The Things We Do To Save Money

Note: Martin does not approve of this blog. He thinks it makes us sound destitute when we're not. I told him I would make his thoughts known in this post but I wrote the blog to be amusing and not to ask for handouts because we're really not in the poorhouse.

1. I haven’t bought a single candle or plant here yet even though they would make our apartment more cozy and homey, in my opinion.

2. I have no sheet for my aerobed. That’s right, I just sleep right on it. I only have to do it until we move into our next apartment.

3. We share a single-person quilt every night, turned sideways so it stretches over both of us but the bottoms of our legs stick out. I wear a T-shirt, sweatshirt, sweatpants, and socks to bed every night to try to stay warm.

4. We let the trash build up in our apartment until the smell is too much for us to bear any longer (well, too much for Martin to bear any longer - I have stooped to his standards and just breathe out of my mouth full-time now). This is because the trash bags we have to throw our trash out in cost $2 each and have to be bought at the post office so we pack as much trash as possible into each bag. It takes us 3-4 days to fill one (they're about the size of a regular kitchen trash bag in the U.S.) and if you put fish or chicken into it on day one it's pretty rough by day 3. And no, there is nothing special about these bags other than that they say "ZURI-SAC" on them.

5. I look like an American because I have not bought dark-colored shoes or black socks or a dark spring/rain coat. But, you know, I *am* an American so this shouldn't bother me. It just makes people speak English to me right off the bat instead of starting with Swiss.

6. We do not eat out. Which means we do a good amount of cooking in our closet kitchen.

7. We do not sit at cafes and have a drink or a snack even though every time we walk by one all we want to do is sit there with a refreshing beverage and people watch. But, we can do that on vacation. This is not vacation.

8. We do not have a landline and we are sharing a mobile. By sharing I mean that Martin carries it with him and I go without. Not that I would know whom to call or what to say if I had any sort of emergency anyway.

9. I do not have a locker at the gym which means I have to carry an entire change of clothes including shoes and shower materials and towels to the gym with me every time I go … which is pretty much impossible to fit into my small bag along with all my textbooks and my notebook for my German class.

10. I am not buying a new computer even though it would make my work much easier if I did. I cannot currently use wireless on my current computer, or internet explorer, due to all the software WSI loaded onto it so that I could work remotely.


I could list the things we do to spend money, but that list would be far too long. It far outweighs the above list of things we are doing just to save a few bucks here and there. Every penny we save is some money we can spend to do some traveling while we’re here so it will be worth it.