Thrifty Pages

How to write a letter to your bank manager (humour!)

Some financial advice from some young people (warning - several rude words! but very funny...)

It's the Economy, Stupid! (with socks)

Quote of the week:

We'll make it as long as we schtick together.

Gift Ideas For The Super Cheap (funny!)

Saving money advice from John O’Donoghue TD

I recently met  John O’Donoghue in one of the charity shops where he usually buys his suits and he was eager to share some money saving advice with the readers of Thrifty Pages.

Here are some of the best ideas he had for cutting back and making it through the recession:

• If it is too expensive to get a taxi back from the airport to home, just arrange for your publicly funded car and driver to collect you (even if this means the car driving the same way that you are flying).
• It is much cheaper in the long run to stay in a €900 a night hotel than to stay with ordinary scruffy unwashed types in a three star hotel and possibly catch an illness that would mean expensive doctors bills.
• If you are going to attend some fun event, such as a horse race, just find some local bigwig near the race course who would like an official visit and get the tax payer to fund the trip. Of course, you must bring the local bigwig to the horse race and put that on the tab.
• Don't buy presents for anybody when you can make a presentation on behalf of the Dail or whatever and get it paid for by the tax payer.
• Don't risk soiling your expensive shoes when walking in the rain between airport terminals like ordinary scruffy types. Hire a limo instead and avoid incurring a huge shoe cleaning bill.

Er, thanks John.

Got change of a million?

Thrifty Pages guide to DIY: Use duct tape or WD40

“All of life’s problems can be solved with two things—duct tape and WD40. If it moves and it shouldn’t, you need duct tape. And if it doesn’t move and it should, you need WD40.” – Unknown DIY expert

Is a recession all bad? Bank holiday thoughts!

Avoid the doom and gloom this bank holiday! Enjoy the recession, if you can!

• Deepak Chopra on How to be happy in a recession
• Kimberly Palmer on 5 Ways To Be Happy in a Recession
• ChoosyInfo on Things which will make you Happy About Recession
• Some recession jokes

And finally how to keep the money in your mattress safe...

Recalibrate your hopes and dreams to be consistent with the state of the economy

Find a great deal this weekend and more with instructables.com

A spin-off from the MIT Media Lab, the website instructables.com is packed with weird and wonderful ideas for DIY projects and home made gizmos. People join to share their ideas and comment on the instructions provided.

For a thrifty person, some of the instructables are actually quite useful and some a bit strange :)

• Get a great deal on Ebay
  Ebay can be a fascinating and wonderful place to shop, however there are many tips and tricks that you should know before delving into this online market. Learn searching and bidding methods that make sure that you get the best deal when buying things on Ebay.

• Making a Puzzle Coin Gift 
  In this instructable I am going to show you how I made a puzzle coin.

• How to make exfoliating/moisturizing salt rub 
  A couple of years ago, while walking through a local mall, I actually stopped when an employee at one of those kiosks asked me if they could demonstrate one of their products to (and on) me. I know, but I didn't have anything better to do right then...But, I figured I could probably make something like it. As soon as I got home I started looking up recipes for it on the old interweb, and found one that I was able to modify to my liking. You can make it for as little as 10% of the cost of the name-brand!

• Vibrating Deaf Dog Caller Collar for under €5

About 3 years ago, my friend came to me with this dilemma when Jake, her very old Siberian Husky was loosing his hearing. She usually kept Jake in a large fenced property but when he decided to chase a rabbit, get loose, jump the fence, head onto the roadway, etc. He would be so focused or distracted that no amount of calling would get his attention...I solved her dilemma then with a Deaf Dog Caller Collar. The great thing about this idea is with a bit of training my friend found the dog would at least stop, change focus momentarily, look around for my friend and usually return, even if at his leisure for a treat.

• How to Build a Super Top Secret Bunker under Your House.
  When I built the house I just spent 7 years working on, I had a lot of days that were just plane monotonous, so I would daydream about the Next Great Project as soon as I finished the house...

Save money with a Tesco Value Greeting Card :)

Sometimes you can be too cheap.

I think these cards are meant as a joke. I certainly hope so!

Link: http://www.code-d.com/tesco-cards/index.php