Monday, July 12, 2010

80 - The Frugal Files: Part 1 - Watering Hole

People who know me know that I drink an insane amount of water. We're talking 4-6 liters (120-180 ozs) a day. Really.

It costs 5,000 won (about $4.50) to have a 25 liter bottle of water delivered directly to my apartment, which is rather cheap, but it's a hassle and I always feel so bad for the poor guy lugging those barrels of water up the stairs.

So rather than shell out cash and hassle the poor delivery man, I haul my own collection of water bottles down to our local watering hole, which is about about 500 steps from my front door. It's a round fountain with 8 spouts that hosts a varied crew of water-seekers: the old men and women filling carts and jugs for their families, shop keepers and taxi drivers taking a water break, college students topping up bottles and throwing them onto the back of their motorbikes, and children grabbing a drink on their way to school. I join them and become part of this cross-section of society, bound together by our mutual need for water. How privileged we are to have such an abundant supply-- clean, fresh and free for the taking.

Savings: about $40 a month and some poor delivery guy's back.

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