Sri-conomics

A rupee saved is a penny earned.

I'm no dummy when it comes to finances, but I usually find myself in the 'do as I say, not as I do' camp of cash flow politics.  As anyone who has ever accompanied me out to a nice dinner or the dive-iest of bars will tell you, I normally approach recreational spending with a reckless abandon normally reserved for sultans and rich Persian kids.  Have you ever seen me shoot down an extra order of mozz sticks?  No, no you haven't.  Which is what makes my recent fiscal policy switch so intriguing.  You see kids, I've become a 'frugal traveler.'  I'm price comparing my food options.  I even spent half an hour today debating internally whether or not I should save ten bucks by going with a non a/c room on my upcoming overnight trip down the shore.  And you know what I did?

I asked for the non a/c room so I can save ten bucks.

By now you're thinking, "WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO ERIC?!"  I appreciate you rushing in to my rescue, and justified use of caps lock aside you should have no fear.  I'm still just as sane as I ever was (citation needed).  Part of my new-found frugality comes from having quit my job before exiling myself from Gotham, and although I did receive a handsome parting gift, as the golden parachute snaps shut behind me I have effectively reduced my prospective earnings to zero for the foreseeable future.

Even more influential than fixed-budget living though has been the economics of the environment around me.  In my first few days here, I felt like a kid in a candy store - for 150 Sri Lankan rupees I could get three vegetable rotti, a bottle of water and a dessert crepe to boot.  That's about $1.50 US.  For 250 rupees I could get a Sprite and an order of rice and curry bigger than your head. That's about $2.50.  But the more time I spend here, the more perspective I get as to how the purchasing power of a native Sri Lankan compares to any given tourist, and its a pretty sobering comparison. 

A few days ago, I had a really interesting conversation with the night watchmen who makes sure no one will come steal my precious iPhone while I sleep, wherein I found out that he makes about 400 rupees a day at this job.  That's just under $4, and he works from 6pm until 6am every day. 7 days a week.  And from what I can tell, he actually has a pretty good set up.  He said he cannot afford to buy meat for his family because at any market, 1 kg of fish is about 350 or 400 rupees.  1 kg of pork? Try 500.  And if you're thinking about having people over for the big cricket match and putting out a shrimp cocktail?  Prawns are 1200 rupees per kilo.  Considering cricket matches can last for like a month and a half, you're gonna need a lot of prawns. 

Afterwards I started to look at my lunch options a bit differently.  My standard midtown Chop't salad and strawberry lemonade combo I was getting all summer ran me about $13 bucks after all was said and done.  That's 3 1/2 days work for the night watchman.  For a goddamn salad.  I'm sure I would probably approach life with a different tack if I knew that at the end of each day I was only going to get paid two tacos per night for my efforts.       

Now I'm no preacher and I certainly ain't no saint, so I'm not advocating giving away all of my worldly possessions and finding enlightenment on the road.  I like my extra order of mozz sticks.  I like getting that extra bottle of red wine just in case we're going to drink it after our cocktails.  But as someone who just quit his job to pursue a half-baked dream of working in human rights advocacy, it's time to realize that just because I like those things doesn't mean I need them every day.  If jumping down the rabbit hole means a couple less a/c rooms here and there and a few less vegetable rotti along the way, then I'll count myself lucky for even having this opportunity in the first place and make sure I save enough to get myself safely to the other side.

And hell, Chop't is overrated anyways.