Living on the edge.

I wrote a lot about it.

How to save money, spend it in a smart way, how poverty infects one's health and you can only buy what you can afford.
I cannot afford much because my monthly expenses (rent, gas, electricity, water, health insurance, taxes, etc) are too high. These are all costs I need to pay. In my country it's not allowed to have any health insurance. The cheapest insurance costs 120$ a month and the first 900$ of expenses I need to pay myself. The money I do not have which means I better not visit a doctor.

I wish I could do without a car but I can't. Not where I live which is an area without public transport. If my children need to go to school I drive them to a bus stop about 3-4 miles away. It costs me about 40$ a week next to the bus tickets I need to pay. I saved myself money during the lockdown. I wish homeschooling would be more introduced. Without the gasoline bill, my life would be easier.

I have saving boxes for each bill I need to pay. Some are weekly, others annual. My road taxes for owning a small car are 55$ a month (no matter if I use it), my taxes for renting a house are 650$ a year and for water 350$ a year.

Homemade banana breadmade with two bananas, flour, oil, sugar, and water.

I don't buy water in the shop.
The town nearby has city taps. Because of the lack of water, I have to do without where I live. Not a single drop of water comes out of my tap. I no longer drive to the bus stop but to the water tap to fill bottles so we can cook, wash our hands, ourselves and flush the toilet once in a while.

After I paid all bills the money left is for shopping, mainly food.
We rarely buy clothes and shoes. Never visit a hairdresser etc. We do not spend money on hobbies and do not eat at restaurants. A meal will easily cost 10$ or more and this is about the amount I can spend a week for our family.

We have two meals a day.

At this moment my shopping list looks like this:

• Fruit for once or twice a week. Mostly 5-6 bananas, sometimes only two. Price 1-2$.
• Orange juice so we have some vitamin C daily. Price 4$
• Meat (we need zinc and vitamin B12) good for two days. Price 1.7$
• Potatoes. Price 1$
• Milk or cheese. Price 2$
  I try to buy vegetables if I have some extra money.

I rarely buy cleaning products and no cosmetics.
Shampoo, soap, and toothpaste I only buy a few times a year preferable when it's for sale. Out of chestnuts, soap can be made for the laundry.

The marketplace isn't cheap which means I don't buy anything there.
I know all prices by the head and I don't do all my shopping at the same shop. This way I save money.
Soda, alcohol, cigarettes, candies, cookies, potato chips, snacks, fast food, etc are not on my shopping list.
We bake our own cake or cookies and don't waste food.

The coins left I save to buy bigger or extra items.

Once or with some luck twice a year I fill my cupboard.
I do this during the summer holidays and if possible the Autumn holidays.
I buy flour, oil, sugar, peanut butter, rice, about 7 different kinds of canned vegetables, and some canned fruit, tomato paste, and pasta. This is basically what we eat from if I am short on money and what we ate during the lockdown. My cupboard is nearly empty and I hope I saved enough at the end of July to buy new (I have a saving box for that too) which will be our food for next winter. The amount I save is good for about 3$ a week. I can only buy what I can save without fridge because I don't have one.

We do not buy A-brands.
We know many are not better and I try to avoid trans fat and palm fat as much as possible. Both are health dangerous but cheap ingredients for manufacturers. I try to make, cook, and bake, as much as possible myself. It's way cheaper, tastes better, and more healthy.

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