Buce Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 17 minutes ago, Rogstanley said: My take on the minimum wage is that it ought to allow a single person working full time to live independently to a safe and healthy standard. I reckon reasonable monthly costs to afford such a lifestyle are as follows: Rent £550* Transport £200* Council tax £100 Water, gas & electricity £100 Broadband £25 Phone £15 Food £150 Clothes/Toiletries £50 Social £50 Rainy day fund £50 Total: £1,290/month Requires a salary of £18,200 or £8.75/hr. This is all outside London and the south east obviously. *on the basis that most people work in cities, and rent is more expensive in cities, I think the more you spend on rent (ie on a property closer to work) the less you'll spend on transport and vice versa, so you can juggle those two numbers around but I think £750 combined is about right £150 a month for food? That's some shit diet you're on for a fiver a day.
Rogstanley Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 3 minutes ago, Buce said: £150 a month for food? That's some shit diet you're on for a fiver a day. I think it’s enough for a healthy diet for one person. Might not be exciting, but mainstream vegetables, chicken, eggs, milk etc are all pretty cheap.
Buce Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 52 minutes ago, Rogstanley said: I think it’s enough for a healthy diet for one person. Might not be exciting, but mainstream vegetables, chicken, eggs, milk etc are all pretty cheap. I dispute that. I'll not deny you can get the calories but there is no way you are getting them healthily on an average of £1.66 per meal.
Guest Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 3 hours ago, Foxin_mad said: Fair enough. My Broadband £9.99 a month and water depends on meter. Holiday. Kids parties. Car breakdowns. School uniforms. Birthdays/Xmas. Glasses if you have bad eyes. Childcare so the parents can work.
Rogstanley Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 (edited) 19 minutes ago, Buce said: I dispute that. I'll not deny you can get the calories but there is no way you are getting them healthily on an average of £1.66 per meal. Suppose it depends how you’re defining healthy but I can and often do eat what I consider to be a healthy day’s food for less than a fiver. For example: Bowl of porridge with a bit of fruit for breakfast 50p Couple of boiled eggs for a snack 30p One chicken breast and some salad in a sandwich for lunch, about £1.30 Piece of fruit for a snack 30p Chicken breast and leg with roast/mash potatoes, carrots and peas £2.50 Easy tbh. Edited 2 May 2018 by Rogstanley
Strokes Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 17 minutes ago, toddybad said: Holiday. Kids parties. Car breakdowns. School uniforms. Birthdays/Xmas. Glasses if you have bad eyes. Childcare so the parents can work. Get Corbyn to nationalise the opticians toddy, then you can have these bad boys back.
Strokes Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 27 minutes ago, Buce said: I dispute that. I'll not deny you can get the calories but there is no way you are getting them healthily on an average of £1.66 per meal. It can be done, if you make bulk batches and freeze. I cook 3 big meals every weekend for the freezer and warm up in the mornings and put into a food flask for lunch for all of us. They won’t cost more than £1.20 a meal.
Buce Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 5 minutes ago, Rogstanley said: Suppose it depends how you’re defining healthy but I can and often do eat what I consider to be a healthy day’s food for less than a fiver. For example: Bowl of porridge with a bit of fruit for breakfast 50p Couple of boiled eggs for a snack 30p One chicken breast and some salad in a sandwich for lunch, about £1.30 Piece of fruit for a snack 30p Chicken breast and leg with roast/mash potatoes, carrots and peas £2.50 Easy tbh. Well, I consider a healthy diet as one that contains all of the required nutrients for continued good health. Without you specifying which fruit and salad vegetables you have in that list I'm unable to tell exactly what's missing in terms of vitamins and minerals, but you are certainly lacking Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils (essential for brain health), and far fewer anti-oxidants than is healthy. I'm not seeing an adequate source of B complex vitamins (no whole grains or pulses), there are insufficient sources of iron and magnesium, and depending on portion sizes you are struggling to make 2,000 calories. There is also an inadequate supply of calcium. I accept that the body can store certain vitamins and perhaps if you vary your diet substantially over the course of the week it might be slightly improved, but that is not what I regard as a healthy, well-balanced diet.
Buce Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 12 minutes ago, Strokes said: It can be done, if you make bulk batches and freeze. I cook 3 big meals every weekend for the freezer and warm up in the mornings and put into a food flask for lunch for all of us. They won’t cost more than £1.20 a meal. You tell me what you cook and I'll tell you what's lacking.
Innovindil Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 Politics thread should be renamed to cooking with Buce. 2
Strokes Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 2 minutes ago, Buce said: You tell me what you cook and I'll tell you what's lacking. You cheeky bastard I cook recipes from books mostly, it’s the volume that’s allows it to be cheap. Ill cook macaroni cheese. (That’s my sons favourite I’m not keen on reheated pasta). Vegetable curries. Chilli con carne (usually five bean unless we have some mince but I won’t buy especially) Various soups and broths Stews. All packed with flavour.
Buce Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 7 minutes ago, Strokes said: You cheeky bastard I cook recipes from books mostly, it’s the volume that’s allows it to be cheap. Ill cook macaroni cheese. (That’s my sons favourite I’m not keen on reheated pasta). Vegetable curries. Chilli con carne (usually five bean unless we have some mince but I won’t buy especially) Various soups and broths Stews. All packed with flavour. All good nourishing fare, mate. Thing is though, that’s an isolated sample of three lunches. I’d wager you couldn’t replicate it over 21 meals a week and still get all the nutrients necessary for a healthy diet.
Buce Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 18 minutes ago, Innovindil said: Politics thread should be renamed to cooking with Buce. Suits me. It makes a change for me to actually know what I’m talking about. 1
Guest Kopfkino Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 Don't have these problems when you exist on Huel powdered food (is just an exam time solution)
Strokes Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 5 minutes ago, Buce said: All good nourishing fare, mate. Thing is though, that’s an isolated sample of three lunches. I’d wager you couldn’t replicate it over 21 meals a week and still get all the nutrients necessary for a healthy diet. No, I wouldn’t want too. If youre on a budget and you had too, you might be surprised how resourceful you can be.
Strokes Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 3 minutes ago, Kopfkino said: Don't have these problems when you exist on Huel powdered food (is just an exam time solution) Careful Will.
Rogstanley Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 30 minutes ago, Buce said: Well, I consider a healthy diet as one that contains all of the required nutrients for continued good health. Without you specifying which fruit and salad vegetables you have in that list I'm unable to tell exactly what's missing in terms of vitamins and minerals, but you are certainly lacking Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils (essential for brain health), and far fewer anti-oxidants than is healthy. I'm not seeing an adequate source of B complex vitamins (no whole grains or pulses), there are insufficient sources of iron and magnesium, and depending on portion sizes you are struggling to make 2,000 calories. There is also an inadequate supply of calcium. I accept that the body can store certain vitamins and perhaps if you vary your diet substantially over the course of the week it might be slightly improved, but that is not what I regard as a healthy, well-balanced diet. I think what you're pitching here would more accurately be descrbed as an optimal diet, rather than just a healthy one. Of course you'd vary the menu, the one I presented was just off the top of my head. For the omega, have fish a couple of times per week - not particularly expensive. For calcium - replace a fruit snack with a glass of milk every now and again. For iron - swap chicken for red meat For whole grains - don't oats and potato skins contain much of that anyway? I don't think I eat any whole grains tbh but can't imagine them being very expensive. On top add a multivitamin and some fish oil for pennies per day just to cover all the bases. 2000 cals is easy. Mainstream fruit and veg comes in at an average of about 10p per 100 calories. Cheap as chips.
Buce Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Strokes said: No, I wouldn’t want too. If youre on a budget and you had too, you might be surprised how resourceful you can be. Sure. Been there, bro. I’m not saying you can’t live cheaply and I’m not saying you can’t live on an inadequate diet. Hell, most people live on crap. But I am saying you can’t get a healthy, balanced diet out of £150 a month as Moose claimed. Edited 2 May 2018 by Buce
Buce Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 4 minutes ago, Rogstanley said: I think what you're pitching here would more accurately be descrbed as an optimal diet, rather than just a healthy one. Of course you'd vary the menu, the one I presented was just off the top of my head. For the omega, have fish a couple of times per week - not particularly expensive. For calcium - replace a fruit snack with a glass of milk every now and again. For iron - swap chicken for red meat For whole grains - don't oats and potato skins contain much of that anyway? I don't think I eat any whole grains tbh but can't imagine them being very expensive. On top add a multivitamin and some fish oil for pennies per day just to cover all the bases. 2000 cals is easy. Mainstream fruit and veg comes in at an average of about 10p per 100 calories. Cheap as chips. Adding vitamin pills and fish oil capsules is definitely moving the goalposts, mate.
Carl the Llama Posted 2 May 2018 Posted 2 May 2018 I eat pretty healthily on around £150/m tbh, out of necessity because I earn shit but it's doable if you plan wisely and don't insist on buying ready made food or mcdonalds every day.
Rincewind Posted 3 May 2018 Posted 3 May 2018 When out of work I lived on £72 a week. I would not want to do it all the time. I bought the cheapest and end of day items. Sometimes cheap soup with bread. If you mix two together its not too bad or add some mince and noodles. On state pension now wgich is more than double and I am rent and rates free. Prescriptions and discount on specs. Eye tests free because a history of glucoma in the family. So i am pretty lucky. May not be the same for everyone. I do not know the circumstances. One MP claimed around 180k in expenses in a year, then said, 'I can see no problem people going to foodbanks, we all have to tighten our belts.'
Finnegan Posted 3 May 2018 Posted 3 May 2018 (edited) Tbh it's the £50 a month spending money to have an actual life that made me cry. **** the food. Infinitely healthier to eat 10p noodles every meal and actually enjoy yourself than eat an optimal ****ing diet and die perfectly healthy swinging from the ceiling. Edited 3 May 2018 by Finnegan 1
Buce Posted 3 May 2018 Posted 3 May 2018 (edited) 34 minutes ago, Finnegan said: Tbh it's the £50 a month spending money to have an actual life that made me cry. **** the food. Infinitely healthier to eat 10p noodles every meal and actually enjoy yourself than eat an optimal ****ing diet and die perfectly healthy swinging from the ceiling. Poor nutrition is a leading cause of poor mental health, so not eating properly in favour of having a social life is just as likely to see you hanging from the ceiling. What should be making you cry is having to make the choice between the two. Edited 3 May 2018 by Buce
Rogstanley Posted 3 May 2018 Posted 3 May 2018 32 minutes ago, Finnegan said: Tbh it's the £50 a month spending money to have an actual life that made me cry. **** the food. Infinitely healthier to eat 10p noodles every meal and actually enjoy yourself than eat an optimal ****ing diet and die perfectly healthy swinging from the ceiling. What kind of costs do you think would be reasonable to include? I think £50 covers a couple of low-cost personal interests. Say a gym membership and a netflix/Amazon prime account. Or a takeaway, a few beers at home followed by a few in the pub on a couple of occasions. Plenty of low cost or free activities you could take part in as well. Admittedly you wouldn't be living the high life but that's not what minimum wage is for.
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