Miss Thrifty

A nice television lady called Katy asked if I knew anyone who fitted the bill for her production company’s new programme idea. She is looking for people who spend just £1 or £2 a day. I  said I’d put the word out* if Katy sent over her brief. And she did:

Do you lead the ultimate thrifty lifestyle? Is living off £1 a day second nature to you rather than a challenge?

If so, then Hotbed Media are keen to speak with people living the ultimate thrifty lifestyle. We want to talk to people whose budgets only allow them to spend no more than a couple of pounds per day because they believe in this lifestyle. We also want to hear from people who have enjoyed this frugal way of life for many years.

We are filming a taster tape on Wednesday 18th November 2009 and we’d like our presenter to spend a few hours with a person who lives on a few pounds a day. THIS IS NOT FOR TV – it’s for our development and researching purposes only. All footage we film will not be broadcast.

If you’re currently living the thrifty life, then please get in touch and speak to one of our team on T: 0121 248 3900 or email: development@hotbedmedia.co.uk
*I’m quite happy to do this when someone sends me a personalised request and is nice. I know this sounds like a no-brainer but seriously, you should see my inbox!

Welcome to the (gasp) 200th edition of the Festival of Frugality! It is a milestone that calls for celebrations; hence all these fireworks.

Actually, it’s the perfect time of year for a fireworks display. Diwali took place at the weekend; here in the UK, the  biggest fireworks event of the year is also looming. Fireworks Night – also known as Bonfire Night and Guy Fawkes Night – takes place on 5 November.

So for overseas blog visitors, here are some insights into this much loved British institution. I have noticed that everyone in the UK (and New Zealand) thinks that Guy Fawkes Night is a traditional, jolly sort of affair put on for the children’s benefit; whereas everyone else thinks that we are savage oddballs inflicting psychological scars upon our innocent young. You can make your own mind up… (more…)

Following my last post about love it! magazine, I’ve been directed to a rather splendid collection of top tips over at the Hero of Switzerland blog.

My favourites are the “talking point” party decorations (left), the giftwrapped stones and the tube of toothpaste that is left in the freezer, then chopped up into thrifty “after dinner mints” for people who can’t stretch to After Eights. Not forgetting the “designer toothbrush holder”…

Oooh, hello love it! magazine! You are looking classy as ever, I see, with your v. special blend of apocalyptic/bawdy real-life tales. And all of it for peanuts!

This is one of the many magazines that Sue (my lovely next door neighbour) dropped round recently. I have kept it by, because the regular “top tips” page in this issue has, quite frankly, surpassed itself.

If you think that you have seen just about every money saving tip going, think again.

Let’s take a look, shall we? (more…)

Blog carnivals: I loves them! Other personal finance bloggers were kind enough to feature some recent Miss Thrifty posts in carnivals last week.

Cleaning silver – this one’s a beauty was featured in the 23rd Carnival of Pecuniary Delights, over at Almost Frugal. This is an old favourite, which shows how to clean jewellery and household items using tin foil, salt and warm water – and none of those stinky, gunky cleaners.

Six thrifty uses for a lemon made it into Gotta Little Space’s Make It From Scratch Carnival. This post was also picked up by one of my longtime favourite bloggers, Funny About Money, and a new UK blog called Voucher Mum (tagline: “saving mums money, one voucher at a time”). Thanks for the kudos and the tips, ladies!

Political Calculations featured the lemon post and the cleaning silver post as two of the “best posts from the past week’s business and money-related blog carnivals“. I am spoiled!

My wedding anniversary trip to Harrogate Turkish Baths was included in the line-up for the 221st Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted by Financial Highway.

Trade your old mobile for pop concert tickets edged into the Carnival of Twenty Something Finances, hosted by Rabbit Funds. I say “edged” because, well, let’s just say that Facebook has stopped showing me tailored ads for dating sites and cool T-shirts and has started showing me ads for weight loss products and baby clothes instead…

The Bill Amberg Penguin Classics books – for a snip was featured in the 81st Carnival of Money Hackers, over at ABCs of Investing. If you can’t find these beautiful, leather-bound books in your local discount bookstore, remember that you can also get them for less than half-price from the Penguin website.

In case you’re wondering about the procession image: I’m at the back, just out of shot, with a soap nut bikini and feather dusters for ostrich feathers.

Image credit: debs-eye.

Here at Thrifty Towers we recently celebrated four years of wedded bliss. It feels like a lot longer than four years – is that a good thing or a bad thing?

This year we wanted to go somewhere fun to mark the occasion. We have come a long way since our first wedding anniversary, which took place not long after we had returned to the UK with hollowed pockets. My mother-in-law gave us a £20 note and we went to Colchester Odeon to see a Jack Black film. In lieu of a proper dinner we went crazy for the pick-and-mix, and spent much of the film feeling queasy because we’d eaten too many sweets. Yes: we were that classy. Who said romance was dead, eh?

And this year? We made it to the Turkish Baths in Harrogate, which is not far from where we live in North Yorkshire. Baths aren’t obvious romantic settings – particularly when, as in this case, they are run by the local council – but these ones are something else. (more…)

I was in The Works earlier today. You know The Works: the discount bookstore chain, which also sells stationery, world maps and various super-cheap nicknacks.  The one I went into today, in Harrogate, was selling plastic mini-skateboards. It also held an extensive stock of misery memoirs; proof, perhaps, that this ghastly genre is finally on the way out?

Anyway, I was quite pleased with what I found there. Nestled amongst the tat, I found a pile of these:

Recognise it? (more…)

I’m not a fan of Ticketmaster, generally – I don’t like their booking fees and I take my orders from 1990s rock totty – but the concert giant’s latest scheme gets the thumbs up from me.

In short, you can trade in your old mobile phones and/or iPods for a Ticketmaster giftcard. Find out the value of your item by visiting this site; if you want to proceed they’ll send you a stamped, addressed recycling envelope. For every phone recycled, Ticketmaster will also donate £1 to charity.

Apparently the phones can be traded in for up to £150. To give you a guide: my current phone, a Nokia 6500s that came free with my latest mobile contract, is worth £40.

Image credit: In Veritas Lux.

A nice TV researcher from a production company called Betty asked me to post this request. Happy to oblige…

Does your Dad wrap your Christmas presents in newspaper? Does you Mum ration your loo roll?

Or are you a proud penny pincher yourself?

Are you Britain’s Most Thrifty Family?

If these thrifty money-saving antics sound familiar then we need you!

We’re making a new programme for a major TV channel, which will celebrate thrift.

We want to hear your most frugal living tips and meet the thriftiest families in Britain. Please contact Claire or Esme on 0207 907 0867 or email claire.braden@betty.co.uk

Many of this blog’s visitors arrive via Google. Many of the search queries that lead people here are in the form of questions. The answers, I haz them…

why are the tesco voucher codes not working

Because you have the caps lock on. Either that, or your codes have expired; go here for the latest ones.

why do wedding cakes cost so much?

Because, dear heart, they’re a bitch to make. Think about it: you bake several cakes, faff arround with dowelling supports and then spend a gazillion years on the icing and decoration. Even then, it’s not over: you have to take the damned thing apart, get it to the venue and assemble it again without breaking or toppling anything. When I got married I decided to make my own wedding cake and save money. Four tiers and several sugar rose cascades later, the painful and protracted experience was seared upon my soul.

how to make a fake wedding cake

Ah, so I’ve put you off making a bona fide wedding cake. (more…)