How to Beat the Credit Crunch

Everyone is feeling the pinch at the moment due to the economic recession. But all is not lost, I am here to show you how to make your money go further. I will be revealing some of the easiest tips and tricks that can be implemented to help save you time and money and ease your way through the credit crunch.

Planning your purchases in advance can definately help to cut costs. Buying products in their off-season is one of the easiest ways to save money.

But what do I mean by this?

The winter has set in, it is really cold and dark. All the cloth shops have stocked up on items such as jumpers, scarves and gloves, items that will keep you warm when you are out-and-about. These items are, in the winter, seasonal products, the demand for these items are very high in the winter so the prices are also fairly high. If you wait for the demand for these items to drop off you can generally pick up a great deal. Once the weather starts to warm up a little cloth shops will start to drop the prices of their winter range so that they can get rid of the remaining stock to make room for the spring and summer range. That pair of winter gloves you were looking at that cost £10 in the height of the winter will drop at least by 50% once the weather begins to warm up again. This kind of shopping can really benefit you.

The same can be applied to goods that you buy during the summer such as; fans, BBQs, gardening equipment etc. If you buy these items as the summer is coming to an end you can make huge savings for the following year.

Also buying last years electronics goods will help save you money. We all know that top of the range PCs and TVs are very expensive so look at buying last years top of the range gear and you will be able to save yourself alot of money.

You can save yourself a bit of money with this simple little trick especially if you have children.

If you find yourself going through 100s of pairs of socks this is a great trick for you.

Always buy socks that are the same colour and style! The reason you can save money by doing this is because if you get a big hole in one of your socks most people will end up throwing away the pair. If all of your socks are exactly the same you only need to throw away the damaged sock and not its' partner, you just team it up with another sock.

I know you may not think it but making your own compost is a great way of saving (and in some cases making money). Many people make their won compost because it is cheaper than purchasing compost from stores and garden centres. Also making your own compost helps to keep the environment safe.

To make your own compost all you will need is a compost bin/heap and organic waste. Organic waste means items such as out of date fruit and vegetables.

Here is a small list of items that you can throw into a compost bin:
Fruit
Veg
Eggs
Bread
Cereal
Paper
Card
Grass clippings
Dead leaves

There are other items but that is the general idea. All you do is throw them into the compost bin and allow them to degrade and become compost which you can mix into the soil in your garden to create healthy, fertile soil.

If you have a rabbit or two instead of binning the waste created by you hoppy little friend you can throw that into the compost bin as well. The saw dust will break down and become compost just like the above mentioned items. Also rabbit droppings are a very good composting material. Rabbit droppings also have the added advantage of attracting worms, worms help to decrease the time it takes for compost to break down and they help yo make a much more fertile compost.

Worm farming can be quite a lurative hobby. Worms can be sold to other people for their compost, and they can be sold as bait for fishermen. There is alot of information out their about worm farming and how to make money froom it. Here is a fantastic resource for worm farming

Here is a list of things you should not put into a compost bin:

Potatoes/potatoe skins (because they will just grow in the bin and absorb all of the nutrients)
Pet waste (except for rabbits)
Meat (because it attracts rats which in turn can attract disease)

Composting and worm farming can be an interesting hobby. Enjoy!