Jump Start January: Week 3: Day 7

It’s Day 21 of Jump Start January, and the last day of Tenner Week. How are you bearing up? Today’s activity is to learn something new (without spending loads of money).

It could be something that’s just for fun, or something more practical. It could be informal, or it could be academic. The choice is yours.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Try a skills swap with a friend. For example, they could teach you to play the guitar, and you could show them how to bake.

• Visit VideoJug or YouTube for practical video tutorials.

• Learn a new language. Borrow an audioguide from the library, ask a friend for a tutorial, or find free online lessons.

• Take out a non-fiction library book, or get one on order.

• Attend a free talk, lecture, or webinar.

• Look for free or subsidised courses run by your local council or college.

Here at Golightly Towers I will be learning some more about kitchen design and ergonomics, so I don’t mess up the ordering process next week. If there’s time after that, I’ll be brushing up on web design and usability too. Oh, and I think I’ll splurge whatever’s left over from my £10 on some kind of teensy treat.

Total spent: £8.10 (after a keep-warm coffee while in transit)

Total TV watched: 180 minutes (realised that having no TV makes me a bit grumpy in the winter, but not at all in the summer)

We’ve had some pretty bad weather this week, so it was easier to stay at home than it has been in the past. It’s also stopped me from going near the shops so much and getting sucked into tempting window shopping. Plus we had various festive season leftovers to use up, which meant extra food was barely needed: I bought some milk, Beau bought some fresh bread and that was it. We certainly weren’t short of food or low on variety, and there were plenty of treats as well as more healthy options.

The ‘snowed in’ feeling did make me feel really restless though, and I wanted to watch some more comedy and fund stuff on the TV than my telly budget allowed for. Never mind, I still managed to listen to some great music and radio, and I read more than usual too. However, I am now getting a bit stir-crazy and need to go out and be a lot more sociable.

Did you get through your Tenner Week OK? Did it help to cut right back in the week before payday?

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