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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
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Sam Barker

'I spent the day as James Bond on a budget - and became 007 for just £100.70'

Being James Bond can get expensive - from smashing up pricey sports cars in high-speed chases to betting millions of pounds in Casino Royale.

But one savvy saver has worked out how to be Bond on a budget - of just £100.70.

To tie in with the release of the latest Bond film, No Time To Die , Mark Teale has laid out how to spend a day like the super spy, but with super-thrifty budgeting.

"As somebody who prides himself on getting good value, watching 007 once again slap down his credit card (whether at a hotel, casino or swanky cocktail bar) without a second thought gets my head spinning," Teale said.

No Bond film is complete without a dinner jacket - but Teale turned his back on Savile Row tailors and went to Burton instead.

A full dinner jacket cost just £55 from the menswear retailer - the biggest overall expense.

What do you think of Teale's poundstretching? Let us know in the comments below

Sadly the £100 budget couldn't stretch to renting a supercar, but it will let you get the next-best thing - the London Underground.

Mark Teale strutting his stuff as Bond on a budget (Dan Jones Images)

"When it comes to finding the right transport to hit up the capital, a £280,000 Aston Martin was out of the question - yet the bus is just too slow for Bond," Teale said ."So it had to be the Tube - it’s quick, it’s slick and it’s underground. Just like me."

He then headed to a favourite spot for Bond's clandestine meetings - the National Gallery, in Trafalgar Square.

The gallery features in the 2012 Bond film Skyfall, where Bond meets his quartermaster, Q, to get gadgets for a mission.

Sadly, Teale said the only tech he could afford was a Plusnet simcard on a £6-a-month contract, which he used to get to the riverside headquarters of Bond's employers - MI6.

Omega watches are a Bond staple - but not on a £100 budget they're not (Dan Jones Images)

He went part of the way using a river taxi, the Thames Clipper - which cost £7.30, but "felt like a good value way to be a little more Bond".

After a £3 sandwich Teale headed to get Bond's signature drink - a martini, shaken not stirred.

However, the barman in a local All Bar One looked "unimpressed" when Teale placed an order, apparently.

Still, with happy hour cocktails priced at two for £14, it was a thrifty way to drink like 007.

Teale took to the streets as a cut-price spy for the day (Dan Jones Images)
He even got a martini - shaken, not stirred (Dan Jones Images)

No day as Bond would be complete without a chance to gamble.

"Luckily I had come prepared with a £3 scratchcard - while it may not have been Casino Royale, I certainly felt my luck was in," Teale told The Mirror.

Many Bond films feature scenes in a top-end restaurant, and Teale was determined to keep up appearances.

So he headed to a local brasserie with 1930s Art Deco decor, which had a suitable vibe - and where two courses and a glass of wine cost £15.45.

"Counting up the bills at the end of the day I thought to myself I’ve not just saved the world, I’ve saved my bank balance too," Teale said.

Nick Silverwood of Plusnet, who bankrolled Teale for the day, said: “While we can’t all be James Bond, Mark has proven by doing your research and shopping around we can get exactly what we want for far less than expected."

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