55.0 Warning! Stop Wasting Food! We Can End Hunger.

How To Save Money! It was another big deal I had on our journeys. Though I mentioned as "I" in here, it was a common issue for most of us.  When we were leaving our country, we decided not to exchange all the money we have. We plan to exchange the rest of the money whenever we need it. We thought that it would be a good practice in financial management. So, we allocated a certain amount for shopping and food expenses. As per the discussions we had before, we strictly decided not to go beyond the allocated thresholds. Therefore, as per our ground rules, I exchanged some portion of the rupee amount into the dollars.

Once we reached there, I planned to exchange the rest of the dollars according to my needs. However, I kept some amount in rupees as well. I wanted to keep some rupee amount. Lol... On the very first day, everybody was very keen on their expenses. All of us had good discipline. So, we thought twice before having a meal as well. Always we did not forget to compare it with our Rupee value by converting the price of everything.

However, I could say that our currency conversion job did not have a long life. We thought that we would go back to our country to buy goods as per our desired money value. So, from the second day onwards, we started to eat things we loved, and buy whatever we wanted. Once we went to one shopping complex, we could not think about what to buy. According to the availability of varieties, it was not easy to make a decision. So, we decided to visit a few shopping complexes to check the goods with prices and identify our needs. We identified our needs after that analysis. Lol...

However, before we went there, one of our friends contacted us to check our status. He lived in that country. So, he asked us to visit an area before buying goods from those Shopping Malls. That place was like "Pettah" in Sri Lanka. As per his advice, we all decided to go there first on the next day. Once we went there, we got to know that there are also many varieties of goods. There were lots of shops.

The prices were almost the same as the goods in those shopping complexes. The main advantage was there were "Sales.. !" And they agreed in price negotiations. So, it was an ideal place for us. Lol... As we now had an idea about the availability of the goods in the shopping complexes, we decided to buy some goods from these shops, and complete the shopping the next day by visiting shopping complexes.

Therefore, went to a few shops and analyzed the price. We could observe that there were some small price gaps in the shops here. Sometimes we have seen that they communicated different prices for us and other customers. As we visited many shops, as usual, we could identify some shops that have quality goods. But we did not agree with the price they told. We bargained up to the maximum. Lol... 

So, when we were working on our bargaining and buying process, one shop owner asked about our country. As that bargaining power was a shame to our country, I told the name of another country. Sorry... <Country>... Somehow, we could cover most of our shopping needs via that shopping area thanking them.

Sometimes, we could not identify the shops we already visited as we covered lots of shops for a very short time. Therefore, some of my cousins look like their regular customers. The other thing is they revisited the shop even after identifying it as a visited one. That was a major issue for others, as all of us had to wait for each one. Huh... It was a pain that kills the shopping thrill. Sometimes, we got angry with them. Still, they had many things to visit and buy. It was an exceptional case. I think we did not bring shame to our motherland as we hid its name. Instead of that, we told them that "we are from <country>". Sorry... Sorry... If you are living in that country, you will kill me. I know.

In one instance, I could not identify the sales girl in a shop. There were a few customers, and I asked the price of shoes from a lady and she was not a salesgirl. So, she got angry with me and said: “asked someone”. Her face got reddish and it was a big shame for her. As it happened to many customers, including me in our country, I did not think that it was a big issue. I also did not feel shame when it happened to me. However, I quickly left the shop. Lol... There were nice phone cases that I could not buy.

Finally, I bought many items from that place, and a reasonable portion of money gone away. So, I exchanged my remaining dollars and thought to do the next round of shopping in the shopping complexes. When we were moving there, we got to know that most of us have spent money. It was our last day of the journey, and the next day was our departure day. So, we decided to buy small things from here, and keep another portion to buy something from our Sri Lanka duty-free. God's Plan For Your Money! 

As there was much stuff that we could not afford, all of us felt sad. We watched and came with our weeping hearts. As we could not manage our expenses on the other days, we had to do window shopping in that complex. So, we could not buy at least 50% of the stuff we planned, before going to that shopping area.

One of our cousin sisters blamed our government, pointing out the low value of our currency. It made all of us laugh, though her argument was the correct one. She released her pressure in that way. I think it would be a relief for her. At least she had a valid reason to leave that Shopping Mall without a few bags. Lol...

On the last day, most of them were fed up because of that matter. Therefore, only me and one of my cousins wanted to visit a bird park. So, we went there, and others did not come. Even though we wanted to take professional photographs with birds, money did not allow us. Our poor financial management did not allow us. If we had a proper plan, we could cover all without any worry. So, we did not eat an extra thing except a drink, even though we wanted to eat something. When the others were enjoying the birds' visit with snacks, we had a soft drink.

During my entire lifetime, it was the day, that I could not eat anything when I wanted to eat something. Lol... So, we wished everybody in the world get rid of starving. I remembered the faces of some beggars who met in our country. Their unhealthy and tired look gave me another tension at that moment, and at that time, I could truly feel the value of food.  

Therefore, Don't Waste Food. Adhere with Zero Waste Lifestyle. When you are worrying about your meal, many people cannot afford that meal even. All of us should respect food. We should donate to others who cannot afford food. If you can fill that poverty gap on a small scale, it also would be a merit to you all. Therefore, do not let anybody you know to starve, friends. Please help them!

Sometimes, a beggar will ask for money to eat something, and you will feel that he/she is lying. Sometimes, it will be a lie. I know. But, please don't ignore that request. It is an investment for your ego. It was a great lesson I learned.

 

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