If my blogging has slumped of late – and it has – it’s in no small part due to my intense boredom at this non-consumption lark. In essence, I have nothing to report from the last few days because I did nothing, spent nothing, acquired nothing.

That’s not exactly true; on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings I went for drinks with S, and we bussed it into town but were forced to taxi out, for €12. Not a huge amount of money but irritating all the same; no Nitelinks midweek do not a happy cheapskate make. Anyway obviously money was spent on drinks and, on Tuesday evening, on burgers in the lovely – if completely empty – Gourmet Burger Kitchen in Temple Bar. The cajun chicken pieces have been better though, I have to say.

Yesterday I took a trip to Tesco to get things for lunch – and those “things” ended up costing in or around €60. How is it that I can never do an economical supermarket shop? I did stock up on Alpen cinnamon granola which is terribly difficult to find ordinarily, as well as some beer that E now owes me money for, so the expense isn’t terribly surprising.

This evening I’ll be making a trip to Penneys on behalf of my sister, who loves to sport the cheap goods in foreign countries where nobody knows how cheap they are. I’m very tempted to buy myself a face mask (€1 and my skin needs it!), so I’ll have to see how I fare. If I succeed in avoiding buying anything else, I may just reward myself with one.

The real test, of course, begins tomorrow, as I jet off avec la famille (or almost all of it) to Bologna for le weekend. I will report on shopping progress on Monday.