How To Be Economically Friendly Online.

Well Hello.
I haven't posted in a while, I've been pretty busy. Evertything seems to be happenning all at once.

I've been working on a series of blog posts all about saving your money. This is because I'd like to work on some about organising your house, but I would be very, very hypocritical if I were to do that. So instead I've decided to write about something I know about. And I'm starting today, with some general tips for anyone who might want to save a good few pounds.

Image from Google

I have come to be a saver from not having much money to begin with. I was taught from a young age not to spend too much, and since going on Education maintenence allowance for college, and having a student loan from university, I've learnt a good few things about how to be frugal.

Look out for these upcoming specials:
-Holiday
-Christmas and New Year
-Clothes and Accessories
-Beauty
-Food Shopping
-General Tips

But the first is online. There are some great ways that you can save by going online.
I challenge you to do something frugal with them this week.

Tips !

One very easy way is to use websites to their full potential. Joining comparison sites like comparethemarket, moneysupermarket and gocompare are great for a comparison of insurance and credit cards. But don't forget to look out for ones that aren't on it, like directline. Also it's a good idea to search the web each year to find yourself a better deal on things like gas and electricity. There's usually an even better offer just waiting for you.

When buying on the Internet, whether it be clothes, food or tickets for that show you want to see, always compare, and look out for discount codes and vouchers. Just do a google search, or join a voucher website, like wowcher. An example is codes for H&M and Boohoo.com, and Dominos Pizza. Also, you can get great online deals for tickets for shows and concerts if you go on opening night. I did this and got a very good discount for a theatre show.

If you're a person who likes to reuse items, or update your wardrobe by adding some embellishments. or just generally like homemade things, I suggest you join Pinterest. I have my own pinterest account full of tips and things to do, how to make cheap gifts, make your own beauty remedies and re-purpose items. It's also a pretty cool way of planning things, like your next staycation or party on the cheap, or maybe just places you'd love to go when you've saved up enough money. Check out mine here.

Don't forget, there's always freecycle, to find items for free in your area. And also gumtree, for pretty much everything. Or your local freeads.

Image from Google

Another idea is to use bloggers and blogs as a resource. They'll give feedback on items and how well they have worked and try out ideas for you to see if they're any good.
Recommended blogs:
A Thrifty Mrs
Diary of a Frugal Family
Frugal Queen

Here are some really useful websites I would also recommend.
1. Tips on being frugal (50 ways.. pretty comprehensive)
2. Frugal Living
3. Top 25 personal finance blogs.
4. Best of the web - Shopping
5.Arts and crafts? try this one.

The 10 Day You Challenge : 9 Loves

There are so many things to love in the world. To pick just a selct few is hard. So, there are probably far more than this, but heres my (probably) top 9:

1. Family, Friends and my Boyfriend. It has to be top of the list. The rest are in no particular order.

2. Stories and Reading. Anything. I just soak it up, take it all in and think about my view on the subject.

3. The Smell of the Night. you know when it's about 12/1 in the morning and you go to shut your window, but instead you lean out of it an just breathe in the night air. i love that. it's my absolute favourite smell.
I have a thing with smells. I often come out with "It smells like a good night". And it really does. I know what I mean.

4. Interesting Jewellery.  I have a penchant for weird jewellery. One of my favourites is one I bought from a stall at a craft market. It's a vintage-look necklace with an old American stamp inside it (picture of it, left). I'm holding out for some battenburg earrings still.

5.  Marzipan. Everything marzipan. I will get a whole block and sit there eating it as a treat. So fattening, but sooo good. Unfortunately you don't see many marzipan fruits around England these days, but I WILL have some soon.

6. Tea. Glorious tea. I'm drinking some now in fact. No wonder us British love it.

7. Films. Films are a passion. If I've seen one I'll usually know who's in it, and what else they've been in. It's a talent that has very little use.

8. Shopping. Don't most girls? Pretty dresses, gorgeous nail polishes, delicious food treats, killer shoes : heaven.

9. Nature. Because what's more beautiful than nature? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. My particular favourite item in natture are forests. Big, English, woody, mushroomy, bluebell-filled dappled sunshine forests. With cute baby rabbits and deer.

Yay!

The Evolution of Men.

Upon watching football at a pub swamped in testosterone (not my idea, my boyfriends, but I did have a lovely pudding there) I decided that men are a very interesting subject.

Especially those watching football.
It's really odd.
I would compare it to watching a woman who loves shopping go into a shoe shop. When there's an amazing pair of shoes, her whole face glows. And this, I swear, is exactly what happens with men who enjoy football.

There is one difference however, when women find a shoe that they completely adore, and buy it, they don't yell out and raise their fists in the air in triumph.
I'd like to think it's far more sophisticated. We do that kind of thing later when nobody is watching.
(In fact a friend did comment these exact words : 'you don't see a woman cheering at a shoe'. He's a guy who likes football.)
Also, If women don't get what they want, just like men, they complain about it to their other halves. That or are sulky. (You know who you are.)
The weird thing is, another person pointed out, that both clothes and football include seasons.
And colours. And on occasion balls too.

So yes.
I also noticed that when doing something a man (or a woman, sometimes) enjoys, we begin to revert back to the stone age. Leaping around gibbering nonsense and such.

So if that's what I thought going to the pub to watch football, I can't imagine the chaos at an actual game.

How to avoid Salespeople.

(If you want the tips.. go to the bottom of this post)
----------------------------------------
I've always found being stopped in the street annoying, and when it's by a person trying to sell me something, I just get that little bit more tetchy.
I don't care who you are, or what you want me to buy, I really don't want to talk to you on a cold, wet, windy day when I'm about to get something to eat because I didn't have anything for breakfast.

Starvation wins over your sales tactics.

Plus I hate questions like: 'What is your daily skincare routine?' because truth be told, I just wash it and go, with a possibility of some moisturiser. (Seriously, that whole cleanse, tone , moisturise thing.. Doesn't need to be done. My skins perfectly fine.)

The ones that go door to door are probably the worst. When you've opened that door, that's it. They're there to stay. And if you let them in, you're in for it - they'll unleash their endless sales chatter upon you. Try every trick in the book.
But be resilient! Because you don't honestly want to fill your home with tonnes of crap you don't need right? You've probably already done enough of that, at least, I know I have.
Unless of course, you quite want what they've got to offer. (If you know what I mean..)

Generally, I'm not much of a fan of salespeople. If you're going to try selling something at least try to persuade me slightly covertly.
As much as you possibly can, just try to be subtle.
I know I'm a little hypocritical, as I have tried selling people things before (my glorious career as a hand-painted rock salesperson when I was a young girl of (around) 7, and more recently in a local Charity Shop), but at least I tried not to annoy people.
But some salespeople completely force themselves upon you. They won't let you say no.
And those are the ones I just want to slap.

So what I quite enjoy doing is bantering. Although saving it for the ones where you can probably get away with it.
Because A) It leaves you with a smile on your face (and no slapping is involved)
and B) You feel as though you've beaten them at their own game.
And all you need to do is think up some odd/witty/quickfire answers to their questions.
Or just ask them their own questions.
But that's reserved for someone who really really deserves it.

------------------------------

I did promise some tips on
How to avoid Salespeople, so here you go:

• In the street: Look down, or pretend you're doing something. Walk as far away as possible.
  (If this fails, stare at them. It'll scare them off)
• In the street: Get out your mobile phone/start talking to a friend
• On the telephone: Tell them you've got bad signal, or just put the phone down.
• On the doorstep: Pretend you're not in
• You've opened the door: Get someone to call or pretend you're foreign.
• In a shop: Be very interested in something a few aisles away.
• ALL salespeople: Avoid like the plague.

What makes people so ridiculously obsessed with shopping?

Shopping. The first act of cruelty that a female will inflict upon her guy friend/boyfriend. (the second one being the dreaded question: " What do you think?" whilst trying on a horrific dress two sizes too small.)

Most girls, myself included, quite enjoy shopping.
Some girls are completely and utterly fanatical about shopping. I think men need to stay away from these at all costs. That is, unless they themselves like to shop, in which case the woman should question the sexual orientation of this man. If it has been questioned and the result is just a straight guy that enjoys shopping, I reckon those shopoholics are onto a winner.

I must warn you all though, that there is a particularly defective breed of shopoholic. These are what I like to call the 'buffet shopoholics'.
There is good reason for this name.
They will pick out many many items, stack them to enormous heights and devour each and every item. Some will also sample the item, and then return it to it's original place. (I hate these people at buffets.. what if you eat it? Ew.)

Theres another type. The 'sale fiend'. (This isn't actually my name for them, I just thought of it and liked it.) But these people are easily spotted. Just take a look at their home.
-Are there 10 bottles of shampoo lining the bath/window sill/cupboard?
-Do they have an overflowing/unshutable wardrobe? (Which when you look inside it has 3 pairs of the same jeans, the same top etc)
-Is there many random items decorating the house? (Such as odd little trinkets and ornaments)
-Is there a secret stash of toilet roll?
-How about endless amounts of tissue boxes and packets?
-Last but not least, is there a random unused/used once item? (Mostly these wil lbe something in the kitchen, such as an automated apple peeler or something, most likely to still be in the box with a bright red sale sticker on it, stacked up high.)

Now if you're nodding to all of these, you do indeed have someone worthy of being called a sale feind. My mum is just like this.
She also has a friend who had endless amounts of toiletries and make-up in boxes, toilet roll, clothes and items of furniture in her attic. Ridiculous.

Now, I know this blog is supposed to be about shopping, but really, I quite like ranting about how ridiculous more people than you may imagine are.
So to make up for ranting about people who love to shop (and I'll admit, Even I'm like that sometimes, I am still a woman after all), I shall give you my top three favourite websites to shop at.

1. http://www.amazon.co.uk/
2. http://www.newlook.co.uk/
3. http://www.ebay.co.uk/