Before I started, I thought that living on £64.30 a week would be difficult. However, it has been easier than anticipated. I’ve summarised three main reasons:

1. Cheating – by pre-buying lots of food. This was worth about £25 over three weeks.
2. Pre-existing assets – I already had a lot of food in my cupboard and freezer. However, I also already own a guitar, piano, books, TV and a laptop. I can enjoy my free time without needing to spend any more money.
3. Work – The benefits of work go beyond the monthly paycheque. Work saves money. That’s what I want to discuss in this blog post.

Benefits of Work

1) Time consuming – You spend money when you are bored. If you are at work for 10+ hours a day, you don’t spend much money at all. There is an exception if you internet shop or buy houses during your lunch break.

2) Free heat, light and shelter – Your office protects you from the threat of bandits.

3) Training – It’s in your employers interest to train you. However, you are the ultimate beneficiary of training. I’m currently training for the Chartered Accountancy qualification, the ACA. My employers pay for the training but I will enjoy the benefits for the rest of my career.

The training also extends to soft skills, such as teamwork and communication. Perhaps the most important one I have learnt is the art of small talk, especially how to feign interest in Desperate Housewives.

4) Future prospects – Work gives the idea that you have value. You have an incentive to invest in your C.V. There is the chance of doing different kinds of work throughout your lifetime that gives you satisfaction and income. I believe that is called a career.

5) Self esteem – Work gives you a sense of purpose and worth. But unemployment eats away at your self esteem and dignity. We can’t help but be defined by our work.

It’s easy for me to judge the long-term unemployed but I’ve never been in that situation. I heard a story about some long-term unemployed trying to get back into work but didn’t believe that they didn’t deserve a job.

I have been too religious about sticking to the £64.30 limit. It is a symptom of having an accountant’s mindset. It’s not just about the numbers, it’s about remembering the good things that I do have.

For the record, I am 2p under budget in week 3.

It’s near the end of the week and I have £12.57 left to spend at the Korean restaurant birthday dinner tonight. It has been quite easy this week because I still enjoy the use of my existing stock of possessions and food. This doesn’t cost me any money.

Essentially, I am still living a middle class lifestyle that is far beyond someone on benefits. A fair way to take account of it is the use of accruals accounting. In short, goods and services are accounted for as they are used instead of when they are paid for. For example, I bought three boxes of cereal before the challenge started. Under cash accounting, I can ignore this. Under accruals accounting, I have to account for the one box of cereal I ate during the week.

More information on accruals accounting can be found in paragraph 22 of the IFRS manual.

I’m going to adjust week 2’s budget under accruals accounting.

List of Adjustments

1. To account for the consumption of the existing food in my fridge and freezer. Including free food given by my parents
2. Benefits in Lents does not take account of Oyster card costs because they are assumed necessary for work, however, there’s no adjustment for non-work travel.
3. To account for use of existing household products, such as my bed, sofa and toothpaste.
4. Existing use of laptop and TV, assuming an estimated useful life of 3 years.
5. To account for free beer and sandwiches consumed at a work event.
6. To account for clothes worn, assuming a useful life of 2.5 years.
7. Existing use of guitar, piano and the reading of 3 chapters of book. Estimated useful life of 10 years. The book cost £2 and has a total of 14 chapters.

Notwithstanding the disturbing fact that this looks like a spreadsheet at work, I am now over budget by £22.77. This shows that I already have good wealth and income doesn’t matter so much. Those on benefits don’t have such wealth, and need to borrow at extortionate rates to fund a basic lifestyle.

No kimchi for me tonight.

The first week of Benefits in Lent has concluded with a budget overspend of £0.97. The biggest spend was a train ticket back to Liverpool. I would have been within budget if I had a half pint of beer instead of a whole one.

Actually, someone on benefits should not be able to afford a £44 return train ticket. Yet, I’ve not spent a single penny on food. What is going on?

Pre-Paid Food

Yes, I cheated. I went on a large shopping trip on the Saturday before the start. I filled my freezer and bought three boxes of cereal:

Existing Food Stocks

I will take advantage of special offers. This means that I had built up a considerable stock of food – probably enough for a month. Benefits in Lent is a welcome opportunity for me to run down these stocks.

Work Lunch Allowance

I do get a lunch allowance from work. This does saves me spending money and time making sandwiches in the morning. At a conservative estimate, it gives me a £5 advantage.

The Spirit of Benefits in Lent

Benefits in Lent is not meant to be a perfect simulation. It does affect my behaviour enough to remember why I am doing this. My income is constrained and I can’t do whatever I want. Every time I pass Starbucks and want a coffee, I realise that I can’t afford it. It may seem petty that the only change in my daily life is not having coffee. But there will be harder choices to make. Because the three boxes of cereal won’t last forever.