Monday 4 February 2013

Money and Friend

I am quite surprised that I am still continuing my blog. There are lots and lots to write about but so few times that I actually try to write about them. No excuse, I have plenty of time, I just don't try to focus on matching the ideas together.

So, today I want to talk about how I have been living these days. January, I almost freaked out of looking at my bank account. I don't spend a lot in shopping or sightseeing. Although the balance was way too small. Did I get robbed? Is somebody using my credit card? No, I was the only one using it. I spent too much on eating out. People always told me that I have to bear the British cuisine. That's a big lie in London. Since there are so many Asian and European delicious food. You just have to avoid the real British food,haha. All my money went into my stomach.

So I decided to save up by not spending them. Yes, this means that I have to cook by myself. It's not my first time to do this, since I was living in a dorm in Japan, too. But it's definitely not my cup of tea! ( I shouldn't say this in Japan, or else I wouldn't get a husbandXD)

It went very well and I am now living with 6 pounds a day in average. That will be 850yen a day, including the weekends. I try not spend a penny in the weekdays and more in the weekends. This was not a easy thing to do, as most of the students know. It means that you have to cancel some parties, drinking, meetings, lunch and dinner. And what helped me a lot are my friends. I chose to hang out with people who are good at saving money and have the same idea, standards about them. Since then, I started to realize that the relationship between money and friend is quite important which means that it is hard to become best friends with someone who have a different standards. In Japan, this didn't really happen because most of the people didn't spend that much in my school. But in London, that cannot happen. How they spend on clothes, food, livings and travelling, really shows how different status they have. The gap is quite big unfortunately. That is when I realized how important friends can be.

However, I don't believe that you should stuck with the same friends all the time. You need variety of people to enrich yourself and understand the different circumstances. But your best friends are the ones who share the same idea and don't feel uncomfortable with it.

In another way, if you want to change your lifestyle or your way of thinking, changing your friends is a big step. Don't do it obvious because it is awkward.  It sounds harsh but actually in most cases, people are doing it unconsciously. Why did you stop hanging out with him? It's because you have changed or wanted to change. Friend is the reflection of yourself.