Just for fun

If you missed my debut MoneySavingIdiot blog from last month (on claiming for a train delay), first of all – how dare you. Secondly, the basic premise is that while I help people save money every day by writing for MSE, I'm not always so clever when it comes to my own cash, so I'm sharing my quest to be better with it in the hope of inspiring other non-natural MoneySavers. This week: travel tips. 

Commuting’s not often associated with saving money, but if like me you frequently experience delays to your journey, I’m here to tell you there’s a way to reclaim some of your hard-earned cash via the ‘Delay Repay’ compensation scheme, which most rail companies now run. Read on to find out how I did it, and which games console I spent the money on.

Ahhhh - not sorted your Halloween costume yet? Here's a quick tip on how to make fake blood using three ingredients you may already have in the kitchen cupboard.

This week, from Monday 3 to Friday 7 September it's Zero Waste Week. Previously, we've brought you 13 ways to use less plastic and save cash, so at MSE we're always thinking about whether we could in fact save money as well as the planet. First thing on Monday, I tried a completely zero-waste morning, and this is what I came up with.

And I said, what about a necklace from Tiffany's? She said, I think I, remember I've bills and as I recall, I said you can run 42km for it, and what she said, can't be repeated in print! 

Parents, do you loathe having to spend money on a costume for your kids for an event that happens just once a year? On a costume they’ll probably have grown out of by the next year? I love my girls to bits but I really begrudge spending the money shops and supermarkets try to convince us to...

It’s Christmas! Well, almost, actually there are less than 100 days to go. But anyway, that can only mean one thing… we’re getting in the Christmas spirits! Sloes can be found in abundance, for free, in hedgerows over the next few months, so if you’re in the countryside, or even in a city with decent parkland, picking...

We feature travel comparison site Momondo for its quirky flight data which tells you when it’s cheapest to fly to selected destinations, and how far ahead you should book to bag the cheapest ticket. It’s undoubtedly MoneySaving, no question. So when I met with Momondo a while ago to hear what it was up to, I was...

Have you ever considered upcycling to save cash but never taken the plunge? Well, that was me until now. I was recently looking for a shelf for my daughter’s room but couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for. I found one I quite liked in Ikea but it was £75 – far too expensive, while another...

This wasn’t my finest moment. I’d had a few drinks (please be Drinkaware), and after a quick stopoff at the cashpoint, I’d jumped back into the taxi with my £30 withdrawal left dangling out of the ATM like a carrot for thieving passers-by. This was during the summer of 2006, when I was a 19-year-old student with...