Now the fun starts...

Many find living a budget quite a shock. Those things you took for granted not at your grasp whenever you want anymore. How will you live? Will u be happy? What happens when that new IPhone comes out?

The truth of the matter is that you can do it, more than you think. When you are forced to a budget you find that you can find things you can do without or find things you can still do but cheaper. At first it is a shock but it's even a more pleasant shock when you find out how much un-necessary things you are paying for and can do without. The key I think and have found so far is to put things in perspective and try to realise what really matters and what the priorities are. If you can afford them then you will be happy, even a sense of achievement if you accomplish it.

Many through the country like us are having to face the reality that a shrinking or slow growing economy translates to a not so better living standards for everyone. The important thing to remember is that this is not forever. Think of it as you riding the storm. At the end of any storm, as you know there is a calm and things settle down and the sun comes out. This is what will happen for you.

I am in that scenario now and have had to do the necessary cuts to allow us to ride that storm. I know however that once I am back at work I will be in a much better position. Most probably in the best position I have ever been in. So to me the challenge has it's rewards on the long run and that the short term pinch is exactly that, short term.

There are many things you can do even if you don't need to cut like I do. Simple things like shopping around for your utilities and bulk buying the food shopping. The biggest saving a working professional in an office like I did is to bring in a packed lunch. I used to spend £3.75 on a boots meal deal. I thought that was a bargain. Look at the following figures and see for yourselves that it wasn't really a good deal.

£3.75 x 5 days = £15
x 4 weeks = £60
x 12 weeks = £720

So that's £720 pounds a year. More than enough for an iPad!! You could easily halve that by making your own food.

Some other tips on getting the most from your pound.

If you have to buy the product, try to get it on-line. You can easily compare the prices using google's shopping search. You can also find tonnes of voucher / promotional codes that people post on the Internet that can often give you 10-20 % off. You can also get cash back for a lot of the purchases you make on-line. There are several on-line cash back companies but the best I found and the most reliable was www.topcashback.com. You can also try to collect nectar or club card points that can be converted to vouchers for all-sorts of purchases.

So there you have it. I can give tips for saving until the cows come in but I'm sure you'll find them as I did. Good luck with your savings and I'll keep u posted on my progress.

Good night ; )


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Beckenham, London

A world without Osama Bin Laden, finally!

Many of us would had known of his death today. Many waiting for such a long time for something that seemed never to happen. I woke up to the the headlines this morning, not in shock but to a welcomed surprise. It did seem like all hope was lost to what seemed like a mammoth of a job. Almost 10 years but it finally happened!

It brought back a lot of memories. I was working like a few of my friends were in America during the run-up to the event. I can remember it quite clearly, even the emotions at the time. Working at Ocean City in Maryland. I remember when starting the 4 months adventure to pass the twin towers as we traveled with Greyhound to Ocean City. I remember thinking to myself that I will finally get to see you both in a few months time. Little did I know then that all I would see would be a skeleton of the Tin Towers as you see in the photograph above.

I was woken up to the disaster by my friends at the time in Vancouver, Canada a day after we arrived. I was woken up around 5 :30am and remember thinking that what I saw was a fantastic but sick movie that was going to come out. It took a while until the realisation that this was actually a terrorist attack. A shock that lasted not hours but months ahead.

Yes, I ended my trip in New york but to a totally devastated one. I remember seeing all the American flags around but it didn't have the normal sense of power feel to it but of clear sadness and anger. I took my camera out and tried to capture a story of what I felt and saw. A country, a world shaken by something so un-comprehensible.

Almost 10 years on.... A difficult time already for many countries already coping with the credit crunch and disasters that have already happened this year. However, a silver lining has appeared. Victory for America and hopefully some closure for the families that lost their loved ones to the senseless attack. A new dawn perhaps to prove that you need some faith to work through these times. Hopefully today will be a beginning of a revived hope for many .......