First it was Northern Rock, then HBOS and XL, closely followed by Lehman Brothers and more recently Bradford and Bingley.  Ring any bells?  They are all victims of the latest credit crunch which is set to crush everything that comes in its way…

Life at the moment seems depressing, with high food and fuel prices, the rising cost of energy, difficulty to buy (and maintain) houses, and businesses going bust left, right and centre.

Now is the time for us to revert to type and start being true Desis, after all, we are nothing if not frugal.  So to beat this crisis, I thought I would devise a guide to help us Desis save our well earned money.

Here are my top tips to on how to be stingy:

1. Food

With high food prices, it’s best to bulk buy, preferably from an Asian shop (come on, there’s no shame in carrying a bumper pack of loo roll over your shoulder).  This will also be a good time to go on that diet you’ve been promising yourself.  Cutting back on the samosas and curries will save money and also keep you healthy.

2. Travel

Save yourself a few quid on petrol by blagging a lift off your mates.  Tell them your mum has taken the car. Car share wherever possible.  As proper Desis, piling into the back seat with overweight auntie is the only way to travel in style.

3. Bills

You don’t really need the central heating on if you wear your jumpers and scarves in the house.  You can also use the old-skool blankets which your parents have been holding on to since the seventies ‘just in case’.  Be romantic and have your daal in the candlelight instead.

4. Activities and Entertainment

Save your money by quitting the gym.  You can workout in the comfort of your own home by using the huge sunflower oil drums or Elephant atta bags as weights.  Entertain yourselves at home instead.  A good old game of kabaddi will be fun, or you can watch those golden oldies on VHS tape instead of going to the cinema (you know you have some stashed in your cupboards!).  Stop meeting your friends for dinner.  Eat at home; and to save money on cooking for everyone, ask them to bring a dish each.

5. Holidays

There is no need to spend hundreds of pounds on expensive holidays abroad. Go and visit your auntie in Birmingham for a few days.  Buy a one day off-peak travel card and visit the sites of London on an open top tour bus.  As London is a multicultural city, it will feel like you are in a different country; but remember to take a packed lunch of subji sandwiches and a flask of tea as eating out in London is expensive.

Hopefully these tips have bought out your desiness and got you thinking about the amount of money you could be saving by compromising on life’s little luxuries.

Now sit back and watch that bank balance rise.

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