About

Upset!Grrrrr! I am so wild. Well, frustrated really. I had this little work cocktail party to go to on a Friday and when I went into a couple of local dress shops to check out something slinky but modest, the cheapest I could find was £48, or as advertised, £47.99! How often does this happen to you? I’m sure these clothes are all made in a sweatshop in SE Asia for a cost of £2 at the most.

Hi, it’s me

Hi, this is Sarah. Sarah Williams from Manchester, which, by the way, used to be the biggest textile city in Britain. Buying a dress here 60 years ago probably cost tuppence! I live a wee bit out of Manchester really, at Salford, but if I say, “I live in Salford” everybody answers with, “Huh? You live in your socks?” so Manchester it is. I live in a little flat with my black cat, Tom. Yeah, I know, Tom cat. Not very original but terribly easy to remember.

manchester6

Job and savings

I work in an office in the city as a secretary-receptionist and that’s a lot better than my previous job I had at the local Sainsbury’s supermarket. At the end of the day, standing up for the whole shift, my legs were just about dead by knock off time. Life’s pretty good but trying to save for holidays or a car is almost impossible with the cost of things these days. And you know, whatever you buy doesn’t last all that long.

Clothes

I started this blog so that readers can work out alternatives to the overpriced stuff you are forced to buy in the shops. Let me get back to that dress. I found a material shop in the neighborhood and with a total expenditure of £12.85 I bought some cotton-linen blend and a bit of silk, some sequins, and colored thread. My mum had taught me to sew and I had her old machine. The end result was good enough to get a few appraising looks and nice comments from my workmates. Some even asked the designer name. I said it’s a Sara Original!

If you’re not great at sewing, then start trawling through the 2nd hand shops. Do you know that some of them have designer dresses at a fraction of their original cost?

Cleaning

But it’s not only the cost of clothes that gets me angry. What about stuff to clean your house with? I have resorted to vinegar and lemon and water. The cost savings on home cleaning products is worth £’s a week, honestly! I might add that these more natural items do a better job in most cases.

Dining Out?

Restaurant eating is out of the question. Even pub food prices have skyrocketed. If friends want to go out for a drink and dinner, I suggest eating at home. I can cook enough for food for 4 people that wold cost the same as eating one meal at a restaurant. I eat at home almost every meal and make my own lunch. Imagine paying fares to and from work AND then paying for lunch! It’s not feasible is it?

Discounts

Coupons. Look for free coupons that give you discounts at various shops. I remember at the supermarket I worked at, the docket receipt always had a coupon discount printed on the back. The majority of shoppers either threw them away or kept the receipt but ignored the goldmine on the reverse side. What a waste!

Contact me

Okay, I will get off my high horse. There are literally hundreds of ways to make living a lot cheaper if you’re prepared to go the extra yard to find them. Sometimes they are right under your nose and I am here to help you seek them out and give you some good ideas to cut costs in the everyday things that you do. I would love to hear your ideas too so don’t forget to email me and I will add them to my blog. Happy savings folks!