A few more money saving tips

A few more money saving tips

In the last week or so, we have used a few money saving tips. None will make you rich on their own, but they all add up, and there are some additional benefits:

1. Tea bags I caught one crew member making three (yes, that is right three, not two) cups of tea from one tea bag. Two of the crew like very weak tea, so it is not a crazy way of saving. (We also compost tea bags to reduce our landfill burden)... every little helps.

2. Emergency cuff links The astute reader will know that this is now a recurring theme. One member of our crew found himself hurriedly getting dressed for a (free) Christmas party at our local yacht club, when he found that he had no cuff links with which to fasten his shirt cuffs. This was easily resolved by a couple of short stands of nylon cord tied with reef knots. (We only managed a hurried red and blue, as the spool of green could not be located at short notice... pity).

3. Walk a stop or two One of our crew (who by his own admission is currently a little over weight) forgot his annual rail pass on the way to work. As long as he does not do it more than once or twice a year, this has minimal financial impact for the main journey, but on this occasion a few tube journeys would also need to be considered. They could add up to quite a considerable cost and would either be difficult to claim back from the train company (a different franchise from the tube) or time consuming to secure. The frugal and healthy option for this member of the Froo Gal crew was to walk a few stops rather than pay unnecessary costs. The health benefit was a bonus. A hour less in the office was a cost (perhaps), but did he really owe that to his employer?

Great sunsets are easy afloat
Copyright (c) SV Froo Gal 2014, All Rights Reserved

4. Take in the views It is rare for the crew of Froo Gal to stop and enjoy the view (life is so hectic), but we are determined to do it more often. We have a real tension in the crew. One of the skippers hates it when others take too much time to photograph or video what the crew is doing. He says, "enjoy it, live in the moment." But this causes us some difficultly. Now that we are sharing some of our experiences in this Blog, we have to take time to both look around and capture it on 'film.' Getting out and about, drinking in the views that nature provides has the added advantage of being free. Whether looking for beauty or art in an urban environment, catching a great sunset or a glimpse of wildlife it is all worthwhile. (An that skipper is becoming an (annoying) convert).

5. Quality pays The above photo was taken with our 9 year old Nikon D70s.  In our view it is still a great premium amateur camera. Most of the other original Froo Gal pictures shown in this blog, so far, have been taken with an iPhone 4.0. It does a great job, especially when you were not thinking about the potential need to take a shot. They are both good examples of where paying a premium for a well engineered product pays in the long run. And we keep using them until they are unable to do they job required.

6. iPlayer Why pay for Netflix, Amazon Prime or a DVD (and yes we still like to own something on a piece of hardware) when there is great original drama, comedy, and documentary on the BBC that you can watch at your leisure on BBC iPlayer? In the UK you get this as part of your TV licence, which you are legally required to buy if you have a TV in your home (or boat). Other British channels offer similar players, but they are a little less flexible. For example they don't allow free downloads to a smart phone.

Winter sun
Copyright (c) SV Froo Gal 2014
All Rights Reserved

7. Composting We compost uncooked vegetable waste (potato and other vegetable peelings), tea bags, and garden waste -- grass clippings, leaves, etc. As a result we rarely if ever need to buy compost for pot plants and the garden. We'd be interested if anyone has any tips for life afloat. Is composting on a live-aboard, globe-trotting cruising yacht in any way practical or useful? (We grew a basil plant once on a three week trip, so our experience is limited).

8. Free vitamin D Even in the winter the sun shines brightly (from time to time in the UK). Grab it while you can. 30 minutes during your lunch break or an hour or two at the week end can do wonders for your vitamin D levels, health, happiness and well-being. A crisp and cold winter day can be a joy for a sail or a walk.



Understand the difference between cost, price and value!

Saving Approaches that we don't (always) use

Saving Approaches that we don't (always) use 

We like to save money and keep costs down. More savings = more time on the water. But we are by no means excessive or extreme. Here are a few approaches that we have not tried (and probably won't). Why? Well, we are time-poor and aren't obsessive.

Extreme Couponing

Just turn on your Freeview TV and tune to TLC and you'll soon come across the

Copyright (C), Froo Gal 2014, All Rights Reserved

reality TV show Extreme Couponing. The show demonstrates that (in the US) if you are patient you can find discount coupons and shop sales that add up to massive discount and free products. The stars of the show regularly buy hundreds of dollars worth of non-perishable supermarket goods for a few tens of dollars or less. A quick search shows that the boat owner can save money with coupons.  For example coupons.com found discount codes for West Marine. It is a US based retailer, but they ship overseas and might have that hard to find item that you need. voucherselector.co.uk looks like a useful resource. For example I found a discount codes for lastminute.com a land yachting taster session and 37% off a London Boat show dinner cruise for two -- travel and entertainment stacked discounts (I could get hooked). How about getting a free burrito at any London Chipotle restaurant from 4-6pm on Sat 6th or Sat 13th of December just for wearing a Christmas jumper, says www.hotukdeals.com. I also found a free download of Photomatix Essentials 4 (worth about 45USD) and Fusion VFX 7.5 (previously costing ~1000USD) -- they should come in handing for tinkering with photos and videos for the blog. The above graphic was edited with it. We used the YouTube video editor to loop it -- a bit clunky, but not bad for 30 minutes work. The O2 Priority ap might be worth checking out too for savings an freebies.

Cash back credit cards
At any one time one of the major credit card companies is doing a great cash back deal. While we have used some of these, but don't change cards to keep with the best. Google compares UK cards here. Be sure you can always pay off your bill before using these cards as the interest charges will wipe out the small percentage of cash back very quickly. Moneysavingexpert.com sets out its 'golden rules' for cash back credit cards.

Comparison sites
Whether changing utility suppliers, seeking the lowest cost mortgage, buying a car or renewing insurance, comparison sites can do some of the work for you. Comparethemarket.com is perhaps the most promoted site in the Uk, but there are plenty of others. And don't forget to compare the prices with the vendors who don't use the compare sites!

Free Stuff and Great Discounts
Moneysavingexpert.com lists all sort of deals. Here are some examples that could be useful for a cost conscious sailing crew:

Free St. John Ambulance first aid ap

Free Spotify for any device free music for the price of your wifi.

Easybus -- full fare travel does not get much cheaper.

Regatta web outlet -- Polo shirts and fleeces from 5.00GBP.

More to come...


Understand the difference between cost, price and value!