I have a diverse group of friends. What I love about having a diverse group is that I get to discuss a variety of topics and we have some great debates. One topic that comes up frequently in conversation is Money. This is a topic that I naturally enjoy discussing because it’s a hot topic but let’s not forget that it is still a table topic taboo in British culture. We’re all feeling the squeeze with inflation rising to 5%, pay freezes and the dream of buying a house becoming ever more distant. View full article »
Category: Family and friends
The riots across the UK have dominated the headlines for most of the past week as politicians and the general public alike stuggle to comprehend the true cause of the violence. I was disappointed as I watched footage of my beloved London being destroyed by people as young as 11. As the rioting took a hold of the headlines I watched more and more footage of reporters asking those that were looting why they were committing such acts. One girl proudly says “We’re getting our taxes back innit”. This girl could not have been any older than 18 so it’s questionable how much ‘tax’ she had a ‘right to claim back’. On other footage hooded youths were being asked why this was happening and they explained that due to budget cuts they had lost access to youth and sports clubs which we all know are essential to keep young people from gang culture. It’s sad that young people have had many of their entertainment facilities removed. There was also discussion that young people couldn’t find work and that other Londoners (those in employment) are ‘rich’ whereas they’re poor. View full article »
On Tuesday evenings I attend my weekly Japanese class for two hours after work. I’ve gotten to the late nights on Tuesdays but I do always find it difficult to motivate myself to study for more than 4 hours outside of my classes. It’s particularly frustrating because I realise after every lesson that I still have so much to learn about the language especially the writing of the most challenging alphabet – Kanji. View full article »
Online banking, online credit card applications, online car/home/holiday/life insurance and every other financial product is now available online. It’s a great step for technology and is benefitting thousands the world over. It’s convenient, quick and often helps you find the best deals. But is all this technology benefiting those whose finances need to be the easiest to handle? View full article »
It’s been a beautiful start to my extended time off of work. I couldn’t resist taking 3 days of annual leave in exchange for 11 days off of work. I’ve been looking forward to this break to recharge my batteries but also to help me towards some of my personal goals. So what does the week have in store for me? View full article »
One of the main reasons that I decided to start writing on personal finance was because I wanted to add to the wealth of knowledge out there. It’s a simple enough assumption that you only need to go to one website/one book/one person to find out about money but diversifying your knowledge is key to informing your decisions on money. View full article »
It’s that funny time of year again when many people dispute the value of Valentine’s Day. Is it all about consumerism or is it a genuine holiday to spend with your partner? I’ve always sat on the fence on this one. I feel that although it’s lovely to show your partner how much you care about them, isn’t this something that you should make them feel all year round? View full article »
One of the things I love thinking about is how much your family and upbringing impacts on your attitude towards money. In the past I’ve described that my father’s attitude towards bills always made me feel as though our family were poor which was not really the case at all. We weren’t rich but we weren’t really struggling to pay bills. View full article »
Every Saturday The Thrift Diaries gives you a round-up of the best articles on the web. I’m an avid follower of many brilliant personal finance blogs and would like to share the best articles with you. These won’t always be recent articles as I often like to sift through the archives of my favourite blogs. View full article »
I like to talk about eating out on this blog and my attempts to reduce the amount of times a week I spend eating out. I try to pack a lunch everyday and minimise the number of dinners out. Eating Out can be an important part of people’s lives, however, so it seems unfair to suggest cutting it out altogether. If you’re a fanatic of eating out here are a few top tips to keep the costs down: View full article »
