Pennies for thought

This will not be a preachy post about giving up smoking, more of a realistic evaluation of how much you spend. I was a smoker for 10 years going from pre-rolled to rollies and then eventually phasing them out completely (for now).

There is the ongoing debate of what is healthier to smoke, rollies or pre-rolled cigarettes – the answer of course is neither. But there are factors to take in to consideration like how many you smoke, how much of each one you smoke and what strength of tobacco is in each one.

Pre-rolled cigarettes have chemicals in the papers that keep them alight while you are not smoking them. They are also a set size so you will generally smoke to the trade line unless you are rushed. An advantage is that you have a lot of choice over brands and strengths over the counter.

Roll ups are slightly cleaner than pre-rolled cigarettes but you will find that you smoke them much more intensely and this is often visibly apparent in the filter. Having to make them can cause you to smoke less rather than just picking one out of the packet. The tobacco in rolling cigarettes is generally strong but you can make them to the size you wish to satisfy your craving.

You could go on forever with arguments either way and never get anywhere but lets say you smoke around 20 a day. That would generally work out to around £5 for a pack of pre-rolled cigarettes and around £2.50 for 12.5g of tobacco.

Lets just meet at £4 a day and that works out to around £1460, of course this based on buying small quantities. Buying 200 (20 x 20) packs or 10 packs of 50g bags will work out cheaper but you will still be spending over £1000 a year which is worth considering cutting down for.

We often smoke because we have nothing to do or are restless so why not try cutting down and using the money you start to save on something to occupy your attention and time.

You will quite often see free eye tests advertised and these are legitimate ways to get a free eye test but not always the easiest.

In order to receive a free test you will need to register with the opticians giving out that offer and it can be a pain to transfer previous information and personal details.

The best way to save money is to ask your work if they offer contributions to eye tests and glasses. Just because you haven’t been told doesn’t mean they don’t offer it to employees.

In most cases eye tests will be paid for by the company and if the glasses are needed for work purposes then money can be contributed. Make sure to clear everything with your work before you go ahead and do it as they may be linked with a certain optician or require certain paperwork in advance.

In a lot of cases the company will require a VDU form to be requested from the optician and this then will be used for the reimbursement.

If they do this and you go about it correctly then you stand to save a decent amount of money.

Finding the right dentist can save you a lot of money so it is worth looking around.

Don’t just pick the dentist that is closest to your house or even the closest NHS dentist. Keep an eye out for a dentist that does both NHS and private work.

A lot of people say the downside to NHS dentists is that they take a long time to get on the books and make appointments. This will be true of your most local dentist as it will be in the most demand so find a more remote dentist. It is not like a doctor where you need to live close by and the money saved is well worth the odd journey here and there.

Register as an NHS patient as this is obviously a lot cheaper than going private. So why go to one that also does private work? This is because some treatments are actually cheaper done privately and you will be able to get this in the surgery.

So if you don’t have work health insurance and can’t afford Denplan schemes then this is a great alternative to save a bit of money.

This is something that quite frankly a lot of us can’t be bothered to do but is a great way to save money.

Unless we are lucky enough to have a subsidized canteen at work a lot of us will spend between 3 and 6 pounds for our lunch.

In thinking ahead and shopping for the food we need on a Sunday you can stock up your fridge with enough food to last you the week. For about £12 you can get good standard food to make sandwiches and any other bits like fruit or chocolate you have with it. To be honest it is a good way to control what you eat and after a few weeks will make you soon realise what you want to eat everyday.

£12 a week for the 48 odd months you work will come to around £576 a year.

Seems like a lot right?  But not when compared to eating out everyday.

Spending £4 a day on lunch will cost you £960 over the year.

So just by taking the time to make a sandwich and do a bit of shopping will over a year save you over £350!

To save money on parking and buses by cycling during the winter you will need to kit your bike out with some mud guards.

There is nothing worse than starting your work day with unintentional mud all over your clothes and face!

Mudguards have always been a tricky product to buy as there never seems to have been a competent full set! Buying mudguards is down to the setup of your bike, but as a universal solution I would recommend buying the Crud Catcher guard set.

If you are lucky enough to have front suspension with a hollow base then stick with the Crud Catcher rear but get a ShockBoard. This is a genius budget product created by SKS that will turn with your front wheel offering 100% protection from mud and water.

Don’t waste money buying cheap guards from bike shops as you will only end up throwing them out and buying new ones – these ones!

I am no eco warrior but I am also no fan of taking the bus or paying for car parks unnecessarily.

Lets say you are paying £5 a day on car parking and work 5 days a week for around 46 months a year.
That works out to £1.150

Failing that you could end up spending £3 a day on the bus which with the same workload would cost
£690

There are obviously bulk rates on parking and the bus that are available but you will still be surprised by the annual rates you are paying.

Riding a bike costs just the amount of the bike, lights, lock and possibly a £25 service each year. Riding a bike is also incredibly good exercise and will make you feel more alert at work.

Good quality bikes are easy to come by as cheap as £100 on second hand sites like eBay and Gumtree. I would certainly recommend getting a good set of removable mudguards (see mudguard post) so you don’t show up for work each day in the winter with a face full of mud!

If you change over to cycling you will not only save money to but put part of the money into modifying a decent bike that will hold its resale value.

We all want to keep in shape but gym memberships are quite often one of, if not the biggest direct debit coming out of our accounts monthly.

When it comes to a  gym, I am not looking for a health club where I can go to chat, have a seaweed wrap and an aromatherapy session. I just want a space where I can always get on the weights I want without waiting and preferably with my own music playing. This led me to the idea of just creating my own home gym with what I used at the local gym.

Most gyms charge around £30 a month depending on discounts and usage plans, that works out to around £360 each year give or take. That for me even using the gym 3 times a week I feel is excessive especially as its so time consuming with getting there and changing etc.

The following equipment does not constitute a full all-round work out, I also swim and cycle but prefer to ride a real bike and swim in a full size pool. You can part of the money saved to buy a decent bike and use the local swimming pool or pay football subs etc.

This is the home setup I went with buying it piece by piece after canceling my gym membership

Weights bench and free weights (secondhand from gumtree) – £20
Speed bag and bracket (found at carboot sale) – £5
Push up bars (jjb in store) – £5
Resistance tube (jjb in store) – £10
Foldaway chin up bar (Chinups.co.uk) – £20
Additional bars and metal weights (Aldi in store) – £10

Now this setup has cost me £70 so far which is just over 2 months at the gym and it is accessible whenever I want it. The weights bench and Speed bag are in my garage but all the rest folds into a cupboard in my flat. There are stowaway weight bench solutions if you do not have a garage to store it in. The equipment is all superb and has last me over a year already in which I have done the same amount of exercise. This has saved me countless amounts of time and over £200 which is excluding all the useful gym equipment I own now.

Give it a try and you will be exercising more frequently and in a work out environment that suits you.

On a side note the chin up bar claims it can hold up to 30 stone. If anyone can get me a picture of a 30 stone man doing a chin up send it in as I would love to see it!