Nifty Thrifty (Part 2)

While exploring ways to shop savvily, I realised that I was paying over the odds for pet food at the supermarket or pet chain stores, and soon enough found a local pet food supplier who sells a wide variety of produce in bulk, and with a smile!

As a student, I was a hairdressing model for a few months and would get a free haircut from top salons, cultivating that neat straightened bob I favoured at the time. Recently, I asked my usual salon if I could be their model (terms including a great haircut for a fraction of the price, i.e. 5 times cheaper than the normal rate!). I have to say I had to swallow my pride for a moment (being their client turned model, and not exactly an 18-year-old) but the financial gain is not to be frowned upon, and in return you are doing a trainee hairdresser a favour, so this is definitely a win-win situation!

Further in my quest to be economically smart, I also started to plan my car journeys more carefully, making sure they would involve more than one errand! For example, if I drive down to the bank, I will also get some petrol on the way and walk a few blocks from the bank to the charity shop with items to donate. Making the trip more economically viable, with a thought for the environment: priceless!

On the subject of charity shops, on a couple of occasions I surprised my good intentions by sparing a few items from donation (sorry charity!), having decided that although I hadn’t worn them for years, maybe now was the time to give them a second chance, as there was no way I could justify a fashion expense (no matter how necessary the expense was!). Well, do I regret rediscovering those once-beleaguered UK-made straight-cut indigo denim (in pristine condition)? Nope, they definitely are my favourite jeans right now! Ha, the fickleness of the fashion follower!

Finally, if you are watching your money and calling yourself eco-conscious, then leaving electrical appliances (computer, TV set, hi-fi, game consoles) on standby when not used will be wasteful. According to Act on CO2, ‘if everyone in the UK switched off unused appliances it would save £800 million a year’. So there's another smart move for you and you will be quids in!