... stupid TV talent shows?

Sigh.

I am annoyed.

All of these talent shows are just merging into one big Simon Cowell driven multi-million empire at the expense of repetition and untalentless people. 

I didnt watch any of Britains Got Talent this year but I've just watched a couple of clips on Youtube and seen that a guy, Sean Sheenan, chopping wood made it to the semi finals. TO THE SEMI FINALS! So out of the hundreds of thousands that audtion, this act was the cream of the crop in this country? Bloody hell fire. The barrel is well and truly scraped.

I don't understand why singers are allowed on this show to begin with. Thats what XFactor is for right? And plus the two formats of the show are the same, its like watching the same show.

And yet, we buy into these fad shows, reality TV, cringeworthy viewing. Don't get me wrong, I used to love these shows when they first came out but the winner of American Idol this year debut single went to number 24 in the US charts. Is this the world saying "we want a change?"

When are we going to have shows with intelligence and substance again?!

... not collecting enough Tesco Clubcard points?

This may sound sad but Lee and I love collecting Tesco Clubcard points! We have been collecting for about a year and we put our points towards airmiles (we have about 2000 to date)

Here are some quick ways in how to collect more points:

1.  Take advantage or Tesco's double points offers which happen quite often. This is on petrol and grocery shopping
2. If you need an electrical product, try Tesco Direct. They can offer upto 500 extra points on purchases
3. If you do your grocery shop online, choose to deliver your shopping with no bags. This can add a few extra points to your balance.
4. Use the self serve checkouts in store. You can add upto 3 of your own bags without authorization, even if you dont have 3 bags
5. Sometimes there are unclaimed reciepts floating around these tills. Its a bit pikey but you can claim them as your own!
6. Apply for a Tesco Credit Card. You get even more Clubcard points when you use it (subject to credit history)

Lee and I collect over 1000 points a quarter just by doing these little things like this and we are looking forward to taking our first Clubcard points flight!

... WAGS?

Now, I’m a lover of great celebrity gossip and scandal!! I am addicted to the fantastic and legendary website Perezhilton!! Absolutely fantastic reading, it dishes the dirt on all celebrities, doing things they are not suppose to, but what I do love about all these celebrities, is that the majority of them have earned the right for us to google their names and read about them in both awe and admiration. However, what I don’t like reading about is WAGS.

Seriously, to become famous by getting your leg over an overpaid footballer is nothing to be proud of. It not like they even have any particular talent to show off, other than they are capable of flushing their lovers money down the drain in the streets of London. However, what is worse is the fact that I work in a school where I have had several arguments with the girls (and some boys) about not really needing a good education as they will grow up and marry a footballer!

Let’s take Coleen as an example. What real talent has that lady actually got? And I’m pretty sure we all know, the real reason why she is actually with the Neanderthal/Golum look alike husband is because of the money and the second hand fame she receives.

I must admit, this hatred of WAGS is not aimed at all of those money grabbing vultures who hunt by night in the clubs in Mayfair, prowling the clubs in hope of netting themselves a premier league player. Those ladies who have talent and made a career of themselves, through singing or acting or another form of reputable career, well done and good on you. It’s those girls who don’t aspire to do well in life and just want to sponge of someone else’s hard earn efforts.

I’m guessing, my real gripe is with those people who basically want something for nothing. They want the lavish lifestyle and the only thing they are willing to do for it is spread their legs in order to do so. Now, some women (Jordan) have managed to make a successful career but honestly, don’t sell yourself short.

To do well in this life and succeed, you will have to work hard at it and the rewards with pay off, however, for those parasites who depend on someone else, that is all you are destined to be and all you will be known for. 

... printing out digital camera photos?

You have a digital camera and take hundreds of photos but never print them out due to the fact that they are stored on your laptop/memory stick/external hard drive/ memory card/pc...! In the old days you would always print out 35mm\APS\polaroid prictures...

If you own a digital camera - shop around online, sign up for a new account!

#Tip 1: Always have in mind to spend less that 5p per 6x4 print - this is the usual lowest 'standard' rate you can get on the highstreet.
#Tip 2: Try to avoid the companies offering 25 free prints - usually the p&p isnt worth the costs of the prints.
#Tip 3: Sometimes if you recommend a friend - more free prints for you!!
#Tip 4: 40 free prints here and there usually works out cheaping than mass ordering with just one company - all you have to pay for is postage and packaging!


75 Free Prints at Jessops:  (09/06/2010)
50 Free Prints at Truprint:
40 Free Prints at Asda:
50 Free Prints at Pixum:
50 Free Prints at Orange Photos:   - http://photos.orange.co.uk/register
40 Free prints at Toys r Us - Yes, Toys r Us!:

Money Saving Expert with a rundown of additional print offers:  (some may be out of date)

If any of these links expired, then do another google search. There will always be companies offering deals!

... that the £5 dress you loved last year is now £20?

Whatever happened to the good old days? 

When you used to be able to buy a whole outfit (and I mean a WHOLE outfit) and you would still have change for £50? 

Whatever happened to those 10p salty treats Space Raiders? I'll tell you what, they aren't 10p anymore, that's for sure. 

These are things you start to notice when you get older... And no I'm not some old woman reflecting on her youth (i'm only 24). The thing is, the other day when I went shopping in a major womans fashion retailer and the bill came to in excess of £75 for a pair of jeans and a SALE dress I start to ask myself- 'When did all this happen?!' When did the time come where id be struggling to buy an outfit and have change for £100? 

The thing is for one reason or another clothes have got more expensive and don't be fooled because its not all to do with the fact that youve grown in the last 10 years because even childrens clothes have shot up in price! Don't get me wrong, things have got a lot better than they have been, with the likes of budget retailers popping up, especially for men i might add, with high street fashion growing in popularity but even these prices are slowly creeping up. This is where you'd probably say thank heaven for Primark. Ha! You'd be naive to think prices aren't on the up here aswell. Don't think we havent noticed that additional couple of quid on the price of that dress that would've been cheaper 6 months earlier. 

So when i asked "Whatever happened to the good ol days when you could buy a whole outfit for £50 and still have plenty of change?" I wasn't really expecting an answer becuse the truth is i know. My conclusion is enjoy these days while they last. When you can buy an outfit for £100 and have change, because in 10 years time it wouldn't suprise me if you didn't get change from £200. So in the meantime what i'm saying is thank heaven for small mercies and when you can just go to Primark. Bloody inflation.

... being a first time home buyer?

Lee and I were FTB's, completed the purchase of our house in September. They say buying a home or moving home is one of the most stressful things in life and from our experience, it was true! The average home purchase can take 4-6 weeks, ours took 5 months.

Here are some tips I would like to share with you to avoid some common mistakes:

1) Look at ONLY what you can afford. Do a budget planner and see what your monthly expenditures are. The last thing you want is to lose your home due to non mortgage payments.

2) Choose a local solicitor who quotes fees between £600-£1000 (not including stamp duty, local search fees etc) The less money you pay, the more likely you are going to run into trouble... Also check some reviews on them before you make a decision and don't trust the ones you see on their own website! Choosing a good solicitor is the difference between moving within any deadlines set our losing your chose property all together (See the Wolstenholmes Solicitors LLP issue)

3) Use a no fee mortgage advisor. They can do a lot of the research for you and approach the mortgage lenders who are more likely to accept your application

4) If you chose to look for a mortgage yourself, make sure you go into a bank and don't do an application over the phone. I recommend Halifax, they were BRILLIANT for us, Abbey wasted 5 weeks of my life after approving a mortgage and then retracting it without telling me! Also, with Halifax, they paid for half of our council tax for the year!

5) Make sure you have a deposit. There is no point in looking into a home if you dont have the money!

6) Dont rush into buying a home. They always say don't buy the first one you look at and its true. We looked at a few new build homes and almost bought the first one we saw. It turned out these particular homes had a HUGE number of defects.

7) You will be hounded relentlesly to buy Home Insurance! I have Home Insurance myself and it includes Life Insurance plan, i.e if one of us were to die, our mortgage would be paid off. In my research I found that £10 was the average quote I recieved for my partner and I. Also maybe unemployment cover if you feel like it would apply to you.

Good luck! 

... when you don’t seem to lose weight?!

My tips are to:

1. Move gyms! Due to the recession a lot of gyms have free day passes. Use the links below (Hurry some may run out end of April) or simply call up your local gym and say you are interested and they may offer you a free trial!
• Virgin Active
• Harpers Fitness
• Fitness First
 
2. If you want to ditch the gym altogether, take up classes! 
3. Join such classes as Boxercise/Zumba/Aqua Aerobics/Circuit Training or even pick up a team sport. Much more fun and you actually enjoy yourself whilst burning fat! It’s on average £5 per class, for an hour’s lesson the average person can burn the following:

• Zumba: on average 650 calories!! (Based on the instructors calculations)
• Boxercise: 350 – 450 calories
• Aqua Aerobics – 500 Calories
• Find out through www.yell.com where your local gyms are and give them a ring to find out what classes they have to offer.

Personally, I would recommend Aqua Aerobics you can go at your own pace and it’s good if you want to get in the water but are not a keen swimmer or you don’t want to ruin your hair (ladies with weaves or perms know what I’m on about!) and you really burn the calories.

Remember: The harder you work the more calories you’ll burn!!