Friday Five- Money-saving Tips

Welcome to my first Friday Five!

We all want our information in short, snappy, easy-to-digest nuggets, so here are my top five tips for saving money. Enjoy.*

1. Grow a fringe.

I worked out that, since having a fringe, I've used 1/3 less foundation by only wearing make-up from the eyebrows down. This represents a significant saving over the year.

2. Stop shaving your legs.

Simple but effective. Save money on water bills (less time in shower) and on razor wear-and-tear by not shaving your legs until the weather warms up. This may be April. This also saves money on heating, as the extra hair will provide a layer of insulation- completely free and naturally!

3. Talk to people.

Why waste electricity watching TV when you can rely on colleagues, neighbours or random strangers in the check-out queue to fill you in on soap gossip? I recommend opening with, "Oooh, did you see Hollyoaks last night?" and letting them rabble on. In the time it takes to reach the cashier, you will be completely up to date.

4. Employ artistic interpretation to use-by dates.

Stick your hand in the back of the cupboard, brush off the dust and eat that tin of spaghetti hoops you'd forgotten about in your healthy-eating quest. Who cares if the date says you will explode if you eat them after 17:34 on the 4th of December 2009? We all know they're just guidelines, right? Right?...

5. Develop a reputation for your "quirky" style.

I think more people actually do this than you'd suspect, judging from my surreptitious street-style survey last weekend. It basically involves hoiking out that ill-fitting skirt from last summer, teaming it with the woolly tights your nan bought you for Christmas in 2007 (remember the state of your legs) and finishing it off with a poncho that you only bought because it was in the sale and you'd forgotten your coat that day. Voila! A completely new and original outfit that will have people talking for days! Just don't listen too hard to what they say...

*All advice given with tongue firmly in cheek, and in no way reflects my personal grooming habits, food preparation standards or fashion sense. Ahem.