On Sunday we woke up to very dull skies, and so headed over to the Columbia Road flower market in the East End. What an easy and cheap way to lift the spirits, wandering around admiring all the beautiful bright flowers! And is there an easier or more frugal way to cheer yourself up and rid yourself of the winter blues than taking home a bunch of lovely flowers for your mantlepiece? I think not.

What’s your favourite way to cheer yourself up on the cheap?

(photo: Hoxtonboy)

Please excuse the lack of posts this week; my sister and cousin are in London visiting me from Sydney at the moment, before heading off to France next week, so I have been a sightseeing fool for the last few days.

They have both spent a lot of time here before, so we’ve not been doing the huge tourist things. Instead I’ve been giving them the insider’s look at London; taking them to all my favourite places, restaurants and bars, and it has reminded me how much there is to do in this city that costs absolutely nothing.

Both sister and cousin are university students, so their budget isn’t huge, but we’ve still done a lot this week. I always think you see the most of the city you live in when you have people come to visit and you have to show them around; while you’re showing it off to its best advantage, you see the beauty in it that you start to take for granted without realising it.

A lot of people expect London to be a hugely expensive place to visit, but once you’ve got yourself an Oyster card, you can spend whole days wondering through museums, art galleries, markets, park, etc, without spending anything, if you really want.

So next time you are hanging for a holiday but can’t spare the cash, just be a tourist in your own city and see everything through new eyes. All you need is some comfy shoes.

My personal favourite free London spots:

• Victoria and Albert museum
• Spitalfields Markets, Spitalfields
• Borough Market
• Columbia Road Flower market
• Portabello road
• Greenwich
• South Bank

What’s yours?

If you have received your January credit card statement already, you may have been in for a nasty shock. I certainly was.

Capital One was kind enough to send me notice that the interest rate on my card was being hiked from 16.9% to 24.9%. An 8% jump! Wowsers.

Luckily I never carry a balance on my credit cards, so I was able to simply vote with my feet and close the account.

Turns out that credit card interest rates in the UK have jumped to a nearly five year high average of 16.2% this month.  Of course the banks are in a bit of a pickle at the moment, trying to squeeze as much money out of their customers as possible, and credit cards are an easy way to do this. As the interest rates on credit cards are variable, they can easily raise them and get a bit of extra cash. And raising the interest rates for people like me who don’t carry a balance is an easy way to get rid of non-profitable customers.

And there are many people out there being stung with interest rate rises this month not be in the position to just close their account. If you carry a balance on your card you might wrongly believe you are trapped there until you clear the debt. But you’re not!

The best way around the problem is to transfer the balance of your card to a new provider, on a zero interest introductory offer. These cards allow you to pay down your balance for a certain number of months without charging you any interest – meaning you pay off your debts as cheaply as possible.

Most PF blog readers will be a dab hand at this practice, but for those that aren’t, here are my 5 top tips for getting the best deal:

Shop around – there are so many zero interest offers available it pays off to shop around to get the best possible deal. Simply type ‘zero interest balance transfer cards’ into Google and get searching.

The best deals won’t be available to everyone – some are exclusive to existing customers, and some are only for borrowers with a good credit rating, so make sure you apply carefully so as not to leave a rash of declined applications on your credit report.

Check the real lender – although there are hundreds of different credit card brands in the UK, there are only 12 actual card issuers, and they won’t allow you to transfer a balance between two of their credit cards, so make sure you apply for a card that is issued by a different lender.

Don’t take no for an answer (at first) – If you are declined when applying for a new card, ring up customer services and ask to speak to someone about your application. Speaking to a real person can help overcome the reason you were declined, such as incorrect information on your application; or if you were only just refused, you could end up being accepted just by taking the time to give a call – the person on the other end of the line wants to make a sale, after all.

Consider lifetime balance transfer cards – If you aren’t able to repay your balance in full by the end of the zero interest period, rather than switching again (which can be time consuming and not great for your credit rating), consider a lifetime balance transfer card, which offers a low ongoing interest rate so you can clear your debt cheaply.

Feel like you’re sick of all the things in your closet but don’t want to break the bank getting some new duds? You better get swishing, then.

On Sunday Feb 21, 2010, www.swishing.org is holding a Shopaholics Swishing event at Juno (134-135 Shoreditch High Street, London).

See the full info here; Basically you turn up with 5 clean new or gently worn clothes, shoes, accessories, etc, and swap them with a bunch of other gals who have turned with their unwanted stuff.

When you arrive your items will be taken and sorted into categories while you enjoy a cheeky glass of something at the bar, then have a look round, try some stuff on and get swapping. Tickets are £5 and must be bought in advance (and soon – these events sell out pretty  quick), but that’s pretty cheap considering the unwanted gems you will go home with.

I went to one of these events a while ago and the things you find there are very good quality; it’s like hitting up your favourite thrift store for free.

These events are a great, cheap, and environmentally friendly way to revamp your wardrobe. And if you can’t make it to Shoreditch, you could always host your own swishing event with your girlfriends. Tell everyone to bring a bunch of clothes/shoes and a bottle of wine, and you’ve got yourself a fun and cheap way to spend an evening.

There are also upcoming Swishing events around the UK – check the website for details.

(As always this post is 100% not sponsored! Photo: www.swishing.org)

While browsing themoneysavingexpert.com this morning I noticed that Martin Lewis readers have access to an exclusive 2 week free trial for British Military Fitness; and I thought I’d let y’all know about it (just in case you were still struggling to kick off your 2010 fitness goals!) Everyone is eligible for one free class, and if you click through the link here, you will also get a 2 week free trial, as long as you follow the instructions on the page – so read carefully.

So if you fancy getting your ass kicked by some hardcore ex-Army training instructors for free before deciding whether you sign up, there’s no strings attached, as long as you take the free class by this Sunday (31^st January), and the two week trial finishes by 14 February. So be quick!

The classes are held in parks across London and the UK. I have a few friends who rave about these classes (and are seriously addicted – complete with buns of steel as a result); I’ve been thinking about giving it a go, so maybe I will see you there.

** For all I know Martin Lewis is making money from sending people through his site to a special page to join – I don’t know; either way it is still free for you. This, as all posts on this blog, is 100% not sponsored. **

(photo: www.ooh.com)

The universe was certainly conspiring to make me miserable this morning: not enough sleep, wake up to a wretched fog and rain with the sky seemingly two inches above the pavements. Cue head creeping back under pillow.

Today is known as ‘Blue Monday’, supposedly the most depressing day of the year. It’s today that you realise you’ve completely failed succeeding in every one of your New Year’s resolutions, the warm glow of the holiday season has long gone, leaving only a gaping hole in your bank account where you are pretty sure there used to be a sizeable lump of money; payday is still a week away, and the weather totally sucks ass.

Oh, and you’ve probably received your credit card bill by now, giving you a highly unwelcome blow-by-blow of all the rubbish you spent your cash on during those hazy festive weeks, leaving you spluttering and swearing and wondering why you thought it was a good idea to buy a bottle of Cristal in Crazy Bear at 3.14am on 23^rd December. Answer: it probably wasn’t, but life goes on.

I certainly could have done with staying in bed this morning, but I forced myself up and off through the rain to my Monday morning ballet class. And of course, as soon as I got there, I felt great. And am now having a highly productive day. Awesome.

So if you too are struggling this morning, having trouble sticking to your plans and finding the motivation to get your arse in gear, rather than throwing the towel in altogether, just do one small thing that will help you keep moving in the right direction. Motivation begets itself; you just have to take the first step. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the mess your January finances are in, just sit down and write out a budget so you can see exactly where you stand. If your savings schedule is leaving you feeling burnt out, don’t go right off the rails with a blow-out shopping spree, just treat yourself to something small to let off steam. If you haven’t done anything about your New Year’s resolution to clear your credit card debt, take five minutes to look around online for balance transfer cards with zero interest.

There is always one small thing you can do that will help you get back on the right track when you’re feeling more like kicking the bucket than kicking ass (metaphorically speaking of course). Once you’ve done that first thing, the rest will follow in time.

And don’t worry, Blue Monday is only one day. The week (and year) can only get better!

(Photo: Jarek Jarosz)

Now that the dreaded month of January is drawing to a close, so are the January sales (and thank God because I am so sick of all the shops looking like the aftermath of a yard sale).

However, I have noticed that the banks have jumped on the January sales bandwagon with gusto this year, offering no end of ‘bargains’ in a ruthless bid to drum up new business.

If you are actually in the market for a new financial product of some description, there may be some good bargains out there. But please, for the sake of your finances, be very, very careful when choosing a new product on the merits of its headline rate ‘discounts’!

Why?

Because headline rates are there to catch your eye and pull you in. They rarely represent the true nature of the product, be it on credit cards, loans, or even mortgages. Usually after the headline rate ends the product will revert to a much higher interest rate which will leave you paying more than if you had chosen a product with a slightly higher interest rate overall. Make sure you are comparing like-for-like products, always check the overall APR, and the total loan cost so that you can easily see which option will allow you to borrow money more cheaply.

Watch the ‘extras’

You will also find that banks chuck a tonne of extras into their products to make them more attractive to consumers. This can artificially inflate the cost of borrowing, so make sure you really need the extras before signing your life away. For example, many loans come with a ‘no repayments for the first 3 months’ or something similar – which is great, who doesn’t like a bit of flexibility? But watch out because the bank will keep charging you interest during the break, and as you will be extending the loan period, you will end up paying more overall. The same goes for payment breaks during the loan term.

Check the small print

This includes things like early repayment penalties, ‘overhang’ on mortgages (where the bank locks you into the mortgage for a set period after the introductory headline rate finishes, so you can’t switch to a new lender without expensive penalties), and payment protection (can add a lot to money to the overall loan cost – will you really need it?). All these things can be hidden away in the small print, waiting to sting hapless borrowers. Buyer beware!

In my last post I asked what was the worst thing you’ve ever read on a PF blog? ‘Freckles’ was good enough to point out that there are some nut jobs out there who use reusable toilet paper instead of buying the real stuff.

Yes, you read that right.

This was too good to miss, and after a bit of nosing around the web and dry-retching, I found this site, which explains the use of cloth toilet paper as follows:

‘But, there is another option [to buying toilet paper]. Yes, you can use cloth toilet paper. Just take a soft fabric, like flannel, and cut it up. Keep it in the bathroom. Make separate spots for the clean and dirty ones and you’ve got reusable toilet paper. It is a one time expense. You will save money and trees. It might even be softer than what you use now.’

That’s right! Don’t waste your hard earned pennies on things like hygiene and cleanliness! Just use an old rag! Then keep it right there in the bathroom after you’ve used it! Right where actual living people are! The living people with all the living! You’ll save money and save trees and save yourself the bother of ever having another person ever come to your home! Because that is awesomely nasty!

While I hasten to point out that the author of the blog doesn’t actually carry out this freakin’ hideous practise, there were, like, 60 comments on the post – many from people WHO ACTUALLY DO THIS. And you know these are the same people who don’t ‘waste’ their money on things like soap or use hot water in the washing machine.

To these people, I say: NO.

And: NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! You big grubby freaks. No.

(No).

Remember that episode of American Dad where Stan keeps getting conned into buying new second-hand cars by the car salesman and can’t figure out why he keeps getting screwed over  and goes to find his Sensei to work out how to get his ability to negotiate back but his Sensei can’t help him ‘cause he’s got a trip to Vegas planned so Stan plots how to win over the sales guy by pretending to go crazy and buys a blimp and abandons his family and they descend into poverty and Francine scrubs strangers’ toilets and Hayley turns to prostitution to make money to make ends meet and then Stan finally tricks the sales guy into reducing the rate on the car he wants by $10 a week, and Francine’s all, You put us through months of misery to save $10 bucks a week? And he’s all, Yeah. Awesome, aren’t I?

Remember?

Yeah. Well. Sometimes I read things on PF blogs and think You did all that just to save a buck? Dude! Loosen the purse strings a little! You know?

I know this is a blog about money and how to live within your means, but sometimes I cringe at the lengths some people go to, to save a little money. Like an entry the other day by a blogger who was happy about having no friends because it means saving money on entertainment.  Or serving tea instead of alcohol at their wedding in order to keep it cheap.  Or, refusing to help with their kid’s university fees simply out of some weird ‘no one helped me so I won’t help you’ principle.

What the hell is that? Seriously, sometimes it makes your head hurt.

The theme of this blog has always been ‘decadence on a shoestring’. In other words, enjoy your life, but do so in ways that are compatible with your budget. Love travel? Great, go for it, but accept that it might mean cutting back on eating out or shoe shopping while you save up. Want that Janet Collin handbag more than you want your next breath (I feel you)? Knock yourself out, just make sure you are prioritising correctly with the money you are spending. I’ve never been out to save money just for the sheer hell of it, perhaps so that I can feel smug and morally superior to those who choose to, I don’t know, live on more than ramen noodles. Which is kind of the feeling you get from *some* bloggers out there.

The danger of PF blogs is that some people seem to lose perspective a little bit. The good news is that it can make for (unintentionally) amusing reading for the rest of us. Not to name and shame or anything, but what’s the worst thing you’ve ever read on a PF blog? Any cringe-worthy money saving tips you’d care to share? You don’t have to name the blog.

Where did the last week go? It seems only a moment ago that everyone was still in Christmas sloth mode, and now suddenly the holidays seem years ago. I have dived back into work with two feet and hardly had time to scratch myself (being made an involuntary hermit by the snow has helped a lot!)

One thing I spent time doing this week was having a clean out of all the crap that has built up in our flat. While I love our flat, it has zero storage space. Not a single in-built airing cupboard or under stair broom cupboard. Nil. To the point where our second bathroom is used for storage instead of as a bathroom.

Even so, second bathroom (or Poo Cupboard as it is known) isn’t very big. Having little storage space does have its benefits though:  as I loathe clutter, and hate having boxes of thing pilled on tops of closets and under beds, I am forced to be ruthless when it comes to deciding what to keep and what to throw away.

But no matter how good I am with not hanging onto things I don’t need, it still manages to creep in somehow when space is at a premium to begin with. So when I start to find myself thinking that we need to come up with more storage solutions, that’s my cue to start throwing things out. I don’t need more things to store stuff in, I need less stuff.

So I spent a lot of time cleaning out my closet (haven’t worn it in the past year? Chuck it), bathroom (all those half empty shampoo bottles and cosmetics? Bin ‘em), office (I kind of want to marry my shredder), and living room.

After six bin bags deposited in the garbage and three bags of good quality clothing donated to charity, I feel like I can breathe again.
Feeling weighed down by useless things can be very de-motivating when it comes to being organised in general. And I never fail to be amazed at how getting the clutter out helps me feel calm, and more in control of things, which has excellent knock-on effects into pretty much all other areas of my life. If you’re struggling to get motivated for the new year, I strongly recommend it!