Don’t go out!
I mean it – don’t go out! I’ve tried it and it really works. I happen to live in London, one of the most – if not the most – expensive cities in the world. And as soon as you step outside your front door, this city has you by the short and curlies. For example, hardly anyone accept for the mega-rich, actually lives in the centre of London – the only bit that really counts. And so the first thing you are going to have to do is buy yourself a travel card. Although the travel card was ostensibly designed to save us all money, the damn thing goes up in price every year and currently costs £6.20. So before you’ve even gotten further than your local newsagents, you’ve already spent the lion’s share of a ten pound note.Then once you’ve hit central London, having endured the crowds on the bus, train or Underground, you’re going to need some kind of caffeine boost before you can brave the shops, where the real spending starts. B.S. (Before Starbucks) a coffee cost next to nothing. But now it costs almost as much as a glass of wine or a beer. And how can you resist those delicious-looking muffins calling to you from the glass display case on the counter? Before you know it, another ten pounds has evaporated into thin air.
Anyway, I’m sure you’re getting the picture: even if you were just out to see a free exhibition or do a bit of free window shopping, staying in would have saved you a pretty substantial chunk of money.
But if you really must go out…
Go to your local library! Internet use is either cheap or free. DVDs and CDs can be borrowed (and burned!) very cheaply. And those wonderful things called books. Remember them? You probably read a few of them when you were at school. They are absolutely crammed with words that their author has spent a huge amount of time putting in exactly the right order just to educate, entertain, thrill, or move YOU! He or she may have even spent years on this lonely, exhausting job, so isn’t it something of a miracle that you can just walk into this public building and leave with one or more of these monumental achievements for free?
Or go to a museum. In London, for example, there are hundreds of free museums and art galleries. I’ve lived in London for more than 25 years and I still haven’t been to half of them. You would find out loads of weird stuff about your home town – and then you’d have some really interesting things to ramble on about the next time you have a fuel-saving gathering at your home!
Books glorious Books!
Yes, books. They’re everywhere. You can borrow them for free from your local library, get them for next to nothing at car boot sales, jumble sales and charity shops, or pay the price of a small round of drinks to own a brand new one of your own choosing. Although personally I prefer to buy books cheaply that aren’t of my own choosing. That way I get to discover new authors I wouldn’t have taken a gamble on if the book had been full price, and if I don’t like the first chapter – because it cost next to nothing – I can happily bin it if it’s not sufficiently diverting. But the best thing about books is how long they last. I mean, think about it. That round of drinks will have been quaffed in less than half an hour. A CD or DVD, although they can be played repeatedly, is over in anything between an hour and three hours. But a book! A book just goes on giving for days! Or if you’re a slow reader like I am – weeks. Nothing helps you deal with staying in more than a book does. After all, the best novels always transport you to a different place or a different time anyway.