PUA Meeting tomorrow!

I'm meeting the Pickup Artist (PUA) tomorrow for our first chat/lesson. It's all part of my investigation into the world of PUA's, so I can learn the skills and hopefully decide whether it's a good tool for the dating world or rip-off to women. I've re-read The Game by Neil Strauss, and watched all the episodes of VH1's The Pickup Artist that I can find on the web. Just so I don't seem like a complete novice when I meet him.

I'm feeling a little bit nervous but I'm sure it will all go OK.

He's agreed to take me on 2 nights out and give me 3 days training. It all comes for a fee though. He's charging me £600 and is promising me a crash 3 day course in his art plus a bit of online follow-up advice. There is an agreement in place though, that if after this weekend, if I don't find that the skills help me get at least 5 phone numbers and secure 3 good dates with quite hot women, then he will refund £500 of the money (basically all of it, minus his expenses).

I'm a little apprehensive. I've never really struggled with women but I've never been able to go into a club and pick up women. I've always gotten with people who I've known already or been friends with. Never just approached a complete stranger.

It's not like I'm a complete loser or Average Frustrated Chump (AFC) as they call it. I don't feel the need to pay someone to teach me how to get women, because to be honest I'm quite happy at my current success levels. It's more of a curiosity and for the experience.

I will let you know how it goes guys! Hopefully some people will read this to make it worthwhile!

Pennies Make Pounds: Household Bills

In the first of the Pennies Make Pounds series of posts, I'm going to be looking at household bills and easy ways to save money on them. Including Gas & Electric, Broadband, Phone and, TV and your mobile phone.

In some circumstances you could save 50% on the bills just by doing a few simple things. Whatever you use the extra money for, whether it be booking that holiday you've wanted for a while or paying off those credit cards, extra cash always comes in handy. I've actually done a lot of these things myself too so I know how effective they can be.



Electricity & Gas


Obviously a great way to start is by getting your house properly insulated. But lots of people are struggling for disposable income now so paying large amounts of money to have your walls pumped with foam and loft filled with insulation isn't always an option.


Prices between suppliers and tarriffs could vary by as much as £500 annually. Trawling through bills and energy use is a boring and tedious task, as I know because I've just done it all. Some people may be on a high rate without even realising! I thought my bills were quite low but looking around on the net I found a few comparison sites that comparen prices between suppliers impartially. The one I used was http://www.simplyswitch.com/energy/ I am now saving 23% on my energyg bills and I thought they were cheap already. Not only that but I'm also earning about 750 AirMiles per year because of the supplier I chose (SouthernElectric). A few other supplier also offer insentives.


Changing suppliers is a great way to start, but most prices do go up over time. So it is recommended that you check every 6 months or so to see if you could be getting a better deal elsewhere. You can also save money by paying by Direct Debit and having your Gas & Electric from the same suppliers. Also, remember that many suppliers send you estimated bills of your usage. Make sure you keep the readings up to date. You can do this either online or on the phone just by reading the numbers from your meter and telling your supplier. This means you wont be paying too much, or more importantly too little. As I found myself with a £400 electricity bill earlier this year as it had been estimated too low for 12 months so they wanted the outstanding amount in one go.



Next steps....

Now you know you have the cheapest electricity and gas, start thinking about using less. Here's a few ways to do it. It may seem awkward or hard to get used to at first, but in a while it becomes second nature;

• Make sure your curtains are lined - this can be done by buying lining from a fabric shop for as little as £10 and will stop all that valuable heat being lost through your windows. Close them as soon as it becomes dark and enjoy the warmth
  
• Don't have the heating on if you don't need it. Lots of people have thermostats set too high and set to come on when they're not even in the house. Make sure it's off when you're out and only turn it on when you're cold. Once your house has reached temperature, turn it off. It should be set to around 68 Degrees Farenheit (20 degrees Celsius).


• Lots of people walk around the house in shorts and a t-shirt. You will find that if you wear some socks, comfy trousers and a nice snuggly jumper you can set the temperature much lower.


• Replace your lightbulbs with energy saving ones. Estimated saving is £24 per year and they last around 6 years in some cases so that's a big saving. Especially considering that lots of places are giving them away for free now. B & Q in the UK are currently giving away 2 free energy saving bulbs to each customer.


• If there's a room that you don't use very often such as a spare room or second bathroom, then turn off the raditors in that room and keep the door closed. Also, try to only heat the rooms you're using. This can be done if you have a multi-room thermostat, but if you don't then just turn the radiators down, or even off in those rooms. Estimated saving is upto £40 annually.


• Ready for a new boiler? Get a Band A Condensing boiler. Estimated saving £73 per year.


• According to EnergyWatch. If you unplug unused appliances at night you could save upto £40 a year. This shouldn't just be done at night though. If you're not in a room then unplug everything in it (within reason). You will save a fortune, trust me I've done it. If something is plugged in but switched off, it will still use energy.


• If you have a boiler that heats water as you use it, then wash your hands with the cold water tap instead of hot.


• Kettles use huge amounts of energy! The more water that's in it the more energy it uses, so just put in the water that you need.
  

Saving on your Broadband

With a huge number of internet users now having Broadband, it is an expense that has an effect on many people. Searching for the best deal to suit you could save you money and get you better internet!

Things to consider;

• True cost – multiply the cost per month by length of contract to iron out any initial deal periods


• Usage levels – if you download films and TV an uncapped deal may be worthwhile


• Equipment and connection – will you have to pay for a modem setup and connection?

What do you want from your broadband. Some companies offer packages that give you landline calls, broadband and Digital TV all included. These offers are very good if you use all 4 as it will likely work out cheaper than using 3 different suppliers.

A quick tip is something that I did with my Broadband with AOL. If you call them and say you're thinking of terminating your contract with them because of the cost (obviously only after mandatory contract has expired) then they will likely put you through to their retentions department who will try and keep you. They will sometimes offer you a cheaper deal. I got mine down from £15.99 per month to £9.99 per month for the same package. They're more likely to do this if you've been a customer for a while.

Here's some deals that I feel are currently the best for the different options;

Broadband Only

O2 Broadband - Standard (O2 customers only) - Upto 8mb connection speed, 12 month contract, unlimited download limit, Free connection, Free wireless router.

£90 per year (£7.50 per month)

PlusNet - Broadband Your Way Option 1 - Upto 8MB connection speed, 12 Month contract, 2gb download limit (additional GB's can be bought for 75p each per month at time of purchase), Free connection & wireless router.

£126.87 per year (£9.99 per month)

O2 Broadband - Standard (non O2 customers) - Upto 8MB connection speed, 12 month contract, unlimited download limit, Free connection & Free wireless router.

£150 per year (£12.50 per month)

Broadband and Phone

Virgin Media - Broadband M & Phone - Upto 2MB download speed, 12 Month contract, Unlimited Downloads (however does have a 'fair usage policy' where if you excessively use the internet then your speed may be cut so only suitable for medium level users and not heavy downloaders), Free weekend calls to landlines. £84 for first year plus £132 line rental with Virgin.

Total cost including all setup etc £216 for first year, £15.50 per month. I have just swicthed to this saving on average £60 per year in comparison to BT and AOL.

NB. Goes upto £20 per month all inclusive after first 12 month but is only 12 month contract.

Broadband, Phone and Digital TV

VirginMedia - 3 for £19 - Broadband M +TV M + Talk Weekends - Upto 2MB download speed, 12 Month contract, Unlimited downloads (again fair usage policy applies). Free weekend calls to landlines, Digital TV package channel list available here > http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/sorter/channels_sizel.html

Total first year cost including Virgin line rental £360 or £30 per month.
Compared to similar package with BT which costs approx £458.76 for first year. NB.. BT package includes Setanta Sports.

In conclusion, Virgin does seem to be the 'Mother of all Broadband'.

Mobile Phone Bills

When buying a new contract mobile phone, many of us would go for the most minutes and texts possible thinking we were going to the best deal. However, research has shown that many users only use around 50% of their allocation, and that by going on a price plan that fits them better, they could be saving up to £10 per month, and much more over the length of their contract. What I'm saying is choose a price plan realistically.

If you're buying a new mobile phone, I believe you're much better off going into a store which sells all different network's phones such as Phones4U. They can compare all the different networks and find one to fit you. Also try using a mobile phone comparison site such as http://www.omio.com/ to find the right deal for you. Set how much you want to spend and see what you can get for it, you may be surprised at some good deals.

If you go into a mobile phone shop, make sure you know a few different deals, the people in them after all are salespeople. Many of them work on commission and so want to sell to you and are often willing to negotiate to get that sale. When I went for a new mobile phone I ended up with a top of the range phone, a great price plan, a Free bluetooth headset, free case and £75 in my pocket.

You'll probably find that the salespeople can vary rarely alter the price plans or call charges but you can get many free extras. The tip is, let them think they've got a sale. The show some hesitation, then make them think you're having second thoughts and see what they will offer.

I hope you've enjoyed this post and I really hope it helps to save you loads of money. If you try any of the things in the post then please comment and let me know, it's always nice to know all your hard work and research hasn't gone unnoticed.

There will be a few more posts in the Pennies Make Pounds series so be sure to follow my blog so you don't miss out on great ways to save money on your travel, your motoring, your financial services and above all the final in the series Pennies Make Pounds: Essential Tips and Tricks which will be full of useful, quirky advice to save money in your everyday life.

Thanks for reading.

+Information and prices, approximately correct at the time of posting. All information is offered as a guide only. Readers should always shop around and personally check the terms and conditions of any contract they sign. I cannot be held responsible for any loss, whether financial or otherwise as a result of this post.

Pennies Make Pounds

In this time of awful recession; people losing jobs, not getting that promotion, prices going up, having to cut back on the things you love and enjoy. I've read all over forums on the net of people looking for ways to save money whilst trying to lead their normal life, so thought I would go through all the information I could find and condense it into a series of simple posts, showing ways to save money on a variety of your expenses by doing simple things that mostly wont cost you a penny.



I hope it all helps.

Fake Tan and Funny Moments

Well....I just had to share this story because it's been tickling me for days!

Went to a friends house for a Halloween party. was a great night and everyone had made a huge effort with the costumes.

Well, I was sat outside under a gazebo, bear in mind it was quite dark, having a cigarette with a few people I'd just met there. I was quite drunk by this point and thought one of the girls looked distinctly orange. With it being Halloween and me having quite a bit of drink I piped up and said to the girl "It must have taken so long for you to paint your entire body with orange face paint". I actually believed she had. Until she piped up "It's not face paint, I'm just this colour".

Thinking to myself that no one was naturally that colour I exclaimed "Oh so you've been on holiday then...anywhere nice".

"No I haven't been on holiday" she said.

So I thought to myself again...well how could she be this unnatural looking colour.

"Oh so you use the sunbed a lot then do you?". It's only thinking back that I realise how abusive I must have sounded.

At this point her friend put us both out of our misery by saying "Look.....it's fake tan, can we talk about something else now?!".

After which the girl stormed into the house, sitting in the corner for most of the night. I'm dreading the karma coming back from that one!

Here's the girl!

New Post Coming Soon...

Well here's what I will soon be blogging about just so you know what to look forward to.

• Pick Up Artist Or Rip off Merchant?! Many of you may have seen The Pickup Artist series on VH1. Some of you may have read The Game by Neil Strauss. Most people who've heard of PUA's will be intrigued by what they do. Well I am going to attempt to learn the art through a bit of investigative journalism. I've set up a meeting with a PUA or Pickup Artist, who unfortunately wishes to remain anonymous, but I will explore whether this 'art' is a benefit to the dating world or a rip-off to women, by learning the skills and putting them into practice, hopefully from an unbiased point of view. I will add new posts as the situation develops and keep you informed of my "journey to satisfaction" as my coach has called it.

Make sure to subscribe to my blog to make sure you don't miss out on any of these wonderful gems of the blogging world!

Don't forget....if there's anything you want me to blog about, just give me a shout!

TV Madness

Now my night of blogging takes a turn to the side of ranting about things that have really annoyed me over the last few weeks. Namely a bit of a fuss about TV and radio presenters and comedians that have been reprimanded because of things that they've said or done whilst working on BBC programmes.

If you haven't seen or heard the clips it's probably worth taking a look at them before reading on, the links are below;

• Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross's phone calls to Andrew Sachs, who played Manuel in the hugely famous sitcom Fawlty Towers http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zrUZ2N8x2GI
• A joke about the Queen of England on the comedy show Mock the Week http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=N_ESgHRI5HI
• An off-hand comment about lorry drivers murdering prostitutes by Jeremy Clarkson on top-gear http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MmuobTeI3CA

Basically if you're not familiar with what's happening, these 3 clips have caused a small outrage in the UK with 10's of thousands of complaints being received by both the BBC and the regulating body OfCom. Jonathan Ross has been suspended without pay for 3 months pending investigation and Russell Brand stepped down. Other sanctions are yet unknown for the other clips.

Basically, all of these shows were signed off by the executives and lawyers at the BBC as being 'ok to be aired'. So who does the responsibility sit with?!

Surely most people in their right mind would say that the legal professionals and executives are experts in these fields and are the ones who make the final decisions as to whether or not they go on the air, so surely the buck should stop with them and they take the consequences, not punish the talent who work for the BBC for doing what they are paid to do, which is vaguely...to be funny.

When you tell comedians or presenters they could face suspension or even in some severe cases, the end of their career, simply for one misjudged joke.

It just really annoys me that, yes sometimes jokes are a little close to the mark, but when; in the case of Top Gear, less than 1000 people out of an audience of 7-8 Million people take offence, that such a drastic reaction could be adopted.

Rant over.

Remember, remember, the 5th of November...

...Gunpowder, treason and plot.

Indeed it is a day I will remember. I have now been sitting watching the BBC special news programme for the US08 elections for almost 4 hours! For some reason, over recent months I have been glued to the TV and the net following the build up to the election and now here it is, finally!

Not only do I have it on the TV, but I've also got the websites of FOX news, NBC and The BBC open, just to make sure I have the latest result. I'm hoping that when it hits that fateful 270 electoral seats for Obama that I'll be able to tear myself away, but only time can tell...

I've supported Obama from the beginning and I'm dearly hoping that he will win, but it does seem inevitable right now. I think he's a breath of fresh air not only to politics and America but to the world! Some people will no doubt disagree but I think that regardless of how young or inexperienced many have said he is, I think that maybe a new perspective is exactly what the world needs so bad.

Being form the UK I can't vote in this election but I have been willing all Americans to make the right choice for months! No doubt I shall be blogging about the result.

Anyway, aside from politics, it's a little late to go deep into that now (3:20am). I've spent most of the day today out in the woods near me, hunting for dead branches and logs. No, I am not going insane, we're having a bonfire tomorrow for Guy Fawkes night. Small gathering and a few friends, should be fun. The drink will be flowing and the fire burning...let's hope it all goes well!