn

I have decided to go price checking at three different stores to see where I could get the best deals. I have decided to go to Walmart and ALDI. Here is how the prices panned out:

Walmart:

• Bananas
•  .57
• Bread
•  1.00
• Eggs
•  1.44
• Tunafish
•  .68
• Pasta
• 1.24
• Rice
•  (2 lb bag) 1.48
• Canned Corn
•  .68

ALDI:

• Bananas
•  .69
• Bread
•  1.04
• Eggs
•  1.45
• Tunafish
•  .65
• Pasta
• .89
• Rice
•  (3 lb bag) 1.49
• Canned Corn
•  .49

I ended up buying everything from Aldi because it was mostly cheaper when I added everything up.

So all in all, I spent 8.09; however, the cashier overcharged me for the bread; he charged me 1.49 instead of the 1.04 it was actually priced. Also the bananas were 2lbs not 1lb, so instead of being .69, it was 1.38. So technically, my total is 7.46.  Later I will divide up the portions so they will last me all five days.

Along with this challenge I will also be taking my finals for my final semester of college. I'll write a blog entry about that as well later. Don't you worry. 

Okay, so I'll be adding another entry Sunday after an awards ceremony I'll be attending and then Monday will start the Below the Line Challenge, which will be updated daily. 

Wish me luck,

Erin 

Live Below the Line 2015

The time to participate in the Live Below the Line Challenge is almost upon us. The challenge starts on April 27th and ends May 1.
For those of you who are unsure what this challenge consists of, I'll give you a quick overview.
For 5 days, I get to live off of 1.50 a day. That's it. Just $1.50. Last year I did the challenge and it was really tough for me. I learned a lot and gained a lot of experience and knowledge that hopefully will help me with the challenge this year.
I have made my shopping list and now all I need to do is go shopping and plan my meals. This challenge is going to be harder for me as I will be in the final week of college and I have yet to do this challenge during a very important week of my college career.

Grocery list:

• Eggs
• Rice/Pasta
• Fruit (bananas probably)
• Corn
• Potatoes

Just like last year, I'll keep you updated daily.

Wish me luck!