Poundbakery
This time around, I’d decided to treat myself for breakfast by spending my £1 for the day right off the bat. And what better place to spend it than at Poundbakery, a franchise that sells all their baked goods for only £1, with over sixty shops scattered throughout the UK. Shopping there is a good deal by any measure, because the food is always great and the quantities are quite generous.
[1:08]
I grabbed two vegetable sausage rolls, with the intention to scoff one and save the second for later, but failed on account of my inability to stop eating.
[3:06]
Phone a Friend
I kept seeing this ad by Top Cash Back saying “free £15 worth of domino’s pizza” over the last couple of days. The deal is that you sign-up to order, and in return you get £15 worth of pizza for free, with the only catch being you have to pay the £15 upfront to get your food, before they give you a refund for the full amount. Not that it would have helped too much, but I’d already spent my pound for the day, so I definitely didn’t have that kind of money.
But deals like this aren’t that uncommon, and if you ever come across one but don’t have the funds to pay the upfront fee, then I’d highly recommend you try a concept that many of us in the UK are already very familiar with: phone a friend!
[4:14]
Assuming you’re confident in your ability to convince someone you know that they’ll definitely get their money back, they shouldn’t have a problem spotting you for a little while (keep in mind though – as this is probably something said friend would want to know – that the refund will only come through sometime within seven days of the purchase). I phoned the friend that I thought would “understand the struggle” the most, and luckily it worked out!
With that £15, I actually managed to get a drink, some potato wedges, and a large vegetable pizza, which was truly amazing. The only problem, and the most common in these situations, was that I was, and still am, a vegan.
[4:29]
It’s times like these that make you realise that having a choice in eating habits truly is a luxury. Many people in these circumstances don’t have the option to be picky, and since I was doing what I could to put myself in the shoes of someone facing such a situation, I didn’t really have an option either!
By the time I’d sat down to eat, I was famished. The pizza tasted as great as any, and I still had some left over for dinner.
Research, Research, Research!
I find that, more often than not, the determining factor between the person who eats and the person who struggles to eat can come down to something as simple as how much time they spend researching potential solutions. This, of course, excludes people who don’t have access to the various research methods that would be of use in situations like these, and those who are physically incapable of providing for themselves, but I think that in a country such as Great Britain (or any first world country, really) most of us, even those who have little to spare, will have some means of going about it.
It could be searching the web for the best discounts and free food initiatives, it could be checking your local super market for the hottest deals, it could even be asking around and keeping an eye out for promotional ads and flyers. The great thing is, the more you search, the more you’ll find. That’s really what I try to demonstrate to others. I try to show people how simple it can be to put food on the table, find accommodation, transportation, and support with just a little bit of research and ingenuity.
As I’m constantly looking for new and creative tips, tricks, and hacks people can use to make sure their basic needs are met on a daily basis, I’d love to hear what methods you’ve found to keep your head above water. Let me know in the comments below and, as always, happy hunting!
