I have 20 dollars left and there are exactly 15 days left until the end of the month, so I could spend something like 1.33 and I wouldn't have any problems making it to September.

Of course I should also stop telling my mom: Mom, let's eat something. Or take care of myself and try not to go visit her on Sundays. Not answer my dad's calls so he doesn't have to get to the point of saying: I'm embarrassed to ask you for money at this age. Your son should already know how to find it on his own.

I should also avoid any gatherings. Especially family ones, where later you hear behind your back that someone said: this guy eats everything and doesn't even bring a soda. Of course, no one can get angry when what is said about you is true.

So I try to put together a strategy. I should choose two or three things that can't be missing from the pot (a pack of eggs, a box of broth, a packet of rice, a kilo of onions, two kilos of potatoes and I'll leave it there because I'm lazy). I should also create something so that my head doesn't torture itself with images of food just at that moment when I don't have a penny.

Another strategy could be to lovingly bribe a friend so that one night he tells me, come over to eat at home. Or tell my sister: give me some vegetables, don't be mean. Or tell Bautista that I'm sick or that I'm working double shifts.

But when it comes to love, I wouldn't be able to invent anything at all. I couldn't tell the girl I like that she won't starve with me. The only thing I could do is encourage her not to waste time with me and to find another guy before it's too late.

Ultimately, it's about getting by. In making a thousand excuses not to go over that 1.33 that my always austere, always so precarious economy allows me to spend.
Ultimately, it's about getting to the next month. And in September, we already know.