{"id":28656,"date":"2015-01-11T09:05:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-11T01:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/?p=28656"},"modified":"2015-01-11T05:20:46","modified_gmt":"2015-01-10T21:20:46","slug":"5dollars-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2015\/01\/11\/5dollars-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"The $5 Challenge: How I Lived on $5 a Day for a Week and Failed Spectacularly"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"28955\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2015\/01\/11\/5dollars-challenge\/d9fcc290-8d00-480d-961c-620db5cb88d5\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/d9fcc290-8d00-480d-961c-620db5cb88d5.jpeg?fit=814%2C403&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"814,403\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"$5 Singapore bill\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/d9fcc290-8d00-480d-961c-620db5cb88d5.jpeg?fit=814%2C403&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-28955\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/d9fcc290-8d00-480d-961c-620db5cb88d5.jpeg?resize=388%2C192&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"$5 Singapore bill\" width=\"388\" height=\"192\" \/><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">I have taken half a year of leave from work to concentrate on my PhD. No work, no salary, no money, but still must pay school fees, spend on daily necessities, and eat. I googled randomly best ways to save money when I stumbled upon <a href=\"http:\/\/sgagainstpoverty.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Singaporeans Against Poverty (SAP)<\/a>. It says,<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">According to the Department of Statistics, 105,000 families in Singapore are earning on average $1,500 per month.\u00a0 This means that life is a daily struggle for some 387,000 Singapore citizens and permanent residents. After paying utilities, schooling, housing rental or loan instalments and medicals, they are left with about $5 a day for food and transport per family member.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">When I was young, my family was well-to-do, but when my dad lost his engineering\u00a0position at an American firm that pulled out of Singapore, and as my brother was studying in Australia, our savings poured into his education. We were impoverished, so poor that I had to go to public toilets and drink tap water. So poor that I counted 5cents and 1cent to buy a small bowl of $1 peanut porridge to share with my jobless Ex.<br \/>\n<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"28953\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2015\/01\/11\/5dollars-challenge\/1914314_156460308293_7641091_n\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/1914314_156460308293_7641091_n.jpg?fit=600%2C430&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"600,430\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"when we were young\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/1914314_156460308293_7641091_n.jpg?fit=600%2C430&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-28953 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/1914314_156460308293_7641091_n.jpg?resize=600%2C430&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"when we were young\" width=\"600\" height=\"430\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Yet amidst the penury, we made joy out of misery. That was and remains my strength&#8211;to be able to make light of my own suffering. It was those days of destitution that made me realise money is nothing; as long as I&#8217;m happy, as long as my life is full, full of love and laughter, money is just a piece of paper. On my deathbed, I will remember the people I love, friends and family I laugh with, not how much money I have. Happiness can be very simple. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">That is why SAP is a cause near to my heart. That is why I started the $5 challenge. I cheated a bit by only counting food cost, and not transport fare. My two rules are (1) I have to eat at least one meal outside of home to simulate conditions of working people; and (2) to have a balanced, natural (no processed food), healthy diet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:24px;\"><strong>28\/7 MON.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"29229\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2015\/01\/11\/5dollars-challenge\/processed-with-vscocam-with-hb1-preset-5\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-07-30-05-38-08-1-e1407525264611.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"350,350\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;GT-I9505&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1406515769&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;COPYRIGHT 2014. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.2&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.066666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Processed with VSCOcam with hb1 preset&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Processed with VSCOcam with hb1 preset\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-07-30-05-38-08-1-e1407525264611.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright wp-image-29229 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-07-30-05-38-08-1-e1407525264611.jpg?resize=350%2C350\" alt=\"salted egg yolk bun\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" \/>Breakfast<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Let the hunger games begin. Bought salted egg bun from my downstairs bakery at\u00a0the after-8pm sale\u00a0last night:\u00a0<strong>$1<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Lunch<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Used my Kopitiam card to get 10% discount. I asked, &#8220;How much is it now?&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">The cai fan boy said, &#8220;$2.60.&#8221; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;What can I add to make it $3?&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;Not possible,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;If you add another veg, it&#8217;s gonna be $3.30.&#8221; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"29237\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2015\/01\/11\/5dollars-challenge\/2014-08-09-02-12-56\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-02-12-56-e1407525845301.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"350,350\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;GT-I9505&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.2&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.045454545454545&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"cai fan\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-02-12-56-e1407525845301.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-29237\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-02-12-56-e1407525845301.jpg?resize=350%2C350\" alt=\"cai fan\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" \/>Instead of my usual fish, meat, and veg, I got a meat and 2 veg. $3.30-10%=\u00a0<strong>$3<\/strong>. Very thirsty. Passed by ZTP. My body is heaty, and I need to\u00a0drink herbal tea 3-4 times a week. If not, I&#8217;ll fall ill:\u00a0<strong>$2.<br \/>\n<\/strong>A piece of Strepsil: <strong>$0.15<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Dinner<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Huccalyly called, &#8220;HEYYYY! We are going to eat Korean BBQ. Wanna come?&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;I can&#8217;t. I&#8217;m on a $5 challenge.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;So honest ah? Cannot bluff your readers? I come and fetch you now.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;I can drive&#8230;&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;Ok, see you there.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;Aiya, I better not. I can&#8217;t.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;Don&#8217;t <i>nehneh<\/i>\u00a0<em>lah<\/em>. You want to come or not?\u00a0I hear from your voice you want to join us.&#8221; Giggles in the background.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;BYEEEEEEE,&#8221; I said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Later, for dinner, mother stewed braised pork belly with dark soya sauce in claypot, and cut rock melon. I locked myself in my room to prevent cheating. This was not working out as well as I had hoped, and it\u00a0was only the first day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Dinner:\u00a0Nil.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>Money Spent: $6.15<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Hunger Index<\/strong>: 10\/10<br \/>\n<strong>What went wrong?<\/strong>: The herbal tea broke me. It was, or is, inconceivable how tea can cost 2\/3 of\u00a0<em>cai fan<\/em>?! Not enough protein in my diet. I required\u00a0better planning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:24px;\"><strong>29\/7 TUE.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">I could only spend <strong>$3.85<\/strong> today, because of my Monday&#8217;s deficit. On Tuesdays, I am vegetarian in a feeble attempt to save the lives of animals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Pre-Breakfast <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">12.13am. I had been drinking water the entire night, but my stomach felt like there was roadwork drilling it. Best unriped green banana ever! I didn&#8217;t know banana could taste so good. I savored each bite very slowly: <strong>$0.40<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Breakfast<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">I was woken by Hunger. The sharp pang had mellowed into a dull buzz, I might be getting used to it. Nope! There went the pang again. The water was taking an eternity to boil. I hardboiled the egg because solids&#8211;comparing\u00a0to\u00a0sunny side-up, omelette, or half-boiled&#8211;seemed more substantial and could\u00a0keep me full longer. \u00a02 Eggs ($0.15&#215;2) = <strong>$0.30<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"29232\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2015\/01\/11\/5dollars-challenge\/processed-with-vscocam-26\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-02-17-21-1-e1407525385780.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"350,350\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;GT-I9505&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1406638822&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;COPYRIGHT 2014. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.2&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;125&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.066666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Processed with VSCOcam&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"vegetarian\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-02-17-21-1-e1407525385780.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-29232\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-02-17-21-1-e1407525385780.jpg?resize=350%2C350\" alt=\"vegetarian\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" \/><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Lunch<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">5 minutes after the eggs, I was starving. But I endured, and gymmed in city area. After workout, I was craving for an ice cold coke light, as my gym&#8217;s vending machine called out my name. Resisted. Ravenous by this time but everything was exorbitant in the city. Took a train back to my neighborhood, hungry like a wolf in winter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">No vegetarian stall at Kopitiam. At Kou Fu&#8217;s vegetarian stall, I usually order <strong>brown rice with 3 veg<\/strong>\u00a0($3.90), but not today.\u00a0I stood in front of the vegetarian stall, and thought,\u00a0<em>How can vegetarian meal at Kou Fu cost more than my\u00a0<\/em>cai fan<em> meal at Kopitiam on Monday?<\/em> I walked out of Kou Fu, walked to Kopitiam, and ordered 3 vegetables for\u00a0<em>cai fan<\/em>. The cai fan boy looked at me strangely, wondering about my food selection.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Desperation and hunger had sharpened my mind. I planned to eat half of the meal, leaving the other half for dinner. Then it RAINED. Not a common\u00a0rain, the kind of storm that the torrents\u00a0attacked the food court, wetting half of it. I couldn&#8217;t <em>ta bao<\/em> because I couldn&#8217;t walk home in this deluge. I had to finish the entire plate. I just had to! <strong>$2.90 at 10% discount= $2.60<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"29234\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2015\/01\/11\/5dollars-challenge\/2014-08-09-12-16-59-1a\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-12-16-59-1a-e1407525521838.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"350,350\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"hardboiled eggs\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-12-16-59-1a-e1407525521838.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-29234\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-12-16-59-1a-e1407525521838.jpg?resize=350%2C350\" alt=\"hardboiled eggs\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" \/><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Dinner<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">55 cents left for today. 4 eggs devoured over the course of a long, long night:\u00a0<strong>$0.60<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>Money Spent: $3.90<\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>Hunger Index<\/strong>: 9\/10<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>What went wrong?<\/strong>: The WEATHER. If I could\u00a0<em>ta bao<\/em> home, I could save half a packet for dinner, be full, and didn&#8217;t have to eat so many eggs. Also it was unhealthy eating 6 eggs a day but at least my protein problem on Monday was solved.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:24px;\"><strong>30\/7 W.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Good. My budget today was up to <strong>$4.95<\/strong>. I could work with that&#8230; right?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Pre-Breakfast\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">12.34am. The hunger was the worst one yet, I held my stomach in a fetal position. My mouth kept salivating. I couldn&#8217;t hold on. I must eat, and immediately felt better. Banana:\u00a0<strong>$0.40<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">3.44am. Woke up to find my hand was clenching my stomach. My mouth stank. I was so hungry. I wanted to give up the challenge. <em>Just walk to the kitchen, Magnum and Ben&amp;Jerry are waiting<\/em>, the night whispered. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. I tossed and turned, worrying what to eat tomorrow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Breakfast<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Woke up late. Hunger was now a way of life. &#8220;Good morning,&#8221; I texted Huccalyly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;Your morning is so close to noon.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;Better close than never.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">My body ached from two days of gym. I needed protein today.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Breakfast: NIL.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"29236\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2015\/01\/11\/5dollars-challenge\/processed-with-vscocam-27\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-07-30-08-49-42-1-e1407525659497.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"350,350\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;GT-I9505&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1406752546&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;COPYRIGHT 2014. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.2&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;200&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.066666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Processed with VSCOcam&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"chicken salad\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-07-30-08-49-42-1-e1407525659497.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-29236\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-07-30-08-49-42-1-e1407525659497.jpg?resize=350%2C350\" alt=\"chicken salad\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" \/><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Lunch<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span> <span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Bought rotisserie chicken and romaine lettuce from supermarket. Quartered them. Chicken never tasted so good. ($5.80+$1.30)\/4= <strong>$1.775<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Still hungry. Banana:\u00a0<strong>$0.40<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Dinner<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Heated up lunch leftovers, and 2 eggs. I felt like if I ate another egg, I&#8217;d puke. No more eggs. $1.775+$0.30= <strong>$2<\/strong><b>.075<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>Money Spent: $4.65<\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>Hunger Index<\/strong>: 6\/10<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>What went right?<\/strong>: My body got used to hunger. I slept in late, which meant I used less energy, and needed less food. Good idea to buy from supermarket, instead of food courts&#8211;better value. But I wasn&#8217;t getting enough calories because of dearth of carbs today. A grown man needs at least 1600 calories to repair the body, I estimated I got 1000 today. \u00a0I needed to cook my own brown rice or quinoa tomorrow. I had some in storage.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:24px;\"><strong>31\/7 Th.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Budget today: <strong>$5.30<\/strong>. YES!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Breakfast<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Woke up late.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"29244\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2015\/01\/11\/5dollars-challenge\/processed-with-vscocam-with-a6-preset-13\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-01-04-36-26-1-e1407526482186.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"350,350\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;COPYRIGHT 2014. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"cai fan\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-01-04-36-26-1-e1407526482186.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-29244\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-01-04-36-26-1-e1407526482186.jpg?resize=350%2C350\" alt=\"cai fan\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" \/><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Lunch<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span> <span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Craving for fish&#8211;which I usually eat 2-3 times a week&#8211;and bak chor mee. But fish was expensive, and bak chor mee impossible to halve\u00a0and keep for dinner.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Wanted to halve my lunch to keep for dinner. But, today, it was the female server, not ah boy, and she gave too little to halve. $3.30-10%=<strong>$3<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Mom bought canned herbal tea and my throat felt dry. $0.60 + $0.15 (strepils) =<strong> $0.75<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Dinner<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Huccalyly asked to meet for dinner. I couldn&#8217;t. :(<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Heated leftover rotisserie chicken and cooked half cup brown rice and spinach. $1.45 + $0.15 + $0.375 =<strong> $1.975<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"29239\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2015\/01\/11\/5dollars-challenge\/2014-08-09-12-16-59-1b\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-12-16-59-1b-e1407526023657.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"350,350\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"rotisserie chicken, brown rice, spinach\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-12-16-59-1b-e1407526023657.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-29239\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-12-16-59-1b-e1407526023657.jpg?resize=350%2C350\" alt=\"rotisserie chicken, brown rice, spinach\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" \/>Up till now, I spent <strong>$5.725<\/strong>, exceeding the budget a little, but still acceptable. Later, my mother bought\u00a0<strong>sweet and sour pork rice<\/strong> for my father&#8217;s dinner. He wasn&#8217;t hungry, and asked me to eat. I didn&#8217;t want to. It sat there, and sat there, and sat there until 11.21pm, and I swallowed it in two minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">After that, everything happened suddenly, but also in slow motion, like I was moving underwater. I walked to the fridge and took out 2 <b>Magnum minis<\/b> (because 2 minis equal one Magnum). And then, I drank a glass of<strong> Meiji milk<\/strong>, and had<b>\u00a0<\/b>a quarter of<b> Li Bai&#8217;s mooncake, <\/b>and<b> Julie&#8217;s cheese sandwich biscuits<\/b>. I binge-ate, I broke the bank. Sorry, I had been starving for days, I couldn&#8217;t stand the starvation\u00a0anymore.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>Money Spent: About $25<\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>Hunger Index<\/strong>: 8\/10<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>What went wrong?<\/strong>:\u00a0The female server. Herbal tea. My heaty body. Constant hunger, constantly thinking of food. Seductive sweet and sour pork. Willpower, weakened by night.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:24px;\"><strong>1\/8 F.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">I need to start afresh, I&#8217;ll get back on the wagon. Budget: <b>$5.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Breakfast<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">A\u00a0<strong>fried yam cake<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>kueh salat nonya<\/strong> $1.10.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Lunch<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;How come there is bubble tea in your car??&#8221; I asked my sister.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;My colleague bought for me,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t want it. It&#8217;s <strong>oolong honey<\/strong>. Do you want?&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;It&#8217;s out of my $5 budget.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;Nobody has to know,&#8221; she tempted. I kept quiet with monsters struggling within me. &#8220;If you don&#8217;t want it,&#8221; she continued, &#8220;I&#8217;ll throw it away.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;What? Ok, then I shall consider that I pick it up from the rubbish bin.&#8221; Cost: <strong>$0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"29241\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2015\/01\/11\/5dollars-challenge\/processed-with-vscocam-with-hb1-preset-6\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-02-24-34-1-e1407526177145.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"350,350\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;GT-I9505&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1406914135&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;COPYRIGHT 2014. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.2&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;160&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.066666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Processed with VSCOcam with hb1 preset&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"cai fan\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-02-24-34-1-e1407526177145.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-29241\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-02-24-34-1-e1407526177145.jpg?resize=350%2C350\" alt=\"cai fan\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" \/>Dinner<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">&#8220;Who wants to grab dinner?&#8221; Huccalyly asked the third time this week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">By now, the cai fan boy knew me. He said to me kindly, &#8220;Give me your card, so I can give you a 10% discount.&#8221; He knew I was poor. $4.10-10% =<\/span><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><b> $3.70<\/b><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>Money Spent: $4.80<\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>Hunger Index<\/strong>: 4\/10<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>What went right?<\/strong>: Slept in late. The binge yesterday\u00a0energized me. Free bubble tea.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:24px;\"><strong>2\/8 SAT.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Brunch<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">This was planned long, long time ago, before I decided to take on the $5 challenge. And these days, it gets very difficult to gather friends together because we have different lives now. I couldn&#8217;t possibly cancel the appointment, and I had already rejected Huccalyly&#8217;s dinner invite thrice\u00a0this week. And we were celebrating her birthday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>Money Spent<\/strong>: $80 (<a href=\"http:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2014\/09\/22\/cherry-garden-singapore\/\" target=\"_blank\">Cherry Garden dim sum<\/a>) + $29 Chocolate Origin birthday cake =<strong> $109<\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>Hunger Index<\/strong>: 0\/10<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>What went wrong?<\/strong>: Having a social life.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:24px;\"><strong>3\/8 SUN.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"29253\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2015\/01\/11\/5dollars-challenge\/processed-with-vscocam-28\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-02-24-22-1-e1407528262563.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"350,350\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;GT-I9505&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1407080722&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;COPYRIGHT 2014. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.2&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;125&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.066666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Processed with VSCOcam&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"leftovers\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-02-24-22-1-e1407528262563.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-29253\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-02-24-22-1-e1407528262563.jpg?resize=350%2C350\" alt=\"leftovers\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" \/>Every weekend, I teach William swimming. I had to stop\u00a0this week, because after swimming, I get ravenous and I couldn&#8217;t survive on $5. But\u00a0I now more or less knew how to live with $5. Watch me do my final lap, and finish strong.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\"> Breakfast<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">Microwaved leftovers, quarter chicken from Wed, and brown rice and spinach from Thur:\u00a0<strong>$1.975<\/strong> <em>(Note: Kids, don&#8217;t try this at home. Leftovers should be kept at most for 3 days.)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"29255\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/zh\/2015\/01\/11\/5dollars-challenge\/processed-with-vscocam-29\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-02-24-11-1-e1407528427756.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"350,350\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;GT-I9505&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1407095988&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;COPYRIGHT 2014. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.2&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;125&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.066666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Processed with VSCOcam&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"cai fan\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-02-24-11-1-e1407528427756.jpg?fit=350%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-29255 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rubbisheatrubbishgrow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2014-08-09-02-24-11-1-e1407528427756.jpg?resize=350%2C350\" alt=\"cai fan\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\"><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:large;\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\"><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:large;\">Lunch<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:large;\"><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"line-height:27px;\">Because I had a heavy breakfast, I wasn&#8217;t that hungry,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">so I could halve my\u00a0<em>cai fan<\/em>: $3 \/ 2 =<strong> $1.50<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;text-decoration:underline;\">Dinner<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">I ate the remaining <\/span><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><em>cai fan<\/em> at 5pm, couldn&#8217;t wait till 7.\u00a0<strong>$1.50<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>Money Spent<\/strong>: <strong>$4.975<\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>Hunger Index<\/strong>: 3\/10<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"><strong>What went right?<\/strong>:\u00a0Two tricks I&#8217;d learnt surviving on $5 were:\u00a0<strong>start with a heavy breakfast<\/strong>\u00a0(to give an illusion you&#8217;re full throughout the day), and\u00a0<strong>pick spicy food<\/strong>\u00a0(because it tricks your stomach into thinking it&#8217;s full). There was\u00a0sliced\u00a0chilli padi in\u00a0<em>cai fan<\/em>. Having the dim sum buffet helped too.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:24px;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration:underline;\">What I Learnt From the $5 Challenge <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">At the beginning, I set out to test two questions: (1) <strong>Is it possible to live $5 a day?<\/strong>, and (2) <strong>is it possible to eat healthily with $5 a day? <\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"> In short, the answers are yes, and no respectively. You can spend $5 a day if you eat only 2 meals <em>without fruits<\/em>. But it is impossible to eat healthily on $5. Everything extraneous is cut away, and although in some ways the abstinance is beneficial, like cutting off sugared drinks, more often than not it is unhealthy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"> Unhealthy because there is no variety. The only balanced meal with protein, fibre, carbs in a food court or hawker that is about $3 is <em>cai fan<\/em>. Chicken rice? No fibre. Western food and nasi padang? Overbudget. Bak chor mee, Hokkien mee, carrot cake? Little proteins and fibre. But even with <em>cai fan<\/em>, you can at most pick 2 veg and a meat. The meat MUST always be pork or chicken. No beef or fish, they will break the budget. A healthy balanced diet must consists of a variety of food. But there are many types of food that $5 a day just cannot buy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"> A recent survey states that wealthy people eat healthier than poor people. Of course! Because rich people can afford to buy wild caught salmon, organic quinoa, freshly baked bread, seasonal or even non-seasonal fruits, and free range chicken. With $5 a day, poor people just don&#8217;t have that luxury of buying fresh food. The cheapest food are always the processed food, like packaged bread with tons of preservatives, potato chips, chocolates, baked beans, hotdog, nuggets, etc. These are trash, full of carcinogens, but they fill the stomach, they are affordable. They can be prepared quickly after a long, manual day of labor. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"> It is impossible to eat healthily on $5 a day but the worse thing, a side effort that I hadn&#8217;t anticipated, was the <strong>psychological trauma.<\/strong> Firstly, you must have<strong> ZERO social life<\/strong>, you cannot go out with friends. Humans are social animals, and the complete isolation from society will drive even the most misanthropic person insane. You see many people talking to themselves, don&#8217;t you? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"> Secondly, you must be a robot, you must have <strong>ZERO craving<\/strong>. Want a magnum or coke on a hot day? A magnum costs $4.20, so eat air with your remaining $0.80. Note my complete and embarrassing meltdown on Thursday. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\"> Lastly and most importantly, it is the <strong>constant worrying<\/strong>. This nearly drove me mad. Every waking moment, I planned what I should eat next. The thought of poverty occupied my entire existence that I could not think about anything else. I couldn&#8217;t sleep well at night, I tossed and turned, I worried.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:18px;\">I&#8217;m relieved to end the $5 challenge. But for the 387,000 Singaporeans, life is a constant struggle for them. So if you know any friends\u00a0like that, help them out. Treat them to a meal now and then.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Georgia;font-size:16px;\">Written by\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/plus.google.com\/u\/1\/108878679194863181230?rel=author\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"author\">A. Nathanael Ho.<\/a><\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let the Hunger Games begin. May the odds be ever in your favor.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":263488,"featured_media":28955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"NEW POST: The $5 Challenge: How I Lived on $5 a Day for a Week and Failed Spectacularly http:\/\/wp.me\/p1DEqF-7sc #sgfood 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