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FOOL'S EYE VIEW
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A friend of mine was having a bit of a moan last night about not having any money to spend on the holiday she's booked for the last two weeks of August. It's paid for but she's just realised she's only got two months to find some cash so she can buy some new clothes and actually sample the delights of the local Tapas bars on the Costa Blanca. After all, there's no point in jetting off to sunny Spain and finding the only thing you can afford to do is lie on the beach all day. So, we sat at my kitchen table while I told her some of the options she had – most of them gleaned from Fools posting on our message boards. She was a bit surprised to find that there was only one thing she wouldn't be able to do and that was to get a lodger because it was in her lease that she wasn't allowed to. Anyway, see what you think of the suggestions we (you) came up with – maybe you can use some of them yourself: De-clutter the house and sell the pickings at a car boot sale. We often get useless birthday and Christmas presents that we can do without and my friend's no different. Remember that one person's trash is another's treasure so just because you don't like something doesn't mean someone else won't. Get up early so you can get a pitch near the entrance – people often run out of money by the time then get towards the end of the route so make sure you grab them before they've emptied their wallets! Never grocery shop on an empty stomach Think about it. How often have you thrown things willy-nilly into the shopping trolley just because you're hungry and you like the look of something. Making a list and eating before you go means you only buy what you really need thus leaving more money in your purse or wallet at the end of your shopping trip. Shop at Oxfam. Yes, really! Rich people give away their clothes to charity too and, if you look carefully and often, you can often find good quality items – even designer labels if you check out the charity shops in affluent areas. No-one's going to know unless you tell them, after all. Make your own sandwiches Take your lunch to work instead of buying sandwiches. People spend an extraordinary amount of money on buying sandwiches for lunch when they could easily make one for far less than the cost of a loaf of bread. If you're spending a fiver a day on a sandwich, a can of coke and a packet of crisps, then you're parting with at least £100 a month. Making your own lunch would cost you less than a tenner a week saving you at least £120 by the middle of August. Stop buying newspapers Why on earth are you buying a daily newspaper? Most of the decent ones (and some of the not so decent ones) are now online. For the most part you can read them for free and while you may not necessarily get all the pretty pictures, you can still keep yourself informed. For instant updates on the news take a look at www.ananova.com and, of course, www.bbc.co.uk Get a second job. Don't throw your hands up in horror at this idea – the Americans do it all the time when they need to raise some extra cash. A couple of evenings a week working behind a bar or in a restaurant, or even just a Saturday job, is a quick and easy way to make money and you could earn in the region of £30 to £50 extra a week, even after paying tax and insurance. Consider taking in a lodger if you have room. This is obviously slightly more long-term rather than something you can do for two months but under the Government's Rent-a-Room scheme, you are allowed to make £4,250 a year without paying tax on the income. You'll need to agree this with your mortgage lender or landlord as well as your insurance company, but it can prove to be an effective, easy and fairly temporary way to make some money. Use the library Borrow books, videos and CDs from the library instead of buying them. Do you really need to read the latest chick-lit book or own your own copy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 6 right this very minute? Instead of buying your own copy, order it from the library for free. Cut out the takeaways An Indian meal for two can easily cost £20 or more and it soon mounts up if you're opting for a takeaway even just once a week. Instead try and make double quantities of meals that you can freeze so that you can draw on those when you're feeling too tired to cook. Reduce your satellite package If you're paying well over £30 a month for the full satellite package perhaps it's time to think about what you actually watch. How many films do you really sit through each month? Are you getting value for money? Anyway, my friend's feeling a lot happier now and plans to have a word with the manager of her local wine bar this evening. I also printed off a superb post that I read yesterday on our Dealing with Debt Board so that she can read it whenever she needs a bit of motivation!