Old-style "spend To Save"

Bargain_Rzl

janb5 wrote: »

Bargain rzl did you used to be on a competition website as I seem to recognize your name? If not just ignore me!

Am ignoring you Except for the fact I've PMd you

janb5

Sorry sorry Rzl- put it down to my age- daft old bat. Other Rzl lived in Camberwell too!

Olliebeak

Have you thought about doing a couple of courses - possibly on aromatherapy, head massage, chair-based exercises, reflexology etc. I know that these things cost money, but there is money to be made from them as well. Nursing homes, hospices, work environments, ladies clubs etc are all willing to pay by the hour for those skills to be brought in - and they don't take up too much time/effort.

Regarding the growing of produce - do you have room for a small 'lean-to' style greenhouse (the kind that goes against your house wall - like a walkin cucumber frame!) - those can really trap the heat in the early part of the year and with some kind of 'staging' can hold quite a lot of seedlings. Then some troughs/growbags could be used to plant the seedlings out - or even plastic bins/boxes filled with compost (with drainage holes drilled first of course).

http://gardening.about.com/od/smallspacegardening/Garden_Design_for_Small_Spaces.htm

Hardup_Hester

If you had room you could take in a lodger Ceridwen, & you know how easy I find that, lol.
To anyone who is interested, you can earn £400 a month letting out a room without paying tax on it. You also need endless patience & a large helping of insanity or desperation, in my case I have both.
Hester

Welshlassie

What about getting a solar panel or wind turbine??

I know B&Q have started selling these, but you could probably get them cheaper elsewhere.

MissEyre

Have you had a look at local barter schemes? I was reading something about them a few days ago but can't remember where-think they are also called time banks. Basically, you register with your local organisers and then give your skills, like cooking, and others in the area do the same, and then you can exchange skills-you could bake a cake for someone, and then another local person might drop off some of their extra veg from their allotment, or help you get your garden sorted out. I thought it was a great idea, and worth looking into-don't know if this might be of use for you? Not with your extra money, just generally!

Gena

Olliebeak wrote: »

Have you thought about doing a couple of courses - possibly on aromatherapy, head massage, chair-based exercises, reflexology etc. I know that these things cost money, but there is money to be made from them as well. Nursing homes, hospices, work environments, ladies clubs etc are all willing to pay by the hour for those skills to be brought in - and they don't take up too much time/effort.

I've just completed a course in swedish massage. You have to do a course in anatomy & physiology which is hard work but I learnt a lot and really enjoyed it. So much that I'm now doing a course in Indian Head Massage. When my certificate comes through I hope to be organised (and brave) enough to earn some money in my spare time - you can do mobile so there's little start up costs, and average price for a full body massage (1 hour) is £30.

champys

ceridwen - I have been musing about the 'spend to save' concept..... It just crossed my mind that investing in that yurt may be something to consider. Then when all else fails and unemployment strikes you could rent out the house and still have somewhere to live. On a lighter but similar theme, you could save up for a really nice comfortable tent to make holidays affordable for years to come, or even a second hand camper van....? Of course nothing more sensible than ploughing it all into a pension - but who trusts financial institutions these days with all that is going on at the moment :-)

purpleivy

Gena wrote: »

I've just completed a course in swedish massage. You have to do a course in anatomy & physiology which is hard work but I learnt a lot and really enjoyed it. So much that I'm now doing a course in Indian Head Massage. When my certificate comes through I hope to be organised (and brave) enough to earn some money in my spare time - you can do mobile so there's little start up costs, and average price for a full body massage (1 hour) is £30.

Don't be fooled! I'm qualified in Massage and I wouldn't say that the A&P is tough compared to heaving a massage couch in and out of a car, plus bag of tricks... travelling time and costs to be taken into account.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great thing to do, but going mobile isn't easy. I will visit where there is a need, but it isn't an easy option.

ceridwen

Thanks for the ideas folks - keep them rolling in.

It struck me that I have done rather a lot compared to many over recent years - as I have been anticipating a major Recession for some time (and have now added Peak Oil to that) - so I already have done some of the things - I have money safely tucked away for extra pension for instance and I have done alternative therapy courses (I am qualified in a therapy already - but its on gone to a backburner as I was alternating between despair that nothing seemed to happen on the one hand to some people and wondering whether what just happened was placebo effect that it worked on the other hand - never could make up my mind. So in the end was giving it away for free - then I knew it didnt matter either way - sorta defeated any moneymaking possibilities from it:D ).

Have done courses on making own cosmetics (which is something I'm planning on doing once I've used up what I have a bit more and have the money to send off and stock up with ingredients).

The sum total of whats left to buy now consists of a sofa, coat and chest of drawers - all to replace existing stuff. So I'm going to buy "lasting" type quality on them. Coat for instance I would usually buy from Marks & Spencer - and expect 2/3 years wear from (at that point I find they start bobbling and getting odd bits looking towards the threadbare side) - so I'm wondering whether looking towards Jaegar/Country Casuals/the like for my replacement coat would be worth the extra money spent - would I get the extra number of years wear I would expect from having spent 2-4 times as much - or just a more "stylish" coat (in which case I'd better stick to Marks & Spencers). The current chest of drawers is MFI and the laminate is chipping off all over - so I'm planning on a solid oak replacement (which I know will be quality enough to get passed on to charity in my will - along with everything else I own).

I thought it could be an idea to "pay ahead" on bills as far as possible (eg increase my monthly direct debits on water and fuel to a lot more than I need to pay - so as to have some future bills safely catered for - no darn interest on my money as a downside, but think that would be worth it).

I find I have pretty much all the reference books I could usefully use. I have just got the book done by the Self-Sufficientish guys (you could call that investment spending - £25 - whew!) and the "Post-Petroleum Survival Guide and cookbook" by Albert Bates. I find I started my collection of useful reference books for "when........." over 20 years ago....does that make me an outright pessimist or farsighted? The jury is out on that one. I've spent literally decades alternating between my mothers mindset (get/spend/life will carry on pretty much as it ever has) and my fathers mindset (think literally decades ahead - make your plans based on how society will change over the next several decades) - so I've got plenty of how-to-if information:rolleyes: . In Albert Bates' book I find hes listed the keeping time for some foodstuffs (dont know if hes worked that out himself - or cribbed from the Mormon website, where they have a long list of how long everything will keep if I recall aright). So - planning on doing some working out on that - to see how much food I can stock up without it going off on me (brings to mind the Monty Python Spam sketch....so sing along to the tune "Beans, beans, beans, lovely beans, wonderful beans:whistle: ).

I have had to live with job insecurity for y..e..a..r..s - hence being keen to spend my money as soon as it comes in - rather than leave it in savings at the mercy of paltry capital limits if I ever become unemployed again - but I'm too much of a "puritan" to just plain blow it (my parents might dispute that - LOL)...so
I'll keep me thinking cap on.:D