Stingy Bastard Week

After spending a ludicrous amount on and at T in the Park I looked at my balance online and was almost sick. I have not had this little money since before I got my current job and as I have tuition fees to pay for and do not yet have a job lined up for when I move to Glasgow I was, quite frankly, frightened.

I therefore decided to live on a budget of £20 per week for the foreseeable future (well, lets face it, until the Edinburgh Festival when I will be spending the best part of that for two pints). It was then that I remembered that I have a freezer full of food and a cupboard with a bit of food left in it as well. It made me realise that I do not actually need to spend any money whatsoever on food. I have decided to see if I can go a week without spending a penny on anything. It is currently 6pm on Tuesday the 12th of July, I want to go until 6pm on the 19th without having spent a penny.

I plan on doing this through various means. First of all, as I already alluded to, I have a fair amount of food in my freezer. This is a mixture of food I bought frozen, and food I bought which I knew I would not eat in time and therefore froze to keep safe. Recently I have become a lot more serious about not throwing out perfectly reasonable food, and now that is paying dividends.

Secondly, I have a few tins of soup and spaghetti hoops. These last a while and hopefully they will last me the week.

Thirdly, I have booze that I bought for T in the Park and have not yet consumed. This includes the best part of a box of wine and four tins of lager. I do not need to drink much and as I am working this week should hopefully keep the booze safe for some time past my week of non-spending.

Fourthly, I get food provided at work. For our breaks we are allowed food, usually a full meal from the hot-plate. All too often I decide I only fancy a small bowl of soup or a simple sandwich. From my shift tomorrow onwards I will make sure I eat a full meal so I am less hungry when I get home. Work also tends to throw out a few sandwiches and scones at the end of the day. I occasionally take one home when offered by the managers, now I will endeavour to take food home and eat it whenever the managers allow me to. Why let food which will be binned anyway go to waste? Particularly if I am trying to save money.

All in all I suppose I am trying to save money, but also show myself how I am spending money when I do not need to. I sort of hate myself for spending money on frivolous things when I do not have to. If I can go a week without spending money it will hopefully be the proof I need that I am spending too much and buying too much quite needlessly. This should also help me waste even less food as I have a loaf of bread and some bagels. Now I know I will not let them go off before eating them.

It is almost 6pm, and hence I start my week of not spending any money!