I had never heard of the concept 'swishing' until my friend Helen mentioned it to me a few weeks ago. Sounding a little bit ominous and conjuring initial images of car keys thrown into a fruit bowl etc, I decided to find out a bit more. It turns out swishing parties involve the swapping... of clothes and is very legit! Everyone needs to bring in an item of unwanted clothing (still in good condition), socialise a little bit whilst browsing and then swapping commences. I'm keeping my fingers crossed Helen will run one but if not, I think Ken and I should definitely get some 'swishing' on the go. What could be better, upcycling 'new' clothes', good social times and saving money? It's what T6 is all about!
According to www.swishing.com, running a Swishing party is simple, just follow the rules of the rail:
1) Everyone must bring at least one item of quality clothing.
2) You will have half an hour to browse before the swish opens.
3) No item may be claimed before the swish opens.
4) As soon as the swish is declared open, everyone may take what they want.
5) Remember no scratching, spitting or fighting.
Vintage kilo fairs
If you happen to be in London or Edinburgh on these dates, pop into a kilo fair ran by www.judysvintagefair.co.uk. Pick your items, go to the scales and pay for what they weigh. That simple. At £15 per kilo, there's every chance you could get several bargains!
As we approach T4, I need to perhaps confess this month has not been as plain sailing as one would have liked and hoped for. Like Ken, I too have made a few slip ups albeit ones with good intentions. Like Ken, pre T6, I would have reacted similarly and just buried my head in that metophorical money sand pit until it all hopefully blew over. However, following Ken's posts and realising that if I just blogged it out, other T6er's wil take stock and realise sometimes there are times when I shouldn't lead by example. So here's my comprehensive list....
Errors and fails
Ebay
Personally, I have nothing against Ebay when used responsibly. Around the time of T3 and at work, I wondered over to the reprographics room for no other reason than to drop some papers off and procrastinate with the repro lady legend that is known as Michelle. During our conversation, Michelle said she got all her clothes from Ebay saying it was great for bargains and she recently bought a Monsoon dress for about £3 which looked practically new. So I thought yes, definitely a thrifty way to buy clothes (my Achilles heel). Anyway, I signed up and hunted for a Topshop tshirt I have had my eye on for a while, setting my budget no higher than £10. Like I said, I had good intentions. As the bidding frenzy ensued and I was clicking that 'place bid' button, the excitement of winning my potential item took over to the point where I ended up getting that t- shirt for £11.26. So, over the intended budget when P&P came to £4.00 too. Here's the life lesson and one which I reflected upon. As you're clicking on that 'place bid' button to get one over the other bidders, you don't win. No, what you end up with is an used dinosaur t-shirt and paying more than you would because you want poll position in the eBay bid battle. I can only blame my childhood memories of 'Sports days' where getting that 'good effort' sticker for taking part does not make you feel any better for coming fourth in the wheelbarrow race.
Anyway, if you are sensible like Michelle, Ebay can still be a place for bargain hunting. Just go in with a sense of awareness and use the tips below:
Set your budget and don't go any higher, unlike me. Be strong!
My sister told me to bid at the last minute as this is when you are more likely to get the best deals so bookmark the page and keep an eye out on the watch list before swooping in with your bid.
Watch out for P&P costs. They add cost to your bid which only gets added on after you are the 'winning' bidder.
Rail ticket fodder
I can only blame human error for not making the mistake once but twice! As you may recall around T2 time, I placed my tips about getting some good deals which I still stand by but not when you do stupid, frivolous things. My friend Paul and I went to Liverpool on Wednesday but I can only blame myself for the mistakes before.
Error 1
When your friend texts you to say he is free to go on Wednesday 11th April, don't book your tickets for Tuesday 10th April. So, I got those bargain tickets but on the wrong day! Oops. Train companies don't let you change the days for free either. I rang their customer line and was told the following fees would result. So if you wish to amend your tickets, there is the initial admin fee of £10 then a charge of £10 per ticket you wish to change!Wanting to change four tickets is pricey! Being told this, I opted just to book new tickets.
Error 2
Yes, book two single tickets as they're cheaper but always check you put in the right information! I put in the wrong days again for our outbound journey didn't I? Because I am an idiot.... When we got to the station, to see if they could change it, the computer does always say 'no'and thus, it ended up with not a very thrifty costing trip. We did have a great time though despite the farce that is me. See below. Thanks for reccommending Crosby beach Ken - loved the outdoor sculpture 'Another place' created by Antony Gormley! We got acquainted with number 64 and it has become one of my favourite places to visit.
'Crosby beach' with our main man '64'
To get here: Walk to Liverpool Central station, head for platform 2 for the train to Southport. Trains depart every 15 minutes and you can get a ticket for 3.50 which can be used as a public transport pass all day.
Albert Docklands - also showcasing some very blue skies :)
Spent sometime pondering where 'This morning' was broadcast.
Despite these errors, we should take stock and move forward. Rachel is a teacher and she says that when she conducts parents evenings, she tries to use the positive, negative, positive sandwich when meeting parents. So, despite the errors above, I will apply this sandwich metaphor accordingly.
Wins
Blue rainbow Apartments...
have been a nice discovery. I went to a hen do recently in Manchester and stayed in these apartments where we paid £38 per person for the night which I thought was great, particuarly when some hotel rooms for the same standard can cost more and are less convenient for socialising in. Costs were also kept down as we bought food and drink in too. Here's the link. We had a great stay. Thanks blue rainbow apartments!
I like music and I listen to it alot. I am fully aware following my degree where I was made to study audiology that my hearing is impaired and I predict full loss in the year 2022. This means I have gone through a lot of pairs of ipod headphones which are v.pricey at £27.99 if you get them at HMV. However, my sister Po is a smart cookie and she took out this great insurance where you can hand in your damaged ones and get a new pair for £3 so definitely worth checking out!
Summer Camp
Along with continuing thriftiness and good times. I paid £5 to go see a band called 'Summer camp' at the Harley. I knew nothing about them and am happy to say, the duo were definitely a lot of fun to watch.
Don't let the red polonecks and cats put you off.
Spotify
I'm not on 'Facebook' but my younger, much cooler sister is, so if you want to stream your music for free, I think you log through your fb account and sign up to 'Spotify'. On the other hand as I'm about five years behind when it comes to catching onto tech trends, I suspect everyone and their pet dog is spotifying as we speak.... I still find it advanced, we can watch 4od for free - I have been amusing myself with the delights of series 6 'Peep show'. Just ace.
Nothing to do with thriftiness but I am very glad I made a few rail ticket errors and it hasn't left a permanent reminder on my face...
I've not been doing quite as well on the old thrift this month.
Chi - you've been an absolute legend with all of your thrifty ways - I am truly inspired! Things are not quite so rosy down here in Notts..
A good friend of ours, Jess, once compared saving money to being on a diet. It's really hard to start with but then once you get into it, it starts feeling really good, and becomes a habit. This is very true. However, as I have discovered this month, when you hit a time of stress - all sensibility can tend to go out of the window. This month I have definitely become a bit lax on the old saving - buying lunch rather than taking a packed one and going on a fair few impromptu dinners out (I'm afraid the list goes on...)
HOWEVER. Before T6 I would have given up and started ignoring my bank balance - shoving my head very firmly and quickly into the sand. But I am a changed women. Tonight I sat down with my online bank and my Filofax and forced myself to face up to my spending this month (which turns out wasn't as bad as I had initially thought), and make a plan for the month ahead. In doing this I have realised I will soon be back on track with my saving plan, and it's served as a good wake up call for future thriftiness!
For those amongst us who enjoy a bit of willow, tissue paper and general craft, I invite you to spend a Saturday afternoon (12-4pm) at the current lantern workshops which are taking place at the Old Junior School on South View Road, Sheffield. All workshops run up until 31st March and it's all in aid of the Sharrow Lantern festival where other lanterners will parade their efforts around the local community on Sunday 1st April (weather depending).All materials are provided at the workshops. Our friend Lu and co from the Creative Action network manage this event which has successfully been running for the last eight years and there is a great community feel with people of all ages getting involved. This years theme is magic! When Ken and I did this event a few years back for their folklore theme, I had a great time making my toadstool. Ken made an apple. See below:
Favourite moment: When two young men started chasing my toadstool down London Road shouting 'shroooooooommm'. It's a toadstool, damn you!
If the lantern workshops don't take your fancy, but you still want to be a spectator, all the lantern action starts off at Mount Pleasant Park, 7pm where we are led 'pied piper' style by the Sheffield samba band! The parade finishes at the General CemeteryPark. My favourite part is when it starts getting dark so the lanterns are properly illuminated to full effect. See some of the shots from yesteryear.
Another bonus. Both events are free. For more info on the festival and other community based projects ran by CAN, follow this link: http://www.creativeaction.net/ . I want to try one of their cookalongs!
I've enjoyed the cultural exploration from your last blog Ken.It seems Ken has been on it with the blog chat having published three blogs in my absence! Good work and blogging! I apologise for my absence – I have been out in the thrifty wilderness still being thrifty as possible but failing in my responsibility to report back.As Ken documented, we had an excellent time in the Lake District with our friends following four days of eating, drinking, walking and mourning for Whitney in our own way.... See my photos below for a brief overview of our lovely time in the Lakes. 'We are truly Lakeslovers!'
Day one
Shout out and thanks to Ken's mum who made this. It was AMAZING!
Now we are out of the thrift closet, having came out last month to our friends and sharing our blog, there seems to be plenty of thrift commentary which has entered our social conversation and it is much welcomed. I have learnt the following:
1.A random one but people seem to have loads of tips about using up a ‘whole’ chicken.At the moment, current tips people have shared include buying a whole chicken and using it up for lunch instead of buying the packets with cooked chicken pieces .
Price comparison from my local cooperative
£3.48 – Whole free range chicken (I may look into Organic pricing too as I should try to be thrifty as well as ethically aware).
2 packets of BBQ chicken - £4.50 so a small saving. (One thing to add though, from experience, you definitely do not get a whole chicken’s worth from the packets)!
Rach suggested for true thrift, you use up the bones to make stock which is a good idea to share which I have yet to try and will at some point once I am in the mood for soup.When I commented about my whole chicken purchase(random work break chat as I thought chicken might go off pretty quickly) a work colleague of mine passed on a chicken pearl of wisdom.To strip the cooked chicken and freeze it and when I need a bit for lunch, defrost it in the fridge so thanks everyone for the tips!
Railing and gallavanting
With train fares aver increasing and the fact I have left the safe haven which we would call the 18-25 age bracket and making me ineligible for a ‘Young Persons’ railcard, it’s prompted me to reflect what ways have I tried to be thriftier onthe travel front?
·I have a series of long distance trips coming up and was recommended this website by my friend and fellow T6er Helenhttp://www.splityourticket.co.uk/ which I think is useful for last minute bookings. However upon further google searching, I think it’s all about the advanced and single ticket bookings! I have been using this website http://www.mytrainticket.co.uk/where you can get up to 80% off!My day trip to Liverpool will cost £14.00 for two singles (at the times I want) compared to open return - £31.90. T6 saving:£17.90
Car sharing and taxi sharing has helped too. Pooling people together to get a taxi home can sometimes work out the same or even cheaper on a night out so I’ve been doing this.However, at the same time, if there are no extra people, I have been getting the bus into town (using my student card which costs me 50p) and getting the taxi back on nights out (which is bad, but busses stop at 11 and I suppose I am saving money on the way into town)!I think Ken will be blogging about nights out in general as mentioned on one of our T6 catch ups so hopefully she can pass on some tips for cheaper fun times.
3.Whilst we were away in the Lakes, it came to our attention and others that we may slightly indulge in keeping up with current affairs not of the Syrian conflict variety (which I know is bad) but of the ‘light’ and ‘fluffy’world of Grazia and Glamour which I like to think provides me a form of escapism for at least 15 minutes of the day. I worked out that a purchase of Glamour at £2 a month and ‘Look’ at a weekly cost of 1.40 will add to a annual cost of £163.20. So in an attempt to kerb spending, Ken and I will be doing a magazine/book swap. The first which will be happeningthis weekend so looking forward to seeing you soon GK for the swap and a cup of tea!
I also like to indulge in a bit of reading from time to time and I generally book swap between friends but I may extend this further as suggested by Rach (who seems to have many tips, so thank you) at work and leave any of my books in a box and people can leave their unwanted ones too for people to pick up and read. I suppose this would work on a courtesy system where I like to think people would not grab them all. I don’t think they would anyway.I also have become a little obsessed by the secondhand bookshop down my road, ‘The Last Chapter’ which sells books for £1-3 which is generally cheaper than ‘Amazon’ following P&P.
4.Fruit/veg and other food mantras
I think this section is probably less about thrift and more value for your money.Last weekend, upon recommendation from Jenny, I investigated the Sharrow Marrow fruit and veg shop on Sharrowvale Road. It is definitely worth checking out . Apart from my positive (civil) shopping experience which you don’t always get from your supermarket trip, the quality was so much better. I definitely felt like I got more for my money. A brief example and what I remember - I bought two avocados for £1 compared to £2 Coop and the peppers were huge! I spent £15 and it has lasted me all week.
This lady owns the Sharrow Marrow and was very helpful!
5. (Prescription) Drugs
Another random one but if there are any fellow asthmatics out there or those who require regular medication, I feel you may appreciate this slightly more. Over the years, prescription charges have risen to £7.20 per item. My last order came to £28.80 and as you can imagine, this can get pretty pricey if you are like me and lose your inhalers ALL the time so I decided to sign up for a 3 month medical card. You can collect them from chemists and it entitles you to your regular prescription for 3 months which prompted me to stock up! Sorry a bit of a lame one to mention but definitely a money saver over the long run! You can even get an annual prescriptionfor about £104.
Whilst I’ve documented what I have learnt, I am still very far away from being thrifty but thankfully there is still 4 months to go. I’m happy to say as I enter T2, I am noticing that small changes can make a difference. Oh- for the first time in what feels like forever, I am not in my overdraft.... good times J
PS – a dedication to Whitney. As GK said, ‘a voice of our generation ...’
Another little post about the wider world of thrift - rather than our own personal penny pinching! I was flicking through Left Lion last week and stumbled upon this delightfully thrifty art project. Kristy started by deciding to pick up every penny she found in order to save them up and donate them to charity - which then blossomed into an art project where she photographs pennies in situ before picking them up. In doing so she is attempting to challenge the wasteful attitude of modern day living....
Minding Pennies, Kristy Guest
Here is a link to the article if anyone else is interested in reading more:
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