On yer bike

Recently, my frugal living has been taking some serious knocks, and deciding to re-fit the home office didn't help. Really the whole thing is down to attitude and resolve, my resolve has softened somewhat lately and credit card bills have grown again.

I don't really know how this issue will be resolved accept by some 'austerity measures' of my own - however this week (in this glorious weather we have been having) I have been cycling to work. I recently 'invested' in a bike from eBay because my little one has learnt to ride her bike and we have been cycling around the locality. What better then, than to use this 'investment' by using it to travel to work (it takes less than 15 minutes to get to work, regardless of whether I go by car or by bike..). The summer months are ideal for this because the traffic on the roads is quite bearable, the journey to and from work when the schools are in, is a very different matter..

One other way that I can get some capital back is by monetising all the laptop parts that I have after my experiment with laptop fixing. I have a fairly large stock of saleable items that just need sorting out. We are getting another 'free' holiday this year courtesy of a friend with a holiday home - although a free holiday always end up being quite costly because you can't really go on holiday without spending a bit of cash...even if it costs nothing to go in the first place.

Time for a change

I was recently prompted to look at this blog and see if I could 'streamline' it a little. There was a suggestion that side-bar text-links can become a problem because they are in every 'page' and they generate hundreds of 'spammy' looking links. I was reluctant to remove them at first, but I figured that this blog could probably do with a spring clean so why not remove all of the clutter from the sidebar.

My foray into the blogger template editor has resulted in a slight colour scheme change (grey to contrast better with the bright red), and a thorough 'weeding out' of the sidebar.

This is post no:1198 on Munny4Hunny, and marks yet another facelift, although only a very subtle one compared with ones I have been though in the past. The image included here is one of the first banners that I designed for this blog over five years ago. A lot of text has been typed since then, and a few dollars have been amassed too.. which makes the whole project that much more worthwhile.

Spanish Weather

It is not often that you can compare UK weather with spanish weather, but this week is turning out to be one of those freak occurrences that British weather likes to throw our way every once in a while. We are now entering Summer holiday season with the schools breaking up, and many UK families will be setting their sights on the Spanish coasts where the weather is more reliable than what we are used to at home.

Offering up to 14-day forecasts, the 'SpanishWeather.net' website could prove to be a valuable tool for working out whether 'the rain in spain will be mostly on the plain' or if it's shorts and tee-shirts all the way for the duration of your holiday. The website offers some background information about Spain in general as a holiday destination, and then goes on to offer 3,5,7,10 and 14 day forecasts for hundreds of locations around Spain. It also offers average monthly temperature and rainfall data for each of these areas - in fact I would go as far as to say that nowhere on the 'net is such a comprehensive set of weather data available in such an accessible format.

Summer is coming to the UK

Just in time for the Olympics... we are finally due for some scorching weather next week after what seems like months of continual rain. I watched the GB football team on TV last night bravely taking on Olympic favourites Brazil in their first ever game (GB have not had a team at the Olympics before as the separate nations that make up GB have always retained their own identity and therefore not been able to compete). GB lost 2 -0 but for a first ever performance, there were some positives to take from the game...

This year, as a family, we had not had any solid plans for a vacation, but we were offered a week in a very plush mobile home at the end of August just last week, so now we have something to look forward to. I am seriously considering putting some cash aside next year for a visit to Disneyland Paris as a treat for my daughter, but we'll see how that plan goes...

Stroller website

Although (when our little one was a toddler) we didn't get our stroller from a stroller website, we certainly had good use out of it.
The reason that it was so useful is that we had a fully-loaded pram with covers and all-sorts, but for quick trips, the stroller was so much lighter and easier to handle that it quickly became a favorite of ours.
The stroller was so much easier to collapse and stick in the back of the car than the full pram, that we ended up rarely using the pram at all.

Car bike racks

We have to seriously consider car bike racks this year as my daughter has really got 'into' cycling since the beginning of the year.
We are likely to be holidaying 'locally' again, which means we will need a means of taking the bikes with us to get the most out of a 'home grown' holiday.
I have had to buy a bike for myself so that I can keep up with her - if it was just her bike, we could probably get it in the car without any problems, but if I'm taking my bike too, then we are definitely going to need a rack of some sort..

Will Facebook live up to expectations?

I think it is probably now fairly evident that the launch of Facebook as a public limited company was vastly over-hyped, with punters mistaking 'popularity' for commercial opportunity. The public just love Facebook as a social interactive tool, of that there is no doubt - one the other side of the coin, it will be possible to make money from such a social interactive tool as long as it does not become overly commercial.

Advertising is the key here, and in the case of Facebook, 'targeted' advertising based on all sorts of variables that can be identified from a profile or activity of an individual. While this company offers a fairly unique way to target advertising, one still has to question the value of advertising to an increasingly web-savvy, skeptical public - many of whom will be difficult to reach as they will be using mobile devices which offer less opportunity for adverts.

I think in general, pricing of the company was largely driven by sentiment and excitement rather than hard-nosed commercial instinct, and I can understand that as a bit of a Facebook fan myself. In the cold hard light of day, it is clear that the company was over-priced. Whether owning a little chunk of the social phenomenon is enough of a reward for some investors is difficult to gauge, but for me FB as a social tool is great, as a commercial model, it's good, but will always have to hold back on all-out commercialism at the risk of losing it's only asset - fickle internet users.

Challenge coins

I recently came across challenge coins on the net when looking for a resource for commemorative medals. I had not really considered coins as an alternative to a medal or small trophy until I took a look at some of the fabulous designs that they had come up with for their various clients.

This could also be a great commercial marketing tool especially if the coins were introduced in a collectable series.

Bulova watches

Although I really admire the rich design of bulova watches, I doubt whether I will be buying one during the 'frugal stage' of my working life. I truly hope and expect that this stage will pass and one day I will be able to spend a little more freely than I can currently. In the meantime I have to admire such luxuries from a safe distance..
I have not managed finances particularly well over the last year or so, allowing the credit card bills to pile up. I think I need to follow some of my own frugal advice a little more closely

Summer 2012

Summer has been a complete washout so far in the UK, we have already recorded the wettest June since records began, and so far, July is heading the same way. The Olympics will be with us in a few short weeks, so hopefully there is not much more rain coming - on the plus side, any concerns about a shortage of water earlier in the year, have proved to be premature...
So far, the summer of sport has proved moderately successful with the England team doing better than anticipated in the Football European Championships (quarter-finals) and Andy Murray getting to the final of Wimbledon for the first time. We have plenty of sport to come, and hopefully some of the events will bring gold to the GB team on their own turf.

Professional liability insurance

The cost of insurance has risen dramatically over the last few years, and most companies are now shopping around for the best professional liability insurance deals. I know of companies that have recently stopped their more 'risk-prone' activities because they can't afford the insurance. Some companies will be forced to cease trading, lay workers off or even operate without insurance in extreme circumstances. Shopping around is always a good way to keep your costs down, especially where the temptation is just to keep the same service providers year after year - you have to be competitive in the current market, so getting the best deal makes good sense.

Value of fresh water pearls

The value of fresh water pearls is based on the grading of the individual pearl. In general, the pearls are graded on their luster, color and shape - round pearls being valued more highly because it is hard to 'create' a round pearl during the culture process. Freshwater pearls are considered to be better than saltwater pearls for a variety of reasons demonstrating the better cultivation techniques that have been developed

Knee walker

I have seen all types of mobility devices in recent years, but up to now I had never seen a knee walker. Thankfully, I have never needed one either, but never say never...
A knee-walker is apparently a replacement for the antique idea of needing crutches and hobbling around like a land-locked pirate.. and when you look at the device, although at first it might seem a little unwieldy, I have to admit that this has to be a lot better than sticking lumps of wood under your arms and swinging drunkenly around the place.

These devices are becoming increasingly sophisticated with a basket to carry a few knick-knacks, a comfortable-looking 'seat' for your knee, and even brakes for when you get a bit ahead of yourself. Some are collapsible and lightweight, ideal for a quick shopping trip.

Windows 8 - what's all the fuss about?

You will have heard by now (surely?) that MS are on the verge of launching their latest version of Windows - and there is some good news for all concerned. Here's a few Q & A's:

How will it differ from previous versions? 

Well firstly, Windows 8 is just a working title, it may come out with a different name - but in essence this will be a platform geared towards touch-screen technology. Initial reports indicate that this platform will be quite 'light' and therefore may be suitable for older systems to upgrade to... talking of which..

How much will it cost? 

From initial reports it looks as if there will be a special upgrade version available for a reported $40 ($15 if you have recently bought a Windows 7 machine), and the upgrade apparently goes all the way back to XP - which is good news for a huge section of the population who never liked Vista, and didn't see the point of Windows 7 (including me...).

When can I get it?

No official release date is yet available - but news can be expected in September, it is DEFINITELY intended for release in 2012...

T-phentermine

The web is littered with advice and comparisons for different medications, especially diet supplements like: http://www.shoppharmacycounter.com/t-phentermine.aspx. Like much of the internet, you have to dig quite deep to find any really good advice, and the first port of call for any medication should be a real live health care professional like your doctor.
Despite great testomonies from friends and colleagues, it may be that some drugs are not suitable for everyone to take, it always pays to first of all get good advice, and then make sure you get medication from a well-trduted source.
For what it's worth, a change of lifestyle is likely to be much better for your health than a temporary course of medication.

Cleaning Vertical Blinds

I have finally finished the very last step of the office refurbishment by cleaning and refitting the vertical blinds. It occurred to me that tips on cleaning vertical blinds might make a good 'frugal living' post.. Our blinds have been pretty much untouched for about 14 years! - maybe the odd dusting, but never a proper cleaning, you can only imagine the state of some of them - and my better half was thinking of throwing them out. I 'googled' for some cleaning tips and weighed up the suggested methods. A few people had put them in the washing machine with varied results - most people seemed to agree that a gentle washing in the bath was the best method.
I used about 4 inches of hot water in the bath with first of all some washing up liquid, and then later some liquid used for hand-washing clothes (the results were the same). I also found a clean nail brush that I used to scrub the worst parts (the top and bottom of each blind - mostly the top). Although they still looked a bit grubby whilst still wet - once they were hung on the line to dry, they looked fairly clean. (they must be hung out straight to retain their shape, not hung over anything)
I should issue a few cautionary notes - don't use too much cleaning solution or water that is too hot as it might adversely affect the glue that holds parts of the blind together. Do this on a day when you can leave them on a washing line to dry for a few hours otherwise you will have pools of grubby water wherever you leave them to dry...
Earlier this week, I took delivery of some bottom chain links for the blinds that I found on eBay, they even have the weights and the tops that you may need for blinds that have parts missing. The links were only £1.65 for 100 links (20 were needed for the blind in the picture above), and they finish the job off really nicely. The blinds have been in place overnight and look fantastic compared to how they looked before, I just have about 7 more sets like this throughout the house to do now....