Living cheap III

Honestly, cheap living is after all just about getting to the bottom with what you really need. Need not Greed, as the slogan goes. So do you actually need a new winter coat, or does the one you bought last year or two years ago still serve you? You see the point. Still, one thing you will always need (at least to some extent) is food.

Lesson three - Dumpster diving

DD is exactly what it sounds like - get into a dumpster and pick up what you want.

"6.7 million tonnes of food is thrown away by households in the UK every year, or, to put it another way, around a third of all the food we buy ends up being thrown away" Salford city council

...and then consider how much the grocery stores throw away. It is seriously mind-blowing. And yes, some of it they throw away because it is not edible, but most of it actually is, just that if we have the choice between that product and a slightly fresher one, you go for the new one. Do you look at the best-before date when you buy milk? What happens to the one that is due tomorrow? And for how long is it actually drinkable? Milk is produced under very good conditions and generally last a little longer than what is written on the package. You just have to use your nose.

Top items found in dumpsters:
* Bread. At bakeries, you can even get bread baked the very same day, but that they because of policy will not sell the following day.
* Bananas. A little brown spot and no one will want it... or so they believe.
* Broccoli. You know how it goes a little yellow? You can brush it off.


How much can you save? Well, it depends on you. Some people survive entirely on dumpster diving, but it depends on if you can find everything you need/want in a dumpster not too far away. You might be unlucky and just find hot dogs and mashy fruit, or you have to add extra ingredients to make a complete dish. Really good thing is that it boosts your creativity when you have to use new ingredients and come up with new combinations.

Danger? Well, food quality you just have to see for yourself. Smell it, wash it and if you are a little doubtful, cook it thoroughly or throw it out. Heat kills lots of bad stuff, believe me. And so far, no one has died from a mouthful of sour milk (in case you have no nose to smell it). Legally, In Sweden, discarded property is still considered to legally belong to the individual or organization which disposed of it. Which means no, you are actually not allowed to take it. Which makes sense in a capitalist world view. However, moral and what is actually correct to do is a completely different thing. But you might want to be careful about who sees you (hence, this could be considered a night time activity).

How? It can be pretty tricky to get started, if you don't know where to go or how to get into a dumpster. Good tip is to research some before - look up your home town either on Ecosia (search engine) or on the very useful site Trashwiki. Here you can also find some info on laws and other things good to know. There is also a group on Couchsurfing where you can ask people to teach you or just for good tips.

What do you need?
*Comfortable clothes, not your brand new white jacket. You most likely will get a bit dirty. Think about what shoes you wear. Gloves are nice too.
*A flash light, preferably a head torch.
*A backpack and some plastic bags.

Its really not that hard. Another thing you can do if you feel uncomfortable diving into a dumpster, is to go to the market (eg. farmers market) at closing time and carefully ask around. Generally, the salesmen are happy to give away whatever they otherwise would have thrown to you.

Good luck!

Living cheap II

So here comes a special to all girls, women and ladies. There is something in our lives that makes us pay a little fee every month, buying tools that increase the amount of garbage in the world. You know what I'm talking about. A different way of managing the red issue can help you save money, help the planet and keep your inside happy.

Lesson two - Mooncup®

"The Mooncup is a reusable menstrual cup, around two inches long and made from soft medical grade silicone. It is worn internally a lot lower than a tampon but, while tampons and pads absorb menstrual fluid, the Mooncup collects it. This means it doesn’t cause dryness or irritation, and also that it collects far more (three times as much as a ‘super-absorbent’ tampon’!). Because the Mooncup is reusable, you only need one so it saves you money and helps the environment, too.

The Mooncup is designed to be folded and inserted into the vagina, then removed, rinsed and reinserted up to every 8 hours. A light seal is formed with your vaginal walls, allowing menstrual fluid to pass into the Mooncup without leakage or odour. This seal is released for removal, allowing you to empty the contents, rinse or wipe and reinsert. Comfortable, convenient and safe: the Mooncup can be used overnight and when travelling, swimming or exercising." (Text from www.mooncup.co.uk)

Some numbers given buy the american mooncup webpage:

$35 + $2 (Includes International shipping also)
Over 10 years, that's 29 cents per month!
Compare with other products at $4.00 per month:
$4.00 X 120 months = $480.00 - $35.00 = $445.00 Savings!

This little thing can be pursued online from the UK:
www.mooncup.co.uk and costs £20
of from the US:
www.mooncup.com where it costs $35 + $2 international shipping
or bought in a store in Sweden, see Where


[Personal experience - it takes a little while to get used to it, if it is not applied well you can feel it and you also have to develop a feeling for how often you need to check on it. Another issue is if you are in a bathroom where the sink is outside of the booth, but it is handable with paper tissues. I'm now greener and richer!]

Living cheap

Sometimes, your financial income is not as high as you want it to be. Worse, it might not be as high as you think you need. If that is your case, or you just feel like cutting down your living cost for an other reason (environmental, moral, personal challenge etc) I will try to provide some tips. So this is to be a little serie of blog enties on how to lower your expenditures without significantly lessening your life quality.

Lesson one - Literature

Fact: many students consider themselves poor and find themselves struggling to make the month. In Sweden, students are paid fairly well (funding from the government and low-rate loans) but still complain. One grand cost for students is the required literature. Then there's also the fun reading, which depending on your taste can get quite pricey too. The green bonus here is obvious - buying new items has a greater impact on the environment than re-using, by doing so we maximise the gain from each product.

What to do?

Step 1 - Try your libraries. If you live in a university town, maybe all the books are lent out to other wise people. Then try libraries outside of the city - perhaps your aunt 20 km away can look for it at her local library and you can pick it up on a family reunion.

Step 2 - No luck at the libraries. Then you ask around to borrow - are you a member on Facebook, post it on your wall. Is it course literature, maybe someone in the year above you still has it.

Step 3 - Still no luck. It's time for the second hand shopping. Have a look around on the internet.

Sweden/Swedish books:
Blocket - not the easiest one to manage, but you can be lucky and find very cheap ones here. Try to search not only the title, maybe the category or just course 'literature'.
Kurslitteratur - well organised, easy to find.
Tradera - not specialised on books and you might have to bid, but still worth a try.

English/English books:
Abebooks - supercheap and a great variety of books. (For me, it was cheaper to order the book from the US and get it shipped to Sweden than buying it second hand here)

For more online bookstores look Here (The mighty book blog's list)

Step 4 - Maybe you just have to suck it up and "bite the sour apple" as the saying goes in Sweden. That is, buy the new book. Do online research before, the prices vary and some stores might have offers/sales. Ask granny for coupons.


[Personal experience: I am to obtain 4 books for my next semester at university, buying new copies would add up to 200€. After looking around, I found two of them at different libraries, bought one online for 9 USD and am looking at the las one for 20-35€. In total, I will pay around 20% of the original cost.]