Vanakkam,
It's good and funny advice, and "poor" is a very relative term like it was said, when looking at other countries with worse poverty.
However, I wouldn't personnally go full with the "enjoy the now", I'm unable to do that. I ALWAYS have to plan things, but they are very simple !
I'm currently living in one of the poorer part of the country. I mean yeah, this is where there is most jobless, uneducated young etc...And when I go shopping for food, I always see people that seems poorer than me, and very very young parents (younger than me ! O__O) who try to find a way to feed their childrens.
And I'm wondering "my future will be so difficult...Is it possible to live a simple life with not many money like them ? They don't seems to manage that much..."
Then I see what they buy : an old man that seemed broke, seemed to buy some food...He bought the cheapest brand of two canned salad, and tree expensive bottles of alcohol...
I saw a very young mother complaining she cannot buy meat to feed her childrens, yet she was smoking and smoking and smoking cigarettes at a terrifying rate, with the cost of ONE pack of cigarette, you can buy two or tree pieces of pig meat !
I'm puzzled when I see things like this and I wonder: if one day I'm in not stable situation and have little salary or money, will I be living better than them ? If I manage my budget by not buying alcohol and not smoking, and refusing pleasures like cinema and stuff, will I be able to fulfill correctly basic needs of shelter and food without having problems ?
I guess the future will tell, but I don't know. When I see people like this, I don't judge them, not at all...But I'm wondering if it's a good way on how to be poor ?
Oh yeah, some things that makes me save money :
- Toilet paper is for everything. I mean, I buy toilet paper (for toilet purpose of course, duh) but I use the same also to wipe the mouth during meals, or wipe the table to clean, or wipe the windows (one pssht of window product, and wipe with toilet paper), or use it when I need to clean my nose....Some people say "eww why you use toilet paper for all of this, it's gross !" and I'm like: "Why you buy 3 different kinds of the same paper with different names for doing all of this ?"
It's little saving: no need to buy paper towels or handkerchiefs.
-Desserts: SIMPLE THINGS ARE THE BEST. Nature yoghurt, or simple chocolate flavored ones...There are very expensive brands. Take chocolate cream for example: a famous brand sell 4 yoghurt at 2euros. I get the same 4 yoghurt at 0,60 euros at the lesser brand. The thing is: they have nearly the same ingredients, and they have exactly the same taste ! What's the need of buying the expensive one then ?
Nature yoghurt, chocolate flavored and compote are the most simple and non expensive desserts you can get, and no need to buy the expensive brands: they have all nearly the same flavors.
The little plus with nature yoghurt ? Take a cookie and dip it in the yoghurt. Who said little pleasures were expensives ?
-Buy fresh. It's less expensive and have more choice ! Eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini....They are not difficult at all to cook, and more than that, they are not expensive at all... And it's more good for health than ready cooked meals.
-Don't make too much savings on things like meat. You can have serious health problem if you buy cheapest meat. Save on safe things like yogurt, fruits and vegetables, but don't take the cheapest meat.
-Packs of cakes and sweets are often expensive and not good for your health...Replace it with more healthy kind of cakes ! For exemple: a pack of brownies here cost around 2 - 3 euros. For 1,70 euro, I go to the organic shelf and grab a pack of complete grain cakes with fruits, and less sugar...And delicious !
-Balance is everything.
