Charity/Thrift Shops - A good idea or not?

Today my sister visited me from Torquay. We went into the village where I live and decided to have a look around the two charity shops, after our trip to the post office.  

Well I had forgotten what a treasure trove there was in the charity shops. Granted the things weren't new, but some of the clothes and books were in such good condition, that they were well worth the £1.50 on the price tag.

One of the earliest charity shops was set up by the Wolverhampton Society for the Blind (now called the Beacon Centre for the Blind) in 1899 to sell goods made by blind people to raise money for the Society. During World War 1, various fund-raising activities occurred, such as a bazaar in Shepherds Bush. London, which made £50,000 for the Red Cross.

It's great to think that the empty shops in the high street can be used to help various charities. However, another view is, if a town has a large percentage of charity shops then the area is poor, due to the fact that 'normal' shops no longer trade there.  Also, some people think 'new' is always best, and you can't sway their view.

However, I think everyone should try and buy at least one item a month from a charity shop as not only will they save money (and that's always a good idea), they may find a classic, and it will help a local charity.

So tell me what is your view on charity/thrift shops, and what has been your best bargain?

Promoting a new business

I have recently started a business with my daughter.Well it will be her business and I am trying to help her get it off the ground for very little layout.  We have the concept and have had through the business cards.Now to promote it for as little money as possible.

We have been to Ramsgate (about five miles from where we live), and talked to various businesses about it. Two businesses were interested, but we have found out we will need public liability insurance for them to be able to work with us.

Today we managed to see some more businesses and got another possible customer, who again mentioned the public liability insurance. We also managed to leave our card with other businesses so hopefully that will produce some more customers.

So we have gone on the comparison sites to find out the prices for the insurance and the cheapest is £77 which isn't too bad. Next week I will get the insurance for her and she can be on three businesses books. We intend running the business along side our normal jobs as a way to save for the future, 

Personally, I am following the Dave Ramsey Plan, so spending money on anything doesn't sit well with me at the moment - hopefully we can work hard and put back the cost of the insurance quickly.

I am also starting to write a book, which is a murder mystery and I'm actually enjoying it.I am trying to be strict with myself and write at least five pages a day, which if my calculations are right means the book will take me just over a year. Then I will have to spend a few weeks editing it, then seeing what my peers think of it and seeing if it is worth trying to publish it. Also, I will have to look into whether it is better to try publishing it as an ebook or as a traditional book.

What are your thoughts on this, thank you Helen R.

Handbags to inspire you

Life is too short not to treat yourself once in a while to a nice handbag.

This Celine Tote would be a good day handbag as it has plenty of room for your daily essentials, is sturdy, in a colour that goes with nearly everything and is a stylish accessory.

The next handbag I love, is this sleek little number from Collectif.  Harking back to yesteryear it would make the holder look bang on trend and it comes in an assortment of shiny colours to suit your mood,and your outfit.

If you are going to a special occasion, such as a wedding or a christening, it's always good to give the impression that you have made an effort with what you wear,and how you accesorise your outfit. That being the case is why you could never go wrong with a Prada handbag.This beautiful light pink, embellished handbag is a work of art and would never go out of style.

With all the different handbags you collect, making sure you have the items in each bag can sometimes be a bit time consuming, which is why it is a good idea to buy a handbag organiser which means you simply change it to the required bag for the day or evening with very little effort.

Thanks for reading, what's your favourite handbag and why?

How I save money on my shopping

As a mum of two teenage girls, I have to make sure they eat healthily, whilst still saving money.  I tend to write a shopping list on the day before I go shopping, which for me is on a Sunday afternoon.

The first thing I do is check if I can make any meals from what I still have left from the previous week and see if anything needs to be used up.  I can usually find two meal (not always involving meat). Also there are websites around where you can put in what you have leftover and it comes up with suggestions of meals.

I also look in my cook books to see if there's anything I can make from leftovers, or to get inspiration for meals for the following week.

This weeks menu looks like this (sorry if the lists are not straight I'm new to this layout malarky!!)


                           Breakfast     Snack      Lunch        Dinner              Pudding            Snack           Snack

Monday            Kipper           Apple      Mugshot      Spaghetti       Strawberries       Yogurt         Grapes
                                                                   Choc Bar      Bolognese

Tuesday           Cereal           Banana     Scrambled   Sausage           Tinned                Noodles       Lolly
                          Milk                                 Eggs on       Mash                Pinapples
                                                                   Toast            Sweetcorn

Wednesday      Poached        Apple       Mugshot       Breaded        Pancakes       Yogurt         Apricot
                           Egg on                            Choc Bar       Fish            
                           Brown                                                     Homemade
                          Toast                                                       Chips & Peas


Thursday      Cereal           Banana      Ravioli             Chilli Con      Tinned          Noodles    Popcorn
                        Milk                               on Brown          Carni &          Peaches
                                                                Toast                 Brown Rice   


Friday           Kipper         Apple        Mugshot            Ham & Egg      Choc Ices     Yogurt      Apricot
                                                               Choc Bar           Salad              


Saturday       Boiled          Kiwi         Bagette               Tuna Pasta        Fab Lolly     Dip &        Popcorn
                       Egg &                            Tomato                Bake                                        Crisps
                       Brown                           Puree                      
                       Toast                            Choritzo
                                                             Cheese/Salad


Sunday        Kipper       Apple          Crumpets              Roast             Jelly            Yogurt      Lolly
                                                               Fruit Cake          Chicken
                                                                                             Brocolli
                                                                                             Carrots
                                                                                              Gravy

I agree it may not look particularly healthy, but I know if my children don't have snacks in the house they will just go out and get their own or moan about it. The menu is a compromise lots of fruit and veg and yes a bit of unhealthy stuff too. 

The noodles are egg noodles and I boil them in water, drain them, then fry them in frylight with an egg, an oxo cube and soy sauce. These were low in fat when I was at slimming world.  The mug shots are again low in fat, however, I know the penguin bars cancel that out! 

Kippers are good for you and so easy to cook.You used to be able to buy a big bag in Iceland, but unfortunately, they no longer do them so you have to buy them individually. However, Aldi never seem to do Kippers so will probably have toast and marmite on those days. 

We tend to have our evening meal quite early between four and five most weekdays which is why I have included two snacks. Most days we don't have the two though. On a Sunday we tend to have the roast in the middle of the day and a proper tea later in the evening (usually when something good comes on the telly).

Anyway, after looking in my fridge, freezer and cupboards I composed my shopping list and this is what I bought from Aldi. I also have added some baking bits as my daughter is going to attempt to make a rainbow cake, as a trial for her birthday cake next week, she saw it on the internet and is keen to try it. I also have sundry items such as cat food, toilet rolls and drinks (also some sweets my daughter added to the trolley when I wasn't looking!!).

Shopping Receipt:

E/E Cat Pouch x 2                               =   £3.58
Eggs 15 Pack Medium                        =   £1.25
Frozen Sweetcorn                               =   £0.85
Aldi Diet Cola   x 2                            =   £0.78
E/E Squash                                         =   £0.42
Squeezy Mayonnaise                         =   £0.79
Yogurt & Biscuit 6 pack                    =   £1.79
Ice Blitz (like Fabs)                            =   £1.00
Caster Sugar                                       =   £0.89
Icing Sugar x 2                                   =   £1.30
BB Light Margarine                           =   £0.79
Crisp Cereal                                        =   £1.19
Cupshotz (Like Mugshots)  x 3          =  £0.99
Mini Cheese Bakes                             =  £0.85
Seal Bars (Like Penguins)                  =  £0.72
E/E Penne Pasta                                  =  £0.29
E/E Tortilla Chips                               =  £0.46
Food Colouring x 4                             =  £3.12
Bubbly Bar                                          =  £0.62
Puffs & Monster Claws Crisps            =  £0.99
All Butter Angel Cake                         =  £0.85
E/E Lightly Fruited Slab Cake            =   £1.00
Part Baked Bagettes                             =  £0.45
E/E Bread Mixed Case (No Idea)        =  £0.36
Warburtons Crumpets                          =  £0.68
Luxury Toilet Tissue                            =  £1.45
Breaded Cod                                         =  £1.79
Small Whole Chicken                           =  £2.75
Pork Sausages                                       =  £1.29
Lean Ham                                              =  £1.45
Turkey Mince                                        = £1.79
Tinned Tomatoes                                   = £0.31
Tinned Carrots                                       = £0.19
Kiwi Fruit                                               = £0.69
Lighter Mature Cheese                           =  £1.55
Bananas 1kg                                           =  £0.68
Raspberries                                             =  £0.99
Strawberries                                            =  £1.35
Apricots                                                   =  £0.49
Cucumber                                                =  £0.34
Iceberg Lettuce                                        =  £0.34
E/E Apples                                               = £0.99

TOTAL                                                   = £44.45

I think this is pretty good for a weeks shopping, as I say the things I haven't included I already I already have. I also remembered to take my own carrier bags as it's a waste of money to pay for them!!  

I am personally not surprised that other supermarkets are starting to falter as their prices simply can't compare to Aldi.  

I welcome anyone's other comments or their own tips. 

Thank you,


Helen R. 

  

Agatha Christie

These are very wise words from Agatha Christie, she seemed to know people so well, perhaps that's the reason for her continued popularity in her books, who can tell?

The reason I am so fascinated by Agatha Christie, is she wrote with such flair that from the beginning of her books you were instantly hooked. I loved the 1930's era, the smart clothes,music, manners, Art Deco designed buildings and furniture and the fondness of times gone by.

My favourite of all her characters is Miss.Jane Marple. Who has been bought to life on the big screen by many famous actresses including Margaret Rutherford, Helen Hays and more recently Geraldine McEwan. In the stories Miss.Marple comes across at first as a weak old lady from St.Mary Mead.  

What the reader knows though is she has one of the quickest brains, and because of this camaraderie with the character the reader is kept interested.

The chapters of Agatha's books, were usually kept quite short, there was only usually a handful of characters and each character had hidden secrets. There were the usual red herrings thrown in to make you doubt whether your original thoughts on 'who dunnit' were indeed correct.

Thanks to Agatha's unique gift of story telling she was able to amass enough wealth to buy Greenaway in Devon which is set in a beautiful location on a hill above the River Dart, and is now owned by the national trust and opened to the public. If you ever get the chance to visit there, it is well worth it, and if you are a budding author, you never know it may inspire you to write your own masterpiece.