With Vietnam’s poverty standard line ruled as earning just VND500,000 (US$24) per capita a month, meaning less than one US dollar a day, it is certainly hard to live ‘below the line’, but you can’t imagine how it is in reality.

This money is not only for food, but also other costs such as electricity, water, petrol and rent, as well as overall school tuition for children. The poor working communities have tried to turn this ‘impossibility’ into the ‘possibility’.

Tuoi Tre journalists recently accompanied people to several markets to see they live with the line.

Life with one US dollar a day

A typical meal for the three-person family of Ms. Le Thi Ha, 49, in Cau Kho Ward in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City, includes three bowls of rice, a dish of boiled vegetables, a pinch of pork braised with salt, and a big bowl of watery soup.

All of that costs VND10,000, or half a US dollar, for three people for dinner. With a similar cost for lunch and no breakfast, the family saves VND40,000 ($2) for other essential expenses such as electricity, water, fuel, school fees and possibly medicine for ailments.

Working families have struggled with the increasing food costs by going to night markets for cheap prices.

“The later the better when the market is about to close down. This is the time you can buy cheap food,” said Tran Khanh Ngoc, an office worker.

At Ba Chieu Market in Binh Thanh District, as well as other markets selling common goods, it is easy to see women bargain over VND2,000 – 3,000 for a bundle of vegetables.

A woman who lives near Ba Chieu came to buy vegetables at 7:00pm. She told Tuoi Tre, “I am living nearby and come here to buy cheap vegetables when it is late. I keep vegetables in the fridge to prepare for meals tomorrow. It will be much more expensive in the morning.”

So, at 7:00pm, the night market still has regular customers, especially at the 20 meters of mobile stalls in front of the market. Some customers are still in their office uniforms, carrying children home from school.

At such night markets, the prices of food and vegetables and other common goods are lowered by a half. A bundle of vegetables in the evening is around VND3,000 – 4,000, while in the morning it can be 8,000. Watermelon is VND5,000 a kilogram at night and VND15,000 in the morning, and fish around VND20,000 – 25,000, instead of VND50,000 a kilogram.

Night markets usually run from 4:30pm till 7:30pm.

Le Thi Hong, a mobile seller of vegetables at the An Suong crossroads in District 12, said she attracts more customers around dinner time as buyers can park their bikes by her stall and thus save VND3,000 from parking fees.

Big supermarkets are also good places as they offer promotions before daily closure.

Going to the market – a daily challenge

Ms. Le Thi Ha, a single mother working as a guard in an urban residential area with a monthly salary of VND3 million ($144), said she can only afford VND600,000 ($30) a month for food since she has to save for her two children’s school fees. That means no more than VND20,000 ($1) a day for food for her family of three.

She said she cooks rice once a day for two meals to save gas costs.

“We three are accustomed to having no breakfast,” Ha admitted.

Her typical meal is VND3,000 for vegetables and spices are added to the boiling water to make a watery soup, three eggs for VND8,000, some braised pork or fish and fish or soya bean sauce.

Pork or fish braised with salt can be used for many days, she said.

“Every morning after waking up, I don’t want to leave the bed after thinking of going to the market. It’s difficult to buy enough food with a humble sum,” said Tran Thi Thanh, 42, who lives in Tan Binh District.

Her family has VND150,000 a day for food for 12 people, over half of whom are children.

“The children are growing up, and how can I cut their costs for milk and cakes?” she asked.

She has an ‘initiative’, alternating a day of humble food and another day of good food.

Many people have adopted another way to save money - bringing food from home to work.

Instead of eating on the street for around VND20,000, workers bring food for lunch from home.

Their lifestyle seems to ignore their legitimate need for entertainment and medicine.