Tenner week: Part 2
So far so good with this slightly crazy plan for the week. I’ve mostly been staying at home and working to be honest, with the odd book and DVD thrown in for fun, but the weekend is nearly upon us and I’m keen to see how things work out.
As a quick reminder, I’m trying to have a reasonably pleasant week whilst spending £10 or less. And I’m now down to £4.01 on a Friday afternoon, leaving me eking the remaining pennies out until midnight on Sunday.
Thursday evening we had home cooked bangers and mash, as all the ingredients were already in the house, then watched a free movie. Extra spend: £0.00.
Friday has been quiet during the day, with a home made sandwich and snacks to eat, and a complete ban on the usual Friday fun of online shopping (bah!). I think the enforced poverty has started to get to me a little, and I went off on one this morning when I heard that a certain politician had referred to unemployment as ‘a sin’. It was like going back to the Dark Ages, where the poor were blamed for their unfortunate circumstances, and considered to be morally and spiritually inferior. Backwards, incorrect and insulting. It’s all over twitter if you’re interested, and I think it struck a chord with quite a few people. Meanwhile, back to tenner week.
Tonight I’m going out to see Stephen Fry do his thing live at BAFTA, along with many other comedic luminaries, and watch a slew of interesting short films. By some stroke of luck this is being paid for, for work purposes. So, in short, an amazing and free night out, provided I can stay free from the lure of the rather lovely bar. Should finish reasonably early, so will probably get home in time to rustle up a late supper. The spend will hopefully be zero for today too.
Saturday will mean I have to get out of the house to avoid the (illegal) noise from the builders next door. One stroke of luck is that I’ve just snagged free tickets to one of the showings of A Guide To Sexual Misery at the Arts Theatre, which has had pretty good reviews. It was a case of first-come-first-served (excuse terrible pun) via SeeFilmFirst, and if you haven’t signed up with them yet then I’d have to say give it a go. There are also plenty of free and interesting events and exhibitions all over town tomorrow so it should be fine. Might make like an old lady and put some coffee in a flask, and maybe treat myself to a hot ‘cheap eats’ type of lunch. Updates coming soon.
Are you getting by on a tight budget but still trying to enjoy life to the full? Please share any handy tips you might have!
Hi Penny, this is great – I seeeeriously need to save some cash before Christmas so this has inspired me to try and cut my budget for the next few weeks. Otherwise my rellies will end up with a tangerine and a handful of nuts for Chrimbo!
I’m gonna make it my mission to do as many free things as poss this week! That tenner in my purse is gonna stay there goddammit!!!
Oooooh – forgot to ask, what were you doing with Stephen Fry?!?! What was he like??? I bloody love him!!! LOL
Hi Jackie – I was going to say there’s nothing wrong with a tangerine and a handful of nuts but then I realised how bad that was going to sound! 😉
How did you get on with your freebie-hunting? They’re a bit thin on the ground this week but I’ll keep you posted if anything special turns up.
The Stephen Fry thing was a launch of his new short film for Sky, along with lots of other writers and comedians. Something well worth looking out for over the Xmas period.
I’ve been trying to live off £5 to £10 a week. I thought I was mad (as does everyone else) but it’s great to see someone else doing the exact same thing.
Hi Sarah-May – lovely to meet you. Living off £5 per week is pretty difficult, especially from the social side of things. How are you finding it? I was most worried about offending or upsetting my friends.
Must update the £10 week challenge to show what happened over the weekend…
Only just seen your reply. To be fair I’ve been doing fine and I have warned my friends that I’m being severe with my budget and they’ve mostly been fine. I’ve made an effort to keep in contact other ways and try my best to turn up for what I can. I’m not a drinker much nowadays which helps.
I get the impression that my friends who i’m less close to aren’t taking it as well as my closer friends though. I think they’re taking it personally rather than me just trying to finally sort things out. They only know me as a shopaholic and big, gregarious spender on nights out so this must seem like a convenient excuse rather than me trying to correct my old spending ways in a much needed and harsh way.
Hi again Sarah-May – it’s hard to turn your finances around but it sounds like you’ve made such an incredible effort so far. If your closer friends are being understanding then that’s far more important than acquaintances who you don’t see so much being funny with you.
I think fear of losing ‘friends’ like this can hold a lot of people back, and desperately trying to keep up with other over-spenders can send them further and further into the red. True friends do understand, and you don’t need to do anything to impress true friends. Good luck with making your changes. P x