Jane Hardy's Blog (17)

It's a wonderful time of year, looking on the internet or browsing the glossy holiday brochures for that perfect break that has been hard earned.

Yes, we can Google locations, hotels or self catering apartments and of course airfares, but wait, please don't book straight away.....   Check with a Travel Agent and ask them for a quote too- it's always worth shopping around and of course make sure that however or whoever you book with they are members of ABTA and ATOL.

Check those…

Are you scared of Networking? Me too!

I was chatting with a fellow networking friend this morning and 'he' said I should start a blog on being a networking newbie............

So he rattled my cage, so here goes!

To be honest, this is rather hard for me to wite as I was petrified - it brings back memories of…

We save up for months, sometimes years, to go on holiday for a week or even two, so what do we do if the accommodation or location don’t live up to expectations................?

Whether staying in the UK in a B&B accommodation to a Luxury Cruise, I think we all look forward to our time with family and friends and having a relaxing or even crazy time.

But what if…

I read the other day about a little boy who was very sad because the girl in his class turned him down to go to the school dance.

What did his Mother say:  NEXT !

I think the same is true if you are facing redundancy; it’s a time for a new challenge and it can be very exciting but frightening at the same time.

You have money in your pocket – yippee – but what to spend it on?

Paying off your credit cards, loans?

Buying a new wardrobe of…

Click on the image above to watch Jane's Video Blog on YouTube

If you have any other hints or tips for keeping your kids happy and amused (on a budget) over the summer holidays it would be lovely to hear from you.

With kind regards

Jane

Jane…

It's a wonderful time of year, looking on the internet or browsing the glossy holiday brochures for that perfect break that has been hard earned.

Yes, we can Google locations, hotels or self catering apartments and of course airfares, but wait, please don't book straight away.....   Check with a Travel Agent and ask them for a quote too- it's always worth shopping around and of course make sure that however or whoever you book with they are members of ABTA and ATOL.

Check those…

Let’s chat about how to save money at the supermarkets...

The first and probably most important thing is to make a shopping list and stick to it!  The smell of bread being spread around the shop floor, together with some summer up-beat songs that we know the words to, pervading our ears and making us feel good, can make it very easy for us to spend just a few extra pounds - or more!…

 Couponing

If you have ever thought of saving some money in the Supermarkets, I suggest you take a look at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/supermarket-coupons

It’s definitely worth a look and if you, like me, are finding the cost of groceries increasing on almost a daily basis, then please…

Did you overspend on your credit card this Christmas? Is the New Year bank balance filling you with dread? Don’t panic! Here are my survival tips for 2012.

1. Don’t ignore the post and leave your bank or credit card statements unopened. The last thing you should do is bury your head in the sand and ignore your finances.
2. If you are having trouble…

Do you earn more than you spend, or spend more than you earn?

Everywhere we look there’s gloom and doom. Everyone is talking about the high price of food, petrol and utilities, there appears to be little good news in the offing and there is scant financial advice as to how we can go about helping ourselves. Fear not, rest assured that there are things you can do to enable you to take matters into your own…

What’s a good debt?

Your mortgage is a good debt and even re-mortgaging to make home improvements will add value to your property. The bad debts are your credit cards and loans (always look at the small print in that agreement). That outfit you bought for a night out will make you feel good for a short time, especially if you got it in the sale, but if you don’t pay it off on your credit card, it could end up…

Saving Money on Heating Costs?

It’s that time of year again. I don’t honestly know where the time goes. It seems like only five minutes ago since the end of the summer holidays and the kids were back at school. Half term has already been and gone, bonfire night is upon us and Christmas looms over the horizon.

The summer holidays seem like a distant memory - or do they?…

With the winter months upon us and the strong possibility we’ll be spending more time at the chemists purchasing pills, potions and medicines to help with our coughs, colds and infections we could be wracking up a bill for prescriptions.

Let’s face it, at £7:40 each they are far from cheap, but did you know, that the NHS offers an alternative way to purchase your prescriptions that could save you a fair amount…

Being told that every man, woman and child owes £16,000 is not helpful. It’s being used either to frighten us or to say, ‘Don’t worry, we’re all in this unholy mess together!’ But what impact does it have on us?

Why does the State and the media in particular seemingly thrive on painting the picture in money metaphors and snappy statistics? (In the case of the media, to sell viewing figures and newspapers, of…

It's clear that in these troubled times, people are getting more and more concerned about their own finances.  Understandably so.  We may be out of a recession at the moment but there's the possibility that one false move will put us back into a double-dip recession without a moment's warning.  

New survey results have been released:…

The BBC ran a very telling story today. During April/May with bank holidays, a royal wedding and inset days, in some areas there are only 6 school days over a 30 day period.

I have been working with clients who, as working mums, are finding it really hard to evaluate the benefits of going out to work in order to try and balance the books.

As a hypothetical…

Times are hard – but stop reminding me!

 When times are tough and with so many people in debt, the last thing we want to hear is more bad news, isn’t it? Government statistics can be quite depressing. For example, they say now that 40% of people struggle to make it to pay-day.

I don’t know about you, but I believe that many people go into denial and cannot relate to being a…