For more than six weeks reporter CHARLOTTE McDONALD tried living on minimum wage. Her Lent Challenge now over, she reflects on her experience.

I had a pretty good idea before I embarked on this credit-crunch themed project that it would be miserable to live with very little cash.

And it was.

I estimated that my salary- if paid the minimum wage of £5.73 an hour- would be £11,173 a year before tax.

After calculating how much I spend each month on bills, rent and travel, I worked out that my weekly budget was £50 to buy food and anything else I might need.

I managed to keep within my budget, with a little help from relatives and friends treating me to the odd home-cooked meal or drink.

I had a foolish notion that it might be quite interesting and a good challenge to manage such a small budget, but the novelty wore off pretty quickly.

By the end it was a dreary slog and I was frustrated to keep saying ‘no’ to things.

One of the biggest lessons I learned was that you never know what unexpected costs you may incur.

For instance my grandparents on short notice wanted me to come and visit them which required a train ticket costing about £45.

It showed me that having some money stashed in a kitty for a rainy day is essential.

At one point I thought I had toothache and began to panic I would have to pay a trip to the dentist.

I just would not have been able to afford even a cheap NHS filling.

One of the unforeseen positives to come out of this enterprise was that I actually ate more healthily than before.

I spent a lot of time planning meals and food for snacking.

This meant I bought more vegetables and fruit than ever before.

A lot of my favourite sweet stuff just cost too much to buy- like cereals caked in sugar or hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Instead I ate porridge and drank a lot of water.

But there is no denying, one of the main things that kept me going was the knowledge that eventually this would all be over and I could return to normal.

This was an artificial exercise and I don't really know what it is like to have to cope on this amount, possibly for years.

The discipline needed to keep within my budget was proving really hard in the last few weeks.

My advice to anyone on minimum wage, go and find out what benefits you are eligible to claim.

I discovered that on my fake salary I could be getting almost £50 a week from working tax credits and housing benefit.

Living is no fun when everything you do is dictated on what you can afford.

For financial advice visit citizensadvice.org.uk To find out if you could claim benefits or financial support visit entitledto.com

WHAT I LEARNED: - Get a pot of money saved up for emergencies.

- To check my bank balance carefully- I was unprepared when direct debit payment amounts fluctuated.

- There is a lot of free financial advice out there- good websites and organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureaux.

- You have to treat yourself to frivolous things sometimes, life is to be enjoyed.

- Supermarket value chocolate is cheap and tastes good.