How to save money in Spain

You may love gold jewelry but your gold also has a monetary value, and sometimes it is easy to forget that you have money hanging around your neck. The price of gold has been increasing recently, and perhaps now is a good time to ask yourself if you have anything tucked away which is worth selling. A lot of us collect jewelry, and perhaps even inherit gold jewelry, but do we need our entire collection? Isn’t it true that, just like clothes, we only wear 10% of what we have in our possession?

Perhaps you could turn some of your collection into cold hard cash. But before you do, here are some things you should consider.

Carat

It is important to understand the carat of your gold. Most gold comes in 9, 18 or 12 carats, so have a look at your gold. Many gold dealers, or brokers, offer a certain amount for each carat category.

Before you go into the shop, write down all the details of each piece so you don’t become flustered in the shop. By the way, a carat is a unit which denotes the amount of pure gold.

Weight

Be careful with weight of your gold jewelry. Yes, the dealer will weigh your gold but this is a very popular way to try to cheat a customer. Always weigh your jewelry before hand, and, once again, write it down. Follow this link to find out how you can weigh your jewelry.

Market Rate

Before you step into the dealer’s shop, you should always do some of your own research. Knowing the market rate of gold is a good idea, and the information you need is easily accessible. Once again, write the information down, or print it off. It can become a vital negotiating point. Don’t be afraid to say “No” to the dealer, there are lots of dealers to choose from and I am sure they don’t want to lose you. There are many different web sites to check out gold prices on, but this is a link to one of the better ones.

Many gold dealers also accept other items such as silver, and it could be worthwhile to find out how much silver you have hidden away. Remember, platinum is an expensive commodity as well. Sometimes platinum is called white gold, but remember it is not silver. Some dealers like to say it is a type of silver  – this is not true

Most of us like gardening, or at least sitting out enjoying a nice garden. The problem is that gardening can be a very expensive hobby but with a little bit of planning you can save money and still have a beautiful garden.

Here are some of my tips for saving money in and around the garden.

Plants for free – get plants for free by taking cuttings from more mature plants. I always try to see which plants I can get a cutting from, and increase my plant stock. Summer flowering herbs such as lavender are great for cuttings as not only do they flower but they help to control bugs as well.

Start a plant swap club – I bet you have a friend who has some great plant in his or hers garden. Start by swapping plants with your friends and you soon see you have your own little plant swap club going. Participate in local blogs and tell people which plants you have available, and let others contact you. There are some great ways to start your own web page these days so why not start your own swap plant society on line. You never know what it will lead to. I have got most of my plants this way, and it has been great fun.

Now I have a sign outside my gate telling people which plants I have available for sale, and it is a great way to let your garden make money for you.

Vegetables – growing your own vegetables is another top tip. Tomatoes are great produces, and anything you don’t need or eat immediately you can sell or make home produce. Onions is another cool vegetable to grow as they are easy to dry and most of us use onions in our cooking. Another good vegetable to grow is the courgette or zucchini. They look great and produce a lot as well. Now the good old fashioned ridged cucumber can be planted directly into the soil in May, and you will have your own cucumber into October. They are great climbers and look really cool. Hanging baskets – fill them with cherry tomatoes.

Compost – instead of buying fertilizer make your own compost. It is not very difficult and you can add things like newspaper and eggs shells to your compost. Be careful with citrus fruits as they do not compost very well and remember not to add weeds. Let your weeds dry and burn them, and add the ash to your garden.

This is nothing to do with gardening really but safe your empty glass containers. Once all of those vegetables get up an going you will end up with too much produce. Start pickling, or selling things like chutneys or onion marmalades.  I added up what I made out of my produce sales last year and found at the end of September I had made 483€ from my produce and almost 300€ from my plant sales. My cost had been about 50€ for my pots, maybe should take time into consideration as well. I was really surprised and pleased with myself.

Do you think your garden can earn you money?

How to work your way around the supermarket without spending a fortune should be named as a science. After all, retailers make a science out of trying to sell us things we don’t really need.

There are several ways in which you can save money on your weekly supermarket shopping, and it is not that difficult but you have to be a bit disciplined.

Fight the impulse

It might be a good idea to start shopping more often than doing an enormous weekly shop.

Surveys show that the more time we spend in the supermarket the more we are likely to impulse buy. People that do a weekly shop in the supermarket may spend more money on impulse buys  - a lot people even spent a further 50% on impulse purchases compared to people who just went in and bought food for the same day.

You can fight the impulse buy planning your meals and snacks and be really strict with yourself and stick to your shopping list. Alternatively you can shop more often which can have other benefits such as fresher food.  Another good idea is to shop on line which should stop the temptation of impulse buys.

Check out the shelves

Retailers know that we are more likely to buy food that are placed at hand level or eye level. Most top brands and the most expensive items are always placed there.

Start to scan the shelves and look up and down often you will find supermarkets on brands on the bottom shelves and perhaps in less colourful packaging.

Special offers – are they really special offers

Special offers on food are now always on the food that we need to buy. For instance most supermarkets have special offers on junk food, sweets and chips. Do you actually need the extra calories and is the food on special offer that healthy anyway.  Check out use by dates on special offers and also other items around the special offer. Is the special offer really a special offer?

How to be price smart

Retailers can make prices very misleading. A can of corn might cost $1 but may contain a smaller quantity of corn than the can from another manufacturer. Bread is another good example and you should always check out the weight of your loaf of bread rather than the amount of slices. Thinly sliced bread is often worse value for money as it is more difficult to make sandwiches from, or may just fall apart when it comes out of the bag.

The best thing is always to check out the weight of the product and compare the price and weight to other products.

Time savers are expensive

Grated cheese, bagged salad and vegetables are indeed time savers but they do come at a higher price. Check out un -bagged fruit and vegetables, and buy larger blocks of cheese.

It only takes minutes to grate cheese or prepare a chicken. So focus on buying foods which is not prepared. Cheese can even be grated and frozen for use at a later date, and onions can also be sliced and frozen.

Be careful at the till or check out

Tills and check outs are dangerous places, and retailers tempt us to buy things we don’t need. Check out lines add to profit margins, and a recent survey indicates that for every five minutes you wait at a check you may an impulse purchase. Choose the check out with the shortest line.

Buy seasonal food

Buying seasonal food is a great idea. It is better for you as it has not been transported half way across the world and you are more likely to benefit growers in your own country.

Always look out for seasonal food and stock up on it. For instance if cauliflowers is in season buy extra cauliflower, freeze for use later or make up cauliflower cheese which can also be frozen. Now you are making your own fast food which is ready to eat, and much better for you.

Bulk Buy

Buying bulk is only a good idea if the items on offer are what you need. Good bulk buy items to look out for are:

• Toilet Paper
• Washing Powder
• Tooth paste
• Pet food
• Washing up liquid
• Soap
• Shower gel
• Hair Shampoo

Shop Around

Finally, shop around. Don’t be loyal to one supermarket unless they offer really great value for money. A lot of supermarkets print regular advertising leaflets promoting their offers. Take them home, sit down and go through them with a cup of tea. Base your shopping list on the promotions, and perhaps even create separate shopping list for each supermarket. Remember, that pennies saved always add up.

Love Your Second, Charity or Thrift Shop

Second hand shops are better than many department stores. I know, it is a bit of a strange statement but I actually think about our local second, or charity, shops as department stores. They have such a wide range of goods. We should all support our local second hand or charity shops.

Here are some of the reasons I support mine.

Part of the money taken goes to local charities. It is always nice to support a good cause.

Books, books and more books – I just love books and second hand shops normally have a good selection. Some of my best books have been bought in second shops.

Quirky stuff – it is so boring when our homes all look the same. Could you imagine if we were all forced to shop in IKEA? You can find some unusual stuff to decorate your home with in second hand shops. If it is not fully up to scratch, it is easy to dress it up a bit.

Clothes – clothes in second hand can be really good quality. I have found some wonderful stuff, and even designer labels. Amazing!!!

To be honest, I would love to write a book on how to shop in second hand stores, and show pictures of my best bargains.