The money diet challenge

We’ve been talking a lot recently about how easy it is to confuse a “want” with a “need”. The fact is we need very little – food, water, somewhere to shelter and rest. Everything else is a want (yes, even new shoes and fast cars). Christmas spending is just around the corner (Black Friday, identified as a pre-festive spending peak, will take place on November 27 this year), so how can we get fighting fit and avoid wasting money on purchases that don’t really bring us any real, lasting benefit (or joy)? Welcome to the money diet challenge The aim […]

Read More…

Why Black Friday 2014 gives retailers a rosy glow

Black Friday 2014 falls on November 28. If there’s anything black about it’s the feeling your liable to get when you look at next month’s bank statement and discover that your desire to bag a bargain has put you in the red. We imported Black Friday from the US. It  always takes place on the last Friday in November, which has long been the start of Christmas shopping on the other side of the Atlantic and follows on from the spending and consumption that surrounds Thanksgiving. Black Friday 2014 is a tricksy little marketing device. Under the guise of ‘bargains’ […]

Read More…