Day 4 - Iced Coffee and a lemon

I continue to survive off of Mr. Noodles (I feel like I'm doing some disturbing promotion for them at this point) and some bread. MMM what exciting meals... My challenge for the day was that I was sick and had to deal with it. After work I walked on down to Keewatin Place and walked to the medicinal isle and instantly became annoyed. Every single form of medication cost more than my remaining money. I only had $8.50 so decided to go traditional style on that cold. I decided tea and a lemon would have to make due. Are you aware of the price of tea? It's leaves, and you aren't going to spend less than $3.50 on it. Luckily, the lemon was only 49 cents. I figured the best way to handle the cold would be too make tea, throw some lemon in it and deal with it. Definitely not the best remedy but it's what I could afford. To make things worse, I have a whole in my pocket and all of my change that was smaller than a loony apparently disappeared during the walk home. I now have four dollars...

On the bright side, I came up with a genius idea last night. I sat there and brewed coffee for roughly half an hour (I only have an espresso maker to make coffee so it took some time). I then dumped it all into a pitcher and tossed some sugar in there and threw it in the fridge over night. This morning I had a lovely glass of iced coffee. This was a good idea as I was starting to get real sick of boiling hot coffee. Despite the fact that I turned my heat almost off, my apartment is still boiling because it's on the second floor.

If this challenge has made me realize anything about my personal life, it's that I spend way too much money on impulse buys (I'm looking at you, pizza delivery guys). I really didn't have to change my lifestyle too much, and the only suffering I'm really getting is the fact that I can't just buy what I feel like. I also think this challenge only gives a very mild idea as to what it would be like to actually live on $38 a week because no matter how difficult it is, you know it's over at the end of the week. Also, because it is simply a challenge, the challenge cards are just a minor inconvenience. For example, the challenge where I had to pick up carts wasn't that difficult because if anyone asked I could simply say I was in the poverty challenge. For someone who actually needed the money from those carts, it would be a very different experience.

I don't know why I'm reflecting so early in the challenge, possibly the diet of noodles and coffee...

BONUS:
Awesome Iced coffee recipe!

1. Brew a pot of coffee, but make it twice as strong as you normally would.

2. Before it cools, add sugar (for iced coffee I like to add too much.

3. Once it cools a bit, pour it into a pitcher and let it cool overnight.

4. Fill half of a glass with ice cubes and pour cold coffee in. This would be the time when you add cream as well.

5. You're good to go!

Day 3 - Mmm a milkshake...

I've gotten to the point where I regret not purchasing any spices or beverages other than coffee. You can only enjoy coffee and glasses of water for so long before starting to get annoyed at the lack of choices. I had started the day with $15.40, and wasn't really planning on spending any money...Then the challenge card came.

According to the challenge card, I had some borderline obsessive craving for a milkshake and had to buy one (I may have paraphrased a touch). At first I kind of made a snide comment questioning why I would buy a milkshake if I didn't have that much money, but that all changed when I got that milkshake as it was delicious.

I was still in Winnipeg at that point, so luckily the closest gas station sold some sad form of milkshake. I had to get a ride to the store, because it was definitely not walking distance, so there goes a dollar. I bought the milkshake,which was highway robbery at it's finest. $3.90...For a milkshake. So I basically dove right in to my lovely milky beverage that ended up costing me $4.90. It was delicious. It was a really nice break from the constant Mr. Noodles, eggs and coffee diet. I suppose if your day-to-day life involved budgeting every meal, a milkshake now and then would be divine. Even on day three, I appreciated the awesome taste of the strawberry shake.

 I'm back in Kenora now, which cost me $2 for the trip (I was in Winnipeg for an appointment.) For supper I fried up some Mr. Noodles with two eggs, just to give some variety to my menu. I find the eggs add are a nice filler. It tasted mediocre but I find my meals more...I don't know, exciting?, important?, zeal-filled?...The point is when I eat them, I eat every last crumb and find myself more grateful for having them. That may have been only because the only thing I had before supper was the milkshake...

Overall it was an expensive day, costing me a total of $6.90. I now have $8.50 for the remainder of the challenge. Hopefully the challenge cards are nice to me...

End of Day 2 - I've given up on instant coffee

Well, my challenge today was to collect ten shopping carts and keep the change, it went mediocre. Of course to get to the nearest shopping point that had carts with coins, I had to pay $2.50 to take the bus. I had planned on using a transfer pass to make the return trip, but they are only good for one hour. Apparently, people don't just leave carts in the parking lot. I had to cover some ground to get ten carts, and ended up having to pay my way home as well. Fortunately, I ended up with an additional $5.

For lunch today, I had two eggs. Nothing else, but it's actually more than I usually have for lunch. The real issues came with supper because my family apparently felt spiteful. They decided it would be a great day to have ribs, sausage and chicken wings. I had to sit and eat two packs of microwaved Mr. Noodles while they enjoyed a half decent meal. It was definitely hard to watch them eat a good meal, while I had to eat some cheap ramen noodles.

Overall I think I've been doing quite well budgeting my money. I haven't really made any extravagant changes to my lifestyle. I did get tired of the instant coffee and go out and buy some actual solid coffee for $3.99. I now just a little over $15.00.

Day 1/ Beginning of Day 2

Day one was a busy day, so I really only had time to eat a 3 inch sub from Subway. Only $2.10, but not quite filling. My first day's challenge was to research the price of content insurance, and see if it could fit in to my monthly budget under my disability benefits. I personally pay for tenant insurance, and know that the cheapest is $100.98 or a year. While this would be manageable as it would only cost about $2.13 a week, where I purchase my tenant insurance, the payment has to be made in full. I think that would be completely out of the question to have to save up for tenant insurance, especially when you are already struggling to meet your day-to-day needs.

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) I had to make a trip to Winnipeg this weekend, as I have a dentist appointment. This will result in the loss of $2 from my budget. On the upside, I took advantage of the Dollarama near where I was staying which make for a relatively successful shopping day. I managed to pick up hygiene products (2-1 shampoo and conditioner, bar of soap, tooth brush, toothpaste, shaving cream, deodorant and razors) for $8.96. Each item was one dollar, with exception of the razors, which were two (they came in bulk). In terms of food, I decided to eat what I normally would during the week. I purchased a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread, Mr. Noodles, instant coffee (gross) and sugar for the coffee. You never really realize the cost of a dozen eggs when you have the means to buy them, but when living off a tight budget, $2.99 for eggs is bothersome. Food in total came to $10.55. Between that Subway sandwich, hygiene products, food and the trip to Winnipeg, I have spent a total of $23.61 and now only have $14.39.

Now on to the beginning of Day two.

I'm a little put off by not showering today, I really prefer to have a shower to start my day and get things going. On the bright side I don't work today, so I don't exactly need to be sharp.While I feel fine physically, I do find myself overly concerned with the remaining budget. I realize I have a decent amount, but with unforeseen challenges, there is a bit of worry. My challenge today is to collect 10 shopping carts and take the change. Unfortunately the closest shopping center with paid shopping carts will take a 45 minute walk, followed by a bus ride, which will cost me $2.50. (I'm still in Winnipeg by the way, So I can get a transfer pass which is good for an hour. I only have to pay one fare). If I can actually collect ten shopping carts, I can make $10, minus the $2.50 transit fair. Wish me luck...