The Silver Lining

Sun, Jul 6 12:30 AM

No, I'm not having you on. Or even poking gentle fun at your predicament now that everything costs more and money counts for less.

How could I? After all, we're all sailing in the same rocky boat on the increasingly choppy course chartered by double-digit inflation. And the risk of bring shipwrecked on the shores of bankruptcy is all too real.

In the circumstances, it would take a braver woman than me to indulge in a bit of joke-making (I'm far too scared of turning into the punchline myself). So, pay no attention to the jokey-jokey manner (well, what can I say, I try!) in which this column is written - the advice is offered in all seriousness.

And yes, I do believe that bad times can be good for you, your family and even the environment. It's all a question of making the current economic crisis work for you.

Let's start with the basics. And that means getting rid of all non-essential, frivolous expenditure no matter how good it makes you feel in the moment.

The first to go should be the fripperies that you have developed a taste for but don't really need. That takeaway cappuccino, for instance, with which you invariably start and end your day.

Nix it. It's overpriced, it's loaded with calories, and it will give you cellulite.

If you must have a caffeine fix and the office machine doesn't do it for you (and let's face it, it never does) then grind your own beans, brew your own coffee, fill a flask and carry it with you to work. The same principle applies to colas and all manner of aerated drinks.

Strike them off your shopping list. If you feel like a cool drink, make some iced tea, fill it with lots of mint for flavour and bung it into the refrigerator.

Or keep some home-made nimbu pani at the ready. It's cheaper all right, but it's also healthier.

Now that you have started down this road, take it a little further. Say no to all packaged foods with all their nasty additives.

So no soups, noodles or mixes that come with a 2-minute promise. Make your food from scratch, whether it is pasta sauces or sandwich fillings.

It will taste better, it will cost you less, and your skin will sparkle with all those fresh ingredients doing their work on your insides. Want that complexion to glow even more? Give up on alcohol and desserts.

Not only will your monthly outgoings on food and drink shrink, your bill will be more than halved when you venture out for a big meal in an expensive restaurant. After just a month of such abstinence, it's your waistline that will be considerably slimmer not your wallet.

Not that eating out is such a great idea in these inflationary times. So, use this opportunity to entertain in style at home.

It will cost you a fraction of what it would if you went out. And your guests will appreciate the fact that you have invited them to your house rather than fobbing them off with some soulless restaurant meal.

If you want to impress business contacts, you could cheat and order a couple of things from outside to make up for any gaps in your cooking repertoire. If you're staying in with friends, then ask them to bring a little something along for a pot-luck supper.

Make everyone, including kids, help in the kitchen with a bit of chopping and stirring as you bond over a stir-fry. Talking of children, now may be a good time to rethink Sundays spent at the movies, shelling out for hideously expensive multiplex tickets (not to mention marked-up popcorn and Coke).

Pack a picnic lunch and take them to the park where they can run around in the fresh air. Given that petrol is at an all-time high, how about junking the car on your daily trips to the neighbourhood market? Put on your trainers and walk instead.

It'll be good exercise, you'll save money on fuel, and your carbon footprint will also be a little smaller. If you make a habit of this and extend this to larger journeys as well, you'll get enough of a workout to even cancel that expensive gym membership.

If you really want to do your bit for the environment, then cancel those plane bookings to Europe and take your kids on a train journey to an off-the-beaten path destination in India instead. Your family will get a chance to see the 'real' India, you can introduce your children to the charm of rail travel, and the holiday will be dirt cheap (well, comparatively speaking, that is).

There's plenty else that you can do. Join the local library rather than spending a minor fortune on buying books that you read and discard.

Not only will you have access to a larger number of titles but you will end up meeting other book lovers which can only be a good thing. Ditto with magazines.

Don't spend absurd amounts on glossy titles that take about an hour to read from cover to cover. Just browse their websites instead and read all that interests you for free.

(Only downside, you will make less money from your raddi sales!) So, what do you think? Instead of moaning about how bad times are upon us all, how about we try to find some good in them? If nothing else, it will keep our spirits up even as our bank balance goes down.

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