Paul, Author at Money tips blog

Four real life examples of how Monzo makes life easier

June 29, 2020 by Paul

I have been a Monzo customer since February 2017, shortly before they officially became a bank. I initially joined Monzo partly to understand what the hype was all about (several people in my office were brandishing these bright orange cards). And partly to benefit from their low foreign exchange fees when going abroad.

Monzo’s pace of development appears to have slowed in recent months. However, a recent experience reminded me of why I love banking with Monzo, and why I will never go back to one of the incumbent banks.

Why I’m on course for a miserable retirement

June 28, 2020June 28, 2020 by Paul

My Dad is 52 and works as a Sales Director. His job is more than just demanding, it’s psychologically and physically draining. On the plus side, he earns a very good salary. Meaning, when he reaches 55 (pension drawing age), he could potentially retire early. Which is what I’d like to see him do for the good of his health. A recent conversation with him on this subject sparked me to think about my own retirement.

Results of my Affiliate Marketing Experiment

June 2, 2020 by Paul

I created this blog, in part, with a view to make some money from it one day. When a website gains traffic, one simple route to monetisation is simply to display ads. Another popular monetisation strategy is affiliate marketing.

How much does it cost to furnish a house?

May 23, 2020 by Paul

Are you about to rent an unfurnished property for the first time? Perhaps you’re about to complete on your first house? Whilst very exciting, neither scenario comes without cost (the deposit, legal and moving fees, etc). If you don’t own any furniture right now then you may be wondering how much it’s going to cost you to furnish your new place. Especially because there are certain items of furniture you will have to purchase either before or immediately after moving in, such as a bed, for example. In this post, I will breakdown the cost of furnishing each room in your home from some of the UK’s most popular furniture retailers.

How much does an average men’s haircut cost?

May 18, 2020May 17, 2020 by Paul

I spend relatively little money on my appearance. For example, I am currently using Lacura shower gel that costs 55p / bottle from Lidl to wash both my body and hair. Consequently, I smell like the pine-scented air freshener hanging in your Dad’s Skoda. One expense I do choose to bear, however, is getting my hair cut once a fortnight. My hair grows fast and experiments of growing my hair long as a teenager weren’t pretty. I also have a beard, and so I find a regular haircut an effective means of looking less homeless.

Until recently, I was living in East London and paying £18 for a haircut at an independent unisex hair salon. The local barbershop was a lot cheaper at £10 per cut but there was always a queue, even in the middle of the day. I recently moved house and, due to the lockdown, am yet to find a new place to get my haircut. I started wondering what the going rate for a men’s haircut is these days. So I thought I would do some research into how much does an average men’s haircut cost.

How much does it cost to commute to London from Buckinghamshire?

August 29, 2020May 12, 2020 by Paul

We recently moved out of London and bought a flat in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. As you would expect, we got a lot more for our money in Buckinghamshire (where the average house price is £396k), versus if we had bought in London (where the average property price is £477k). Meanwhile, and on the downside, our commuting costs have increased a lot. Property prices range quite a bit from town to town in Bucks. It turns out the train ticket prices do too! So I decided to look into which Buckinghamshire towns are the cheapest to live in and commute to London from.

How can I decorate my flat on a budget? 7 ideas with images!

May 12, 2020 by Paul

With many of us spending more time at home due to the need for social distancing, you may be wondering how to make your flat more aesthetically pleasing and more comfortable. If you are currently on furlough or have recently been made redundant then you will really need to keep decorating costs down. With this in mind, below are some inexpensive ways to brighten up your flat.

How much does a Cavapoo cost?

October 17, 2020May 10, 2020 by Paul

We purchased a Cavapoo puppy a few weeks back. Since then, a few people have asked us how much it cost us. There are no UK-specific Google articles I could find on this subject. So, in this post, I will share how much we paid for our Cavapoo puppy, Alfie. I’ll also go into where we bought him, and how much he has cost us since.

How to put up something heavy on plasterboard

May 16, 2020May 10, 2020 by Paul

I purchased a large, heavy shelf and was planning to put it up on an interior, hollow wall. Realising that I really needed to make sure it wouldn’t come down because, if it did, it would land on my bed and cause serious damage to my partner and I if it happened at night. I also didn’t want to have to pay a tradesman to come and put up my shelf for me. That would be expensive- potentially costing more than the shelf! So I did a little research on how to put up something heavy on plasterboard.

30 Momentous Money Tips

August 4, 2020April 30, 2020 by Paul

A summary of my existing money tips, plus a few new ones, including 5 from The Little Spender.
Sorted by category, please jump to the section of most interest to you.
Paul