I’m really bad at remembering to switch off the light when I leave a room. I guess that makes me bad for the environment. But as that famous saying goes, charity begins at home and so does credit crunching.

I had to run out the door this morning, skipping breakfast. When my mum asked me had I eaten anything, I just yelled I’d grab something at university. I hadn’t even reached the front gate when the front door opened and a banana came flying towards me. My mum muttered something about stop wasting money and that eating breakfast was important. It was something straight out of a slapstick comedy.  

Instead of buying a newspaper, I read the free copy in the library. So far, so good. At lunchtime I headed over to the cafetaria with friends and there was a really nice dish on the menu. I very nearly bought it but I knew there was a packed lunch already waiting for me in my bag, but lasagne is far more tempting than a cheese salad sandwich.

When I got home my mum was planting something in the back garden. Turned out it was a coriander plant, the latest addition to the herb garden. Coriander costs £1 a bundle from the local grocers, so she was growing one instead to use in cooking.  

It was then I got the lecture about all those books I no longer read sitting in the study. I’ve never sold anything on eBay but it was about time I found out. There are some old teen books that I haven’t read since God knows when, but I was shocked to see they sell for 50p. How does anyone make a profit from that is what I want to know. I decided to leave those for a car boot sale and flog my old Star Wars magazines which go for £4/5 instead.

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