How I lived on a pound a day for a year

[trinder]

Is this serious suggestion? Not even one cup of Costa coffee a day! ridiculous

[bill1953]

Is this serious suggestion? Not even one cup of Costa coffee a day! ridiculous

Can't you make a cup last a week then? x

[baldybloke]

Yes I read this about a year ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. May I suggest another for you. 'Enough' by John Naish. One of my favourite books of recent times. I have also just finished reading 'The 100 Thing Challenge' , a concept of living for a year with no more than 100 things. Interesting but not really that inspiring.

I've been trying to read the 100 things Challenge after you mentioned it, but nearly halfway through he's just moaning about all the stuff he's got to get rid of!!

And i'm getting a bit fed up with the Christian/religious references. I'm interested in his project, NOT his religion.

I want to read about his experiences living with just 100 things and not all the luxury stuff he's getting rid of, and how it makes his daughters feel. I feel like he had an idea, he executed it, someone told him to write a book so he did. But he didn't have a lot to say so he moaned a lot for the first 5 chapters just to pad it out a bit.

Stick with it as the book does get a bit better. Once he gets into the routine of the challenge, he becomes less attached to his material things. Its an interesting concept but as he says somewhere in the book, we are all different and have different attachments to possessions. A friend of mine who lives a minimilist lifestyle will get rid of something if it hasn't been used in 3 months. Personally I try and group potential purchases into 'Needs' and 'Wants', preferring to walk away from a purchase and think on how it might enhance my life.

[the.fee.fairy]

ok I'll give it another go!

[bill1953]

Is this serious suggestion? Not even one cup of Costa coffee a day! ridiculous

Can't you make a cup last a week then? x

[Green Aura]

A friend of mine who lives a minimilist lifestyle will get rid of something if it hasn't been used in 3 months.

I don't understand how this works bb. What sort of things are we talking about?

And what happens if they need it again,do they then buy another? Or borrow someone else's?

I tend to be a bit of a hoarder and it has paid off so often when we've not had to replace something we haven't used for years but have stashed in a cupboard.

We have friends who live minimally because they have beliefs about not owning "stuff". So they borrow things.....incessantly.

[trinder]

Sorry Bill only just noticed your reply Stupid thing is I don't drink coffee, I'm a tea drinker.
But if I stop "attention seeking" and get back to the real topic. I do know lots of people who drive the 1-2 miles to the shops do their shopping and then stay in the shop cafe for a coffee. That kind of waste of money is absolutely beyond me.

[bill1953]

Yes I agree with that. Seen someone in a supermarket cafe knock up a bill of over £28 for her, husband and kids. Had a little bag of shopping too!

[baldybloke]

A friend of mine who lives a minimilist lifestyle will get rid of something if it hasn't been used in 3 months.

I don't understand how this works bb. What sort of things are we talking about?

And what happens if they need it again,do they then buy another? Or borrow someone else's?

I tend to be a bit of a hoarder and it has paid off so often when we've not had to replace something we haven't used for years but have stashed in a cupboard.

We have friends who live minimally because they have beliefs about not owning "stuff". So they borrow things.....incessantly.

There are certain essentials that are required by everyone, like saucepans etc. He looks at alternative ways of doing things that means using the minimum of equipment. For example, he has got rid of his Hi Fi and plays the few CD's he now owns through the DVD player. He has also got rid of a lot of white goods which only get used once in a while.

I try and follow the same example and only replace stuff if it is totally beyond repair, then usually by buying secondhand. I have reduced my energy hungry appliances to a bare minimum. When my parents first moved to this area about 60 years ago, they rented a cottage without gas or electricity. So apart from an open fire and a sink with cold water only, all cooking and hot water was done on 2 Primus stoves. I'm not suggesting we go back to those dark days but do we need all the tat that modern society deems essential?

My only real weakness that run contrary to this ideal is books, and I struggle to part with them, convincing myself that I might re-read them sometime in the future.

Another book and a Youtube clip worth checking out is 'The story of stuff' which I found fascinating.

[Potter's Farm]

Have a look at 'Living The Good Life' by Linda Cockburn, found it practical and always gives me a lift when I'm lacking in inspiration.

[oldjerry]

Yes I agree with that. Seen someone in a supermarket cafe knock up a bill of over £28 for her, husband and kids. Had a little bag of shopping too!

So are these people Untermenschen ?? Or do they just live their lives differently to you?

[bill1953]

Yes I agree with that. Seen someone in a supermarket cafe knock up a bill of over £28 for her, husband and kids. Had a little bag of shopping too!

So are these people Untermenschen ?? Or do they just live their lives differently to you?

In Ireland we treat everyone as equals. We have worldwide respect for that fact and also the fact we that have never colonised another people, so the term untermenschen is foreign to us

[oldjerry]

Given the time of year,and the proximity of Cheltenham,allow me a wry smile,but,as my daughter would say,whatever.

These, strictly equal,people frittering away their cash(probably earned by doing some worthless 9-5 job) may well have the right to spend their money on whatever they choose.
Personally I think they deserve our thanks for reinforcing the warm glow of superiority we all seem to enjoy so much.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Personally I think they deserve our thanks for reinforcing the warm glow of superiority we all seem to enjoy so much.

Perhaps they should get a public subsidy - an Art's Council grant perhaps. Does the Art's Council still exist? Anyway, a tableaux of "Family Eating in T***o Café" could win prizes.

It is quite an interesting book, but I did rather come to the conclusion that while she was living on only a quid of her own, she was spending quite a bit of other peoples' quids - that wine & cheese at gallery openings don't come buckshee (which is fine, not a word of condemnation from this quarter) but does detract from the practical aspects, ie how to make things stretch where ever you are.

[bill1953]

[quote="oldjerry"]Given the time of year,and the proximity of Cheltenham,allow me a wry smile,but,as my daughter would say,whatever.

Touche