Missing in Action

Hello bloggy world. I've been missing in action of late, but I've caught up on all your lovely posts! I'll have some more posts going up soon, but for now here's a brief update:

I've been travelling round the country! Sounds very fancy and extravagant, but actually I've been visiting Universities that I have applied to do a PhD with. As I mentioned before, it can be pretty pricey to get the train from the deep reaches of Cornwall over the border and up into “the North” (Devon and beyond!) I've spent about £150 so far, but it's been worth it to meet people I would potentially be working with, have interviews, make contacts, have a nose at various people's research. That kind of thing. I've come away with some very positive feedback and I'm quite confident that all will fall into place for me to return to Uni this year. :) SO EXCITING!

I've had the last of my travellings for a couple of weeks at least, so it's back to the grind! Actually, I've been working pretty much all the days I've not been travelling and used holiday pay for the days I was away, so luckily I've not lost any hours/wages!

I haaate interviews! Even when I know my stuff I always think I sound daft! Anyone have any advice? I go bright red too! :D

Budget: Percentages of income

Have you sat and thought about how much of your wages you spend on different things?

I'm sure most people interested in reducing debt and living frugally have a budget. What I was wondering is what percentage of your pay do you allocate to various things?

There are many different alternatives and of course what works well for some people might not work well for others. In my opinion it also depends how much income you bring home to start with; for example, a third of your wages for rent/mortgage payments might sound reasonable, but the average rent in Cornwall (£699 per month) is around 50% of the average take home pay (£1385 net per month).

Last month I spent:

19% on housing (set rate)

12% on bills (set rate)

10% on basic living costs like fuel and some food (fairly set)

15% on wants like entertainment and non-vital purchases (have been spending more than my target lately :-/)

and 44% was savings, both for an emergency fund and for annual expenses like car maintenance.

I am living with my parents for a year after graduating university. It's not glamorous, but it is allowing me to spend that third of my wages on both rent AND bills combined. I'm sure this report would look a lot different this time next year, when I will hopefully be back at Uni!

Have you taken a look at how well you matched your budget with your spending? I have been monitoring my spending for the past month. It has really helped me to see what I'm doing well and what I need to cut back on. Top priority: use some free entertainment ideas this month!!

Charitable Giving on a Budget

When you're barely keeping your head above water it seems inconceivable to give money to charity, even if you'd really like to. I'm here to tell you that there are a lot of different ways to make a difference without breaking the budget!

• Do you have an old mobile phone you no longer want or used printing ink cartridge? Even if it's broken, many companies will recycle it for you for free. Recycle 4 Charity let you choose who receives your money, paying £1 for an ink cartridge and up to £70 for a working phone.
  
  
  
• What do you do with old pairs of glasses? Did you know that 10% of the world are disabled or disadvantaged because they don't have access to spectacles? Many are excluded from school and cannot see properly to work. If you get a new pair of glasses, please don't throw the others away! Take them to your optician and they will send them to Vision Aid Overseas free of charge.
  
  
• Have a bit of a spring clean and donate old clothing, CDs, DVDs, games, ornaments or even furniture to your local charity shop. Most places are always in desperate need of new stock. Charities range from animal welfare to medical research to global humanitarian groups, so you can choose who you want to support.
  
  
• You can make a donation in someone's name as a birthday or Christmas present for someone in your life who wants to help too, but perhaps can't afford to make a donation themselves. Oxfam have a great range of clutter-free gifts that allow you to provide water, food, education or shelter to people in need.
  
• Many people save their copper coins but even with a full piggy bank you are left with little reward but a lengthy trip to the bank to get it changed to more usable tender! Why not donate your 1p and 2p coins to charity whenever you pass a collection box? It'll be a quick and easy way to make a small difference.
  
  
• What about taking part in a sponsored event, or organising your own? Most charities have a link on their websites for information on events and how to help. You might even get to try something you've never done before – skydiving, anyone?
  
  
  
• Volunteer! You can find out about a huge range of volunteer work in your area using Do-It. From conservation work to working with the elderly, from charity shop work to helping to run a youth centre for children; pick a charity you feel best suits your concerns about the world and then go out there and make a difference.
  
  
• Many charities rely on small monthly donation. A £2 a month donation to Oxfam provides food for people that need it most, at a cost of £24 a year to you.

“We cannot do great things on this Earth, only small things with great love.” 

Mother Teresa

Warning: UK Fuel Price Hike

If you go down to the pumps today, you're sure of a big surprise.
 
A combination of an oil refinery closure and tanker driver strikes means that UK fuel costs are set to rise over the weekend to the highest ever prices. If you have a little spare money, you might want to fill up your tank this evening to save a few pence over the next few weeks.

I will fill up at the cheaper prices today because I seriously begrudge paying any more than I have to!

The Scandal of Five Pence Sauces

I am currently employed at McDonald's. It is a franchised restaurant, and one of the store policies is to charge 5p for a pot of sauce, including ketchup. This is because they have to buy it in from the corporation, and people get greedy with free stuff. You get one free with a chicken nuggets meal, that's about it.

Personally, I wish the sauces were free. Free the sauce! You wouldn't believe the amount of hassle I get every day about this 5p!

The reactions of customers to “they're five pence each, how many would you like?” are on a sliding scale:

• Yup, here you go (my personal favourite!)
• Oh.. ok.
• Okaaaaay (slightly exasperatedly)
• *Grumbles and walks off*
• Really? ... You're joking, right? (People actually think I'm making it up for a laugh. If I were going to make a joke, I'd at least make it obvious - £5 at least! :D)
• How long has it been like that?! I was in (insert other place here)'s McDonald's just last week and didn't get charged there! (Cue having to explain the franchise system agaaaain)
• That's outrageous! I just spent £X on a meal! (Well five pence more is probably not going to hurt then..)
• WELL $%@& OFF THEN! (Yes, this has happened)

I don't really have an opinion on whether or not it is “wrong” for them to charge for sauces. I mean it's a business after all. It's just the way people speak to me when I'm just doing my job that does my head in every day!

So please, if you are ever charged for sauce, please remember that your cashier is not the one making the policies!

In Sickness or in Wealth

In the UK we are lucky to have the National Health Service (NHS). Despite its criticisms, I am extremely grateful to be able to rely on free access to medical care. We British may therefore not think it necessary to worry about the financial implications of getting sick. Unfortunately the bubble will burst if you become chronically ill.

Initial loss of earnings

I am paid hourly, yet every day at least one person rings in sick to my workplace. To be honest, their loss of hours is often my gain. I am amazed that people can afford to ring in sick however; losing one shift means losing £30-£50! Salaried workers are at an advantage here; a few sick days will not be taken out of their wages.

Statutory Sick Pay

After four consecutive days of sickness (including days you do not normally work) you are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay, as long as you earn more than £102 a week. Unfortunately, the standard rate of sick pay is £81.60 a week. This would equate to £353.60 a month. Could you pay your bills with that?

Long term illness

If you are unable to work for a longer period, for example you have been temporarily or permanently disabled, you can claim Employment and Support Allowance of up to £99 per week. You may also be entitled to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

Additional costs of illness

Unlike in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, people living in England have to pay for prescriptions (unless they are except from fees). Currently the cost of medication is a set £7.40 per item. If you require 3 different tablets for one condition, too bad. That'll be £22.20 please. 

Other costs may include getting yourself to a doctor (potentially not easy/cheap if you're too sick to drive or walk), childcare, and long-term changes to your life like installing a wheelchair ramp.

Prevention is better than a cure (especially at £7.40 a pop)

Whilst of course it is not always possible, there are a few things you can do to try and prevent sickness or long-term health problems:

• Wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your eyes and mouth
• Ensure you have a high vitamin C intake (citrus fruits are rich in this)
• Get enough exercise – this is two-fold. Firstly exercise boosts your immune system, helping you to ward off infection. Secondly, you are less likely to suffer from circulatory problems or diabetes later in life.
• Get enough sleep – six to seven hours is enough to regenerate cells and keep your immune system healthy
• Follow Health and Safety guidelines – while these are very wishy-washy, it is important to ensure your safety at work. Keep an eye out for spills, lift with your knees and don't carry too heavy an object, you know the drill.

Protect yourself

Do you have an emergency fund in place? Even if you only miss a day's pay, on a tight budget this could mean a week's worth of groceries. Take steps to save a little for when the unexpected occurs. For longer term illness, make sure that you know what you are entitled to, both from the state and your employer.

Most of all, stay safe.

Decluttering: Getting Money Back for Old Textbooks

Textbooks at University cost an absolute fortune! Before you start your first year you are sent a reading list of epic proportions, so as the dedicated undergraduate you now are, you take yourself down to the University bookshop, Amazon or Ebay and buy the lot!

First of all, let me tell you that if you haven't yet started University and haven't got your books, don't buy them! “But then how will I succeed??” Every good University has a VERY well stocked library. They have 15-30 copies of the core textbooks! I promise you that with very little planning, you'll be able to have all the access you need to the textbooks. This won't help if you're still up at 3am cramming for an exam, but as a dedicated student that won't be the case.. right?

Even if you do decide later that you'd like your own copy of the textbook, you won't be losing anything by waiting until you know you need it before draining that new student loan of yours. 

If you've already bought the books (like me!), then don't worry, I have tips about recouping your losses once you're done with them.

1. Keep the books in a good condition – To ensure that you get the most back from your books when you re-sell them, you need to keep them as pristine as possible. If you must make notes in them (something I've never understood), then write lightly in pencil. DON'T highlight text, but underline it if necessary.
2. Target other students first – If you put posters up in the toilets, café and noticeboards of your building at the start of the new academic year, other people on the same degree scheme as you will see them. These are the most likely candidates to buy the books – they have the same reading list you had! Check the going rate of the books at the University bookshop and Amazon, then set your price £5 to £10 lower than that. Put your mobile phone number at the bottom and wait for the messages to flood in!
3. Re-sell to the bookstore – Our University bookshop, Blackwells, guaranteed to pay you 40% of the price you paid for the book if you bought it from them. You must keep your receipt and the book must be in a good condition.
4. Sell on Amazon – If you didn't have any luck with the above, it's time to sell to further afield. I currently have two textbooks listed on Amazon. You just search for the book and click “Sell on Amazon”. There is a 15% of sale price + 43p fee on all sales. The postage is pre-set to £2.75; now I don't know about you, but most of my textbooks weigh around 3kg, making the true postage over £7.00. You'll be losing money here, so make sure the value of the book will exceed the cost of postage combined with fees! It's the first time I've done this, so I don't know how long it takes! You can also trade the book in for an Amazon gift voucher if you prefer.
5. Sell on Ebay - I've never sold anything on Ebay, but you can list your book on there too. :D

The income from your textbooks will likely be a valuable source of money in the next few years of your degree. It's much more expensive to live in a shared house than it is to live in halls in the first year. Buy only the books you need, preferably second hand, and look after them!

Also, should I just jump on 1999-train and start using Ebay?