Joe Wicks has the answer apparently.
Welcome to my monthly dose of savings and earnings inspiration on the blog. If it isn’t your first time on the blog then you’ll likely know I’ve discovered the deep satisfaction that comes from earning compound interest on my savings in the long term, rather than relying on the temporary happiness that comes from impulse buying.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, it wasn’t always easy to save a mighty five figure sum towards my deposit. Temptation also seems to strike me less than most people I know.
I thought a monthly post therefore on where I find the best value for money in daily life might be useful. When there’s so much in life out of our control, I think there’s more benefit than ever to finding ways to control what we can regards our finances.
Looking for timeless saving ideas?
While these monthly posts might highlight short-term offers here and there, these two posts talk more about how to approach saving long-term:
How I Saved Half My Wages Renting in London
I don’t think of myself as “tight”. It’s also bizarre to me that we would criticise anyone in society for NOT wanting to spend willy nilly day in and day out when there are so many people homeless or in debt who would benefit from a windfall. I believe in spending priorities.
If we have the means, but we feel like our wages disappear of their own accord, then saving big doesn’t mean wearing a potato sack and living off bread and water. It’s about stopping to assess whether we’re really spending on the most important things to us, and then finding the best value within those priorities. This might not be the cheapest product or service, but the one that suits our needs for the lowest price.
Go your own way
There isn’t one right way to spend. In the past I’ve had an addiction to buying clothes. Someone working in fashion might just call that an occupational hazard.
I spent most of my savings from my teenage jobs on backpacking, and I don’t regret a penny of that. They were amazing experiences. Somebody else might not give a flying squirrel about spending on travel and think that I squandered that money. I could have bought a house much sooner if I hadn’t gone to California for a year. At the time that wasn’t my spending priority.
Now that I own a house, my spending priorities have shifted again. Don’t take these posts as a Bible representation of how I live. They’re not intended to tell anyone else exactly how to live either. I just hope they give you some ideas for the budget areas that are relevant to you.
Our priorities evolve. The continuing thread is that I’ve found a level of financial freedom through getting up close and personal with my concept of value for money. My monthly outgoings are far less with a mortgage than they were renting in London. This won’t be the case for everyone. Having savings has definitely given me options to improve my lifestyle for the better though.
If a job is affecting our mental health, but we feel like we can’t leave for financial reasons, then reducing our expenses and building up our rainy day funds will open up opportunities in future to take a break, switch careers, start a business…Whatever we need. All while keeping a roof over our head.
Disclaimer: If you sign up for a free trial or purchase via an affiliate link in this post, I earn a commission from the seller at no extra cost to you. I pray this goes some way towards covering the cost of hosting the blog etc. Since I’m big on analysing value for money rather than big on big spending for its own sake, I obviously only recommend anything I think is genuinely good value. I hope you save on your spending priorities that way. On that note, if you want to jump straight to some of my favourite Amazon investments in the long term that spring from this post, click the affiliate linked images below.
IF YOU ARE IN DEBT, please do not try and support the blog through my affiliate links. Speak to National Debtline, StepChange, your local Citizens Advice, or all of these about your debts. If you want to support the blog, tell someone you know about it and the free mailing list instead.
How I Saved In June: Recommended Viewing
I was working from home when corona hit, so I didn’t quite go through the discovery process that a others did with entertainment the last few months. A few stalwart DVDs meant I had plenty to watch regardless.
I used to watch MOUNTAINS of TV, often while doing other things and with an avid use of the fast forward button to skip the ads. That’s partly how I ended up recapping so many shows for the blog. I’ve never had a paid television subscription though, as I managed to find hours of Freeview every week to keep me entertained.
I find I am more selective these days about what I watch though, and there seems to be less new shows coming through on Freeview. There’s also a lot of repeats, so my fallback is a small collection of boxsets. My ancient copies of Buffy the Vampire Slayer filled the void if I had nothing else recorded, but it is currently being shown again on E4 nightly during the week.
If you find yourself buying DVDs regularly, add up how many hours of viewing you already own. You might get a shock. It only takes a few boxsets of an American show to realise you’ve got several months of daily entertainment at your fingertips already.
Although I can quote my favourite shows, I actually don’t watch them that regularly because even with a small select number of boxsets, it would take me weeks and weeks to rewatch them all even if I watched an episode per day. As an example:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer = 100+ hours
Gilmore Girls = 105+ hours
Teen Wolf = 72+ hours
Supernatural = 15 series of at least 22 episodes per series at around 40 minutes per episode…I’m not even gonna do the maths.
And this doesn’t include extras! I’ve got more boxsets than this, and a wealth of movies even though I rarely buy DVDs (three of the ones listed
above were gifts anyway). With all this in mind, it’s very hard for me to justify paying for a TV subscription.
What are you watching lately? I included the above shows on this page if you want an alcohol-free game:
The Not Drinking Game
If you have a lot of DVR space and don’t mind missing the first and most of the second series, you could try recording Buffy on E4 and just fast forward the ads. It’s on nightly Mon-Fri around 11pm assuming they show it all the way through to the end of series seven.
Similarly Supernatural is on E4 weekly at the moment, but it’s in the middle of season 14, so you might be a bit confused if you try to pick it up mid-series! (By all means ask me to try an explain any particular backstory. I like a challenge). This also means if you buy the boxset at the moment, you know upfront that it won’t include the finale. E4 took so long to show it though, that Supernatural season 14 is actually available to buy in its entirety by now anyway.
The other way to watch some of these for free if you’re saving up for the boxset, or unsure about cancelling pay TV just yet etc., is through Amazon’s 30 day free Prime trial as that includes a free trial of Prime Video also.
If you’re wondering whether to continue as a student online next academic year… Prime Student is a six month free trial and then the monthly cost of Prime is half off. (Of course the academics is more important. That doesn’t explain how I saw the majority of Bones in one term of university).
The complete boxset of Teen Wolf is proving hard to track down in the UK outside of Amazon Prime Video anyway. What a way to treat a modern classic… If you have a multi-region player, it’s easy to buy season 1 and 2. Otherwise it’s only possible at the mo to get season 3 onwards individually in the UK Region 2 format.
Recommended Reading
I talked about books last month, but with the libraries closed throughout the spring, I also doubled down on the amount of blogs I follow. I’ve listed on the resources page the money blogs that I read regularly.
I’ve also been reading a blog from the other side of the pond for years: Frugalwoods.
Frugalwoods is about a couple who quit their full time jobs in their 30s through saving and investing to live on a Vermont homestead. I’ve learned from this that I have no desire to buy a remote property in rural New England. Mrs Frugalwoods is very funny regardless, and the personal finance posts are obviously catnip to me. (There is a Frugalwoods memoir also with the same sense of humour).
It’s not that libraries don’t offer ebooks too, but I found the choice a bit limited. I also kept forgetting to renew my ebook loans even if I was using the loan daily. I think this was down to no reminder in the interface. Or not holding the book meant I was divorced from the idea of renewals.
I was miffed to find my ebook loan for Joe Wicks Veggie Lean in 15 expired if I then couldn’t renew because someone else had placed a hold. (How dare they! More about that book under “What Recipe?” below). I understand libraries pay for these just like they pay for physical books. It just feels odd to read something online and then for it to suddenly disappear the next day because there’s only one ebook license going around.
I think books will creep back into my spending priorities therefore. Any reader will agree there’s something so satisfying about holding a good book. Plus because I sold a bunch of my unwanted books through carboots and Ziffit last year, I actually have shelf space again.
I won a copy of Personality Isn’t Permanent on a YouTube livestream, so perhaps I’ll just watch some more free entertainment and wait for books to rain down from the sky… It was the hardback too, so that was a novelty. This is relevant to the next section too, but the book is also available on Audible as an audiobook, as is Meet the Frugalwoods. If you haven’t already, you can get a free trial of Audible on Amazon.
Recommended Listening
I’ve been recording a podcast, so that’s consumed my listening! I can’t recommend it just yet as it’s not ready to launch. As soon as it is I will of course update the blog.
The podcast will build on the blog with episodes analysing ways to save and get on the property ladder. There will probably be less food content than on the blog. That’s not what I’ve gravitated towards while talking into my microphone alone…
I hope it proves useful though and kills time in an entertaining way whether you like to listen on a commute, while exercising, or just around the house.
The mailing list is the best place to find out more as the announcements come. Subscribe at the bottom of this page if you want to submit a side hustle or money question to the podcast also!
I listened to an audiobook for free too, so I can see me getting into Audible in future. Scroll up if you missed my affiliate link to the free trial.
Cashback & Loyalty Schemes
I mentioned in last month’s version of this post that I use cashback credit cards. When I was reading back through, I realised I could have gone into more detail about this.
I earned points with my Amex for buying Love on Tour tickets to see Harry Styles next year (well, actually this year… I mean, I paid for it last year… Oh, the Harry saga is all very confusing. It’s not Amex’s fault and I explained it all in How to Save Like A Bear in June!)
Amex used to have a super exclusive image and not be accepted everywhere as a payment. I’ve never had a problem using it to pay for anything though, and I wasn’t on a high salary when I applied either. I just had a good credit score.
MSE has an eligibility checker if you’re worried about rejection, so then you know whether to bother applying in the first place.
There are different types of cashback schemes available through Amex. I went for a fee free sign up offer that gave me bonus points for booking a flight as I was researching airmiles options ahead of a trip at the time.
On the spavings front, these cards basically give you a bonus or discount on something you’ve rationalised you definitely want to buy anyway. (Spavings are savings you make on spending versus the 100% saving you’d make by buying nothing at all…)
Getting the card and spending without a plan and treating it like free money won’t give you any value as spavings or savings obviously. It’s best to think of a credit card as a payment method that can earn you cashback on daily essentials, rather than a path to buying anything in your wildest dreams.
What Recipe? Joe Wicks Veggie Lean in 15
One of the ebooks I borrowed and wasn’t able to renew to my dismay was Joe Wicks’ Veggie Lean in 15. This might seem odd since I’ve written several times on the blog that I’m not a big recipes advocate. I might follow a recipe once (and even then I usually substitute or ignore an ingredient, or change part of the cooking method), and then going forward I use the recipe as a very vague basis for my own improvisations.
My recipe book purchases in the past were disappointing because a book would look good, and then I’d find one or all of the following to be true:
- Most of the recipes took too long
- I couldn’t get most of the ingredients easily or cheaply
- Imbalanced recipes meant if you tried to skip or substitute ingredients, you ended up with half a dinner
- What I think I like and what I’ll actually eat in combination are not always the same thing
- I didn’t own a blender or food processor etc
- Sometimes the recipe just doesn’t turn out well!
This was fine when I learned to cook flexibly and not be beholden to recipes. I’m not perfect though, and I had fallen into a bit of a rut somehow. This was partly because contrary to what all my food blog posts suggest, I actually don’t devote too much time or mental energy to food. I get in and out of the supermarket and the kitchen as quick as possible, and I don’t labour my meal planning.
This meant I kept defaulting to the same things though. Especially as I had stopped visiting a rotation of supermarkets and kept going to one discounter during coronavirus. I could get most of what I wanted as cheaply as possible without having to queue too long.
The discounters are partly so cheap because they have a limited range at the end of the day though. I would remember too late that I couldn’t get what I had in mind if it wasn’t stocked. Then I’d just end up buying the same thing as two weeks before. And the two weeks before that.
So I borrowed Joe Wicks’ book after watching an old recording I had of The Body Coach for Channel 4. I fiddled with the recipes something shocking, but when I couldn’t renew the book, I had a minor panic.
I’d bought a load of ingredients that morning to make a batch of his recipes. It’s not that I didn’t know what to do with the ingredients generally. But I realised I wanted to try Joe’s recipes. Everything I had made from the book so far had been tasty, easy, fairly quick, adaptable, and respected all the food groups.
I knew it was worth buying therefore. This makes it the first recipe book I’ve bought in many years, but it’s given me lots of new ideas. I might share some blog posts or Instagram stories about my experiments. (My Instagram is a bit quiet at the moment; I mostly stop in weekly to chat to everyone one on one, or in the comments. Give me a follow if you want to chat, or vote for what I should share on there in future).
I also found lots of ways to make the recipes cheaper without sacrificing the nutrition. Let me know in the comments if you’ve got the book already, or if you want me to shout you any particular recipes, and any changes I made successfully. Click the image below to view the book on Amazon if books are in your spending priorities.
I suppose I could have done the Kindle Unlimited 30 day free trial first and seen if it it was on there, but I went ahead and bought the ebook. It’s been so long since I bought a recipe book, I don’t think ebooks even existed then! It took a little way to get used to navigating to the index and then the recipes I want therefore, but I’m glad I broke my recipe book ban.
I’ve already made a few of the recipes twice, but when I’ve exhausted the book, I can always refer to my own Recipes page if I’m really uninspired.
What I Bought
I had to buy a sodding electric shower. Mine went as cold as Jean Claude Van Damme in a Coors Light commercial. Baths are not ideal when you have very long hair. The kind of long hair that children instantly want to braid, even if we’ve never met before. (Get back!)
Technically I bought my Mira Sprint 9.5kw in May, but because I buy everything with cashback credit cards, it didn’t get paid off until June. I didn’t really have time to research a replacement when it broke, so it could have easily slid into the following month’s spending anyway!
I barely made the time to troubleshoot it and decide that it was completely fried. (If your electric shower runs cold, it’s either cut out, or sometimes it’s just that the head or the hose is blocked. The latter is a free fix to unblock it yourself and screw it all back together).
You’re either a bath person or you’re not. I’m incapable of pausing in life for more than about 30 seconds, so I just don’t find them relaxing. It’s just as well that the weather was a bit more mild so that I didn’t care for a while though that they were the only option.
I still had to whack the heating up beforehand though because I just don’t find them warming like a shower. I can’t seem to get the temperature right. They don’t warm the room like a shower either, so I did make time to research a replacement when I realised I was likely spending more on energy. Something to think about.
Shower says “no”
I chatted to the plumber my family always use before buying my replacement Mira Sprint in case he had any pointers. He suggested I should go for the same kw. This was good to know before buying.
I wanted minimal faff regards the fittings and fixtures and so did he since I was replacing a broken shower and not refurbishing the whole bathroom. I went for a modern version of the same model therefore so that I wouldn’t have to do any retiling.
I could have got a cheaper shower with a different shape unit etc, but I likely then would have run into costs making the wall look presentable again. Also it would have been more involved for the plumber, so I would have had to pay more for his extended work. When I looked up my existing model, it was at least five years old (it came with the house), possibly as old as 14 years. I didn’t mind paying a bit more if it was potentially going to last that long again.
After shopping around I found the model cheapest at Screwfix. They were a godsend during my refurb as they were routinely the most competitive price-wise by a long shot. Because so many tradesmen use them too, I find the reviews representative since you’re hearing from the poor person who had to actually do the installation.
They also often mention in their reviews how THEIR customer found it, so you’re getting two reviews in one. I was also able to collect the next day, and get it fitted the day after that. So despite dilly dallying my buying decision, it was all sorted within a few days.
The Mira Sprint 9.5kw on Amazon isn’t as competitive unless you can’t collect from a Screwfix near you, or need a quicker delivery. I usually have Amazon gift cards on my account, but of course they had run out, otherwise that also probably would have leaned me in Amazon’s direction. You can see it’s practical more than stylish, but I usually prefer to pay for features rather than aesthetic design:
With bigger purchases like this, Amazon also often has an introductory offer to get money off if you take up their credit card. It’s really important if you use those offers to make sure you still set up an automatic direct debit to pay the card off in full. It also might not be the best idea to apply if you have recently made other credit applications, or will be very soon; you don’t want a credit card application for £10 off to stop you getting a mortgage!
I noticed this model isn’t in Mira’s shop on Amazon anymore, so I think the deal is partly because it’s going to be retired. Again, because I’d had the previous one for so long, this doesn’t bother me. In fact, I usually make a beeline if I hear “discontinued” because it can be a great way to bag a bargain on something you need to buy anyway. Often the specification of the discontinued model and the new version are very similar.
The Mira Jump 9.5kw in the official Mira shop on Amazon is probably the closest new alternative (affiliate link in the image below). The price isn’t far off what I paid considering it’s newer it seems.
One other thing I’ve noticed about bigger items that offer monthly payments on Amazon is that you usually pay the same regardless. (This is separate from their credit card offer, so you don’t get any cash off, but you don’t risk paying interest either). That’s compared to catalogue sites that charge you interest to spread the cost. I think you should only take advantage of this if you are desperate for a replacement item and really can’t afford to pay upfront though. Otherwise if a replacement isn’t urgent, and you can’t afford to pay in full, it’s a good rule of thumb to hold off and save up instead.
They say that houses with baths are worth more than a shower only, and I can believe it now. The argument usually is that it’s more family friendly because kids are easier to put in the bath. However, I would have been really stuck if my shower had died and I couldn’t have a bath. (I understand people managed to wash for centuries before showers were invented… But I think they found it easiest in something bath-shaped).
I will definitely keep this in mind if I renovate the bathroom or buy another house in future!
What I Didn’t Buy
There’s something I thought I was going to buy in April that I actually forgot to write about, so I’m including it here. That was regards updating my camera after 10+ years. Along with my 10 year old DVR, you can guess I’m not the first to rush out and buy new technology. It’s not that I don’t get on with tech or use it every day. I just think if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…
Having said that, the quality of the photos from my Canon Ixus 6 weren’t cutting it anymore. They looked fine in 2006, but funnily enough, they’re a bit sad in comparison to today’s super duper phone photography.
I wanted a compact camera that I could use easily on the fly for the blog. I thought I was going to get some really good photos and video at the Harry Styles shows in April too. However, Love on Tour 2020 now only exists if you live in North and South America, or Australia and New Zealand…
Harry’s postponed the tour dates I was meant to go to until 2021. It’s a shame to have to wait so long to see Harry Styles live especially when I bought the tickets in 2019, but it did change my camera “needs”.
The last concert I went to successfully, I came away with a handful of dodgy photos. That was despite a reasonable seat on the floor section of the o2 arena. I know we can just go online and look at other people’s much better photos and videos, but it’s still nice to have your own memento. I was ready to capture Harry in all his graceful glory (or possibly falling over, as he does that quite a bit too).
I was going to go with the Canon Ixus 185. It’s nothing flashy (no pun intended), but it would have been a huge step up from what I owned. It costs less than half what I paid for my Canon all those years ago thanks to the advent of mobile phone camera technology. I didn’t plan to update my phone, because that would be a bigger investment and meant looking at other important things about the specification.
I also thought I didn’t want to be solely reliant on my phone for photography and filming for the blog as I still needed it for my day job. I think you can claim a phone as a business expense though if you have another phone just for personal use.
Life does not always go to plan though. The Harry Styles tour got shunted back, so I didn’t get the camera…But I did have to get another phone for work anyway! My existing one is still fine for personal use, but the battery threatens not to charge regularly. Not a surprise for a seven year old phone!
My original Canon went round the world a few times, so I don’t think we have to buy a new piece of tech in order to enjoy other experiences. It’s easy to take so many photos and videos at a concert that you forget to just enjoy the moment. I’m glad I’ll have a decent camera when I finally get to see Harry Styles on tour next year though.
I still have the Canon Ixus 185 in the back of mind because I’m still interested in the 8x optical zoom. I’ll see what kind of images I can get from the Super Res Zoom on my Google Pixel 3a. The Super Res is zoom through AI and is meant to mimic 2x zoom. (Let me know if you want me to do a review of the Pixel as it was a lengthy process to decide to buy it as you’d expect from someone who invests in tech expecting it to last for years). Click the image below to go to Amazon if tech is in your spending priorities.
Luxuries To Last A Lifetime
Given our climate, I regularly reach for my North Face GORE-TEX Paclite jacket or my Gore Tex boots even during “summer” months. Due to lockdown life, these haven’t had as many outings for many weeks. We’ve had our fair share of rain though too which is a pain if I’m already out on my daily walk when it downpours.
I still think they’ve been good investments (they were partly gifts anyway). They will serve their time, but this spring has demonstrated that one way to save on a practical wardrobe is to never go anywhere…
The jacket is called Dryzzle these days and has some features I wish my old version had, like the longer cuffs on the outside edge and the chest pocket.
There is a slightly dude tax on this jacket even though it comes in a men’s version too. If the pricing was the other way round, I wouldn’t mind wearing the straighter men’s cut. Increasingly brands are putting out unisex styles, so if you’re a shorter dude, don’t ignore the women’s jacket if you had a max budget in mind to replace your gear.
An umbrella is also still obviously a lot cheaper than a Gore Tex jacket or boots. No matter how much I spend though, my umbrellas never seem to last more than a year before they break.
This is a bit of a false economy, especially as the umbrella won’t also keep you warm and provide pockets. You can also still get soggy arms or feet with an umbrella if you’ve far to go and the weather’s really vicious.
I got my first Paclite when I worked in the outdoors industry because I wanted something light enough to take abroad, but I also wanted something I can wear all year round. It’s very thin so I don’t mind putting it on during humid summer rain, or carrying it with me just in case.
In winter, I just wear more layers underneath, and it’s easy to layer up because it’s not bulky itself. This is easy with the size because I don’t wear the smallest size possible; otherwise it would be too short. That’s one thing to be aware of with this jacket: if you go down a size, it will also be shorter in length.
Working in an outdoors store spoiled me for life because I’ve never let go of what I learned about the practical uses of certain fabrics. On the mountain that kind of knowledge saves your life. Off the mountain it just helps a cold bear be far from miserable when the English weather is trying to drown me, or blow me away. So, nine months out of the year at least. (I’m quite a small bear, and not very wind resistant without help).
The other thing I’ve noticed since switching careers (several times) is that when I worked in outdoors retail, the bestsellers kept going up year after year in price. Like house prices, the bubble sometimes bursts though. The Paclite actually sells for less now which is a welcome reward for owning the same style for half my life.
My jacket I’ve had for years, and it’s still in good condition. It’s my second one too. The one I had before that lasted ten years, despite carting it around the world while backpacking on a shoestring. When I’ve completely worn out this one, the updated version will probably have wings or something because they improve the design each decade. I look forward to it!
“Things” I’m Thankful For
Besides Joe Wicks and dry feet? What more do you need?
Financial security probably. I’m able to make big purchases because they are a) quite few and far between and b) I have learned how to manage my money well over the years so that I have the freedom to update my most trusted belongings when needed.
If you want help with the latter, make sure you read Money Makeover For Your Life And Your Side Hustle. If you already subscribed to the mailing list, you should have got the bonus PDF with your first email. Otherwise you can sign up at the bottom of this page for the savings newsletter and get the ebook in addition.
Staying Active For Free
More daylight equals more excuse to get outside! I mentioned in the last post that I did the Centr free trial. After the six weeks ended I decided not to subscribe. Joe Wick’s YouTube channel filled a gap instead whenever I wanted a guided workout. I obviously had Joe Wicks on the brain after making his recipes (not like that, you filthy scoundrel).
You know what to do: tell me if you want to know what I thought of working out with Chris Hemsworth in Centr.
Side Hustles
Things were quiet on this front in June. I was all ready for car boot season, but coronavirus had other plans. Some of my freelance work got cancelled too, so I used that time to work on the blog instead. I’m hoping to squeeze in a car boot at the end of summer if they’re allowed again.
I didn’t earn a great deal from doing car boots last year, but enough to make the £5 entry worthwhile. There’s also just something very satisfying about clearing some space and letting someone else benefit from your unloved stuff. I think we really underestimate what it does to the mind to have too much clutter around. It’s surprising also what people will pay for. One person’s junk really is another person’s treasure.
The amount you expect to make obviously hinges on the quality of the goods therefore. Someone next to me on one occasion had just redecorated their house top to bottom and was selling all their old artwork, curtains, blinds and lampshades.
The lighting was all from Dunelm and people were paying double digits still for their glass lampshades and mini chandeliers. It goes to show that some brands do hold their value. Or if you’re looking to buy rather than sell, then it’s definitely worth checking car boots. There are many stalls selling homewares for pennies also.
Their biggest sellers were really similar in style to the image below, so I also wonder if it’s just down to the popularity of industrial schemes in interior design lately, or if this style of Glass Pendant Light is fairly versatile regardless.
Whether you’re buying or selling in future, contact the host to find out what time people usually show up. The gates open really early at my local carboot. I’ve learned from experience though that I can still get a decent spot if I show up about an hour before it opens to the public.
Sellers start packing up from about 11am onwards. By 12 it’s fairly dead, so it’s only worth staying if you’re very determined to keep selling. There are some people who buy last minute though. I don’t have any lampshades to sell, but I’d still like a return to normal if it means I can get rid of some other random unloved possessions at a car boot this year.
Goals: Every Goal Is A Financial Goal
Going back to Joe Wicks again, I’ve blogged repeatedly that I think financial and health goals work in tandem. I had no interest in losing weight so I can’t really say whether the book is useful for that. I do like to eat food I’ve made from scratch wherever possible though. The book definitely supports that. (So I imagine if you swapped takeaways for the book, it might lead to weight loss, if that’s necessary at all).
It’s not really possible to achieve financial goals without taking care of yourself. What we eat affects our sleep. How we sleep affects our decision making, including decisions about what we spend on what we eat… It’s all connected. I might do a post or podcast ep about how I’ve fought (and mostly won) against insomnia over the years. Food is a part of that.
I wasn’t lacking nutrition per se before I bought the book, but I was a bit bored. There was definitely potential for more variety. (The more variety we can eat of veggies etc, the better the nutrition in theory). The book has been bloody good value. For less than £10 I’ve had a lot of epic food that’s fuelled me to achieve other goals. Long live Joe Wicks (and me, since I am now composed of 95% broccoli).
I didn’t mean to devote almost this entire post to Joe Wicks, just like I didn’t mean for How to Save Like A Bear in June to become an ode to Harry Styles. We’ll see who gets my verbage in August, shall we? Any votes? (UPDATE: Tom Hardy got nearly all the words in How To Save Like A Bear In August).
What will you do to save in the meantime? Share any recommendations in the comments!
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