June Competition Now Out
June 17, 2009 – 12:05 pmThe June competition is now live, sorry for the delay 
http://peazyshop.co.uk/june-2009-competition.php
New UK Car Scrapping Scheme
June 3, 2009 – 1:26 pmFrom May 18th this year, until March 2010 or until the budget of £300 million that’s been put in place for it runs out, a new government funded car scrappage scheme has been brought into play. It’s a voluntary scheme for manufacturers, but if they join the scheme, then when you buy a new vehicle they’ll give you £2,000 off the price if you let them scrap your old vehicle, and then they will be reimbursed half this amount (i.e. £1000) by the government.
It won’t be available for ALL cars, you’ll have to meet certain specifications, or rather, your car will. First of all the car must have been registered in the UK before 31st Aug 1999, and either be registered on the road, or have a valid SORN certificate. It also has to be in the name of the person buying the new car, and has to have been registered to that person for 12mths before the order date of the new car. This is to stop people buying up an old wreck and then using it to get the £2,000 off the new vehicle. There are a few other rules as well, but these are the basics.
The scheme has been introduced as a way of boosting the UK’s car industry which has been hit rather hard by the global recession that we’re going through at the moment. Similar schemes have been launched in other places in Europe with success such as Germany, France and Italy. There are so far thirty eight manufacturers hoping to gain additional customers by joining this scheme.
The other benefits of the scheme are that older cars tend to have higher CO2 emissions and so by scrapping these older cars we remove some of the worst pollutants from the roads. In addition to this, over the last ten years there have been huge improvements to safety features in cars which means that by reducing the number of older cars on the roads, overall safety should be improved as well.
The beginning of this scheme has however seen a few teething problems as some companies come to grips with how the system works. Hopefully though these will soon be ironed out and many more people will be able to take advantage of the scheme and improve their drive without having to spend as much as they might have without the scheme.
Working the 5 – 9
May 29, 2009 – 7:22 pmAparently there are around 5 million people working from home or running a small business outside of their normal working hours, which is quite a staggering statistic.
If you would like to do something like this to supplement your income but don’t know where to start I saw this great website on the TV eirlier on in the week.
The site is called people per hour www.peopleperhour.com
In essence it is a classified board for people looking for work and businesses who need staff on a temporary arrangement.
Depending on your skill your could make an acceptable income from it, certainly worth a look if you need some additional income.
MP’s Expenses Claims
May 14, 2009 – 12:26 pmIt has made for very interesting reading over the last few days to see just how far some government MP’s have been willing to stretch expense claims for their own financial gain. Hopefully now that issues are out in the open change will happen quickly and flimsy expense rules will be tightened.
So what have the government been paying out on? Well up till now it looks like just about anything and everything was being claimed and paid.
- Mowing paddocks – £2000
Cleaning a moat – £2000
£75′000 to fund a second home 12 miles from a main residence
£12′000 on gardening fees over 5 years
£5000 for new furniture in 3 homes
£200′000 in bolls on a country home
It really is quite unbelievable, it actually makes me feel quite sick that the people who are suppost to be working in the best interests of the country (a country in a recession) are looking after themselves first and us second.
It is quite obvious that MP’s have been abusing this situation for many years and I hope that they feel ashamed enough to pay back any money that has been unrightfully claimed.
I don’t know what you think about British politics but I have even less faith in the government now than I did before, this country is run by crooks!
Further reading:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/13/mps-fear-repaying-expenses
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8049614.stm
Are you the UK’s thriftiest householder
May 12, 2009 – 5:20 pmI received an email from a production company today asking to make a posting about a new TV series they are producing looking for Britians thriftiest householder. Couldn’t resist posting the info!
Red House Television are looking for masters and mistresses of thrift, who are experts in saving money or getting the best deal.
Whether it’s an ability to track down a bargain, a knack for household economy or simply a talent for surviving on little or no money.
If this sounds like one of your readers, or someone they know, we would love them to share their cost cutting tips, however unusual for this major new show.
Please contact us now:
Sarah Delafield Cook on 0207 855 7460 or email
thrift@redhousetv.co.uk
May competition is now live
May 10, 2009 – 10:16 amThe May competition is now live on the site http://peazyshop.co.uk/may-2009-competition.php
Now BT offer free line installation
April 23, 2009 – 1:25 pmI couldn’t quite believe it when I was reading yesterday morning that BT are now offering free line installation (with some terms and conditions attached). Having moved into my first flat last month, which is a new property so there is no phone line installed and you need to organize that yourself.
I gulped at the £125 installation price that BT were quoting and thought I would look about before I said yes. I literally have been round the block on this one to find the cheapest deal, but not compromise on the service I would received.
I checked Virgin media but my area isn’t a cable area which means that I still need a BT line. I looked at Tiscali, who offer a combined line rental and broadband package for around £16 per months and you get line installation for £99, but I ended going against it due to the really bad customer service that I heard about.
Having weighed up the options I chose to go with SKY TV – yes it is more expensive, the TV package is £16.50 per month, plus you need line rental & broadband which is an extra £20 meaning that it comes in at £36.50 per month. But the nice people at Sky install the phone line for free.
When you weight it up Sky is slightly more expensive for a years service (around £40) than if I had just taken the broadband and line rental on its own and paid for the BT phone line to be installed, but I the extra TV channels will make up for it!
In case you are interested the free phone installation offer runs on an 18 month minimum contract and you need to make 10 paying calls per month, (read the small print). Sounded like a bit of hassel to me so opted for the easier option.
image credit flickr
I’m waiting in on Saturday for the Sky TV to be installed so lets hope they come early in the morning to get it over and done with!
Holiday at Home
April 21, 2009 – 3:38 pmHolidays cost a fair bit, and with the economy the way it is at the moment a lot of people are trying to find alternative options that don’t cost so much. One idea we had was the thought of a ‘Holiday at Home’. How would it work? Well, we think it might work like this:
Book a week off work – just like you would if you were going on holiday somewhere exotic.
Instead of booking your hotel & a hire car, book yourself into your very own home for a week, and relax in the pleasure of knowing you’ll not be getting frustrated hitting the windscreen wiper button every time you try to turn left.
Now sit down with a cuppa and look at what there is to do in your holiday destination…. Contact the local tourist board or look on your town’s website and see what they’d be recommending to people if they didn’t live here and were holidaying here, ask them to send you some brochures and leaflets. Find all the interesting places to visit and things to see just as you might if you were away on holiday. Make your itinerary of what you’d like to do, and plan for your holiday – buy yourself that nice outfit for when you go to the nightclub, that swim suit for the beach etc. just like you would if you were going away – remember this IS still a holiday!
When it comes time for your holiday, treat it as you would if you were away, have meals out, pack up packed lunches, get the odd takeaway. Have days out – at the beach, going shopping, visiting museums and places of interest, take a tour bus round town to see the sights. Laze in the park, feed the ducks, even buy yourself the odd souvenir, and take some photos for your holiday album.
What will the difference be? Well, firstly you’ll have explored your local area in much more depth than you probably would think of doing otherwise. You won’t have had to pay for a plane or train to get somewhere, you won’t have spent a fortune on a hotel, or wasted a day or two travelling there and back. The similarities will be that you’ll have had fun days out to places, seen some sights, and relaxed on your holiday.
The best bit about a holiday at home? When you come back, you don’t have to worry about how you’re going to pay for it!
April competition now out
April 11, 2009 – 4:47 pmThe April competition is now live which you can sign up to here http://peazyshop.co.uk/april-2009-competition.php
Government Grants
April 9, 2009 – 11:46 amWith the economy the way it is at the moment many of us are having to cut corners and save the pennies. One thing it’s worth checking is if you might be able to benefit from any one of a number of Government grants that are available at the moment.
Government grants are available for many different things from helping you to stay healthy during pregnancy, to helping you with the cost of installing cavity wall insulation. Many of these grants are available to people even if they’re not on benefits too, so don’t think that just because you don’t qualify for benefits these are all unavailable to you, as they may not be. A good site to take a look at to find out what government grants are available is this one.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/AdvancedSearch/Searchresults/index.htm?fullText=grants
This is a link to the governments own website which explains various things from grants to benefits and rights at work. This particular page however gives a list of all the various grants that the government offers so that you can then determine where to look more closely for what might be useful to you.
The grants that are available are quite varied. If you are looking for help with education for school leavers or are an adult returning to education you may be able to get a grant to help you with the costs. Some of these come directly from the government, and some are funded by various charitable trusts. It’s also worth asking your parish council if they offer grants for education at all as some do, and they’re often not well publicised.
A disabled person looking to adapt their home to meet their needs can get help, as can someone who wants to improve the energy efficiency of their home and install cavity wall insulation, loft insulation and loads more. For the latter, there are grants which are available to everyone and can reduce the costs of having this done by up to 70% for those not on benefits, and for those on certain types of benefit, the grant can be for up to 100% of the cost.
If you’re pregnant, you can now get a one off grant of £190 to help you stay healthy during your last weeks of pregnancy. If you’re on a low income or in receipt of certain benefits, you might also qualify for a Sure Start grant as well – this is a one off payment of £500 which is to help you with the costs of a new baby. (If you’ve had your baby in the last 3 months you can still claim this grant).
