How low can I go?

Something catastrophic happened yesterday, forcing me to take dire action. Either I slash expenditures to virtually nothing, including what I spend on food, or I forego wine for a week.

I’m really going to miss eating.

But it’s really not much of a choice, given what happened.

I had to schlep a bunch of supplies to my car, including two bottles of wine that’d been purchased earlier. To carry it all in one trip, I slipped the bottles into my backpack, which I then hefted onto my shoulder. Three paces later, the zipper on the pack gave way and both bottles tumbled out. These were 1.5 liters each—my whole grape allowance for the week, in adjacent pools of red and white.

Hence the challenge of having to stretch a budget that’s tighter than Joan River’s forehead. So today I’m going to see how little I can spend and still stay alive. The rules:

--No consumption of pet food as a substitute.

--No consumption of pets.

--No robbery, mugging or other forms of theft.

--Basic rules of human decency have to be maintained. I.e., no eating out of garbage cans or off bussed cafeteria trays.

Other than that, anything goes. And I’ll be detailing it all throughout the day in frequent updates.

Suggestions are definitely welcomed.