Low cost beauty tips
October 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment
As recession and job insecurity start to hit many households, paying lots of money for beauty products becomes lower priority as many households struggle to pay core bills.
However, help is at hand. Compromising on price of products does not mean that we nolonger look after ourselves and our bodies….her are a few tips to save money on some beauty treatments clearing the funds for those indispensible beauty products.
Water….the cheap way of achieving glowing skin
Dehydration leads to dry and flaky skin. We’ve all heard how we should aim to drink 8 glasses of water per day….not only does it help our concentration but it will also give you a glowing complexion.
Milk….good enough for Cleopatra…great for our skin too
If you have too much milk left in the fridge and you want a treat before it goes sour, add a cup full of milk to you bath for a natural moisturising treat.
Give natural moisture back to your hair
Hot water strips your hair of moisture. Not for the feint hearted in the winter months, but great for shiny locks…..use luke warm water to wash your hair then finish with a cold rinse to seal the hair’s cuticles and keep in the hair’s natural moisture.
Lemon aid for stained nails and fingers
If you have used a lemon for cooking, take the skin and rub it over your finger nails and finger tips. It will remove any unsightly stains and leave your nails and fingers cleaner and brighter.
Blasting hot and cold?
Taking the time to do blasts of alternating hot and cold water in the shower doeas wonders to boost blood and lymph circulation and is even claimed to ward off cellulite. It doesn’t matter whether you start or finish on a hot or cold blast…its the alternating that dilates blood and lymph vessels and get everything moving.
Saving Money on Food Bills (Part 4)
October 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Planning ahead saves money on food bills
The old-fashioned approach to speading the cost of food over several meals is an art that has been lost or not handed down in many households. As the credit crunch and recession start to bite, however, saving money on food bills has become an essential skill in many households so that money for food can be allocated to rising fuel costs and other household bills.
A key skill in thriftiness is the planning of meals and the food bought to cater for them so that there is less wastage.
Going on the principle that food is generally cheaper if bought in bulk, buying that large joint of meat to cook for Sunday (as our parents may have done) then using the leftovers in sandwiches, and at least one other main meal can make significant savings. Boiling bones from the meat will also make a tasy stock for soup (providing the base for an additional meal). Often, when looking along the shelves in the supermarket it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a large joint of meat is not affordable….but when you do the mental maths calculating how many meals it will contribute to, you will often find that it will save money on your food bill.
Spend on quality items when it matters … the family rejecting inferior items will not save money on your food bills
There are many items for which it is easier to substitute cheap / own brand products without compromising on quality or flavour. Items like breakfast cereals, tinned baked beans, tomato ketchup, tinned sweetcorn and tinned tomatoes etc are not proportionally better for paying twice as much for them.
In my own kitchen there are certain ingredients I prefer not to compromise on….quality olive oil, balsamic vinegar etc can add a high quality flavour to cheaper ingedients so that the family do not notice the difference. However, cheap ice cream and cheap ham are often rejected by the family leading to food wastage and no savings on food bills as a result. Try items one by one with your family and reject the items they don’t like whilst adopting the ones that they do.
Grow your own food to save money on food bills
If you are blessed with a garden or at least room for some pots in a yard or on a balcony, beans and tomatoes etc are quite easy to grow. With larger plots of land more serious fruit and vegetable growing will become much more appealing to save money on food bills.
Likewise, those luxuries like fresh herbs that cost so much in the supermarkets are cheap and easy to grow at home. Fresh herbs can add that special flavour to cheaper ingredients that leave you feeling you have not compromised taste for price whilst saving money on food bills.
Extra Income Strategies - Getting Paid to Shop
October 26, 2008 | 1 Comment
Getting paid to shop? How do I become a personal shopper?
Many women enjoy shopping…so for those looking for an extra income from home, personal shopping is an innovative way to get paid to shop.
Surprisingly, despite the credit crunch, there has never been higher demand for personal shoppers for people of all levels of income. In the busy lifestyle of both adults in the household working, time for shopping is in short supply. Alternatively, those who are housebound or simply don’t like shopping can also be valuable clients. All these people may enlist the services of a personal shopper to find gifts, furniture, clothing and groceries. Getting paid to shop for these types of people can be quite easy as they are not inclined to shp even though they need to.
How do I set myself up as a personal shopper?
Firstly, you need to identify where your shopping talents lie. Do you have a particular flair for fashion? Seek out business people that do not have time to shop or people who want to change their image but do not know how to do so. A good personal shopper can be worth their weight in gold to these people.
Are you good at identifying colours and style that suit someone else? Set yourself up in interior design resourcing. This can be a lucrative area for getting paid to shop if you have talent in this area.
Are you good at seeking out bargains in the supermarkets? Helping working or housebound people to seek out value items and catering to specific food tastes can be a valuable skill in personal shopping.
The elderly often can’t get out to shop. Visiting to establish their shopping needs, buying them and delivering in a friendly and supportive way will be hugely helpful and also give social contact too.
Alternatively, approaching companies to source Christmas gifts for employees can be a lucrative (if seasonal) area in personal shopping.
What skills does a personal shopper require?
- Great people skills. You must be able to listen well to your clients, assess their need acurately, build a trusting relationship and get them wanting to come back for more personal shopping from YOU.
- Creativity. Coming up with origional ideas for clothing and gifts will have your customers coming back and begging for more.
- Research skills. Getting the best deals for a specific item will save your client money and have them coming back for more.
- Knowledge of current styles and trends. Some of your clients are wanting to keep abreast of trends.
- Flexibility. You may need to adjust your schedule quickly to respond to an urgent request.
Where do I advertise as a personal shopper?
Your client group will determine where you advertise.
- The elderly and housebound may be approached through day centers, independant living centers, support groups etc.
- Businesses may need to be approached direct.
- Local newspapers.
- Fashion or house and home magazines .
- Craigslist and local online message boards.
How much will I get paid to shop?
It is usual for personal shoppers to charge commission (a percentage of tyhe total spend) plus a flat basic fee per order. You may want to include a mileage payment and / or telephone costs as you research and access the goods being purchased. the norm is a 10 - 20 % commission and a basic fee of $10 - $15 is a good starting point depending on your client group and their likely financial resources. Instead of a % comission, a flat hourly rate is another option depending on what you are buying.
Is personal shopping the job for me?
Personal shopping is a great way for stay at home moms who want extra income and to work from home because you can take your kids with you. Alternatively, you can always go out for a couple of hours in the evening when your partner gets home from work or a babysitter is available.
If you enjoy shopping and want to indulge in guilt-free shopping (especially during the credit crunch) then getting paid to shop is a worthwhile option that you can tailor to your personal situation.
Saving Money on your Food Bill (Part 3)
October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
This post we will start to examine some of the kitchen management techniques that can make your food go further, save money on your food bills and save time on food preparation whilst not compromising on quality and healthiness of food at all.
Effective use of the freezer will help you to save money on food bills
Making effective use of your home freezer is a great way to save money on your food bills and save time too!
- Buy meat or fish in large quantities then divide it into portions for the family to get a cheaper price for bulk buying and a store of fresh meat / fish to see you through the month.
- Buying larger amounts of meat / fish / other ingredients means that you can cook twice the amount at a cheaper rate then freeze a portion for the family to use on another day saving money and time on food preparation as well.
- When you visit the supermarket later in the day, a good capacity freezer enables you to buy up as much of the reduced price produce as you can afford and fit in meaning savings for throughout the month.
- When what you have cooked just a little too much for the household, freeze a portion for the kids or an adult (for when a quick meal is needed) instead of piling up plates and being left with wasted food. This will give a convenient fall back meal when there is not enough time to cook and save money on food bills for those convenience meals from the freezer that can cost so much,
- If it looks like the household may not get through all the bread / cake / crumpets etc that are out of the freezer before they go stale, pop some in the freezer and this will save money on food bills for some carbohydrates and staple foods.
- Making large pans of fresh home made soup can be a great way to save money on food bills as it can be frozen in smaller individual or family portion sized containers and used later. Not only is it tastier and more nutritionally beneficial than packaged and processed soups, but, it costs a fraction of the price.
Credit Crunch Helpdesk will be pleased to hear YOUR suggestions on how money can be saved on food bills by using the freezer effectively.
Saving Money on your Food Bill (Part 2)
October 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment
With a bit of effort, time and pre-planning it is possible to shave up to 30% off your weekly food bill and still eat healthily and well. Here are some more tips for frugal shopping that will save money on food bills:
The cheapest time to shop
Supermarkets will receive deliveries each day. However, a major delivery is often on a Monday. As a result, shopping about an hour before closing time on any day of the week (but particularly on a Sunday) will mean that the reduced shelf will be well stocked.
Check packets of meat for any discolouration suggesting they may not be as fresh. Don’t buy meats that have a grey / greenish tinge to them as they may upset your stomach. With ready meals, check the seal on the packet is in tact. If it is, then make sure the selaphane lid is not blown at all (as this will indicate that bacteria is already breeding in the packet). If lids are level or slightly indented, these will be cheaper food items that will freeze well. It is recommended that you fast freeze them on the day of purchase and use them within a month if bought close to the sell by date and checked as described above.
Bulk purchasing of staple items saves money
This trick can be a bit more challenging if you have limited cupboard or storage capacity. However, if challenged for space a friend may be interested in sharing the cost of a bulk purchase. Ideal items are:
- potatoes (by the sack from a farm shop)
- rice in catering sized bags
- pasta in catering sized bags
- washing powder
- olive oil
- herbs and spices (those little jars in the supermarket only last 5 minutes)
Catering sized packs can usually be bought with at least 30% discount from your nearest cash and carry. If you do not have a business and do not know anyone who can take you on their business card to the cash and carry, it is worth setting up a cooperative of friends who buy bulk items and then sell them within the group. If you produce a letter head and a cooperative bank account’s details, then the group can invest money into the central kitty, buy bulk stock from the cash and carry and share it out fairly.
Cooking from scratch rather than buying ready cooked saves money
Ready meals are exorbitant and probably only make sense if you are cooking for one or two and using these for convenience occasionally. Cooking can be a creative joy if you give time to learning how. Cooking from scratch is essential to save money on food bills for a family.
Home cooking is also healthier and fresher as well as saving up to 50% on the cost of the same meal. Easy adjustments to make:
- use a breadmaker to cut costs of loaves of bread…it’s fresh, tastier and cheaper than a lot of packaged bread too.
- If you can’t bear the thought of cooking everything from scratch, ready sauces then adding fresh meat and vegetables will save money on your food bill.
- Making your own pizza dough then using passata, herbs and lots of fresh topping makes a delicious healthy meal at a fraction of the cost of bought pizza’s and the whole family can enjoy designing their own pizza….quite a fun family event is our household!
Buying exact quantities saves money on food bills
Pre-packed meat, fish, vegetagbles and fruit are rarely in the exact amount needed to feed your household. There are inevitably too many or too few pork chops in one pack, or a tray of minced beef makes just too much bolognaise (so everyone eats too much so as not to waste it or it gets wasted left on the plate).
This is where getting to know your butcher and fishmonger means you can buy the exact amount needed for the family or a specific recipie saving money. Likewise, buying loose fruit and vegetables means counting how much will be needed between shops then not being left with limp broccolli or appleas that have gone soft.
Saving money on food bills in this way is also kinder to the environment as food thrown away creates methane as it degrades and this affects global warming. Likewise, less packaging reduces our carbon footprint as well.
Should courts give bankers ASBOS in the light of their role in the credit crunch?
October 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Bankers, huge bonuses and reckless behaviour are at the root of the credit crunch
Harry Fletcher , the Deputy General Secretary of NAPO ( the union for probation officers), has argued that an appropriate response to the reckless behaviour by bankers whose behaviour triggered the credit crunch would be to give them an Anti Social Behaviour Order (ASBO).
On what basis would ASBOS be given to bankers responsible for triggering the credit crunch?
As Mr Fletcher argues, “The Probation Service deals with over 240,000 offenders every year who have behaved recklessly and caused damage and harm to innocent victims. The behaviour of dealers and traders is exactly the same: some of them have caused alarm and distress and have behaved in a reckless way.”
Admittedly the hunt for those whose behaviour triggered the credit crunch has already started in the United States. The collapse of Lehman, for instance, (amongst others) has created a natural justice of the reckless decision makers losing their livelihoods….but what about all those innocent company members, now redundant, further down the company structure?
In the U.K. Sir Fred Goodwin is stepping down as chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, following the announcement that the company was raising £20bn of new funds through the proposed Government scheme to rescue the financial system. This seems the honourable and right thing to do…nonetheless he will still get a very generous pension (a galling fact for those whose pensions have been severely eroded by the credit crunch.
So what next in the hunt for those responsible for the credit crunch?
It is essential that lessons are learned from this global financial crisis. In many ways, seeking those responsible for the credit crunch is going to be similar to hunting for a needle in a haystack. But, there must have been key players that allowed the reins on the financial institutions to be slackened. There must have been people who decided that these so called “fat cat” bonuses were the way to go to make companies’ empires grow. Then there were the people who, in their greed, made the reckless decisions that earned them the huge bonuses that secured their family’s financial futures yet left the financial futures of millions of households in jeopardy.
Harry Fletcher has a point. the behaviour of all of these people is such that they could reasonably assume that others would get hurt. Even if nobody in their wildest nightmares could have anticipated the financial meltdown that we have experienced, that is still no defence. Culpability means that these people should not be allowed to work in that particular field again nor hold that level of responsibility. Payment of compensation to the taxpayer who has bailed out banks thoughout the world would be appropriate too.
However, I suspect that only a few scapegoats will be identified and many of the culprits will retire on their magnificant pensions whilst the rest of the world struggles to sort out their personal financial mess that these people have contributed to.
Plan Ahead to Save Money on Food Bills - Part One
October 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Frugal food shopping is a rapidly returning art as we all start to feel the pinch of recession. However, whilst our parents may have been well versed in this art, there are many who are not because they have never needed to be whilst cheap and plentiful food was available alongside cheap credit if the cash was not available for that week’s needs.
Top Tips for Saving Money on Shopping
- Plan your shopping list for the week ahead. Only buy the items that you need to deliver this menu. This will save money on those impulse buys that bump up your food bill and are not really necessities.
- Get to know your local butcher and fishmonger. Seeking advice on preparation methods and recipies will build a relationship that may mean a few extras get thrown into your parcel as well.
- If you have room to freeze meat or fish this can be a great way of saving money due to discount for larger quantities.
- A slow cooker can be a great investment if you are planning to buy the cheaper cuts of meat to save money. These cuts typically need long, slow cooking to make them tender and bring out the flavours.
- If it is possible to get to your supermarket in the early evening, you will find a lot of bargains on display. The store will need space for the next day’s delivery so they will mark down the price on a lot of food so as to clear the old stock. Trial and error will be needed with your local store to see what time the best bargains are put out….but the payoff is significant savings on all sorts of produce - much of which you will be able to freeze or use up within the next couple of days.
More money saving tips on shopping will follow soon….
Saving Money on Shopping
October 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Rising prices of food and the financial squeeze of higher fuel prices and increased interest rates the credit crunch are making the challenge of feeding the family on a budget increasingly challenging. None of us want to increase debt or reduce savings any more than we have to when dealing with the day to day costs of running a home …..so where do we start with meeting this challenge?
Top Tips to Save Money on Shopping
- Don’t take the kids with you when doing the daily shop. Chances are they will slip all sorts that you don’t need into the shopping basket or pester you to add unnecessary items costing you more.
- Once you have decided what you can afford for that week’s food etc, remove your debit and credit cards from your wallet and take the cash with you instead. It will keep you focussed as you walk around and you can’t spend money you don’t have with you. It is also a good way to raise awareness of how much you are spending each week.
- If the store you use has a loyalty card system, make use of it. many of these schemes give you cash back for groceries…giving you a chance to save up vouchers for Christmas or other special occasions.
- Evaluate buy one get one free deals. Will you consume all of the items before they expire or go off? The life of some fresh products can be extended by using correct storage in your fridge or Stayfresh Longer Bags. If you can get through all of the items in the deal without wastage, they can be good value for money.
- Supermarkets place the most profitable items at eye level to encourage quick sale due to convenience. Train yourself to find the item you need then look down to lower shelves and find the cheaper alternatives. Often these are just as good at a fraction of the price.
- Supermarket own brands are often just as good as the famous brand names. Items like baked beans, sweetcorn, tins of tomatoes etc are not discernably better if you buy a well known brand….sometimes the own brand item is even nicer! Try one or two own brand items per week on your family and see if they can tell the difference.
Please post your own observations on ways to save money on shopping and share them with our readers.
Saving Money on Subscriptions
October 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Ramit Sethi in his post explaining the “A la Carte method of saving money” claims that we often overspend on services that we subscribe to as, after an initial blaze of enthusiasm, usage often tapers off. At this stage it is possible to save money by paying for these services a la carte (or as we use them).
Why are subscriptions so popular?
Subscribing to a service such as cell phone, the gym, cable television, book clubs etc is often a lazy way of ensuring that, as the subscription fee whizzes out of the bank account each month, these services we enjoy using are available throughout the month so there are no worries about using them when money becomes in short supply at the end of the month. Why else would the favourite day for standing orders and direct debits be the first day of the month?
Have you thought about how subscriptions will be saving businesses money too? Think about it. They set the price of your monthly fee knowing what average use is made of the service they provide.They have reliable regular income coming in and save money on posting an invoice to you, paying clerical staff to open mail, process the payment received and chase up money owed. There is usually a 28 day cancelletion period as a minimum. It is so easy to miss that deadline …. so the business ends up entitled to extra payments from you and you are out of pocket for a service that you no longer want. Trust me…subscription systems are set up entirely to benefit the service provider whilst, on the surface, being offered as a special deal and favour to you, the customer.
How can I check the value for money that I am getting from subscriptions?
Ramit Sethi recommends cancelling all subscriptions then keeping a careful log of exactly what you have spent on each service on a pay as you go/a la carte basis.
This may be a bit extreme for some of us. You will already intuitively know which subscriptions you are not using as much as you thought you would. These are the ones to start saving money on.
A good way to start is, if your memory is good, to look back on the last month and list:
1) How many films you watched on your dvd rental scheme (by the time you posted them back and forth).
2) How many visits to the gym you made after you felt under the weather on a couple of days and the boss had you working all the hours available on some major project.
3) How many minutes of call time did you use out of that cell phone contract? If you get free calls to family would you do better on a lower contract?
If you cannot remember, make a list over the coming month. Once you have this information, find out the unit cost of each service you use if you were paying per item. Compare this with your subscription rate and, if your usage for the month being looked at was typical, you have your answer as to whether you should go a la carte or subscribe to that service.
Other ways to save money on subscriptions
1) Do you need your subscription to be at its current level or could you save money on a cheaper level? Do you, infact only watch 2 dvds per week instead of the expected 3 - 5? Could you get away with pay as you go and free family numbers instead of a contract on your cell phone?
2) A few months ago I was looking to save money on all household bills and rang around suppliers to get cheaper deals. When I contacted my suppliers and said I was considering changing, I got 20% off cable television and 33% off my cell phone contract if I stayed with my current suppliers. All businesses are eager to avoid losing custom as a result of the credit crunch and recession. Now is the time when, as a customer, you have more negotiating power. If you do your homework you can often negotiate significant savings on subscriptions and household bills….which can only help household finances.
Budgeting to Save Money on Household Bills
October 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment
What is budgeting?
Budgeting is simply the art of keeping track of all of your household expenses and making sure that enough money is set aside to cover each of the costs incurred during the time period that you are budgeting for (usually a month or a year or a specific project). If, after looking at necessary expenditure, your income is insufficient, you have three choices:
- draw the shortfall from savings;
- raise extra funds to cover the additional costs; or
- save money on existing costs so as to raise the money needed for other items of expenditure.
So which method is best?
There is no right or wrong answer to this question.
- Drawing money from savings to meet growing household bills is the short-term solution that many are making during the financial pressures of the credit crunch. However, it is only short term as eventually savings will run out and then what options are left to you?
- Selling unneeded household items will also only provide a short-term solution as above. What happens when all that remains in the house is needed and there is still a shortfall in the budget for household bills?
- Gaining extra income from additional employment may be an option for some….if opportunities are available during a time of recession when jobs may be harder to come by. However, additional costs incurred to do that job need to be taken into account: commuting costs, childcare costs, time costs for resting and re-charging if over working….
- Undoubtably all of us should be looking at ways of saving money on household bills. This approach is simply good old fashioned thriftiness…looked down on by many during the times of easy and cheap credit as the short term solution to household budget shortfalls. Now, as we experience the financial pinch of a lack of easy credit, high interest rates and negative equity on real estate, thriftiness is going to be coming back into fashion with a vengeance. Most of us can make significant savings on a wide range of household bills.
- Clearly during these times of financial crisis and lack of cheap credit, mortgages, taxes and community charges are not going to be easily negotiated downwards.
- Choosing to have less of the luxuries of life can release a lot of money to re-direct to essential bills.
- In the coming weeks Credit Crunch Helpdesk will be looking in depth at how money can be saved on the full range of household bills. Undoubtably as many companies start to feel the pinch of the looming recession there will be a lot of good deals out there to be had as they try to keep your custom. This gives you stronger bargaining power instead of having to tolerate rising prices.
“So what household bills could I save money on?”
Please feel free to comment on the areas of household spending that you need most help with and we will aim to bring you the best advice to reduce these costs.