There comes a time in your life where you sit back and think "what the hell am I doing with my life". When you are travelling, you often think this a lot. What you are doing, where you are going, where you have been and what you have achieved. It's when you're most skint that you think about these things. There are a couple of reasons I have no money - 1) I'm really crap at saving and much better at spending & 2) I'm currently working on a website which won't pay me for a month. Obviously I have outgoings - rent, food, travel and the odd phonecall to my client. It's easy maths - when you spend and don't earn, you'll run out of money very quickly. "Why don't you get a proper job?" I can hear my dad shouting in the back of my head. According to my father, a 'proper' job would be working down t' pit or a night shift making car door handles in a factory. He's got a point - at least I would be earning a regular income. But who wants to be regular?

I walked 10km yesterday to sell 1 DVD of some pictures I had taken at various school discos. 10km and 1.5hrs later, I arrived in Puerto Banus to pick up the 15Euros I was selling it for. Maybe I need the exercise, I don't know, but there was something about the walk that made me realise that life can be hard sometimes. Most people I know wouldn't walk 10km in the dark just to pick up the equivalent of £8. It wasn't just the walk that was hard - the fact that I haven't eaten properly for at least 3 weeks.

I'm actually thinking ahead more now. I have 11Euros to my name. That's it. What can I buy for that? Not a lot. As cheap as Spain can be, it's actually expensive in Marbella compared to other parts of the country. I try not to spend money because I don't actually know where the next cent is coming from (well, that's a bit of a lie cos I know i'll be quite well off in a month's time!)

To be honest, it's a bit of a learning curve for me this whole broke thing. I've experienced it before at uni - but not to this extent. I remember one year in uni where I was working in the bar at the student union but the money from that went towards rent. I survived on mini cheddars and coca cola for a while until I got myself sorted!

I'm sitting here now, typing this with stomach cramps. I have a choice of potato, rice or pasta. Nothing to go with it - just plain. It tastes like shit but when you're hungry - you gotta eat shit! I know there are people in the world that don't even have the choice - some don't even have food. It does make you think.

Anyway - for those of you that might find yourself in this position, below is a chad's guide to what you can do with a limited amount of food in your cupboard. (I've included some of the food that my flatmate owns - he's as skint as I am at the minute!)

Potatoes - There is almost an infinite amount of things you can do with potatoes! Beware though - some of them will result in a heart attack if you eat too much! I've had mashed, boiled, chips, crisps, soup (not so good, but goes well with bread), baked, grated (this does actually work when fried and put in a sandwich with ketchup or something similar), raw (ok, we ran out of gas and couldn't cook - it won't kill you though) and many other varieties.

Pasta - Doesn't taste so good on it's own, but you can mix it with ketchup! I also have a bad habit of eating it raw as well. I'm not too sure of the medical problems this can cause.A particular favourite of mine is a pasta sandwich with BBQ sauce!

Rice - Another filler! It tastes boring, but just add your favourite sauce to liven it up. I always go for the Worcestershire Sauce - the peoples choice! If you have any mayonnaise, this'll perk it up as well.

Soup - always a winner with bread. I've discovered that shit soup tastes the same even if you really water it down - I mean you can make one sachet last for at least 5 cups!

Bread - well, it's an easy one. Toast, sandwich, fried bread balls. I've also discovered that the spanish bread lasts for an eternity. I bought a loaf two weeks ago and it still tastes the same and hasn't turned green yet!

Other stuff - If you shop around, you can find some really cheap crap in Lidl (or aldi). It's probably not even healthy but it's edible! The jar of mixed veg and a tin of fruit cocktail are being saved for a special occasion! All of the 'English food' you can see in the pic was obtained when I had more money!

Even when you run completely out of food, you will find that vast amounts of water can fill you up! I'm not too certain about the water in marbella after reading that the local water reserves were down to about 10%! I still drink it though - no signs of the runs yet.

Well, there you have it. I'll let you know if I starve to death (which is pretty unlikely considering my fat reserves). I'll also add some more creative recipes when I come across them.

I recently read an article in a magazine about a world explorer who had to eat his own dog in order to survive. Unfortunately, I don't have a dog, but I do have my flatmate. I wonder if he'll notice if I sedate him and take some choice cuts of 'Nick' whilst he's sleeping? Hmmm, maybe a nice bit of grilled thigh topped with some BBQ sauce and a side serving of mashed spuds. I'll let you know...