How to live with 20 euros a week (the showdown)
SATURDAY
I spent part of the Saturday working on the trivet I wanted to give as a birthday present. To be honest, despite moments when I wanted to give up on the idea, I am satisfied with the result achieved. I find it a nice idea, of those that you would never buy by yourself but makes you happy if someone gives it to you.
After finishing my creation, It was time for the second grocery shopping of this challenge: as I learned from the first week, it’s better to plan my meals ahead of time, write a shopping list and stick to it.
So here is my list:
- 1L lactose-free milk
- 5 bananas
- 2 tins of peas and 2 tins of chickpeas ( both good and cheap)
- 200 g salad
- quinoa cakes
- vegetable burgers
- jam
- lactose-free yogurts
- peppers
- tomatoes
- mozzarella cheese
- mais
- soya pudding
Compared to the previous shopping, I tried, whenever possible, to vary my diet. I was sure I would have dinner with a huge salad with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and corn but my friends had different plans for me (have dinner out), and I was not able to decline the invitation. It’ s very difficult to remain focused on the challenge if you have so many external stimulations. My friends knew about the challenge and thought that if they offered me the dinner it would be ok. I think it’s like cheating indeed but, in any case, I was not able to say no. We went to a Japanese restaurant and then, instead of taking the means of transport, I went home on foot (I really felt guilty!).
SUNDAY
On Sunday I wanted to clean my room and the kitchen but I hadn’t noticed before that many of the household products were finished. Since I didn’t want to give in again and buy new ones, I searched on Youtube if there were homemade methods to create the products I needed. I used 500 ml of distilled water and flakes of Marseilles soap that I had in my house to clean the kitchen surfaces; 125 ml of water, 125 ml of white vinegar and 3 drops of lemon oil to clean the room furniture.
The following days I kept to the shopping list and I was not tented to buy more than the budget I had. The second week was easier than the first (Saturday night apart!) and I think that the more it goes on, the more you get used to it. You become more organized and living with a short budget starts to be a way of life rather than a challenge. It’d also be a lot easier if you plan for the whole month (so with an 80 budget more or less) instead of considering 20 euros a week. In this way, if sometimes you want to give yourself a little treat, you can because it’s easier to manage your resources. However spending only 80 euros per month is really a short budget if you consider all the expenses we have, but could be feasible to spend them only on food!
