Erica, from North West Edible, has posted this incredible post
And my reply was this:
(I added more stuff here, cause I didnt want to hog her blog, even though she is super nice and generous with her readers :)
I've been living on less than 10 dollars
per week for over a year now and I'm still alive, hehe. I mean I eat well and
do not look like a cave lady, yet!
If you do not mind,
let me luxuriate in the telling :)
Before I moved to
Italy in 2008 I was living and working in London; I made a good money and spent
a lot good money. I worked in a very prestigious company in one of the poshest
post codes in London and I got caught up on the wheel of spending on expensive
designer bags, shoes and clothes. (I'm so ashamed to admit this now) and let me
assure you that neither the bags nor the shoes made me happy. I was miserable
and the pollution in London made me very sick.
So, in 2006 I signed
up as a volunteer with WWOOF.org
and stayed on an organic pigs farm in central Italy, near where I live
now. Even though I do not eat pork, that experience for two weeks feeding pigs,
making sausages, smocked ham and other stuff changed my life for good. I
returned to London determined to leave to the mountains and live simple, green
and sustainable living. It took me another two years to achieve that.
For nearly two years and a half I did some
freelance translation and that helped a bit for the rent and other expenses. My
rent was very low and my electricity bill was very low too because I had no
washing machine or TV and neither ironed clothes nor used electric heating. I
used wood for heating in winter and just grilled to near suffocation in summer
in the heat. There was no way I could or would get an AC or even a fan.
Anyway, Feb 2011 was
the last time I did any translation work and things were getting tough and
rough. My main concern was to pay my rent, as my landlady was one of the
stingiest and nastiest people I ever met. It was pretty tough and I learnt so
many things from that rough
time.
The little money I
saved was dwindling and I was panicking. Then, through a friend, I found this place where I could live
rent and bills free in exchange for taking care of the house and some cats, 15
of them! I moved in Jan 2012.
Even though I do not
pay rent, etc, still I needed money for food, toiletry and mobile phone
charges, etc. So, I decided to be more ruthless and cut down everything. Here
how I did it:
1-I started on my
mobile phone; I discovered most of
my expenses went on that. 5 Euros a week would vanish in a day or so. A
friend would text, I text back, she texts back, I text back, and the 5 Euros is
gone! So, I told all my friends that I can not call or text back; the mobile is
only for emergency as I live alone in the mountains and I leave it charged with
5 Euros just for that. I can happily confirm that the same 5 Euros I put six
months ago are still there :) The funniest thing was that the mobile phone
company called me a week ago and told me if I bring in a friend as a customer
they would put a 100 euros in my phone! I told them I have no friends who would
be interested in this and even if they would, I would not let them spend money
on another phone, haha. I felt so good.
2- I cut down on
personal expenses, like haircuts and dyes. Instead I struck a deal with one of
my neighbors to cut my hair in
exchange of helping her coloring her hair. She does a pretty job and I do a
good job as well, so we are both happy. I learnt to dye my hair myself, due to
grays infestation :) and use organic gentle dye that I can use again few times.
I spend no money on makeup, I hate it, and instead I invest in a good organic
facial cream that will last for months. I make my own face and hair masks using
natural and organic materials, like olive oil, lavender, from a friend's
organic farm, vegetables from my garden and eggs.
3- I source all the
food I can not grow or forage for from local and small producers and farmers.
Not only their stuff cost much less than supermarkets and are good for the
health as no chemicals were used but also you get to get lots of free stuff
from them when they get to know you and when you surprise them from time to
time with a generous slice of homemade cake or a bag of cookies :) That goes
for veggies, fruits, eggs, milk and meats, though I rarely eat any meat.
4- I forage. Yep I do
that, as I live in the mountain and there are many edible greens, plus so many
fruits and nuts trees. I never buy figs or pears or grapes or cherries or
apricots or walnuts because there are so many trees in the fields that belong
to no one!
5- I barter with some
of my neighbors and friends. Like if a friend of mine needs help in her farm I
would help her and she would give me eggs or meats or whatever I need. If I
have plenty of green beans in my garden I would barter them for peas from my neighbour
or friend if that was ok with them.
6- I make all the
cards, Christmas and birthdays that I send to friends. I also make the gifts,
such as a cake or a jar of homemade jam or chutney, etc.
-7 I sold most of the
clothes, shoes and bags that I will not use because, first they are unsuitable
for the mountains, second, I'm ashamed to put them on as they remind me of my
materialistic days. And as I result I generated a bit of money. All the stuff
were bought by British expats, as Italians will never buy a second hand things
even if they were brand new. There are no second hand shops in Italy, can you
believe that?
8- I make all my jams,
chutneys and jellies from foraged fruits, but grow or buy organic tomatoes,
bell peppers and chillies from small organic producers for sauces and
salsa. That can be costly, so I
save on other things, like I raid the recycling points for glass jars and
bottles to use for my jams and tomato sauces and salsas, instead of using mason
jars. I do buy the lids but they do not cost a lot like the lids for mason
jars. They are Just ordinary lids in different sizes.
9- I haven’t bought a
single item of clothing for over three years and I still look very stylish,
kinda of. What I did was I asked
my best friend who lives in London, a super stylish and warm-hearted gorgeous American
friend, to let me go through any bag of clothes she intends to give to charity
shops. It was a bit difficult to ask her at first but then it became very
natural. I get to get free clothes in mint condition from someone I trust and
she feels happy that she helps me in my endeavour to live green and simple
life.
10- I NEVER spend any
money on juices or fizzy drinks, instead I make lemonade and non-alcoholic
ginger beers in summers, for my guests and me. I also do not buy water bottles;
instead I used a good filter.
11- I do read a lot,
as it is my only entertainment and the one thing I can not give up. So I buy
books but I buy second hand ones from London when I visit. As I love audio books, I ask a friend
to download some free stuff for me. There are some websites that give offers of
free downloads, just for a day or so. The same friend download This American
Life for me, which I love, love. It is free of charge as well.
12- I do not own a car
and public transportations cost very little but still I rarely use them; I
either bike or walk or hitchhike. It is quite safe to hitchhike here where I
live.
13- I NEVER eat out,
only if I’m invited, though I do invite friends for meals and I’m planning to
have a Halloween party for my friends and neighbours. The only thing I do
sometimes is I buy a cup of cappuccino if I’m in town one early morning; Just a
little something to pat myself on the shoulders for being so brave and not
giving in to temptations. We all need little treats some times.
14- I do write down every single penny I
spend; it can be tedious but I keep all receipts, then write them down in a
notebook, week by week.
Well, I guess this is
enough for now.
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