This week there’s been a few birthdays and also a few cost saving evenings.
While I’m back in Oban I try to save my wages and spend my tips each week, so that I have the money I’ve earned to use back in Glasgow come September time.
Along the way, I’ve picked up a good few saving ideas to do with Glasgow but hadn’t really touched on how I save in Oban, so thought I’d share some ideas here.
Love thy Library
The library in Oban should become your new best friend. It has free internet access and low cost printing and photo-copying, for when you need to do something urgently in town. Plus, it has an on-going book sale, where all fiction is priced at 20p each or 6 for a pound, and non-fiction is priced individually (most non-fiction is roughly 50p/£1 per book). I took full advantage of this the other day and bought 18 fiction books and 1 vintage cookbook for a grand total of only £4. I returned the next day to pick up a travel book for a friend who’s going to Australia in November and another cook book for just £1.50. So please, next time you need a good read, have a look in the library, whether it’s to borrow or buy.
Make and bake
Always a winner for birthdays. Make cards. Bake cakes. It’s simple, but lovely. I really appreciate getting gifts which friends have spent a bit of time on creating for me. Obviously if there’s something in the shops you know they’d love, then go ahead, as often I’ll combine made things and bought things together as a present. I just feel that making something means you’re really thinking about the person you’re giving it to, and they’ll appreciate that. For instance, I typed out some cake recipes on my typewriter for one friend and also baked her some raspberry tarts – she was thrilled with them both.
Visit the charity shops
Genuinely an untapped resource, which helps both you and the charities you’re buying from. My vice is definitely shopping, but thankfully charity shop prices help control the spending. My personal favourites are Mary’s Meals for brick-a-brack and Blythswood Care for clothes, but all the charity shops in Oban are pretty good. The other day I got a ‘nearly new’ red dress which was originally from Warehouse, for just under a tenner in Oxfam. I also got a skirt and top for £8 in total. I definitely pop into New Look and other high street stores too, as they’re great for getting nice things to pair with my charity shop finds. I have my eye on a black crop top for £6 and black patent shoes for £13 from New Look currently, to wear with the skirt I bought in Oxfam. I think it’s just managing to get the balance between shops and remembering that thankfully the turnover in Oban is not as much as in Glasgow, so if you want to go back for something a few days later, it’s usually still there.
Ellis Cameron, Young in Argyll correspondent
