Here is a thought exercise. Imagine you had no possible source of income but had food, basic shelter and basic clothes provided for you as you needed them. Nothing else is given to you though.
Now, imagine that you could refuse to eat a meal and you would get five dollars (or equivalent currency). You could do this anytime you liked, up to $15 a day if you didn’t eat at all.
Would you just take the food and live comfortably or would you sacrifice to save up money? If so, how much would you try to save and what would you buy with it?
The Green-Walled Tower 
November 3rd, 2012 at 12:22 am
In theory I would probably save $5 a day, though off the top of my head I don’t know what my next priority would be. Saving up for a laptop and paying an internet bill, maybe. But in reality I’m not sure I could live off two meals a day, I get hungry quickly and it is one of the most uncomfortable feelings.
November 3rd, 2012 at 9:32 am
It wouldn’t be so simple for me either. I don’t know if I could do two meals a day, happily at least.
November 5th, 2012 at 1:23 am
Exactly, I think the day-to-day hunger would be more wearing than not being able to buy any extras. But I don’t know that I could live without either a laptop and internet or books!
November 5th, 2012 at 9:40 am
I would have to save up for some books, at least, I think. Or, as someone suggested, find a library close by.
November 6th, 2012 at 4:54 am
Oh yes, I didn’t think of a library – and me a qualified librarian, haha oops. Shameface
November 3rd, 2012 at 1:33 am
Does “basic shelter” include indoor plumbing?
Initially, I thought I’d just take the food, clothes, etc., but then I realized there are some little extra comforts that I’d probably like to save up for…
…this is really quite an exercise. Not as simple as it seems at first glance.
November 3rd, 2012 at 9:32 am
I would say it’s in a modern, 1st world setting, so you’d get indoor plumbing and toilet paper, heat, but no air conditioning (depending on your area, I guess). Basically, you’d stay alive, but not have anything extra or fun for free.
November 3rd, 2012 at 2:03 am
This exercise makes me wonder if you are inside, isolated from other people and the outside world, or if you can still go to public areas like the library. I would try to forgo lunch and by a library and bus pass to get around and read all the time.
November 3rd, 2012 at 9:30 am
I would say you would be in public and could go to a library to read. You’d have to save up for a bus pass though.
November 3rd, 2012 at 9:52 am
I think I’ll sacrifice a little. Say just take two meals per day and get five dollars per day. With two meals per day you can still fulfill your nutrition need. For the uncomfortable feeling, well our body can adapt to the condition pretty quickly.
November 3rd, 2012 at 3:46 pm
Yeah, I would probably try to save a bit. Many people can attest to the fact that two meals is sufficient, if not that comfortable.
November 3rd, 2012 at 2:24 pm
This ones easy. 3 meals. Anybody would take the 3 meals. You’d go crazy trying to save at that rate.
November 4th, 2012 at 9:40 pm
well if they give me electricity, internet connection and a computer i wont need anything else, or else i may have to make arrangements for these three, i am quite habituated of skipping atleast one meal each day so….
November 4th, 2012 at 10:17 pm
I would say you would have electricity, but no computer or Internet. You’d have to save up (a long time) for those.
November 5th, 2012 at 12:14 am
i cant imagine a life where i wont be able to do something productive in my own eyes. so i will have to save for a computer and internet connection.
November 5th, 2012 at 11:59 pm
I’d sacrifice meals to have extra money…….I’d forgo two meals per day 5 days per week (I eat to I’ve, I don’t live to eat…lol), each week I’d give one tenth of that to God and separate a portion to randomly bless someone who may be in need, buy inspirational books from time-to-time (I absolutely love to read and I prefer real books over e-books), and save for a laptop……..I can use it at wifi hot-spots to avoid internet fees…:)
November 6th, 2012 at 9:10 am
That’s a very thought out answer. Would it be hard to eat only one meal a day? If you had money, then you could tithe, as you said, but I guess if you didn’t have money, only had the food, you could give to God in other ways. Thanks for such a good answer. 🙂
November 8th, 2012 at 8:21 am
I would once in a wile skip a meal if i really wanted something or needed something but over all I would not starve my self to get the luxuries that we have grown accustom to. I would go to the public library for my internet,and computer needs as well as to read books. Going to the amusement park and watching movies are not necessary and we can live with out them its just that we don’t want to, so overall I would be content if that was the situation.
November 8th, 2012 at 9:12 am
Yeah, I think I would evaluate what I spend my money on a lot more if I had to give up food to get it. No more lattes. 🙂
November 8th, 2012 at 9:58 am
yeah, and if you did get lattes you would probably look for a place where you could get them as cheap as possible. I remember when I was little my mom would only have 5 dollars to spend on well clothes and things of the sort, we would go walking around town looking for yard sales and she would buy us clothes that would cost 10 cents. We did not go to movies or amusement parks, we would go to regular parks and go hiking in the mountains. So yeah food is the priority.
November 24th, 2012 at 10:31 am
I could easily do without one meal a day, even two or more at times, but to sustain life, we must eat, and to help others we must have the strength to do so. The question is not as easy as it sounds.beebeesworld
November 25th, 2012 at 11:12 am
It’s interesting to see what people say. It reveals people’s priorities. A lot of people said they would skip food to get a computer and Internet. Not sure if I would, or not.
November 25th, 2012 at 11:58 am
I, too, was surprised what people considered important enough to go without food for-my child-hell yes. people I love, of course-things- well, maybe one meal a day…people are so materialistic…