Cars are among the most useful things you can own, but they also account for some of the biggest expenses a household will face. There are, however, a number of steps you can take to cut the cost of car ownership significantly. Obviously, these will not completely eliminate expense, but they will often make it… Read more
Learning the Lessons from Cyber Monday: Buying and selling safely online
Cyber Monday is an American concept that may have eluded most British citizens and which refers to the first Monday after Thanksgiving in America. It is the busiest online shopping day of the year and provides ample opportunity for sophisticated cyber thieves to steal everything from money to consumer identities. Cyber theft is a growing… Read more
Do you have to give better gifts now that you make more?
I am pretty lucky that we are not big on Christmas gifts in my family, so I generally get something for my brother, sister and mother, and a box of chocolate or a bottle of Champagne for whoever is hosting Christmas that year. As kids, we were never expected to give gifts, but as a… Read more
Introducing peer to peer New ISAs
Are you familiar with the new ISAs? They launched back in July 2014, and just like the “old” Individual Savings Account, they allow you to save money tax free, in the form or cash, or stocks and shares. The big changes of the New ISAs were a huge increase in the yearly allowance, to £15,000 per… Read more
OMG, we have rats! How to fight a rat invasion
Or mice. What is the difference anyway? They are disgusting, they have long tails, they eat my food. It happened while we were away for a few weeks, and the maid discovered the kitchen like a battlefield, complete with faeces and eaten dry food. Yuk. Thankfully there were no guests around! It can happen pretty… Read more
Staying in shape for winter
When the days get colder and the evenings become darker you know that winter is on its way. While several people enjoy getting cosy under some blankets in front of the fire, the fitness fanatics among us do not relish this time of year at all. However, it doesn’t have to be all… Read more
How often do you have a no spend day?
I was answering questions to an interview recently (not published yet!) and one of the questions was “what was the last thing you bought?”. Pretty straightforward, but mind you, I had to think long and hard. I hadn’t spent money in the past week or so, and the last time was for food and gas,… Read more
How to Ensure Your Business Start up Is One of the 20% that Don’t Fail
It might be a sad fact about today’s world and the economic pressures many businesses face on a daily basis, but Forbes has reported that a shocking 80% of all new business start ups fail in their first year. Obviously, if you’re starting out in the world of businesses and you have the… Read more
Xero, Quickbooks and the mobile businessman
Image credit Long-gone are the days of shutting down the computer equaling shutting down your business for the day. So, why should accounting teams be restricted by their software? Cloud-based accounting software is here and it’s growing. Two solutions — Quickbooks and Xero — understand the importance of the cloud and its ability to… Read more
Have you thought about Christmas?
Seriously, this world is getting crazy. I was in the supermarket on August 20th and Christmas decorations were being sold. No, not last year’s decorations going on sales, this 4-months-from-now Christmas. Way to prepare for an event! While I think that is insane, in order not to have to put the cost of Christmas on… Read more
6 Ways You Can Make Money Fast When You’re In A Pinch
Please enjoy this guest post and giveaway by Brent from VOSA. Brent’s a world record holder, inventor, engineer, entrepreneur, world traveler & eternal optimist. You can read more of his writing about personal finance, entrepreneurship and travel at VOSA.com. There it is again. The pit that start to form in your stomach, the lump in… Read more
Feeding a Great Dane with home cooked meals
As you may know, little Great Dane Napoleon came to live with us three month ago now, and in that short time, he has more than doubled in size. Look at the picture: my arm used to cover his length from nose to tail, now I don’t even reach from nose to forearm. Meaning he… Read more