10 Ways To Get A Discount

1)Voucher codes – you can find voucher codes on the internet with different offers for products or services (remember to always check the dates and the terms and conditions of the offers). There are special websites that offer lots of different discounts for restaurants, hair and beauty treatments, days out, etc.

2)Loyalty cards – there are loads of different loyalty cards out there for you to generally pick up for free in stores and they save you money in the long run (what is not to love?!)

3)Haggle – haggling is becoming more the norm these days especially as times have become tough. If you see an item in a clothes shop that has a stain or a broken zip, ask the cashier to reduce the price for you (it is best to do this when it is quiet to get a better chance of success). If you buy food items at a market, the stall holders often expect you to barter the price down but always walk away if you do not get the price that you want. Sometimes market stall holders will call you back and re-consider your offer.

4)Group discount – some places will offer you a better deal if there are a group of you. Train tickets can be cheaper in this way, food and drink deals, the list goes on!

5)Student discount – it is worth purchasing student discount cards more often than not as they are likely to save you a fortune on the retailers and businesses that you can get money off from.

6)Coupons – companies love to send their customers coupons to spend more money in their stores. Use coupons wisely, only buy these discounted items that you would usually buy anyway or use free coupons to pick up something for nothing.

7)Recommend a friend – if you recommend a friend to a hair salon or for a gym membership you or your friend are likely to be rewarded for this with a discount or something for free in return for your introduction. It pays to ask these places whether they do anything for recommending a friend or if they do not, you could always suggest it!

8)Store cards – if you have a good credit rating and you are a reliable payer, you may be eligible to apply for a store card. Store cards can give you usually around 10% off purchases or they can include an offer to pay for your purchases at a later date. This option is good for people that have enough money to pay off their card in full by the due date.

9)Letter writing – if you have been disappointed with a product or service and not satisfied, a good way to get your point across is in a letter (or email if you want to be a bit more environmentally and purse friendly). Usually if a company has seen that you have had a bad experience they will want to put it right. They may offer you a discount off your next shopping purchase or perhaps even some freebies.

10)Offers – why not ask some of the places that you go to if they have any offers, you may find out that they had an offer that was not advertised or not obvious to see or they may do you a special unique offer if you ask nicely.

10 Ways To Make Money When You Have No Job

1) Babysitting – this is a great way to make some extra cash and help out family or friends as people often need babysitters and have to stay in when they cannot find an affordable babysitter.

2) Bake cakes – if you are good at baking it is worth offering to bake a cake for friends or family and charge them accordingly as you would if you were going to sell in a real shop.

3) Car washing – good old fashioned hand car washing can be a quick way to gain a little bit of money for doing something good for someone else. There must be someone local that always wants their car washed (and they should have a bucket and sponge too).

4) Ebay – you may want to sell your unwanted DVD’s, games, CD’s etc. Ebay from time to time do promotional free listing weekends where you can put your items on the site for free with no charges if they do not sell.

5) Surveys online – companies pay to hear your valuable opinions on their products and services and you can get rewarded in vouchers, cheque, bank transfer etc.

6) Gardening – if you are good at gardening, there could be opportunities to help out neighbours in the area do a few jobs that they haven’t got round to doing yet and by doing this, you can form a new relationship and become closer with your neighbours.

7) Sell photographs – if you have an eye for a good photograph you could sell your photographs for money, there are companies that will pay to own your photographs and sell them on.

8) DIY jobs – painting or fixing items or other odd jobs that need doing will always be on someone’s radar that they have been putting off. Get out there and find out if anyone needs some handiwork done.

9) Car boot sale – if you do not want to go online to sell your things then you could try a car boot sale to clear out your old junk.

10) Dog walking – when people need someone to look after their pets, they would love to have someone able to come round and help them out in times of urgent need.

A Little About Me

Hello my name is Louise, for those that do not know me (or my story) I decided to start writing after I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I was advised not to work and I went from having 4 jobs down to just 1. I am quite an ambitious person and I always strive to achieve something better than my current situation. I therefore had a brainwave and thought, you know what? If I cannot work (or work as much as I would like to) what could I do that would potentially earn me some money and a career no matter how poorly or tired I am? Then I realised that I had always enjoyed writing and writing can be done ANYWHERE in the world at any time and could always be as little or as much as I wanted to do as and when I was feeling well enough. What better way to try and change my life than start my own blog. I have other ambitions too but most are writing based and most I hope will come to life only in a matter of time. Thank you for viewing my blog!

10 Tips For Better Sleep

1)      Make sure your room is at a good temperature. Too hot and you will be waking up sweating, too cold and you will wake up all stiff or aching and not want to leave your bed. A good room temperature will ensure that you find it more comfortable to sleep with ease.

2)      Ban caffeine/stimulants/alcohol late in the evening. I find it really helps if you try to have your caffeine fix in the morning as caffeine can take a long time to leave the body, which will result in tossing and turning and being too alert to head into a deep, uninterrupted sleep if you have too much in the evening.

3)      Invest in comfortable bedding such as decent pillows, duvets, blankets, cushions, memory foam mattress - whatever takes your fancy.

4)      Blackout blinds can really help to shut out unwanted light from the outside and will help if you go to sleep at different times of the day or night regularly. If you cannot afford blackout blinds you could try an eye mask to block out the unwanted light.

5)      Have a bedtime routine that suits you as an individual, think back to when you were getting a good amount of sleep and what made it easy for you to drift off. This could be reading before bed or getting your morning tasks done the night before so that you are more relaxed and will have less on your mind. A busy mind causes too much over-thinking when you should be at your most switched off state.

6)      If you go to bed early when you are not already tired you could be sat there for hours. Sometimes it is easier to go to sleep when you are really sleepy as you are more likely to fall asleep quicker. Think about doing some extra exercise in the daytime if you do not feel tired at all around your bed time or do consider making your bed time a little later as an experiment.

7)      If you are in bed and you have been sat there for a while unable to sleep, it can be a good idea to get up, make sure you go to the toilet if you need to, get a small glass of water if your throat is dry or do something relaxing like reading for a bit before you get back into bed. This usually works by breaking the “I can’t sleep” voices whirring around in your head and then your mind is a lot more cleared of negative thoughts.

8)      Keep a notepad by your bed, write down anything that is on your mind that you think may trouble you or that you need to do then leave the notepad alone. You can then look at this first thing in the morning when you have had a good night’s sleep and feel refreshed and alert.

9)      Try not to do anything too energetic late in the evening. If phones, the internet and TV etc keep you awake for hours then try to limit the usage and the time that you use these electronic devices.

10)   Make sure you plan ahead way before you go to bed. Do get that pile of washing that you need to get done hung up and ready to dry, do make that sandwich ready for work the next day, do finish that essay that is due in for college. You will feel loads better if you are on top of things and have less to worry about during the night.