“I tried low-spend weekends for a month and saved ₹3,500”
A little planning and boatloads of self-control
In a job interview, you expect to feel intimidated by the interviewer, the job description, and questions, but rarely by the prospect of moving to a new city. When I interviewed for my current role, my bosses made it very clear, “Mumbai is an expensive and lonely city. Are you sure you’ll be able to adjust and handle it?” I confidently replied, “I’ll be okay—I love my own company.” Little did I know, I was about to land on my face.
Turns out, they were right. Once I moved to Mumbai, reality hit hard. I had no friends, no relatives to lean on, and no one to take care of me. Being away from home made me crave a sense of belonging, a tribe, and a way to find comfort in this chaotic city. To escape the loneliness and get to know the city like the back of my hand, I started saying ‘yes’ to all plans, despite being an introvert.
Within months it was evident that exploring this sapnon ki nagri was eating into my savings faster than I could spell systematic investment planning, especially over weekends. I had to get serious about saving money and cutting back on excess expenditure if I ever wanted to go on my dream vacation to Germany. At the same time, I didn’t want to lose out on meeting new people and making more friends.
As a challenge, I decided to try low-spend weekends—exploring and socialising without racking up a bill that would make my mom threaten me to come back home to Meerut. As a single woman who lives as a paying guest, I spend the most over the weekends on lavish meals with friends, cab rides, and expensive activities like bowling that could cost me around ₹2,000. Before the challenge, my monthly expenses added up to approx ₹5,000- 6,000. My goal with low-spend weekends was to discover activities that kept my expenses minimal without compromising on having fun. While doing this, I spent money only on local transport like autos and local trains, making every rupee count.
Four low-spend weekends taught me how to have fun without emptying my bank account
Weekend one
In search of community
The first weekend didn’t start off smoothly. After browsing events online for two days, I finally found one that piqued my interest, but it came with a ₹500 spot reservation fee. It seemed like a good opportunity to meet new people, so I signed up and resolved to keep my Google Pay under lock for the rest of the weekend.
Come Saturday morning, I started the day by cooking myself a hearty breakfast and lunch. Before leaving from home, I brewed some green tea and carried it in a flask. The event was a human library, a gathering where people act as open books and share their experiences. It’s a great way to meet new people and get a different perspective on life. I spent two hours chatting with the small group of five, finding common ground, and sharing stories of my solo travel mishaps—all without judgment. I had always believed making new friends as an adult was as hard as solving an algebra equation, but this evening proved otherwise. Being open is all it takes to form new friendships. Post-event, I returned home and stayed in for the rest of the evening.
Friends in free places
The next day, a friend who is a poet was performing at a mushayra and had managed to get me free entry. The event was scheduled for the night, so I cooked a simple one-pot daliya meal for dinner. I spent the evening immersed in beautiful shayari, soaking in the heartfelt verses.
All in all, my first low-spend weekend was a hit.
Verdict: Being open to meeting new people and attending public events is not my strongest suit, but stepping out of my comfort zone, I found that the most fun is often had during the least expected moments.
Weekend two
Looking beyond pop culture
For the second round of my low-spend weekend, I decided to stay home, eat good food and watch Schitt’s Creek. But my colleague stepped in with an interesting plan— Godrej Design Lab’s Conscious Collective exhibition. I readily jumped at the offer, not just because the event didn’t require tickets, but walking through an exhibit on sustainable design was more interesting than rewatching the same show for the fifth time.
There was a possibility we would end up having dinner outside, but I decided to pull out all my self-control arsenal for this one. I prepared extra food at lunch and decided to save the leftovers for dinner. I also carried a protein bar as an evening snack before stepping out. After we were done with the exhibit, as predicted, we headed to dinner. While my friends ordered food and drinks, I was still full from my snack so I settled for one glass of Coca Cola. Once I was back home, I ate my tawa pulao and raita in peace and switched the lights off on my second successful no-spend weekend.
Verdict: Hit your calorie count at home and carry something to eat to avoid spending on munchies outside.
Weekend three
Footloose and free
By the third weekend, I sort of fell into the habit of avoiding unnecessary spending outside. Not just on the weekend, I avoided giving in to chatar-patar cravings during the week too. This weekend I was due to catch up with a longtime friend. Instead of heading to a cafe, we decided to get in our steps and headed to Ranwar village in Bandra, a neighbourhood lined with old Portuguese-style houses that are an architectural marvel, and decked to the nines for Christmas. We spent the evening doing our own version of 2024 Wrapped, where we looked back on the best moments from the year, and created grand plans for 2025, ending our tea-spilling with one small scoop of ice cream from Naturals. Sasta, sundar, tikau.
Verdict: Catch up with friends who share similar interests and explore lesser-known, walkable areas in your city. You’ll find your bank balance getting a new lease on life.
Weekend four
Off to the beach
When the last weekend of 2024 arrived, I wasn’t anxious to look at my bank account because I had barely spent any money during the weekends. This time, I decided to spend the day by myself. I was far from achieving my reading goals for the year and I needed to finish the book I had started. Instead of sitting at home or going for a cup of coffee, I made green tea, poured it into a flask, took my mat and headed down to the beach near my house. I read non-stop till sunset, listened to the crashing waves and finished off my peaceful Saturday with a warm bowl of pasta at home.
New connections come through
I had a full-circle moment on the last day of my low-spend weekend experiment. A friend I made at the human library event at the beginning of the month had free tickets to a movie, Mufasa, The Lion King thanks to his credit card points. He knew about my challenge and invited me to join him on Sunday afternoon. I skipped the popcorn and soft drink, instead I relied on my protein bar and my own water bottle.
Verdict: It’s tempting to spend money on a delectable plate of pancakes worth ₹700 and sip coffee in a café. However, the most relaxing experience can often be found in your own company while sipping green tea.
Taking on low-spend weekends felt like trying to eat just one Uncle Chip at a time—impossible. But with a bit of planning, some creativity and a lot of willpower, I managed to bring down my weekend expenditure to ₹1,500, saving ₹3,500 through the month. Turns out, saving money isn’t as boring as it sounds, it’s just another form of adulting with a side of adventure. I’m going to continue with this experiment and try to save as much as possible every month. There will be days when I give in and inhale a greasy pizza from Domino’s, or treat myself to an expensive latte but I’ll make sure I balance it out with cutting costs elsewhere.
As told to Shivani Pathak
