If you are going to eat healthy like the
Government tells us, you have to spend a lot of
money. But you can't go out and buy these salads
and green vegetables living on £60 a week.

What is poverty?

The reality of poverty

£10 a day – the reality of living in poverty

Many families living on a low income have only about £10 per day per person. This needs to cover all of their day to day expenditure, including necessities such as food and transport. It also needs to cover occasional items such as new shoes and clothes, school trips and activities for children, and replacing broken household items such as washing machines and kitchen equipment. In addition to this, it must pay for all household bills such as electricity, gas and water, telephone bills, and TV licences.

Did you know that a family with two adults and two children needs to have £346 each week in order to be above the poverty line? How do you think that compares to what your family has?

Where do you fit in?

Average weekly spend

This graph shows you how much an average family spends each week on different items, compared to a family living in the bottom 20 per cent of the income distribution.

Source: ONS, 2007, Family Spending. Table 3.6E - Average weekly household expenditure - Expenditure of two-adult households with children by gross equivalised income quantile group, 2006, based on weighted data and including children's expenditure.

The total weekly expenditure for an average couple with children in 2007 was £630.60 per week for all households, that’s equivalent to £163.50 per person. However, a family with an income in the lowest 20 per cent spent just £371.60 each week, equivalent to £87.50 per person. That’s almost half what the average family spends!

From the graph, you can see that the biggest differences in spend are on recreation and culture, transport and on other expenditure items.