If your into music, photography and video, I mean seriously ill into it and need to store 160,000 digital photos or 8,325 hours of MP3 music or 500 hours of video, then you need one of these. And this one is the cheapest I've seen, just £44 down from £55. It's moronically simple to operate.
Check it out here:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/140807
Anyone who read my book, or heard me on Radio 5 Live's credit crunch special (hello mum), will know that my big money-saving tip is to get a hobby.
Not only do you save money by not dragging your inner zombie around shopping centres to buy imported goods you don't need, but you build important real-life social networks, vital if you're job hunting, and, heavens, you might even have fun.
Still not convinced?
Check out findmyhobby.com - it's an American directory of hobby sites worth a look. It will throw up gems such as the site for radio controlled planes addicts, or one for pets' right enthusiasts.
Still not interested?
OK, get a credit card, go shopping. Discuss zombies. What do I care?
Related
How playing the guitar can save you money
Now for some pictures of zombies shopping...
Had enough of last place on the grid in the rat race of life? Then check this out. The Vodafone Foundation is looking for eight people to 'give something back to society' by working abroad for a UK-based charity for a year. Salary and expenses could be up to £45,000.
You need to offer passion, drive and commitment so just being fed up with your current lot is not a suitable qualification but it's being billed as a once in a lifetime opportunity.
To apply (by 30 July) and find out more visit...
Vodafone Foundation World of Difference
See videos about the project on YouTube
A message from Lewis Hamilton...
Odd isn't it, that before technology took over our lives we had a whole lot less paperwork to worrry about? Time was you kept it until needed then burned it.
Now we have to destroy all evidence that we have bank accounts, buy stuff, use the phone or the cash machine but fire is an unacceptable means to destruction. No, we have to turn each sheet into 4mm strips of pet cage padding. We have to shred.
For those in the know, there's a double irony here in the form of Fred The Shred, the now multi-millionaire pensioner who oversaw the shredding of RBS.
But the rest of us can't just walk away from our responsibilities. We have to buy a machine capable of turning everything to do with our bank into rubbish.
And here's one that's looking like a decent deal.
The Fellowes Cross Cut P-48C shredder is on offer at Ryman for £32.99 (was £39.99) + delivery.
It's big and it's robust. Rather like RBS before it made the biggest loss in our banking history.
You can read some glowing reviews on Amazon (£40) with free delivery. But the advantage of Ryman is you can pick it up in store for the same discounted price.* You just need to carry it. It's a bit of a beast.
Related
>> Worried about ID theft? Check your status now - free trial
>> Read more articles like this in the book
(*And the Ryman website isn't working.)
Is it just me or are environmentally friendly but ultimately pointless gift items merely the real world equivalent of that stuff physicists dream of: anti matter?
What exactly is the green benefit in making something no one wants whatever it's made of?
OK, maybe it is just me, but bowls made of old vinyl records is a kind of sacrilege in my world. Especially when you can make them yourself in the grill. Recipe: take old record, heat up, wrap round bowl to form shape. Blah. Why not just play them as they were intended?
That said, there are some interesting items available on the revamped Big Green Switch site. Check out:
http://www.biggreenswitch.co.uk/
and visit the shop, where many items are now discounted or available for bulk buying.
Related
Ever fancied yourself as the next Noel Gallagher or, I don't know, world's best band The Toy Dolls, the man who saved country, Waylon Jennings, or one of the more interesting pop acts, Katy Perry, here's something worth checking out.
Take it away is an Arts Council initiative designed to help more people get involved in learning and playing music. The scheme allows individuals to apply for a loan of up to £2,000 for the purchase of any kind of musical instrument, and pay it back in nine monthly instalments, completely interest free.
Find out more about Take it away
The scheme is open to everyone (over the age of 18), but primarily designed to help those who might otherwise be unable to afford an instrument appropriate for their needs.
Its aims are:
• to encourage children and young people to develop their interests and skills in music making
• to inspire new players of all ages to begin learning an instrument
• to enable those on lower incomes to acquire an instrument appropriate to their needs (or the needs of their children)
Noel Gallagher talks about Take it away
Related
Alternatively you may want to try...
Cheapo credit cards (Is there such a thing? Not really. Only for those who can clear the balance, please)
The evolution of 21st century children goes something like this.
Teletubbies > Chuckle Brothers > Tracy Beaker > Club Penguin
If yours have reached stage four and are part of the global Arctic phenomenon - a gaming world populated by Disney's penguins - then now may be the time to learn some of the secret helpful tips (cheats) to show you're not completely out of touch. In turn, you could help your children's penguins earn coins to buy virtual rubbish for their cartoon igloos.
Ok, it's not a great way to learn about money. In fact, it's probably how our bankers learned about money. But you can't ignore progress.
Here's one site worth checking out.
Related
Disney missing out on $350m Club Penguin payout
Stock market cheats: Behind the scenes with the rogue traders
As the allotment season gets into full swing for another year (yep, I'm one of them - in my 10th year) attention turns to growing stuff that would cost lots to buy in the market but can be grown yourself really cheaply.
One crop that never ceases to amaze just how much they get away with charging for is watercress, so permit me to introduce my great find of last year: land cress. It's like its watery equivalent, with a healthy, strong, peppery taste, but you grow it in soil whether in the garden, the plot or a window box. And it can last all winter if you're lucky.
It's £1.50 for 1,000 seeds at Wilkinson's
or
Related
Archive: Has decking had its day?
If you don't have a will and you die your children could end up in care. Get one before it's too late...
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/wills
Related
'Few people get rich quickly, but almost anyone can get rich slowly by patiently following some simple rules.'
Spending a spending-free lunchtime reading this popular blog from an 'average guy' could be a useful diversion. Check out...
http://getrichslowly.org/blog/
Related
I was chatting to an economist the other day about my theories on saving money. Most so-called money saving websites are all about spending money on stuff you don't need, which is why the global economy is in such a mess. He told me to check out the book, Millionaire Next Door. The author has met some of America's people with fat bank accounts and found that anyone can get rich if they don't follow the herd and live frugally. 'They don't look like millionaires'. You can spend your lunchtime reading the 280-odd reviews (link below) if you don't want to buy it. Or read this account from the New York Times. Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley How to survive the credit crunch
If last night's Comic Relief showed us anything at all about the British pscyhe it's that judging the talents of James Corden based on his hosting of the Brits is so wrong. He is funny after all. Seriously funny.
It also reminded me that I had a Nationwide Comic Relief credit card until they withdrew it last year. That's not so funny.
Related
Nationwide brings in overseas charges
Where have Nationwide's good savings rates gone?
How safe and strong is Nationwide?
I wonder? Is it now time to launch a campaign to have the word 'expert' scrubbed from the dictionary? Or if that's not possible, then at least from the internet. It maybe a rather churlish notion given that we have a popular and useful Ask an expert service on This is Money. But wasn't it 'experts' in banks who destroyed the world as we knew it?
Yes, according to Tony Shearer, former chief of finance house Singer and Friedlander, which ended up with bust Iceland bank Kaupthing Edge. The mess was caused by: 'Bad banks, run by bad people, badly.' Hardly an endorsement for financial experts, I feel.
Listen here (about 15mins in):
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/fivelive/money/money_20090225-0636a.mp3
But surely the best resume of the mood of the nation is from Sir Alan Sugar. If you do nothing else over the weekend, read this:
>> The so-called experts know double naff-all
And don't forget to donate to his charities once you've read and learned the lesson. It could be the least costly advice you'll ever get.
One of the bits of research that cropped up writing this here book was that the cheapest and tastiest way to save money on drink was to keep a bottle of tap water in the fridge. It is, all things considered, free.
But the trouble is, a growing body of evidence suggest that the plastic used in some bottles could be harmful. So it is reassuring to see that alternatives are around that are not only plastic-free but are reasonably priced and, most importance of all if you expect your children to be seen using it at school in front of people, quite cool.
Check out the latest special offers from One Green Bottle, which has a range on offer for £6-odd plus postage.
http://www.onegreenbottle.com/Special_Offers
Related
Designer water? We'd rather take tap
The way the internet has evolved I am surprised that some entrepreneurial soul doesn't buy a copy of the Big Issue every week, scan it and put it online so the world can read it for nothing.
But they haven't. And there is hope for civilisation after all.
For the unaware, the Big Issue is a great little magazine sold by fine people for a worthy cause. Find out more.
But if, like me, your interest in it had waned, it is time to take another look. It's having a good run of form. And everybody in the country should buy this week's.
It is a mental health special. Fifty thousand children in Britain are having to look after their sick parents. On in four of us suffer from mental illness - stuff like that. But it's likely to get worse if the economic pressures mount and the 0% interest credit card deals start to expire.
But the particular reason for mentioning here it is a two-page cartoon by Matthew Johnstone that everyone in the country should read. In 14 frames is the story of how to recognise mental illness, how to react and how to get better. If people bothered to understand things we'd never be in the financial mess we are. Equally there is no reason for everyone to suffer because of ignorance. We all know people who are ill. Read this and you can help.
You can buy the book from which the cartoon is drawn for £7.99, but the Big Issue is just £1.50 or round it up to £2 if you're feeling generous.
Related
Should we clear our credit card debts?
One of the pitiful side effects of 25 years of debt-fuelled greed is that we now have a 'forgotten generation'. By forgotten I mean a swathe of population that has forgotten some of the basic, important things in life. Forgotten to talk - to neighbours and friends face to face; to walk - it takes but 20mins to cover a mile on foot; to manage our money - sorry but 0% credit cards as a way of managing money is an appalling idea; and to cook.
The latter is perhaps the most astonishing. Because ready meals are largely putrid overpriced gloop made without love in a factory and because cooking is so mesmerizingly easy. Almost as easy as taking a 0% credit card and falling behind with the payments.
After all, an apple pie is but flour, butter, sugar and three apples. And bread is flour and water for heaven's sake. OK, with a sprinkle of yeast and salt into the mix. But come on!
In today's Metro there's and excellent guide to making your own bread from a new book by Daniel Stephens of River Cottage. And it goes like this...
Basic loaf
Set oven to 260°C.
The formula is 100% flour (1kg) to 60% warm water (600ml), 2% fine salt (20g) and 1% dried yeast (10g).
Mix together. Get lots of air in - knead for 10min. Then shape dough into a round (see main copy).
Rest in mixing bowl in a bin liner.
Leave to ferment, rise until doubled in size (45min to 90min).
Then deflate on your workspace by pressing with fingertips.
Form into another round. If you like, leave to rise again, up to four times.
Finally, divide the dough into two or three, shape again.
Rest for 15min, until almost double in size.
Make two slashes on top of each with a serrated knife. Spray them with water.
Put in oven.
Place a baking tray of hot water at the bottom for steam.
After the first 10min, drop to 200°C-180°C.
Bake until loaves are browned and crusty, and hollow to tap.
Makes two to three
Tips
'The slower a loaf is made, the better it is'
'Don't sieve the flour'
'Try Shipton Mill Organic White flour £1.30 or similar from Doves Farm'
'Don't knead by folding but stretch and pull it far out along the table surface with one hand, bring it back in and turn the ball'
'After kneading shape into a ball, prod with fingers to flatten, pick up the edges, turning inwards, flip over and scoop it from underneath, turn, scoop and turn'
'Spray with a lot of water for an amazing crust'
Related
DIY behemoth B&Q has one million rolls of loft insulation on sale from today for £1 each.
1m sounds like a lot, but the chain has a lot of stores (323) and there are a lot of people who like a bargain out there (about 50 million) so be quick before someone with a really big, really drafty house gets there first.
In fact, it's top-up loft insulation and is sold in packs of three for £3. And according to B&Q an average house needs 21 rolls of the stuff in this offer to insulate the loft properly.
It's not available online but you can see what it is here.
Also this weekend B&Q has this shed - let's call it a Valentine's Shed - on offer for £65.
Related
> Insulate yourself against the credit crunch for less than a fiver: buy my book
Richard Browning
As I continue the publicity tour for my How to Survive the Credit Crunch book I am more often than not asked to recount the bit entitled: 'Make the cheapest meal in the world for 10p.' It is an amusing, I'm told, account of tomatoes on toast. Home grown of course. Or as Brian Flynn from Radio Clare FM said yesterday: 'Two slices of bread and two tomatoes? We call that a four-course meal.'
But as the snow continues to fall here in the increasingly isolated state of Surrey and bread deliveries are not getting through, maybe it's time to look for an alternative and cheap meal. I give you soup. No bread.
You can make soup out of anything. An Italian friend of mine makes a delicious iceberg lettuce concoction. The base ingredients are always the same. Fry chopped onion, maybe add a medium potato or two for consistency, add anything else you fancy, gently cook it for a bit, add water (how much is up to you) and a stock cube or two and simmer for 10 to 20 minutes. Then zap. Done - for but a few 10s of pence each for a family.
But if, like here this week, there are no potatoes left in the shops, we need to get a bit more adventurous. Here is a recipe for sweet potato soup from the Soup Nazi. It's either delicioius or revolting depending on which of the reviews you choose to believe.
Or if none of this is of any interest, at least watch this short sketch, 'Soup Nazi' - or as I like to see it: what would happen if Seinfeld came to Britain.
Related
The US President Barack Obama gets up at 6.45am, works out, has breakfast, reads the papers, helps his daughters get ready for school before heading downstairs on his now 30-second commute to work.
Writer P G Wodehouse (pictured) on the other hand, got up at 7.30am, did some regular exercises, had a breakfast of toast, cake and tea - then smoked his pipe with tobacco assembled from crumbled cigars.
What do you do?
If you're looking for inspiration into how you may want to adjust your daily routine as you strive for success, then check out this fascinating blog: Daily Routines.
http://dailyroutines.typepad.com/
Related
There's really not a lot of point me writing about this fabulous free legal music player with a massive catalogue of tunes from most artists I can imagine because it has all already been said here:
Free music on the internet - Spotify
and here
Suffice to say, if this is the future of online music then it's looking, so far, pretty healthy.
Create your account here - and you won't have to wait for an invitation.
Here are some of the people I have been listening to...
Whenever I write about opticians, and in particular my contention that a branch of medicine has transmogrified into a slickly marketed branch of the fashion business, many of the resulting comments make interesting reading but often cannot be published. Anonymous hate mail is not something we want to encourage.
When online newcomer Glasses Direct burst on to the scene with the absurd proposition that you could buy prescription glasses without trying them on, it set out about showing how much profit its High Street rivals were making from a pair of specs. Easier when you have no High Street overheads, maybe, but anything that shakes up the market ought to be a good thing for the consumer.
From where I sit, the High Street chains now have a problem as they vie for custom in what feels like a market increasingly resembling the economic nirvana of perfect competition.
Check out their latest offers for instance:
Specsavers has a buy one get one free
Vision Express has a buy one get one free
Boots has buy one get one free
Related
On Sunday evening I took part in a Radio 5 Live special debate on the credit crunch - in my role as author of How to Survive the Credit Crunch: 101 top tips to beat the crisis. As part of a panel of three guests, including recruitment consultant Jenny Ungless of Monster.co.uk and Bev Budsworth managing director of thedebtadvisor.co.uk I was alongside a couple of consummate professionals in the fields of helping people find work and coping with large debts. The show was hosted by Andy Verity, whose daily Wake Up To Money show, at 5.30am, is probably the best business/money show on air.
For the opening gambit he asked us each for our one top tip. I was representing the money savers and I announced that my biggest money-saving tip of all is to get a money-saving hobby. The poor bloke nearly fell off his chair. "How can playing the guitar save you money?" So let me explain properly.
For the past 30-odd years I have been playing the guitar for an average of about 5 hours a week. That's five hours of not going out and spending money. If each hour of practice is worth say £1. That's £7,800 over three decades. Not much in the scheme of things. But I estimate that as you get older the savings become much more than that.
If you spend a Saturday or an entire weekend with your hobby rather than going out spending haphazardly on stuff you don't really need because that's what you do, or popping off to Prague because the flights seem so cheap, the savings really start to add up into the thousands - a year.
On top of that, if you join a club and share your passion with other likeminded people you not only build lifetime friendships but you're building a social network that you may be able to rely on to help find a new job, as well as trusted tradespeople who while may not work for 'mates rates', won't rip you off or leave you without central heating over Christmas. Jenny backed up the point about using networking to find a job with the staggering statistic that 75% of jobs are not advertised; you can only find out about them through who you know.
Then there are the fringe mental health benefits of having an all-engrossing passion that you can turn to when you're feeling down. You can't put a price on that.
And let's not forget that if you become any good at your hobby you can start to earn money teaching either privately or at an adult education college. A couple of £20 lessons a week and there's an income of more than £1,000 a year to add to the coffers.
You don't have to have any artistic streak. You can do anything just so long as you do something. If you really can't decide, check out your local adult education college for courses or your council for a list of clubs. If you're still bemused, head over to your local library, where, if all else fails, you may be able to borrow a jigsaw - some of the bigger ones offer such items as part of the package. The time it takes to complete just one 5,000-piece puzzle could save you a small fortune if you're otherwise addicted to shopping.
Related
My book is currently on special offer at the This is Money bookshop for £6 inc P+P.
We knew it was coming but now it has started to happen. Yep, the end of the lighbulb is nigh. And if you believe the critics, our homes are about to be lit up like a branch of Bejam (pictured above).
But all is not lost. Firstly, some of the new-generation bulbs emit a nice warm glow similar to the ones we've lived with and loved for so long. Two, it is claimed by the Energy Saving Trust that each new-style bulb you install can cut £9 a year from your electricity bill. And three, if you do want to stockpile oldy-worldy 100w bayonets, then you don't have to drive half way across the country only to find the store has sold out. You can buy boxes of them online from 48p a bulb + delivery.
Related
If you want to drive a car you need to have lessons and pass a test before you can take to the roads unaccompanied. Basic common sense dictates stuff like that. In fact, if you want to learn anything it's always advisable to take a lesson or two first. One of the fundamentals of civilisation should be our ability and willingness to learn and improve on the human condition.
So why then, when we spend most of our lives at a computer screen, do so few of us bother to learn how the damn things work? And why do even fewer learn how to type properly? Some kind of grand philanthropic gesture to keep the IT support guys in eternal employment maybe?
But when time is money, and we're all writing our own emails, learning to touch type should be at the top of the list of basic education. And it's pretty simple. Like hitting a few buttons, one might say. A child could do it. And they can - and so can you - thanks to the BBC.
Have a go at this - but turn the volume down if you're at work, not least because the 'comic' voices grate after a while.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/
Related
A nice little gimmick this month from Flybe is the offer of free redundancy insurance for trips booked with the airline until the 31 January.
The good news is that the policy covers...
Airfare (excluding taxes and charges)
Booking and card fees
Baggage fee
Seat assignment
Pre-paid car hire
Pre-paid hotels and parking
- up to £3,000 per booking
Less good news is that it doesn't cover
People over 65
Government taxes and airport charges, which can often be more than the flights
The self-employed
Anyone with less than two years service with an employer
And the small print
If you did need to claim you'd need to supply, among other things: 'A letter from Your employer to You confirming You have been made Redundant and that You are entitled to a Payment.' Asking for such a letter may not be at the top of your priorities if you were to lose your job.
And you'll also have to prove that you 'had no reason to believe that You would be made Redundant'. Not easy in the current climate.
And finally...
This shouldn't be confused with the travel insurance policy that Flybe automatically adds to you booking (unless you uncheck the tick-box).
But let's not overlook a freebie. Besides, if you can find decently priced flights, Southampton airport is worth a try in my opinion.
Related
Research your own travel insurance
Back in 2006 at the height of frenzied and clearly unsustainable activity in the housing and lending markets, I wrote a joke piece - by way of antidote - about a fictional new financial product, the edible mortgage. Well, it made me laugh.
Now in 2009, the shift in the nation's attitude to money and life has been seismic and we're turning back to more traditional pursuits such as growing our own food rather buying it on 0% credit cards.
Which leads nicely to Edible Playgrounds - a project aimed at encouraging schools to set aside space for fruit and vegetable gardens and the home of a blog by Dominic Murphy, author of The Playground Potting Shed: A Foolproof Guide to Gardening with Children.
Check out ...
Related ...
If you've forgotten to send a Christmas card to someone, it's not too late. Just upload your photo to the Crisis homeless choir and off you go. It's free.
Then maybe make a donation.
Related
If you're thinking of donating to charity this Christmas or, even better, throughout the year and ever after, then you should check out the Charities Aid Foundation.
You can search for most of the country's charities, including schools and clubs with charity status, and make an immediate donation. Or you can set up an account to make donations throughout the year. Either way, if you are a taxpayer, the relevant deductions are automatic so the charities benefit to the full.
>> CAF Online
Just when you thought Christmas in Discount Britain, circa 2008 recession, couldn't get any more bizarre than every company offering 20%-offs, P&O Ferries, the ferry company that operates ferries for a living, has upped the ante with the launch of its Reindeer Training School. It's good to see marketing departments haven't lost sight of the important elements of keeping business afloat.
Speaking of which, if working for yourself is either how you operate now or is looking like a distinct possibility in the near future here is a great site for creating your own business cards and more. No more hanging around those printing machines at train stations for the internet generation. On Moo.com you can create lively calling cards with a different photo on each one if you so wish. And starter packs of 50 come in at £10.99. Just remember if you want your image and your business to succeed - be sensible. Leave the wacky stuff for the, um, experts.
Check it out, watch the video, at Moo.com
Related
I've been writing about saving money for This is Money since 2000. Credit card debt is a powerful motivator for saving money and I had plenty of that after leaving college. Luckily I'd cleared it just before the last recession took hold in the early 1990s - but it means I know a thing or two about the subject.
In 2004, I wrote 50 ways to save money, an article that has since been used as a benchmark for money-saving lists copied by scores, maybe hundreds, of feckless and lazy online 'writers'.
This guy simply nicked it. He's not the only one. One marketing agency took it, twiddled it around a bit then sold it on as their own work. That, sadly, is the nature of the internet and I must take it as a compliment and moan about it in a whithering manner - not unlike I am doing here - from time to time. But come on morons! Surely half the fun of writing is creating your own work.
Anyway, this morning at 6.50am when most of London was still in bed I bought a copy of the latest Big Issue from one hell-of-a-dedicated salesman. We had a chat and I went into this warm office. He's probably still out there trying to shift a few more mags for a decent dinner.
I'd urge anyone this week to buy a copy of the Big Issue. Not just because we all get a bit guilty at Christmas and feel the urge to do our annual bit for other people, well yes that's part of it but also because finally there is a list of ways to save money that is downright original. To find out more, buy a copy of the Big Issue why don't you. It's only £2.
Richard Browning
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