You say tomato, I say let’s go: eat for less
Editor’s note: This Friday Alex has turned chef…. Good day one and all. It’s beautifully sunny and cosily warm out there, for now, but let’s not bang-on about the weather this week. Instead, let’s turn our attentions back to Aldi – the glorious supermarket. But this time around I…
Right tool for the job: budget with The Money Principle
You know what? My first budget was a total and unmitigated disaster. It was badly constructed and poorly executed, and it never did what a budget is supposed to do, helping me manage our money better. Yep, don’t be surprised. Many will have you believe that budgets are for…
About giving and the human spirit
My interest in giving is long standing. During the communist totalitarian regime in Bulgaria there were begging Roma people, despite all effort to hide them and/or get them to work – I couldn’t pass a beggar without giving them the most I could afford. When I first came to Manchester…
Avoiding tax avoidance
Politicians on both sides of the pond have become exercised over the issue of tax avoidance this past 6 months or so, but this problem that has been around for quite some time. Maybe it is the silver lining to the financial crash cloud because for far too long, certain…
Cut Your Waste and Stop Being Broke
Are you fed up with being broke? You ness to cut your waste as a first step to money redemption. Have you read a book called ‘Wolf Brother’ by Michelle Paver? Ok, I know that it passes as a book for pre-teens but it was the one I couldn’t…
On the value of life
Last week I wrote about the way in which foreign exchange speculation sets the relative values of currencies. The value of ‘things’ can also be a mystery. Every day items like a bottle of milk or a loaf of bread are pretty easy to value. It’s how much you need…
A forced experiment in minimalism
After close to thirteen hours on the road (well, in the air, actually) and four hours at airports, after getting up at 4 am after three hours sleep, I arrived at the hotel in Cape Town. Got out of the car and a polite voice said ‘Can I help with…
Financial transaction and foreign exchange
I have long been interested – no fascinated – by currencies. When I was young, I would wonder what decides the price of a loaf of bread in France and Britain? Or cake, come to that. Who sets the exchange rate between currencies? And how do we compare the economies…
Work from home? Bring it on!
Many people want to retire so they don’t have to work; there are even more people who want to retire early so that they can be at home and do whatever they want. Some are even living the dream and blogging about it. Me? I don’t want to retire,…
Enough is enough: decluttering our house
“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” Albert Einstein I fell for this one for a long time. I laughed about the clutter filling our house, I analysed it, theorised it and it has been annoying me…
Shopping for Satisfaction
Editor’s Note: This week Alex tackles the issue of shopping. When you are unemployed you have to shop smart not hard. But can young people today crack it? This week I’d like to guide your attentions towards good old food shopping. Having worked in retail for a number of…
Bankruptcy in Britain?
There is much written about total debt and bankruptcy. Today I got yet another email titled “The alarming truth about Britain” with a link to a video and piece. I suspect that much the same can be – and is – written about a number of other countries. The…