ABC Money

The Annual Cost of Horse Ownership and Four Alternatives to Buying

Finance

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11 January 2017

The Annual Cost of Horse Ownership and Four Alternatives to Buying

For beginners and experienced riders alike, horse ownership can be an inspirational and exciting prospect that tops annual wish lists. But, the reality of this particular dream is that owning a horse is a huge financial responsibility that acts as a barrier to most horse lovers.

According to Equine World UK, the average cost of field access and stabling, bedding, vet and farrier fees, insurance and feeds can amount to anything between £3,000 and £10,000+ per year, and that’s without factoring in additional costs for transportation, tack and kit or unforeseen extras.

Fortunately, although the cost of ownership can be prohibitive there are some alternatives to buying:

Riding Holidays

If riding is your real love then an annual equestrian holiday, or indeed a series of them, could satisfy your desire to ride horses or ponies in a variety of locations worldwide and at a much lower cost per annum than ownership.

The advantage of riding holidays is that they give you opportunities to ride horses of different breeds, temperaments and abilities across a variety of terrains. You could drive cattle across the States, climb mountain trails to Machu Picchu in Peru or take a tour of some Spanish vineyards.

Search online for travel companies that specialise in equestrian holidays and explore some of the options available.

Volunteering

This is especially suited to young, aspiring owners as it gives them the opportunity to learn about everything that horse ownership entails and develop valuable equestrian skills and strong animal welfare and work ethics.

Most liveries appreciate an extra pair of hands and may offer riding lessons or a chance to observe grooms and vets at work as a reward for anyone who gives up their time for free.

Contact The Pony Club or your local farms, equine shelters and liveries to see if they have any volunteering opportunities available.

Leasing and Shared Ownership

Some owners, who are already well aware of the time and money it takes to care properly for a horse or pony, will advertise their animal for lease or shared ownership.

This kind of arrangement means that some or all of the responsibilities of ownership are shared and this has obvious benefits for everyone involved, however it’s not without its pitfalls.

Beware of entering into any sort of lease or shared ownership arrangement, even with close friends, without a proper written agreement in place.

Think carefully about the day-to-day practicalities of sharing a horse in terms of its accommodation, health care and all the associated costs of looking after it including everything from farrier fees to nutritious varieties of horse feed, and make sure the terms are understood and agreed by all parties before getting involved.

Horse Sitting

If you’re confident and experienced with horses, have spare time on your hands and access to a vehicle then becoming a horse or farm sitter can be a great way to spend more time with horses and ponies and you could even earn a small income too.

The tasks you’re expected to complete, such as mucking out, replenishing food and water, turning out or grooming, will define how much you can earn, but you can expect to reasonably charge around £30-£100 per day for your services.

Place cards advertising your horse sitting service at local farms, shelters and stables or in local newspapers and equestrian magazines and ask anyone who uses you to recommend you to their friends and associates.

Don’t let the costs of ownership prevent you from enjoying a horse-rich lifestyle, try some or all of the above for now. One day, the costs may be manageable and when they are, you will have all the skills and experience you need to be a fantastic horse owner.

Everyone knows Christmas is expensive, but how much extra cost is caused by preventable energy use?

Finance

ABC Staff

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11 January 2017

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Everyone knows Christmas is expensive, but how much extra cost is caused by preventable energy use?

Energy bills are rising to £250.92 per household in 2017 when fixed deals come to an end. Despite this revellers are still celebrating Christmas with high energy usage:

Leaving your Christmas lights up until New Year’s Day may have added as much as £20 to your January electricity bill
Cooking a turkey on Christmas Day uses 1.5x more energy than normal, bringing the electricity bill up to c.£50 when combined with leaving your Christmas lights on.

For winter energy saving tips to help reduce these costs and your January bill, take a look at GoCompare’s tips: http://www.gocompare.com/gas-and-electricity/winter-saving-stats/

Brits spend a further £280 million powering Christmas lights AFTER Christmas

UK households spend up to £20 POST Christmas powering Christmas lights
Christmas tree lights cost £3.75 million a day to leave on

Families who left their festive lights up until New Year’s Day may have added as much as £20 to their January electricity bill, Gocompare.com Energy has found. This comes after news of energy hikes of up to £250.92* per household in 2017, as 33 fixed energy deals come to an end.

The company researched how much energy the nation uses to power Christmas, revealing that festive lights alone cost the nation £3.75million a day. However, this is clearly far from many people’s thoughts; Instagram analytics web app websta.me shows that over 100,000 Instagrammers have still been showing off with their festive lights on post-Christmas.

The Gocompare.com research also found that those who enjoyed a turkey Christmas dinner on the 25th will have used 1.5x more energy, ensuring it is cooked, than they would normally use in an entire day, bringing the average household’s bill up by £50 for fuelling Christmas festivities.

Households are more likely to use more energy through winter than usual due to leaving the heating and the lights on for longer. Preventing damp can also add an extra cost, as people either open windows letting heat escape, or turn on a dehumidifier to remove water from the air.

There are simple and cost effective ways to reduce your energy bill during the colder months by increasing the energy efficiency of your homes, including:

Re-sealing window panes
Replacing worn out door weatherstrips
Purchasing a water tank blanket
Purchasing low flow shower heads

For more winter energy saving tips, check out the GoCompare.com blog http://www.gocompare.com/gas-and-electricity/winter-saving-stats/

Why your productivity slumps in the winter

Business

Jack Peat

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11 January 2017

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Why your productivity slumps in the winter

More than half of British workers get significantly less work done in winter, and new research has revealed precisely why that might be.

Rainy days, gloomy workplaces and illness are to blame for Britain’s winter slump, as is the office temperature, naughty snacks and treats and doing less exercise.

Industry body, British Summer Fruits, has explored how the different seasons affect workplace productivity and brain function. The findings were in line with a recent neuroscience study conducted in Belgium, which revealed brain activity may follow a similar pattern to the Seasonal Affective Disorder, or ‘winter blues’.

Laurence Olins, Chairman from British Summer Fruits, said: “There are several factors which contribute to workers feeling less productive and research suggests the change in seasons plays its part.

“More employers could encourage their staff to adopt a healthier diet, providing greater access to fruit in the office to prevent people reaching for sugary confectionery, particularly in these cold winter months.

“Eating healthily shouldn’t feel like a chore and snacking on fruits like berries can help with food cravings during the day due to their natural sweetness”.

During the colder months, 74 per cent of people find it harder to get out of bed for work and 37 per cent are far more likely to call in sick. For two out of every five days in winter, Brits claim to feel under the weather – and 81 per cent admit they often go into work when they are unwell.

Two thirds of people say they are also more likely to indulge in unhealthy options in the winter than in the summer – with snacks such as chocolate, biscuits, crisps and sweets readily available in the office.

But researchers have discovered that to feel 100 per cent productive during the winter months workers simply need to work six hours instead of eight, and have two breaks more than they would get during the summer months.

Flexible working hours, the opportunity to get fresh air during the day and access to really healthy foods are also conducive to a positive work environment.

Other factors which would increase productivity are reduced background noise, the option to work from home and access to water during the day.

Respondents also claim they would function better if they could get a good night’s sleep, exercise more during the day and have access to an open window.

The UK’s leading food psychologist behind Channel 4’s Secret Eaters, Dr Christy Fergusson, commenting on behalf of British Summer Fruits said: “Relying on high sugar foods, biscuits and crisps to keep us going can leave us riding the blood sugar rollercoaster. We feel buzzed for a spell but soon our energy, concentration and mood can plummet.

“One of the best foods to snack on has to be berries. Not only are they loaded with antioxidants and highly nutritious, they are also low in sugar. You could say they are nature’s brain food. They pack a serious nutritional punch for every calorie consumed. This makes them the ideal way to supercharge your system with nutrients, without escalating your blood sugar levels.”

TOP 10 REASONS WORKERS ARE LESS PRODUCTIVE IN WINTER:

1. The darker/dimmer/gloomy light makes me feel sleepy / I find it hard to concentrate
2. If it is dark outside I just want to go home
3. The office is too cold / too hot to concentrate
4. I have lower energy levels in general
5. Dark or rainy days negatively affect my mood
6. I am more likely to feel ill
7. I exercise less so feel sluggish and lethargic when at work
8. My commute takes longer
9. There are more treats and snacks around which distracts me
10. The view from the window is less inspiring

UK Tech Industry Bounces Back From Brex-Shock

Business

Jack Peat

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10 January 2017

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UK Tech Industry Bounces Back From Brex-Shock

The UK tech industry has bounced back from BREX-SHOCK with a sharp rise in the community’s confidence since June.

Almost half of tech businesses expect the environment to get better in 2017 according to the latest figures. That compares to just eight per cent in the days immediately after the referendum.

Tech City UK polled 2,732 businesses in the digital and tech communities in the Tech Nation 2017 report finding that there has been a dramatic improvement on the tech sector’s confidence.

The latest poll of business sentiment from the tech community finds that the initial shock felt by the sector, which had lobbied hard for the UK to remain in Europe, has largely faded.

In a shift in opinion, almost half of respondents now expect things to get better this year and only 5% of people expect the business environment to get a lot worse, compared to 42% in June.

Back in June 2016, 74% of tech businesses thought that things would worsen, but only 24% now expect them to deteriorate.

Four in ten of those questioned by Tech City UK identified themselves as founders or chief executives of tech or digital companies and the improvement in confidence among CEOs and founders in the sector is encouraging.

Immediately after the Brexit vote, 12% of founders thought things would get better and 72% that it would get worse.

In the latest poll, 46% of founders now think things will get better with just 26% thinking things will worsen.

The survey also found that sentiment had improved amongst those in the London tech community – which stood to lose the most from Brexit, as it relies heavily on EU workers, founders and investors.

Almost a third of London’s digital community (35%) now expect things to improve, compared to 6% in June.

Gerard Grech, CEO of Tech City UK, said: “We have conducted the largest ever survey of the UK digital community and at the start of 2017 it is encouraging to find the mood becoming increasingly positive.

“This reflects the resilience and underlying strength of our digital sector, which continues to grow and create jobs at a far faster rate than the wider economy.”

The UK tech and digital sectors received strong endorsements from US tech giants in the months after the Brexit poll, with Apple committing to its £9bn London HQ project; Google announcing plans to hire 3,000 more people across the UK and Facebook unveiling plans to create 500 new UK jobs in 2017.

IBM also said it planned to open four new UK data centres.

Just before Christmas, British tech unicorn (valued over $1bn) Just Eat bought its UK rival Hungryhouse in a £200m deal, while Tech City UK has seen a surge in applications for the digital technology specialist Tech Nation visa since the referendum, making 2016 a record year for visa applications and endorsements.

The British tech sector’s confidence follows a second half of 2016 in which several UK tech businesses – notably Arm Holdings and Skyscanner – were bought by overseas investors, representing the strength and talent in the industry, as well as the opportunities created by the weakness of sterling.

How to Save Money When Online Shopping

Finance

Elliot

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9 January 2017

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One of the biggest struggles that people have with their own personal finance comes when they start to find the best deals, and helping them save money.

Thankfully, there are a number of ways that you can save money when shopping. Whether it be through discount and voucher codes or simply using a comparison website, you have the potential to save hundreds of pounds every year by simply using a few nifty online shopping tips.

Elise from Celebricious explains how you can save money when shopping online, and the best places to look for discounts and deals on your favourite eCommerce websites:

1. Mailing Lists

As much as you may hate them for clogging up your email inbox, subscribing to mailing lists can be worth it because they’re usually packed with discount codes, exclusive to newsletter subscribers.

You can get around the issue of your inbox being “too full” by only subscribing to the brands you purchase from regularly. Or, you can create a separate email address solely for online shopping that can give you a pool of discount codes, no matter where you’re wanting to buy from.

2. Discount Websites

As obvious as it may sound, there are thousands of discount and voucher code websites that offer money-off coupons for thousands of different stores. Google is your best friend when it comes to online shopping – use it to your advantage!

With 20% off vouchers and free shipping to discounts exclusive to students, all you need to do is copy and paste the code in the checkout page of your order and you’ll automatically receive the discount… Not bad for five minutes’ work!

3. Shop Around

Although you might fall head over heels with something when you’re ordering in a department store, it might be best to hold off on purchasing it to have a look if you can find it cheaper elsewhere.

Again, Google is your best friend for this. You can just search for your desired product, press ‘Shopping’ on the tabs beneath your search box and have a look where is offering that product. Ordering the price from High to Low will tell you where it is being sold for the cheapest.

It might not be much of a price difference, but it all adds up!

4. Weight Up Online vs. In Store Prices

As mentioned before, you might fall in love with a product when you’re online shopping but waiting until you’ve done your research might save you a few pounds.

Sometimes it can be cheaper to purchase the product you’re wanting in-store rather than online, where shipping costs and taxes may add extra finances to your purchase. This combined with the constant wanting to wait by the door for your parcel to arrive can be very frustrating!

Although you’re able to online shop in the comfort of your own home, sometimes, it may be better to brace the stores.

Properties owned by Wealthy Celebrities

Property

ABC Staff

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9 January 2017

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It looks like many celebrities have taken the “Build an Empire” motto too seriously! Many wealthy celebrities own houses across the globe, and they hardly step in any of these. However, showing off and having a huge net value is what make these celebrities. And some of the wealthiest celebrities are Tom Cruise, Adam Saddler, Robbie Williams and Johnny Depp. Now let’s take a sneak peek into these amazing properties owned by these well- known actors.

Having an estimated net worth of $480 million, Tom Cruise possesses a Mansion in Beverley Hills, bought with his then wife, Katie Holmes, for an amount of $35 million. The Mansion is set on 1.3 acres, and comprises of a tennis court and pool. Being in a very private area, the Mansion sits behind closed gates, and has seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms. Cruise’s possession also consists of a nine-bedroom mansion in Telluride. Cruise has also sprung his wings in New York where he has a condo apartment of two bedrooms, on the 10^th floor of a twelve stored American Felt Building. He also has a Gulfstream and Aviat- Pitts S-2B as private jets as these are quicker. When it comes to cars, we can say that Tom Cruise has class as he opted for a Porsche 911 and a Bugatti Veyron.

It looks like a monopoly game, right? Just like with each throw of dice, players can acquire properties, these celebrities can just buy another property they want anytime. Speaking of monopoly… At Magical Vegas, you can find some Vegas games alongside slot games based on the Monopoly Board game. Be your own celebrity and throw the dices on games like Super Monopoly Money, Monopoly Big Event and Epic Monopoly II, only at Magical Vegas!

And who doesn’t know Jack Sparrow?! Johnny Depp has an estimated net worth of $400 million. His properties consist of the Somerset Mansion in Quantock Hills, a West Hollywood Mansion, and a Mansion in Plan-De-La-Tour, France. All these were bought while he was still with the gorgeous Vanessa Paradis. Moreover, he has a Vajoliroja yacht which can be rented for $130,000 per week! Unlike many stars, Johnny Depp has an island called the Little Halls Pond Cay which consists of six beached named under his children, friends and ex-partner. Being a vintage lover, Depp drives a red coloured 1959 corvette roadster, which was presented to him as a gift.

As for Adam Sandler, he has a net worth of $300 million. His main property lies on two-thirds of an acre in the high profile Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles. Comprising of nine bathrooms and seven bedrooms, his mansion also consists of a swimming pool. Ah Bel Air! Indeed, he also have a luxurious mansion in Bel- Air costing $42.5 million, which fits a large tennis court and a swimming pool. The Grown-up actor currently drive a Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, which replaced his old Cadillac DTS.

The party like a Russian singer, Robbie Williams’ net worth is estimated to be $200 million. His Mansion is the largest in his area, which is known as the Compton Basset House. Beautifully designed by the legendary architect Michael Phillips, the mansion consists of seven bedrooms, a swimming pool, a helipad, a sauna, a cottage, two staff flats and a tennis court, surrounded by greenery. He also has a house in Los Angeles where he lives more often, and a lavish apartment in London. That’s not all… He also owns a mansion in Mulholland estate, in Beverley Hills. BMX X6, Bentley Azure, Rolls Royce Phantom, Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren, Range Rover, E Type Jag and a Smart car adds to his properties, while having a Honda CBR 600F, Ducati 996 as well.

Local Removal Companies – Finding and Trusting the Right One

Property

ABC Staff

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6 January 2017

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Local Removal Companies – Finding and Trusting the Right One

Moving house is hard. Hard on parents, hard on kids, hard on grandparents. Hard on everyone. Any help you can get is so invaluable at such a tiring, demanding and stressful time.

Moving home is rated as one of the single most stressful life events, after divorce and childbirth (so you know what you’ve got to try next!) and as such, doing it with as much assistance as you can get is a must.

We spoke to Bristol removal company I Move Removals about how to find the right local removals company for your residential or commercial move.

If you’re one of those people who moves around frequently, maybe for your job, and you’re used to moving, you can look at doing it on an absolute shoestring budget, but if this is only your first or second ever big move, then you need to look at getting some serious help in, because mistakes made at this stage can cause major problems, hassles and cost for you later on, which no one wants.

What’s the point of using a removals company? Well, depending on how far you’re moving, how many possessions you’re shifting, and whether or not you’re staying in temporary rented accommodation and using a storage facility, using a great removals firm can be a very quick, convenient way to make an awkward situation easier, all the while being not much more difficult than having a quick conversation.

A great removals firm will handle all the awkward logistics, and make all those irritating little problems go away, they’re the convenient option.

Most Important is Trust

Garnering trust with a faceless company can be difficult, but once you’ve spoken to and met several staff, and seen other satisfied customers, you will find it easy to see the right company for you. You can’t be handing over all your stuff to a company you have any doubts about. You essentially need to find a great quality, great value removal firm that you can trust entirely. We can’t overstate the fact that one point, you will be trusting this firm with the vast majority of your worldly possessions, and as such you need to trust them. Trust comes down to a variety of other points, such as the company’s guarantees, their quality of staff and their training, and most importantly, the quality of reviews on the company.

Going online and reading through a variety of unbiased reviews can be a great way to evaluate the trustworthiness and reliability of a company. Make sure you’re reading unbiased reviews though, and not the ones the company themselves is presenting, as they’re not going to tell you if they’re not that reliable or great!

Endlessly Compare

Find the right removals company, because there are lots of different removals companies are out there, and there’s bound to be variances in what they offer. There will be a great variance in price, quality and value, and it’s up to you to find the best option for your move. Comparing quotes from multiple firms is always going to be the best option for getting the cheapest and best value service. You always want to avoid going for the very cheapest firm, unless you particularly enjoy the prospect of your precious belongings, housed in simple cardboard boxes, being manhandled by undertrained, pressured staff. If you’re something of a gambler, then maybe that’s the route to go for you, but for everyone else, who needs that worry when moving?

Get Their Guarantee

A lot can rest on guarantees, so make sure you check out the guarantees the removal firm offers. The quality and confidence of the guarantees offered can really say a lot about the quality of the service that you can expect to receive. A company with thousands of satisfied customers and successful moves under their belt is going to be able to say with some confidence that they WILL get your possessions where you need them to be, and in great time too! And all at a great price! If you detect doubt and uncertainty, keep shopping, you want the confidence and certainty. However, remember not to be too taken by great sales technique, examine all the other elements of the company too.

Featured image courtesy of www.sunsetremovalsnewcastle.com.au

Why Getting Your Blinds Professionally Installed Is Important

Property

ABC Staff

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6 January 2017

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Why Getting Your Blinds Professionally Installed Is Important

When it comes to your home, you want something modern, stylish, easy to maintain and effective, and when it comes to your windows, curtains are no longer your only choice.

Curtains can be awkward, bulky, difficult to maintain and clean as well as generally outdated. They gather dust and grime, aren’t as effective at blocking out light and never look as sharp or stylish as blinds. That being said, there are plenty of blinds out there that look terrible, and it goes to show, you get what you pay for, especially when it comes to installation.

We spoke to Plymouth based blind installation company Sol Komfort about the importance of getting your blinds installed correctly and professionally.

Incorrectly installed blinds risk breaking sooner, as well as looking terrible due to sloppy angles and non-flush finishes, the potentially flawed installation will put essential parts of the blind at risk from breaking, and you won’t get the full time of use out of them. Even if you’ve spend hundreds on the blinds themselves, it won’t matter if you don’t install them properly, because you risk them breaking, not looking right, and not functioning as they should. Hiring a professional to do the installation is just common sense, and can save you a lot of time, hassle and money.

One of the biggest risks of DIY installed blinds is that it simply won’t function right. Blinds have to be smooth and slick operating, otherwise they tend to look clunky and cheap. They need to rotate to let in light smoothly and easily, and open and close smoothly and easily. If they’ve been installed less than perfectly, and have had to be trimmed to size to fit the window, then you’re running the risk of having poorly functioning blinds, which can end up really ruining the sleek and stylish look.

Blinds that aren’t installed completely correctly also run the risk of sitting wrongly. This can be far more disastrous than it sounds. The whole beautiful, minimalist appeal of blinds comes from the their sharp, straight lines, and if those lines are slightly off, at weird angles due to a poorly measured and planned installation, the whole window can look off, often with you unable to exactly put your finger on what looks so wrong.

Blinds can be expensive, but they can also last a very long time, if installed, looked after and used correctly. One decent set of blinds can do you for up to a decade, but if those blinds were poorly installed, you can expect them to break much sooner than they would’ve otherwise. You can find them pulling off their fixing, destroying their gear, or all manner of other issues, all because incorrect installation puts lots of stress on the wrong parts.

Blinds are designed to withstand regular use, but also be very lightweight. This can mean that when misused, they’re very easy to damage. Poorly installed blinds can be dangerous, especially if you’ve got young kids around who like to tug on the blinds cords and clamber onto the window sills.

A professional will be able to unpack, set-up, modify if needs be and install the blinds to your windows. Blinds are not theoretically difficult to install, as you’ll quickly learn going online and looking at tutorials, however, if you’ve ever tried to do any DIY straight from an online tutorial you’ll have quickly learnt, much like I did, that nothing is ever so simple in real life. If you’re investing in quality blinds, that’re going to be a beautiful feature in your beautiful home for, for the next five years at least, then you need to think about employing a professional to install them.

A professional can have your blinds installed within hours, saving you the weekend you’d have spent trying to figure out how to modify the blinds and set them up, all while terrified of damaging your expensive new blinds set! It’s easier, quicker, and really not that expensive to simply get a professional in, and get the job done.

Planning your dream holiday? Five expert tips for bagging a bargain in the January sales

Holidays

ABC Staff

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6 January 2017

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Planning your dream holiday? Five expert tips for bagging a bargain in the January sales

The January sales are a time-served tradition in this country, with department stores and online retailers offering amazing deals on everything from kitchenware to designer shirts.

Already planning your dream getaway? We recently sat down with Holiday Gems’ resident travel expert, Neil Latham, to find out how you could save even more on your next holiday by shopping in the January sales.

Be quick to grab the best deals

The second and third weeks of January are usually the busiest times for booking a holiday, due to it being the first payday after Christmas.

If you’re going to be booking a holiday around this time, we recommend putting aside a little bit of extra Christmas cash. You can expect most of these offers to be gone by the end of the month, so act fast!

Being flexible can cut the cost of your holiday

January is without doubt the best time to save money on a holiday. But if you really want to secure the deal of a century, you’ve got to be flexible.

That means flying at unsociable hours and from a larger airport that’s not necessarily local to you, like Birmingham, London Gatwick or Manchester.

Often it’s the price of flying that has the biggest impact on the overall cost of your holiday, so keep an open mind and be prepared to travel.

Sign up to mailing lists for special offers from holiday companies

Are you one of those people that always says no to receiving marketing emails and newsletters? While your inbox may already be brimming with spam, emails from holiday companies are often filled with deals.

Often travel agents will send out their best deals via this method. You may find yourself receiving exclusive holiday offers before the general public, just for being a subscriber.

Don’t assume self-catering is cheaper than all-inclusive

It’s fair to say most of us assume an all-inclusive holiday is more expensive than going self-catering.

But don’t be fooled, January is the holy grail of holiday deals, with discounts across all board types.

All-inclusive breaks can sometimes work out more cost-effective; especially when you consider the money you’ll be saving on eating, drinking and hotel activities.

When it comes to destinations, think outside the box

The January sales are a great opportunity to book a holiday to somewhere you wouldn’t usually visit, including long-haul holidays that can often hold their price.

And while Spain and Majorca will always be popular, lesser-known destinations like Croatia and Bulgaria’s Black Sea Coast are often where you’ll find the best holiday savings.

There are so many spectacular places out there that get overlooked. Keep an eye on these hidden gems, you never know, you may fall in love with somewhere completely different.

New survey reveals that over two-thirds of drivers eat while driving

Automotive

ABC Staff

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6 January 2017

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New survey reveals that over two-thirds of drivers eat while driving

Nowadays, a cup of tea and a slice of toast have become a morning luxury with many of us choosing to grab a quick snack and a hot drink during the commute to work.

According to a study by insurancerevolution.co.uk, 73% of UK drivers eat food and enjoy soft drinks or hot beverages while driving.

The research shows that almost a half have spilled a drink or dropped bits of food while driving – this can be major distraction!

Over a half admit they were not fully focused while in charge of their car because of such instances, seriously affecting the safety of themselves and other commuters.

Shockingly, 12% lost control of their car while doing so.

In more detail, of those who lost control, 8% admitted to having an accident, followed by 17% who almost had an accident.

Ironically, 55% of those questioned say eating or drinking soft and hot drinks when driving is dangerous. But despite this, the majority of people still continue to do so.

Mark Rigby, Managing Director at Insurance Revolution says: “Our research highlights that the biggest distractions might not solely be a mobile phone, but eating is also ranked highly.

“The figures from our survey revealed that 11% of UK adults still say they are distracted by their mobile phone when driving. But while mobile phones are still a major driver interruption, the 73% who lose concentration when eating or consuming food is certainly a cause for concern.

“If you do need to have a quick bite while driving, be careful to avoid any potential accidents or hazards, caused by you or others on the road.”

Riding Holidays

Volunteering

Leasing and Shared Ownership

Horse Sitting

1. Mailing Lists

2. Discount Websites

3. Shop Around

4. Weight Up Online vs. In Store Prices

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