If I were truly living on a limited income, I would have to make some adjustments
Sure, I only ended up $6 in debt, but my costs were as minimal as you can get in one month. Keep in mind that I could get away without buying certain essentials (shampoo, toothpaste, and razors, to name a few); I was lucky enough to be able to walk most places, but that wouldn't be possible in the winter months; and while I got away with my one big cost, it was relatively small in the grand scheme of things. I didn't have a medical emergency to deal with and I didn't have to fly or train anywhere on a whim.
Even if I did manage to break even each month, I'd be living paycheck to paycheck and not setting aside anything for retirement or other savings goals.
To make it work, I'd certainly have to make some lifestyle changes, big and small. For starters, I'd probably buy detergent and find a laundromat. I'd have to move out of my tiny Manhattan apartment for something tinier (or in a more affordable location), and I'd find a part-time job or start a side hustle.
My challenge had a timer on it — after 30 days, it beeped, and I went back to buying vegetables and Vitamin water; I restocked on shampoo and signed up for a few road races; perhaps most refreshing, money no longer consumed my every waking moment.
For those living on, or near, minimum wage, the timer never goes off. The stress never settles.
Unless I'm consistently living on a limited income, I'll never know what it truly feels like. After all, a simulation is simply an imitation of a real-world process — it's not real-world.
To answer the original questions I started with: Was it doable? Barely. Was it easy? Absolutely not.