My friend Olga never worked, only fanatically saved money, but recently I learned unexpected news.

You never thought about it. Why do you spend money? And then you can barely make it to the end of the month? Statistically, it’s all about misallocation of funds, simply put, unnecessary purchases made not according to plan. There is nothing surprising or shameful about this. Scientists have long proved that shopping for a person is an excellent source of dopamine, which helps to combat negative emotions.



On the other hand, the practical side, impulsive purchases interfere with us financially, which, in turn, causes some dissatisfaction and sad thoughts. Some enchanted circle. A lonely person, not used to saving money, may one day look into the closet and realize that most of the things on the hanger he has never even worn. And some of them have already gone out of fashion, and left with store tags. In family people, this also happens in terms of food and shopping for a child. What do we do with all this?

My friend always had some hobbies, hobbies “not like everyone” views on life. Even at the institute where we met, she tried to try herself in every creative profession she could reach. She drew, wove all kinds of beads, sewed clothes, even made pottery. But none of this seemed to interest her for long. Then, when she got married, she cooked soap and candle wax. And even, kind of, succeeded at it.



As far as I know, her husband was never against her interests. He liked that she was so passionate. But it is probably difficult to live with an adult who does not have thoughts about the future and career on his mind, but such, a little childish, aspirations. I even envied Ole, sitting on long boring evenings at home, refining office work. It’s good when your spouse knows how to make money and you can do whatever you want. Every day is like a holiday.

My personal life took a different path, but I don’t want to talk about it here: nothing original. So, 4 years after the marriage, Oli also had some changes. George, her husband, lost his job. And since his specialty is quite specific, finding another job, especially with such a decent salary as before, was a problem for him. Their family slowly began to plunge into loans, as it was very difficult to let go of their usual, well-fed life.



And one day it even came to collectors. They began to call them first and then their families. You’ve probably heard of these most notorious collection agencies. Now they seem to have been banned or somehow curtailed in their rights, but then they “blossomed and smelled.” What was to be done in such conditions? I had to think of something. There were quarrels at the household level, it is probably good that by that time my friend had no children.

George worked as a taxi driver and handyman wherever he could. He even got a loader. But Ole still failed to tune in to the right way. She was quickly tired of the work force. The bosses infuriated her, and there were no other alternatives. Even worked as a saleswoman in a store, but after a couple of weeks she ran away from there, because of annoying and rude customers. Even my husband asked me to go and collect my paycheck. She didn’t have enough nerves to get the money herself.

So, what did she come up with to get involved in something she did? Olya decided to follow the easiest path for herself and, having saved her nerves, began to save professionally. First, she agreed to become a housewife. But not ordinary, like many of us, but with our own characteristics. Second, she remembered that she and her husband had a dacha that no one paid attention to. Would it be logical to move there permanently? But then it would be normal village life. And such an existence for Oli is too banal in itself.



It started. She often went to the countryside, and tried as best she could to grow some vegetables, which she then canned. I found a common language with the locals and agreed to buy milk from them, leftover greens and everything that could be purchased for a small fee. With milk, she made cottage cheese, sour cream, cheese. Sometimes, after reading another recipe on the Internet, she made cakes, dumplings and other dishes from them, selling them to neighbors or other citizens who responded to her ads.

She even collected apples and pears near other people's sites. Where they could be ripped off a branch by the road or just lying around. At first, the locals were surprised by the “greedy and poor citizen”. But then we got used to it. Olga found benefit where others had not seen her at all. In addition, she was always able to buy some goods that were difficult to get in a rural store. Batteries, superglue, flashlights and stuff. With her markup, of course, but people made orders and it brought benefits too.

I've never seen Olga buy regular food in a supermarket. She went to the wholesale market, and there she found some "special" points, where products were typed for a month or more. Now, for example, many people buy whole chicken, and then at home they butcher it and load the freezer. Oli has been doing this for a long, long time. Of course, she did not go to cafes or bars: too much markup. But, what I always liked about her, I didn’t try to go there at someone else’s expense. He didn’t have a husband, he made money.



Clothing from second hand, unfortunately, is familiar to many of us. But for Oli, it was a realm of opportunity. Anything that had a nice fabric or color she learned to embroide. Some things were resold on the same Internet. And that brought money into the house, too. You know, in as many years as I've known her, I could never say that things on her were bought for a penny. I cut it, I sewed it. And great! I can't hide it. She is an attractive woman, and as you know, everything suits the person.

I don’t even know about the other ways of saving. But, logically, the light, water, and gas in their home were considered a valuable resource, so they weren’t wasted the way we’re used to. I know that George could not get used to it for a long time, but then he made concessions to his wife.

Why am I telling you all about this? I guess I just want to laugh with a negligent friend and her husband who's tired of it all? The fact is that they recently bought an apartment in our city. "Secondary", but with excellent repairs and in a good area. Here we go, for cash. And now they want to move there. They are collected for repair in an old apartment, in order to then begin to rent it for profit. Maybe they are already, I don’t even know.

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Georgi, like, found something suitable, so they are slowly trying to save less, and the age is not the same. There is not enough energy for Olga to be in as many places at the same time as before. But she achieved her goal, no matter what. And now, though it's a little late, he's thinking of having his first child. I wonder who else of us would be able to start living a life like this in order to achieve similar results. Limit yourself to everything now, in order to live as you want in the future?