Wed 11 Nov - Day 3
So I’ve been living the Simple life for three days now and no, Paris Hilton has not suddenly made a sparkling entrance into my life. Simplify may sound glamorous, but believe me in real life its hard work!
In truth so far things have been quite easy. I seem to be a lucky man when it comes expenses. Unlike one of my colleagues who had a major accidental expense on day one, I have managed to get away with spending precisely £3 so far this week. On half a cheesecake for my church group – only the essentials for me! When a man can’t afford bread then let him eat cake!
Despite not advertising Simplify much, I seem to be getting free meals whichever way I look. Meals at work, a flatmate cooking, cooking at church, even sweeties at meetings. I’m not sure how long it can last but whilst it does I’m going to ride the wave – it may crash on me in a few weeks! Watch me flounder in the riptide!
There have been small, medium and large temptations. On the small side the temptation to stop at my favourite corner café to buy a roll of fruit pastels. Successfully resisted. Its great to break bad habits. When it comes to medium temptations the
The thing with doing this just for a month is that it feels a bit hollow because I can just buy the ticket in December (ironically probably for more money). But Simplify has at least caused me to think about the choice. Weighing up my increased carbon footprint against the good that £60 could do for charity versus honouring a friendship of over a decade I will still go for the friendship. I guess that is just a function of my priorities.
Some of my fears for the week haven’t been realized. For example my breath no longer condenses when sitting in my lounge. Fergus managed to get the heating fixed. All it took was plugging it back in – its still relatively chilly but at least we’re making an effort. But tomorrow my friend is coming over from
I have definitely saved enough these first few days to be able to provide some culinary offering and not break the tradition of hospitality. However, my Simplify challenge of the week is to enjoy a birthday party with no cash without causing any social embarrassment. Come back next week to find out whether I succeed!

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