Does your Dad wrap your Christmas presents in newspaper? Does you Mum ration your loo roll?

Or are you a proud penny pincher yourself?

Are you Britain’s Most Thrifty Family?

If these thrifty money-saving antics sound familiar then we need you!

We’re making a new programme for a major TV channel, which will celebrate thrift.

We want to hear your most frugal living tips and meet the thriftiest families in Britain. Please contact Claire or Esme on 0207 907 0867 or email claire.braden@betty.co.uk

Over at his Losing Face blog, James continues to document his life without cash. If you are unfamiliar with his story: James “gave up” on cash for a drunken bet. More than eighteen months later, armed with his trusty Visa card, he is still going strong - and the dare has become a way of life.

From what I can gather, the PR bods at Visa were practically beside themselves when they found out about him. So they asked him to make this video for them. It’s a rather nifty “public service announcement” for cashless living, with plenty of good tips, pointers and ideas.

As James notes in the vid: “Living without cash made me realise just how much there is to do without spending a single penny”.

I second that. I rarely carry cash - and save a ton. But the reason for this is that my pockets are as holey as Swiss cheese. Other personal finance bloggers recommend a cash-filled wallet, so that you can keep tabs on your spending and avoid busting your budget. Me? When I have coins and notes, I just fritter them. Or embarrass myself at the supermarket.

This is the industrial-strength rendition of my Hassle-free oven cleaning post. Trust me: the inside of your oven door could look like it was painted with Cuprinol, several times over, and this would still make it look like new.

For this heavy-duty version, you will need:

• Liberal quantities of bicarbonate of soda.
• Water.
• A bowl.
• A cloth.
• A wallpaper scraper.

Yes, that is all! I don’t use the supermarket bicarbonate of soda, which comes in small pots in the home baking section; instead, I buy bicarb in bulk from Summer Naturals, because I put the stuff to various uses.

This is what you need to do:

1. Mix the bicarb and water into a thin paste.
2. Smear the paste across the oven door/walls, using the cloth to ensure an even distribution.
3. Leave for at least 30 minutes. Those tacky brown stains will begin to soften and melt.
4. Remove stains, using the wallpaper scraper. Afterwards you can rinse the scraper under the tap - the bicarbonated brown/black gloop will simply fall off - and return it to its rightful place in the garden shed.

Your oven will be clean and sparkling within minutes! Also, you can avoid the breathing difficulties and expenses associated with the powerful chemicals that purport to do the same job. I always used to feel a little uncomfortable about cooking food in an oven that I had daubed with stinking chemical nasties. But the bicarb doesn’t pong, and rinses off easily.

Image credit: kennymatic.

So there I am on Twitter, minding my own business and retweeting links to handsome competitions (if you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that I’m keen on comps), when I go and win one! Methinks my lucky karma must have been building up of late; seriously, the last time I won anything was at Gala Bingo in 2005.

My prize is courtesy of the generous folks at Informed Choice, an independent financial planning company. It is a £1,500 LifeWealth Design: a six-step process, which identifies my personal goals and then “quantifies” them with a comprehensive financial plan. Sounds good to me; I’m still determined to pay the mortgage off in the next ten years, so I’m sure I’ll have enough to keep them going…

Anyway, I’ll let you know how I get on. I haven’t had my personal finances hauled over the coals by independent professionals before - let’s face it, the plonkers in Abbey’s mortgage department don’t count - so I’m looking forward to this. When they see the obsessive-compulsive way in which I have organised my finances over the past couple of years, will they (a) fall to the ground and praise this miraculous vision?  (b) edge away slowly? 

The company is giving away one of these plans every day until 25 July 2009, so if you’re on Twitter and you fancy giving it a go, follow the instructions here.

Frugal Grandma says: If you are about to eat and dreading it because you have a painful mouth ulcer, do not despair… Put a dollop of salt on your finger and push it into the ulcer. This will hurt like billy-o for about six seconds, and then it will be completely numb. Ulcers so dislike this treatment that they often vamoose following it.

The salt burns horribly, but as the ulcer goes numb for several hours it’s a worthwhile payoff (just).

As you may guess, my grandmother takes no prisoners when it comes to oral hygiene. One of my fondest memories from childhood is of standing in the bathroom doorway, looking on with glee as she scrubbed my brother’s mouth out with soap. Never again did he swear in her presence.

Image credit: caitlinator.

It’s LocalBargainFinder.co.uk: a dusty-looking website that works quite well.  You enter your postcode and hit the ’search’ button. Hey presto! Up pops an eBay page, listing all the cash on collection items in your vicinity.

When I tested this site, I did have some trouble getting my postcode recognised in the eBay results, and had to reset it manually. Overall though, this was easy to use. I was impressed by the range of products listed, many of them from sections of the site that I had never glanced at before.  I clocked everything from kids’ books and pre-weathered patio flags, to fish aquariums and a horse box!

If you like to idle in junk shops, this is the eBay tool for you…

Thanks Matt!

It began relatively inconspicuously, when my mother - like a harbinger of Personal Finance Eventing - telephoned to complain that I had blogged about my DIY wedding cake without crediting her own role in this most protracted of patisserie sagas. I explained that I am planning to write about this at greater length at some point. I also promised that the instalment that takes place the day before the wedding, in which she pitches up at my flat, discovers that I have made a terrible mess of the fondant icing, and calmly sets to work with the icing bag and fluted nozzles (while I dissolve into a teary, syrupy blob in a corner of the galley kitchen), will be prominent.

My mother only found out about this blog relatively recently but, complaints aside, she is a useful reader to have on board. Every time a link breaks, she is on it like a hawk; if the server goes down, she’s on the blower immediately.  It is like having my very own Blog Inspector.

The next thing that happened: I am moving offices. I run my own business and, up until now, I have worked part of the week from home. This has been a frugal solution, I suppose; recently though, the disadvantages have been keenly felt. As my workload has continued to expand at a rapid rate, my off switch has all but vanished. It would be good to spend some time with my husband, as a matter of urgency; it’s also time to move my business on, without further ado.  So I’ve whacked down a deposit (hey, Emergency Funds are for businesses too!) and I’m due to move into my new office tomorrow. So my company’s outgoings have suddenly gone up - but, if business continues to grow at its current rate, this shift will turn out to be a shrewd investment. Also, I reckon that the extra rent works out far cheaper than a divorce. Anyway, I shall keep you posted.

Oh yes, the move also necessitated a shopping trip this weekend. IKEA on a Saturday: bleuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh. Have you noticed that it is impossible to exit IKEA without feeling physically and emotionally exhausted? Do they put a special drug into the air conditioning, to wear you down one showroom section at a time?

The other big news is that our mortgage misadventures may be at an end (for now). After much to-ing, fro-ing, sweet talking of the Abbey and a timely intervention by a heavenly angel, a five-year fixed rate has been proffered and the finish line is in sight. I have the papers in front of me right now; they just need signing and returning. When the confirmation letter comes, I shall breathe easy. In the meantime, I’m merely thrilled that I shall no longer have to spend so many hours listening to Abbey’s interminable telephone hold music.

This week I was also delighted to feature in some tip-top blog carnivals. My post about how to find eBay bargains was featured in the Summer Vacation Edition of the Carnival of Pecuniarities, hosted by Momma’s Blog. My post about homemade floor cleaner was featured in the Make It From Scratch Carnival, over at It’s Frugal Being Green. My post about how to save money on clothes by organising your wardrobe was featured in the Festival of Frugality - Honeymoon Edition, hosted by Financial Highway.

Finally, we enjoyed a relaxing end to a busy week. We were driving through Masham, which is a little town in the Yorkshire Dales, not far from here, when we spotted a Morris Dancing festival taking place outside one of the local pubs. We stopped for a drink and enjoyed the music, jingle bells, sticks and general jollity (fuelled, no doubt, by the adjacent ale tent). It is a truth universally acknowledged, that it is impossible to be stressed when the sun is shining and you are surrounded by dancing, bouncing men with big bouquets of flowers on their heads.

Many of this blog’s visitors arrive via Google. Many of the search queries that lead people here are in the form of questions. The answers, I haz them…

why are the tesco voucher codes not working

Because you have the caps lock on. Either that, or your codes have expired; go here for the latest ones.

why do wedding cakes cost so much?

Because, dear heart, they’re a bitch to make. Think about it: you bake several cakes, faff arround with dowelling supports and then spend a gazillion years on the icing and decoration. Even then, it’s not over: you have to take the damned thing apart, get it to the venue and assemble it again without breaking or toppling anything. When I got married I decided to make my own wedding cake and save money. Four tiers and several sugar rose cascades later, the painful and protracted experience was seared upon my soul.

how to make a fake wedding cake

Ah, so I’ve put you off making a bona fide wedding cake. And now you’ve read the fake wedding cake post. To be honest, if you are making it yourself I wouldn’t bother with this option. Fake wedding cakes are polystyrene on the inside - but it’s the tricksy icing, rather than the cake-baking, that will destroy your soul.

are soap nuts any good

They are marvellous. I am nuts about soap nuts.

are there eny boot sales in collier row romford

Ask Sharon Rose; she will know.

how do i get oil off the driveway

Clay and a solvent. The Thriftymobile went through a phase of splashing oil wherever it went, but this kitty litter + paint thinner recipe did the trick.

what to do with stale croissants

A fancypants bread and butter pudding.

where can i buy cath kidston wallpaper

Cath Kidston’s online shop. But if you are looking to pay less for that chintzy English look, I refer you to my Cath Kidston wallpaper post - where all is revealed!

are yorkshire people thrifty?

Q: Why is a 50p pence the shape it is?    A: So that you can get it out of a Yorkshireman’s hand with a spanner.

does rubbing alcohol take out grease spots

Yes.

what keeps ants away?

Basil and/or talcum powder.

what is your favourite perfume?

Good old-fashioned Lily of the Valley by Crabtree & Evelyn. Nobody else buys it because it looks like granny perfume, but the fragrance is divine. Who wants to smell like everyone else anyway?

what do u call a money box

I think you have answered your question.

how to make your own marie rose sauce?

Frugal Grandma’s marie rose sauce recipe is a winner.

what cleans patent leather

Olive oil. Wipe on, wipe off. See my cleaning patent leather post for details.

my car was a “write-off”, can I still get a car scrappage deal

No. To qualify, your car has to be roadworthy.

how to pick up an ebay bargain

Where to start? Maybe here. Or here.

how to stop food going mouldy

Stick a clean, dry sponge in the salad drawer.

do you like Cath Kidston

Yes. Lots. But I’m not paying £10 for a floral oven glove.

I have a bad feeling about the mortgage market. Yes, yes: I know there is a lot of talk right now about budding recoveries, attractive deals and unmissable rates, but I am not comfortable.

As you may recall, I have (or had) a devilish Mortgage Masterplan. We came off our fixed-rate deal in February and since then, I’ve been making overpayments to the tune of £500 per month. If this overpayment could be maintained, we could pay off the entire mortgage in ten years. Since that is unlikely, the real-life plan has been to pay off a hefty chunk of capital before the interest rates go skywards again.

Since then I’ve been getting itchy feet. There is still some equity in the property, which is a good start. However, I have become nervous about what we will do if/when the rates shoot up and we’re suddenly scrambling for a nice, tidy mortgage solution. We both run our own companies, which probably puts us on some kind of bank auto-blacklist.

I decided to look around for a fixed-rate deal, but to date my labours have come to naught. Last week I dragged my husband along for a mortgage consultation at HSBC, after reading that they had launched some tasty deals with delightfully low fixed interest rates. Goodness me, it was a depressing experience! We had to sit in the claustrophobic plastic corner cubicle for a gazillion years, while the banking lady eked out one pointless form after another.

Beforehand I’d been reading posts on online fora, with people complaining that mortgage deals on offer had gone as low as 3.25 x joint annual income. I had calculated that we might - just - be able to raise sufficient finance. As it turned out, however, HSBC would only offer us 2.5 x joint annual income. I was taken aback, as we don’t have any other debts, our businesses are growing and we have pristine credit records, but there you go: it was a waste of time.

So it’s back to our current provider, Abbey. This evening I spent a long time on the telephone, in some sort of intricate telephone holding pattern for hapless remortgagees, waiting to speak to someone. I was on hold for an hour - I had a very cross face by the end of it. A real live person finally came on the line, ten minutes before the call centre closed for the night. I was told to call again tomorrow. Gee, thanks! I wasn’t over the moon. Expecially as all of Abbey’s fixed rates are set to jump  at midnight tonight. (Yes, my timing is pretty borked.)

Grumble grumble grumble. The more I dig into this, the less I like it. Any advice?

Image credit: woodleywonderworks.

The Coolest Gadgets site has launched a competition to win a television. It’s no ordinary telly, either: it’s one of those state-of-the-art, bells-and-whistles jobs.

The LG LF7700 has a 42″ screen (i.e. it’s huge) and retails at £850. According to this review, it is swish in appearance and has an integrated Freesat HD tuner. What do you mean, you don’t know what an integrated Freesat HD tuner is? It means that you can get high-definition Freeview telly via a satellite dish, as any fule kno.

It also comes with an intelligent sensor, which adjusts the picture according to light conditions. I guess that means that you don’t have to close the curtains when the sun starts shining during Saturday Kitchen. Sweet.

If you would like to give this hulking mass of liquid crystal a good home, you have to piece together a word published letter by letter over the next few days, and enter it into the Coolest Gadgets prize draw. The competition is open to UK residents, and the prize must be delivered to a UK address. Good luck!

Coolest Gadgets: Win A Television Competition.