Hi all,

Jess, Nicola, Marina and Bethany are all living off £1 a day to raise money for Bolton Lads and Girls Club.

We are trading Manchester city centre life - our M&S/Pret/

It all started when we set off with our pennies to do our Aldi food shop and see just how much we could get for the money (see picture of Bethany totting up exactly how much an egg cost - it's 8p to be precise).

Day 1 (12 Nov): We started off the challenge with logistics that required extra brain power - we were all out of the office and away from home at different offices. Zero snacks or Starbucks were purchased running through train stations and meals were sufficiently prepped the night before which led to a diet of 1 scoop of porridge and pasta and passata for the most part.

So far even after a day it has taught us how frivolous we can be when on the go with our cash and how lucky we are to be able to live like that!

Day 2 (13 Nov): 3 out of 4 of us were Manchester based and Marina was still out and about at a different office extending her challenge of logistics vs. food prep. We all had a mixture of carb based meals for all 3 meals but the particular highlight was seeing what Bethany could do with a bag of quorn mince, some passata and spaghetti in the evening (see photos).

With only having a few pennies left each to last us the week the biggest realisation today was how if you really are living on £1 a day - how hard it must be to make it stretch and how limiting it can be in terms of the food you can buy and the shops you are bound to. Again we are feeling very lucky at the convenience of living in a city centre and how this week is making us think about what we do and do not need.

Day 3 (14 Nov): Now we are half way through the working week we have had to become a bit more creative with our meals as there have been signs of our appetites starting to fail us due to a change in diet - does changing from poached eggs to scrambled eggs count as a balanced/varied diet?! 

We did however have a very welcomed boost from the fruit basket that is delivered on a Wednesday to Browne Jacobson and we all flocked to the kitchen like vultures first thing at the prospect of free food - thanks Browne Jacobson.

Day 4 (15 Nov): Over half way through! We are all starting to feel a bit sluggish from the amount of carbs and lack of vitamins in our diets but we are still going strong. Nicola today actually managed to include Mozzarella in her £1 a day budget and make a cheesy pasta bake though - very extravagant.

Bethany has officially given up on drinking her 'Rola Cola' by now as it isn't worth it so it must be serious. She now thinks this would have been a valuable 17p that could have been used elsewhere. We will see if she can make it through the rest of the challenge without withdrawal symptoms.

Day 5 (16 Nov): The final day! The monotony of the week has really hit now and we all can't wait for some 'proper' food. To be cliché again the challenge has been really eye-opening and we have all evaluated the way we live and we are all feeling super proud of the amount of money we have managed to raise for BLGC and can't wait to give them the news.

Thank you all so much for your donations and words of encouragement. We have all weirdly enjoyed the challenge! J, N, B and M x