Monday morning again!  How is everyone?  And more importantly, how were your weekends?  I spent mine lazily lunching, gossiping with a friend and beach-walking.

So to last week’s highlights.  I went home to my parents’ house on Wednesday and spent most of the week walking on the beach, reading books or writing blog posts while drinking tea.  Tres tres relaxing.  Here are my highlights:

• Making shepherd’s pie for dinner on Tuesday night.  Ovened to crispy perfection with plenty of cheese on the top.  Nom.
• Heralding the return of The Apprentice!
• Spending the whole of Wednesday’s train ride from Edinburgh to Aberdeen reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.  Saying hello to a friend who works in a cafe beside Aberdeen train station and scoring a free cup of tea for my onward journey.
• Watching the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night and revelling in the all out cheesiness of pretty much every performance (including the UK’s!).  As far as I’m concerned, Azerbaijan may have taken the title, but the real stars of the night were the Moldovans.  How they failed to score 12 points from everyone with their bizarre but surprisingly well-orchestrated combination of thumping drums, cone hats and unicycling I’ve absolutely no idea…
• Having four no-spend days during the course of the week.  Four!  That must be a record.  Of course it helps if you go home to your parents and let them buy all the groceries (thanks guys)!
• Cycling ten miles round the countryside with my brother on Friday.  Spending twenty minutes at the side of the road fixing a jammed chain (only possible thanks to a tub of trusty Vaseline I had in my pocket).  Chain duly fixed, finding ourselves caught right in the grip of a vicious burst of hailstones.  There was nothing for it but to laugh…
• Having a long, lazy and carb-fuelled lunch with a friend on Saturday.  And a mighty good gossip as well.
• Catching a glimpse of the elusive Moray Coast dolphins on Sunday.  I lived by the coast for about ten years and this only the third or fourth time I’ve seen the dolphins in action.  Aren’t they lovely?
• Finding time to read the whole of the Sunday paper.  This never happens to me.

And that’s your lot!  I’m off to Italy this Thursday so I suspect posting will be a bit scatty for the next few weeks.  If there’s time before I go, I’ll put some ‘out of office’ posts together for your viewing pleasure.  My other plans for the week include last minute pep talks from friends over coffee, writing lists about packing and “useful phrases” cramming from my Italian dictionary!

What’s on your agenda this week?

Image above from Flickr – Peter Faretra.

Last week I read a book called In the Red by Alexis Hall.  It’s the diary of a self-confessed shopaholic who, having mounted up an impressive £30,000 of credit card debt, suddenly comes to the realisation that this might not be such a good idea (shock!), and that perhaps she should try to curb her ravenous appetite for shopping and, y’know, pay some of it off.  So Alexis quits shopping for a year, and attempts to channel every penny of her spare income into her creditors’ coffers rather than the tills of Harvey Nichols.  Easy.

What struck me most while reading this book (aside from the fact that a woman in debt to the tune of 30K thought that it was entirely reasonable to spend £40 on birthday presents for HER DOG) was Hall’s description of her spending addiction.  At one point she confessed to having bought so many things which she had then flung at the back of her wardrobe and forgotten all about that sometimes she would actually buy the same things twice without even noticing.

Now, I know what it’s like to have so many clothes that forgetting about the odd skirt or top isn’t that unusual, but to not even remember buying something is another concept entirely.  People laugh and joke about being “shopaholics” all the time (which, just while I’m at it, I don’t really rate as something to brag about), but when you’ve bought up the high street to the extent that you start buying it all over again, surely then it’s time to hand yourself over to a doctor, no?

But why am I talking about all this?  Well, Alexis and her mad spending habits came into my mind this morning while I was thinking about shoes, and how they fit into the capsule wardrobing jigsaw.

Which in turn got me thinking about shoe mania, and how completely bonkers it is.

Someone enlighten me: what is it about shoes?  More than clothes, more than bags, more than perfume, make-up, diamonds or pearls, shoes seem to possess a unique power to turn highly respectable, sane women into shrieking, salivating hyenas at the drop of a (I was going to say hat but I think stiletto is probably more appropriate).  Since Sex and the City exploded into our lives in all its “Who needs a man when you’ve got Manolo?” glory back in the day, the humble shoe has acquired an almost mythological status among much of the female population.  Blahnik and Choo are now household names, and I’d be willing to bet that there are women out there who would happily trade in the rest of what they own (or perhaps even their long-suffering partners) for a pair of $400 platforms to coo over at night.

It’s not that I’m unable to appreciate a nice-looking shoe when I see one, it’s more the fact that shoe-worshipping as a sport seems to me to be utterly, utterly pointless.  As far as I’m concerned, shoes (like clothes) are for wearing, not licking.  If they don’t fit, if you can’t walk and dance in them, and if the thought of them making contact with, like, an actual pavement makes you want to hurl, then to my humble mind they’re either not worth buying or were a complete waste of money.  End of.

And that’s not to mention what happens to our high heeled shoes when we DO wear them.  They get dirty.  The heels wear down.  The buckles lose their shine and the straps fray and sometimes they even snap.  And anyone who has ever been clubbing (not even in your local grunge emporium, just your average club) will agree with me when I say that our shoes have to negotiate sticky, drink-splattered floors, broken glass, other peoples’ heels and yeah, occasionally the odd pile of vomit as well.  Surely this speedy rate of stiletto depreciation ought to give us some clue as to how much it’s reasonable to spend on them?

Such are my musings on heels.  My opinion on other kinds of footwear, however, couldn’t be more different.  When it comes to the shoes I wear every day, I’ll quite happily spend the extra money for something that won’t pinch, leak or fall apart at the first signs of bad weather.  I’ve had too many bad shoe experiences courtesy of the house of cheap crap to even consider spending less than around £15 on footwear these days (unless the goods are in a sale, of course!).  As far as I’m concerned, when it comes to flats, and whether they’re Summer sandals, Winter booties or heavy duty hill walkers, it’s investment all the way.  Your feet have to last you your entire life – show them you care by not subjecting them to torture every time you step outside.  And with that sentiment firmly in mind, here are my top five tips on capsule-ising your shoe collection:

• Always keep a pair of (ultra) cheap shoes nearby for accidental ruining.  Paintballing, DIY and muddy camping trips will be much more fun as a result, and you won’t embarrass yourself coming over all “I can’t ruin my shoes” either.
• Have at least one pair of semi-formal shoes (no ridiculous heels, no provocative patent and no garish colours), and keep them in good condition.  Dressing for job interviews, funerals, and impromptu ‘look smart’ occasions will be much less stressful.
• Keep your shoes somewhere you can see them.  Mine sit on top of my wardrobe, so whenever I’m putting an outfit together I can select the right shoes without having to bury my way into Narnia.  Simple idea, massively helpful.
• Think about what’s in your wardrobe when you go shoe shopping.  If they won’t go with a single thing you own then please, for the love of God, don’t buy them.  Stick to your own style and buy something that’ll work with your clothes.  Remember that capsule wardrobing is about making dressing easy as well as fun.
• Finally (and it’s a biggie) LOOK AFTER YOUR SHOES!  It’s easy to do and it will bring you dividends.  Have them re-heeled when they need it, polish them with love and replace laces and buckles when they start to look tired.

What are your thoughts on shoes?  Do you have five pairs or five hundred?  I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I’ve been doing some DIY lately as a way to take breaks from revision.  Not DIY in the sanding/paint stripping/wall papering sense, but more the superficial kind: rearranging furniture, hanging pictures, decluttering and tidying up.  All on the cheap cheap cheap, of course.

Having very little money to play with can be a good thing when it comes to home improvements.  With your finances in tight check, you’ll be forced to get your creative juices flowing and think on your feet.  And who says you can only revamp your living space if you have a well-padded bank balance and a whole week to devote to it?  It’s true – you might not be able to effect big changes, such as painting or re-carpeting rooms, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still make a tangible difference to the place you live with a few well thought-out touches here and there.  All it takes is some imagination and a willingness to accept that some of your ideas might just be terrible.  That’s OK!  We’re all beginners here, especially me (someone who once thought it would be a good idea to have blue bedroom walls with dolphins stencilled all over them.  Er, nautical.).

So in the spirit of us all being friends and amateurs together, here are some of my top tips for making the most of your living space on a tight, tight budget…

Have a good clear out

Ah my old friend, de-cluttering.  Back to remind us that there’s joy to be found in getting rid of your old junk.  The more space you free up in your home, the more room you’ll have for yourself and the things you love.  I want my home to be easy to manage, relaxing and beautiful, not a repository for yesteryear’s crap that makes me feel guilty every time I walk past.  Even if you only have two or three things to get rid of, do it anyway.  I can almost guarantee you’ll feel better.

Tidy up!

Sometimes our homes actually need little other than a mighty good clean.  If you could spend a morning hoovering, dusting, polishing your pictures, hanging up your clothes and filing away all of your paperwork, how much better do you think your living space would look as a result?  My guess is miles.  Whenever I clean my room I think ‘Gosh doesn’t that look lovely?’ and I instantly feel less like I need to completely transform it.  I’m not saying that it should remain that way forever more (seriously not – I can be pretty messy when I put my mind to it) but a little bit of elbow grease might just take you further than you think.

Make do and mend

As far as I’m concerned, there’s a much greater thrill to be found in re-purposing something you already own than there is in handing over a stack of tenners for something new.  Use what you already have, and never be done asking the following question: what can I do with this? Such an approach has seen me hacking up old dresses to make new cushion covers, papering old shoe boxes with attractive gift wrap and brightening up a dull cork notice board by covering it over with some cheery scrap fabric.  There’s no limit to the new looks you can give your old things, or the new uses to which you can put them.  Let your inhibitions go and have some fun.

Think about functional beauty

Sometimes the things we use every day can make great decorations.  Clothes and accessories, for example.  I like to have my clothes where I can see them, so I hang things on the back of my door and also on the wall, where they can give me inspiration.  I like to display my scarves on a wire hanger, and my shoes sit along the top of my wardrobe where I can’t forget about them.  You can also make great decorations out of necklaces and earrings – hang them from the corners of mirrors and on mesh display racks where they can give your room some added ‘zing’.  Another thing I love to see displayed in a home is books – they say so much about a person.  They also look beautiful as well, particularly those really old ones with the musty smells and the battered covers.

Free stuff

A bowlful of shells from a nearby beach – varnished if you can be bothered – can give a theme to your bathroom, while empty wine bottles with candlesticks or long stemmed flowers in them look nice on your kitchen or dining table.  I know I say this all the time, but jam jars really do make great receptacles for stock cubes, sugar and other condiments.  And occasionally, you might be lucky enough to find something great for your home either on the kerbside or at the recycling plant.  I once found a wire shopping basket outside my flat which has done a stellar job as a magazine holder ever since.  And if you find out what day the bin men visit your nearest posh neighbourhood, get yourself along there the night before and have a butchers at what people have left out for trash (you’ll be astounded).  Remember the golden rule: the posher the neighbourhood, the better the swag.  Go to it.

To purchase to purchase…

Finally, if you do need to buy a few things to complete your home improvement projects, try looking in charity shops (particularly the ones with furniture outlets) for pictures, old suitcases and bits and bobs for the kitchen.  Your local recycling plant can also be great for snaffling up some new-to-you treasures.  The one in Edinburgh has a section where things that have been salvaged by the people at the plant are available for resale.  If all else fails, there’s always Ikea, but do beware of creating the bland, uninspiring mono-home that can so easily result from one too many visits to the blue and yellow warehouse.  Everything in moderation!

Image above from Flickr – 60 in 3.

Anyone else feeling the pinch a little at the moment?  I know the financial forecast is bleak just now but seriously – everywhere I turn there’s a price hike taking aim and firing at my measly, student-diseased bank balance.  My rent has increased, my fortnightly shop is more expensive and I put petrol in my boyfriend’s car the other week only to be utterly gobsmacked when I realised that £20 no longer buys even a quarter of a Renault Clio tank (and that was before we broke down on the way home from the Lake District and had to pay just shy of £150 to be rescued by the AA).  Friends?  This simply will not do!

I don’t really spend much time talking about personal finance issues on the blog these days, and to be honest, it’s a little bit intentional.  The internet of today is so utterly choked with money saving tips and advice that I’m really not sure I have a huge amount that’s new to add.  Don’t get me wrong – I remain completely devoted to living a beautiful life without breaking the bank, but let’s face it: there are only so many posts I can write about how great making batches of soup is, or which credit cards provide the best interest rate (did I ever even write about that in the first place!?) before I start sounding like a broken record.

Having said that, these barren fiscal times do call for some creative and ultra-frugal thinking.  And in a bid to regain some control amid the frenzy of price hikes, duty rises and spending cuts, I’m going back to the roots of personal finance.  I want to remind myself of the fundamentals of thrift, and ensure that I’m applying them every single day.  And I want anyone else who’s feeling the pinch to join in with me.  To start us off, here are twenty of my all-time favourite thrift-based principles.  Feel free to add some of your own in the comments.  I *really* don’t want to sound like he of the considerable forehead, but let’s face it guys, we’re all in this together…

FOOD

• Be supermarket-savvy and only take advantage of a great offer if you actually want or need to buy the thing in question.  As my very wise father once pointed out to me, a bargain is only a bargain if you were looking for the thing in the first place.
• Eradicate brand snobbery and buy as much value food and drink as you feel comfortable with.  I don’t buy value meat, eggs or dairy (cooped up hens make me feel very sad indeed) but everything else I consider fair game.  My cupboards boast an array of plain white packaging, and mighty proud I am of them too.
• Packed lunches rule the lunchtime roost, and will almost always taste nicer than anything that can be bought pre-made in a shop. Five minutes of preparation before bed and savings of anything up to £4 per day can be ours. One of the oldest, but most effective, tricks in the book.  Kerching!
• Batch cooking is amazing.  Make full use of any freezer space by loading it up with portions of home-cooked goodies: chilli, ratatouille, soup, yada yada yada…nutritious (hopefully), delicious and cheap cheap cheap!
• Skip going out for dinner and host your own version of Come Dine With Me instead.  Put in the effort now and you’ll reap the rewards in free slap-up meals in the coming months.

CLOTHES

• Use your friends’ wardrobes as opposed to buying new clothes.  ’New to you’ is just as effective as buying something, and you’ll get that added glow of cheap chic to boot.  If, however, you really must purchase…
• …always calculate price per wear (remember that?) on new clothes, and don’t break the bank for something you’ll only wear twice.  It’s all about the investment.
• Update your wardrobe on the cheap by shaking up your accessory collection.  Swap with a friend, raid your local charity shops or, if you simply must go high street, dive into the bargain bins.  The right piece of jewellery or a scarf in an eye-catching print will happily do the stylistic work of ten bits of clothing if you let them.

HOME

• Do as much of your laundry at 30 degrees as you can get away with.  No one smells enough to merit absurd temperatures, it’s a fact.
• Home-made birthday cards will excite and delight most people way more than anything Hallmark produces ever could.  Go get your Pritt Stick on!  Now!
• Become a scavenger.  Posh neighbourhoods can be great places to score nice furniture.  Note: only take something if it’s on the pavement and clearly earmarked for the binmen.  Otherwise you’re just thieving, and that’s really not cool.
• Keeping a spending diary or calendar and updating it honestly (that’s right, every single penny you spend) is a fantastic way to seriously monitor your finances and look at areas for potential savings.
• Become a cleaning product cynic and always ask Google whether a dab of humble vinegar will remedy your problem just as well as the £5 bottle of chemicals with the garish label promises to.

ENTERTAINMENT

• Quit the gym and jog/skip/cycle around your local park or neighbourhood instead.  You’ll see more of the world and save yourself fistfuls of cash.
• Block out all of your Wednesday evenings in favour of the cinema and find someone who wants to take advantage of the Orange 241 deal with you.
• Save cash on books and use the library instead.  Photocopy any pages (recipes, patterns etc) you feel you want to keep permanently.
• Take to the outdoors and, more specifically, the countryside.  The further away you are from the shops, the more physically impossible it becomes to spend money.  And if you work yourself hard enough, you’ll get fit at the same time.

SPIRIT

• Live mindfully and with intention and don’t spend money just for the sake of it.  Always quiz yourself as to whether you really need/want/can afford whatever thing or experience it is.
• Practice giving daily votes of thanks to the universe.  I have found that constantly reminding myself of all the things for which I’m grateful really helps me to want for less and appreciate what I already have more.
• Look at and really see the beauty in life that’s all around you – trees, animals, architecture, other people.  Your eyes are one of the most valuable attributes you have.  And what’s better?  You got ‘em for free.

Image above from Flickr – bies.

I hadn’t given Lent a moment’s thought this year until yesterday, when I realised (too late, may I add) that it was pancake day, and that the beginning of Lent was therefore imminent.  And as soon as I realised it was about to start, I got myself into a stupendous whirlwind of panic over finding something, ANYTHING, to give up.  Foodstuffs?  Charity shopping?  Needless hours spent watching re-runs of Friends on E4?  This frantic self-interrogation carried on for oh, about an hour, until I finally decided that I was simply trying to find something to give up for the sake of taking part in the gimmick, as opposed to using Lent as a means of introducing a change in my life that I actually think is necessary and that I really want to see through.

So the upshot is, I’m not giving anything up this year.  Long-term followers of the blog might remember last year’s challenge, which basically involved me giving up buying almost everything that wasn’t groceries.  Clothes, books, cinema tickets, meals out etc.  Volunteering to go without those little luxuries that I normally take so much for granted afforded me a stark reminder about the world of difference there is between want and need, and it also taught me a lot about my own spending habits.  Those are lessons that I hope I’ve continued to bear in mind ever since, and while it was a good and interesting challenge to take on at the time, I’m not in the same place anymore.  I’ve pared down my belongings tenfold since this time last year, and I’ve also become a much wiser spender, partly because I’m now a struggling student, and have to keep a much tighter rein on my finances than before.

That’s not to say that I consider myself nigh-on perfect with no bad habits remaining to kick into the gutter (seriously, seriously not the case!).  It’s just that right now, there’s nothing on my mind that I really want to give up, so I’m simply not participating.  There are still changes I’d like to make in my life, but most of those relate to adding things in, rather than cutting anything out.  I’d like to use my sewing machine more, for example, and to spend more time creating things with my hands.  I’d also like to become a little more committed to exercise, and to make sure I get to bed early as many nights of the week as my social life will permit.  As far as I can see it, however, these are lifestyle changes that need to be phased in gradually.  Cutting something out of my life that I don’t actually want to get rid of permanently isn’t going to aid me much in bringing new habits in.

So that’s where I’m at this year.  No challenges, just the continuation of a happy normality.  What about you?

Image above from Flickr – vanherdehaage.