Sharing season ticket fee with friends

Second week money saving challenge: Sharing my season ticket fee with my friends.

I thought swimming will always be an impossible mission for me. Even a rock swam better than I did a year earlier. I love water especially in summertime. Though I’ve never been courageous enough to get out from the paddling-pool, till the previous summer, when my friends asked me to join them for a swimming course. It took me about two weeks to swim like a good beginner. It was great fun, however I cannot describe it as a budget friendly hobby. Hence this year we decided to look up for a cheaper swimming facility and try it out. We purchased a monthly season ticket and shared the fee between the four of us. 

Slowly, slowly...

Green as the fresh spring grass

Well, changing the swimming facility turned out to be a bad idea. We were swimming about a half an hour when my friends giggled at me for my hair turned greenish (by the way prior to this I had dyed-blonde hair). It didn’t bother me for I thought that the pool’s leds illuminated my hair and gave a greenish colour, so I enjoyed the great ambiance for another half an hour. Entering the dressing-room a huge mirror helped me to realise that the green colour persisted on my once-blonde hair and it wasn’t the pool leds’ fault. We were shocked, even my cheerful friends stopped giggling. In that moment the situation wasn’t funny at all. I tried to wash it out of my hair but nothing helped me to get rid of the green - who knows what- from my hair. My hair became green as the fresh spring grass and I couldn’t do anything about it. 

Aahh!!!....My hair

After a few hysterical minutes one of my friends took the strength to face the facility manager in order to ask our money back along with the value of the hair treatment that I’ve received the next day. We’ve also asked about the products they use for keeping the pool water clean. They told us that it is some kind of anti-algae treatment which getting in reaction with copper might turn blonde hair to green. But the question was: who was responsible for the copper in the pool water and if they knew it could get in reaction with that substance, why didn’t they use something else instead? Hopefully they have solved the problem by now, or at least they put a big sign on the door that says: ‘Keep Away from the Pool if you're Dyed Blonde’

The whole conversation was quite unpleasant but at the end everything turned out well. We got our money back and my hair looks much better now.

My husband’s first reaction was hilarious: “Beware of the hungry cows, they might graze your hair.” - quite a sympathiser actually …

As for a conclusion:

My second frugal week doesn’t turned out the way I planned. Bad luck. Even though I’ve received a new haircut along with a treatment and we swam an hour for free, the experience was quite shocking and distressing which I do not want to repeat again.

I had to realize that the famous proverb says the truth “I’m not rich enough to buy cheap thing”. I know that it sounds like I’m writing against the thrifty mentality but sometimes we should really look twice before choosing a cheap service or product. In my case the facility manager was a good guy for acknowledging the severity of the situation and recouped me for this awkward case. But who knows what other cases might occur that cannot be recompensed with money, like one’s health.

Summer jobs can be Fun

Standing on the threshold of the summer most of you might have thought about checking in for a great job filled with adventure. Yes, summer jobs can be fun and adventurous. I remember when I was a kid (not that I’m old now) I could hardly wait the school to be over  to join my friends for a job filled with adventures. Let me write you down a few facts which I consider to be useful to see summer jobs as less hazardous but exciting activity, the exploration of unknown territory of fun.

Exploring the land of sunshine

In my point of view the Greek island is the land of sunshine. Fancy working in the sun? If yes, follow the road paved with yellow bricks.
In Greece most of the summer jobs are tourist related services so don’t worry if you aren't in the possession of the Greek language. You have a great advantage if you are a native English speaker or have good communication skills. But of course YOU already have this advantage (because you can actually read my blog :) ). There are many potential working places like: car rental offices, taverns  travel agencies, hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs, and beach. Swimming like a dolphin? Have big muscles like David Hasselhoff (for girls Pamela Anderson)? Become a lifeguard who patrols the beaches of Greece. These have a lots of benefit like getting a sun kissed skin, meet new friends after pulling them out from the shark’s sharp teeth. Ok, i was just joking, there are no sharks in Greece :).  

Start looking for vacant jobs

Find job aggregator agencies in your town, join Greek forums (hopefully they will chat in English) or a newspaper would do either. Your search might be easier if you could ask your friends’ help, they might even join you for a great seasonal job. 
 

Want more excitement?

You might even go to one of the islands for a 2 week trial period and start searching for ‘become a member of our staff ’ signs on restaurants, taverns, hotels, clubs etc. If you get tired of searching the suitable job go to the beach to have a nice bath and convince your friends to join you in scuba diving or to rent a paddle boat.

Always make sure to have enough money to feel safe. Be prepared if something goes wrong you can go home any time.

Meet your prospective employer

If you have chosen to visit Greece, here are a few tips to find the suitable employer and workplace.
Visit a few of your targeted workplace and set up a good relationship with the owner and the staff. They might give you some hints about bars, restaurants hiring for seasonal jobs.
Take the advantage of looking up for a job in person. You can feel more secure if you see whom you work for and where.

Start working

Working is never easy but a beautiful environment can highly influence your desire to work. Try to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and the whole general ambiance of the place.

Have you worked in Greece before? Are you planning to undertake a seasonal job in Greece?
Share your ideas and experience that you have encountered with.

(Image Source Digmlm.com)

Grill party on a budget

It’s almost weekend and I’m happy for 3 gorgeous reasons. First, I’m thankful for my mother for being in the right place at the right time. The second because it’s Friday and I’m closing a fantastic week and as for the third it’s Summer. Hurray! 

The weather is nice, the birds are twittering and I can hardly wait to join my close friend's grill party. I must say, I’m a lucky person to have friends with a similar mindset as mine. Thanks to this, we get together as often as we can without spending a ton of money.

Organizing a grill party from a low budget is easy as can be. 

Let me share some tips how to organize a grill party in a frugal way.

Try the potluck way

Ask your friends to join you for a get-together grill party. You may also ask them to bring something to throw on the grill. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should be inconsiderate but your get-together grill party should be something like a potluck supper. Bring and share :). Tell them to bring what is best for them to bring and eat. It’s fun and cheap. I really think most of your friends prefer to contribute to the BBQ parties, this way you can actually take stress off of their shoulders.

But in order to avoid unpleasant situations I would advise this only for those dear readers who are in a good relationship with their friends.

Farmers’ market 

Those of you who aren’t vegetable growers, my advice is to visit the farmers’ market in order to buy fresh vegetables and meat products. It has a lot more benefits than hypermarkets. There is a large variety of fresh seasonal vegetables and healthier fruits. A great place to meet with your neighbours and start a nice chat.

Granny’s drinks

Search your kitchen for granny’s concentrated juice. If you’ve run out of it, don’t worry, you will find plenty of it at the grocery store. Concentrated juices can be great frugal refreshments. Depending on the juice, from one bottle you can actually make 3-4 liter of tasty refreshment. I recommend to serve it with water or soda.

Juice on the loose? 

Are there all kinds of juices hiding on your kitchen’s shelves? That’s even better. Make cocktails by adding a bit alcohol and a couple of ice cubes.

 

Save energy

Save energy by using economical solar lamps. It’s efficient and pretty. Once you’ve purchased it you don’t need to use classical garden lights anymore.

Enjoy

Now that you had dinner and a few drinks it’s time to play by the lights of the energy efficient solar lamps. Turn on some good music and enjoy the party.


Till now I tried corn on the cob, grilled eggplant, fruit and meat kebabs, these are my favourites.

Do you know some great frugal recipes? 
What is your opinion about potluck dinners?

Share them :)

Make money out of your phone-chat-addiction!

You dream with a cell phone in hand?

Then why don’t you make money out of your telephone-chat-addiction? Apply for a job in the telecommunication – sales industry!

Image Source Mobile Weblog

How to squeeze money out of your phone-chat-addiction?

Some of the applicants of this profession may say that this is an easy job, and there is nothing special about selling known products by phone. 
Well they are right … you shouldn't worry if you have a cute and friendly nature, in order to tolerate the hassled customers who refuse to buy from you, or might send you away in a rude manner.

Most of the companies offer this job with pay plus commission. Practically speaking, you get a base salary for your everyday work, but you get a commission as well. So this means the more sales you make, the more money you earn in addition to your previously negotiated salary. 
So you are highly motivated to sell as many products as you can. But of course, this motivation method depends on the    company itself. But if you have luck you might get hired to a company which uses this kind of motivation strategy.

How to demonstrate your knowledge through a phone-interview?

Your future employer might want to interview you by the phone-line. Hurray!!! You've made the first step. You have been asked to demonstrate that you are the suitable applicant for this job. This will be a defining moment because the employer will develop your profile. The future employer may evaluate your personality, communication-, and negotiation skills.

Body language isn't important, unless the phone call is accompanied by a camera through which the employer may evaluate your body language and professional appearance as well.

If the employer might get interested, you should mention your previous experiences with some difficult customers along your sales journey through the telephone line. You've got a chance to show how well  prepared you are for this job. Speak about how your previous workplace has helped you develop your problem solving skills and personal interest in selling goods.

How to impress your potential employer?

We all know that different skills, talents or appearance are needed to impress your potential employer. There are also a few things that you may consider less important but still essential to success. For instance:

Have a positive attitude!

You are selling yourself for your future employer, and  if you obtain the job you will be selling yourself each and every day, for your clients as well.

Get serious!

Treat the interview as if it were your last chance to convince the employer that you are the proficient person for this job.

You might learn something useful from the funny episode below.

There is a movie where Danny DeVito played the main character of a salesman at a car dealership.  He just started his job when his colleagues decided to trick him by betting him that he is unable to sell a car exposed in the parking lot. Danny accepted the bet and flounced out from the shop, to a man who was looking over the tire of a car. A few minutes later the guy entered the shop completely stunned, saying: “I just bought one of my own cars!”

I wrote this funny episode just to emphasize that if you have the talent to sell a person’s car to himself there won’t be recruiters who will reject you.

What to do next? Find a job, of course. 
For instance visit job aggregator

The Nations Weekly Food Consumption

A new survey has been released by the Daily Mail, about the global food shopping habits of different nations. The research was made by Peter Menzel and will serve as a subject of his new book The Hungry Planet.
The writer and his wife visited thirteen families from twenty four countries around the world and asked them about their weekly food purchasing habits. 
The infographic below will summarise the nations weekly food consumption emphasising the differences between price, quantity and quality.
The infographic is divided into two main parts. The first part is visualising families weekly purchase cost range which is between 320£ - 103£ in case of the affluent families and 99£ - 3.20£ in case of less affluent families. It is followed by the affluent and the less affluent families weekly food consumption, then I focused on the quantity and quality differences.

I’m looking forward to read the book in order to find out more details about the families interviewed by the Menzel’s.


Summary:
Affluent families tend to spend more money on sweets, fast foods, takeaways rather than on fruits and vegetables. These meals are less healthy due to the lack of vitamins and fibre, and may seem to be more expensive than healthy foods. Less affluent families eat cheaper but healthier foods. Their weekly meals contain foods rich in fibre and vitamins such as: fresh fruits, vegetables, rice, baked goods, etc. In the meantime, there is no data available about why is their food cheaper or why are they spending less money on weekly groceries. It’s highly likely that they cannot afford more. We may also assume that there are families growing their own fresh vegetable and fruits and because of that they spend less money on grocery purchases, while city residents cannot, mostly due to the lack of vegetable gardening space and not just. Hopefully more details about these families will be published later in the book by Peter Menzel and his wife Faith D'Aluisio.

Click here to enlarge the infographic.

Please note, the information shown on the infographic were gathered only from the Daily Mail website. 
Click here to see the outstanding photos taken by Peter Menzel showing families’ weekly purchases.