The Benefits of Careful Spending and Saving

Hi and a Happy New Year to everyone!

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and please accept my apologies for not posting earlier: Christmas shopping, a new computer course I've started locally (free of course!), and my taking up again of my old knitting hobby (after buying a big bulk of yarn on Ebay I've decided to knit sweaters for all of the family, I'm only halfway through but still enjoying it!); add in the mix a bit of pure lazyness and you get 2 whole months of this blog not being updated!

Anyway to get back to my topic, after about 2 whole years of hard savings, I've finally managed to change my car!

Before:
A Seat Ibiza costing me a bundle on motor tax due to its powerful engine, which is a feature I don't need, doing most of my driving in town or on Irish roads where speed is a no-no (pot-holes and cie...), central locking and passenger window out of order, faded paintwork with moss growing out of the rubber joints, a tyre that seemed to leak air even though my mechanic assured me there was no puncture:


After:
A neat and very sleek looking Hyundai Accent with "all mod cons" (remote central locking and immobilizer, air-conditionning, CD player, front and back electrical windows, electrical adjustable mirrors), not new but it feels like it is, extremely pleasant to drive (if only we were not on this small island, I'd drive it all the way around the world right now!):

(Ok, I know I haven't parked very well but what do you want? I'm just a girl after all!)

I'm sorry if this post feels like I'm boasting but I just had to share the joy! With all this talk of recession, I just wanted to say that all's not bad; I have lived for the last few years as if I was in a recession so now that prices are coming down, I'm coming out and even if the banks go bust, who cares? All my money's been spent on my new toy!

P.S. I don't really mean that; I know that a lot of people are going through a rough time right now and I hope that things will soon get back on track for everyone (except maybe those who've helped making this whole mess; you know who you are!)

Haggle, Haggle and Haggle Some More!

The time has come again for my car insurance renewal. Once again I went online and compared prices and since I took my ex-partner off my policy, my insurer was quoting me a premium with a huge increase this year.

I got several quotes ranging from under €200 to over €500; of course when you decide on an insurance cover you must also look at what's included in the policy: for example I could have gone with a company that was charging me €177.70 but only covered me for damages done to other people and properties with a €500 excess and did not cover me for fire and theft.

I found a quote for a reasonable insurance cover that was over €150 cheaper than my current insurance but I didn't really like the hassle of switching companies since I am at the moment with a reputable insurance company with an office in my town so I phoned them and asked them if they could match that other quote. The person who answered the phone put me on hold for about 2 minutes and came back and told me they could give me the same cover that I already had with them for about €100 less, which I thought was reasonable since they do have a few extras included in the policy such as breakdown assistance and free car rental for up to 35 days.

What about you? Does your insurance company overcharge you? If you don't shop around and compare prices, you will never find out. Insurance companies are used to people haggling so don't be shy! I am sure that a lot of companies (and not only insurance companies) bank on the fact that their customers don't bother questionning what they are being charged.

Can You Live on £1 a Day?

As President Bush's $700 billion bailout plan is rejected by Congress, the World's economy is facing even bigger trouble. In Ireland, hundreds of jobs are being lost every week so if you are having trouble making ends meet, you might find the following article useful:

Kath Kelly is an English teacher who recently spent a full year living on just £1 a day (£1 is currently $1.80 or €1.26; I used this currency converter). Kath Kelly paid her bills in advance and lived on £1 a day for her daily expenses. She lived mostly on freebies, and she says that her social life even improved during her "free" year (although I'm not sure a sane person would see drinking cheap booze outside as a social improvement).

Without going to that extreme, there are ways you can find to save money:
- Walk or cycle if possible instead of using your car;
- Bring the kids to the playground (if weather permits) instead of the cinema or overpriced activity centres;
- Plan your menus in advance, write a shopping list to avoid unnnecessary trips to the grocery store;
- Recycle stuff: here's how you can reuse you old toilet-paper rolls;
- Find out what foods are in season and that you can pick for free in your local area (apples, blackberries, mushrooms, mussels, winkles...);
- Keep your eyes open when you walk (my daughter has an eye for coins on the streets and she has a new addition for her money-box almost every day);
- Surf the Internet for free samples and enter free competitions (you might win something that you can keep or even sell on Craigslist, as Ebay is getting too expensive or so I'm told);
- Reduce you electricity bills;
- Don't spend money on stuff you don't need: make your own lunch to bring to work instead of buying the all-expensive, all-fattening Subway sandwich, don't fill your wardrobe with clothes you'll never wear, etc.

There are lots more ways you can avoid to spend money; I wrote an article a while ago on how to save money on your grocery shopping. Saving money is not rocket science, but sometimes it is difficult to resist temptation when you see TV commercials and all that's on offer in the shops.

How to Save Money on Your Grocery Shopping

Do you ever wonder why some households with a double income seem to be always out of pocket while some families on welfare are able to save money? While prices are always on the increase, you might find it difficult to save money without affecting your lifestyle. Here are a few tips that should help you reduce the amount of money you spend in your grocery shopping...read the rest.

I know this is a very cheap way to get you to read my article but those tips on how to save money really work; I use them all the time!

Save Money On Your Electric Bill

My bi-monthly electric bill just came in. I was dreading this one as my January electric bill is usually the highest of the year. As prices are always on the increase, I was expecting a figure well over €200.

I had a pleasant surprise when I opened the enveloppe as this January bill amounts to only €183!

Since last year I made a few minor changes in my home to try and cut on electric costs:

I have one of those TVs that you have to unplug so that they don't stay on stand-by even when switched off; even though our television is usually on all day, I have been unplugging it every night since last spring.

I have been also using my computer pretty much all day long since last autumn; whereas I used to turn it on about twice a week a year ago, just to check emails and do some online banking, but for the last 6 months or so I started to switch off the screen each night as well as turning off the computer.

My mobile phone charger used to be plugged in all the time even though I only charged my phone once or twice a week; I did not realize at the time that this consumed a lot of energy; now I keep it unplugged except when my phone needs recharging.

Lights in the house: I am progressively replacing classic light-bulbs with energy-saving CFL bulbs. Also, even though my 3 year-old recently discovered how to switch on all the lights in the house using her toilet step, I have a very conscientious 5 year-old who turns off the light when she leaves a room (O.K, I do have to remind her sometimes, but give her a break, she's only 5!); my policy at home is that if there are 3 people in, no need to have more than 3 lights on.

There is not much point in joining online money-making programmes that pay you peanuts if you are spending money blindly at the same time. Small changes in your lifestyle (nothing drastic) can save you a bit of money while at the same time help the environment and reduce the risks of fire in your house. All it takes is a little bit of thinking.

Save Money With Pigsback

For about a year now, I have been a member of Pigsback.com. I have not been very active on the website but last week I received my first reward, a €10 Boots voucher.

For those of you who have never heard of it, Pigsback.com is a free website that allows you to print coupons for grocery products that you can use in any supermarket; the coupons do not only entitle you to a discount on the chosen product, making use of them also allows you to get PiggyPoints. Once you have enough PiggyPoints in your PiggyBank, you can choose a reward or make a donation to a charity.

Other ways to earn PiggyPoints are to sign up on some of the partners' websites or "shop and earn": I always buy my mobile phone credit online through the Pigsback.com website.

They also have competitions where you can win great prizes; I never won anything but I am always up for a free entry when I could win as much as €500! It is a good idea to sign up for as many of their newsletters as possible, this way you can always be informed of the newest offers and competitions.

Nobody with an email address should be without a Pigsback account: it is free, you can print as many coupons as you like, and although this is not a lame attempt from me to get referrals (I could only do this by submitting names and email addresses), you can get 500 PiggyPoints per friend referred (this is a value of €5.00 in rewards).

P.S. While I was writing this post, I discovered the Pigsback "Play and earn" option and I bet 50 PiggyPoints on Chelsea to win over Arsenal in December (that's English soccer for you Americans). There is a jackpot of 8500 PiggyPoints so far and no money at stake!