So after a good few weeks talking about technological things, I want to have a think about how being a cheapskate and a geek works in the off-line, non-electronic world. Saving money isn’t just about buying cheap tech goodies.

My favourite pastime is eating out. I cannot explain how much I enjoy eating out, from a greasy spoon café to Michelin starred restaurants I love having someone else to cook for me. I am not a gastro-snob I just love food and I am too lazy to cook. I have recently discovered the joys of coupons and vouchers that you can print out to get cheap restaurant deals, the best website to find them (if you live in the UK) is http://www.monesavingexpert.com – check it out to find discount dining utopia.

A lot of my time off-line is been spent trying to get rid of my fat gut (see the above paragraph). This has mostly involved physical exercise, not having taken the plunge and bought a Wii just yet this means getting out of the house. I saw a great post on another excellent blog that I read every day (it’s name rhymes with wife-cracker) about a couch-to-5k running plan. The plan was re-posted from the excellent http://www.coolrunning.com and it has really gotten me motivated to try and get fit, I really recommend it. Running is a great, cheap way of getting fit. So far my 3 month running career has cost me £25 for some running shoes (from a shop that was closing down, loving the credit crunch action, sometimes) – bargain!

I love the way that nowadays the online and offline worlds seems to mix quite seamlessly. A great website I have found is http://www.icanlendyouthat.com – on this site you get to create a list of books, DVDs and music you would like to share and then let your friends know about the list. Here’s the twist, the site only works if you use your real friendship network, you have to call people to borrow a DVD and if you want it back you have to contact them outside if the site. Icanlendyouthat is nothing more than a really nice, easy way of being a good friend and saving people splashing out their hard-earned cash on products you already own, aren’t going to look at and probably won’t miss.

I hope you enjoy my three sites suggestions, have you got any cool sites that help you save more, or do geeky things for less?

Related posts:

1. The Cheapskate Geek – 14 April 09
2. The Cheapskate Geek
3. The Cheapskate Geek – Hacking The Wii
4. The Cheapskate Geek – Hacking Playstation 2
5. Top 3 Hacks for the Xbox – Cheapskate Geek.