How about gathering golf balls – water traps are the best so put on your wet suit and get into it. But be careful as the tail of one good keen oily ragger from the UK shows. He plunged the depths, retrieving up to 1200 golf balls at a time. At around 50 cents each […]
Having trouble paying your rates? Low income earners may be eligible for a rates rebate. See this website for details, Rate rebate. Some councils also let you defer rates payments until the property is sold. You have to pay interest on the balance and there may be some establishment costs, but it is there for […]
Receive accommodation in return for work. I know of one person who lives in a sea-side property rent free. In return for free rent they do two days landscaping work on the property, mowing lawns, etc. As a result they live in a modern cottage with a fantastic outlook and don’t pay a cent! – […]
There are lots of listing services for those looking for house sitters or wanting to swap their property with others in places near and far. House swapping is a great way to get cheap accommodation and have someone look after your house while you are away. Have a look at Home Exchange, and Holswap but there are […]
Did you know there is a network of couch swappers? There were in fact 3950 couches available in New Zealand at the time of this posting! It works a bit like a social networking site. You put up your profile, say you have a couch available, and people make contact and sleep on your couch […]
Here’s an interesting story sent in by a reader. “It can’t be, it must be a mistake, they must have overcharged me” – I thought as a raced out the door of my local hardware store. “They stuff I just bought was on special. They’ve charged me the full quid!” “No, it’s not a mistake” […]
Funerals. It’s a touchy subject – but let’s just be frank and talk about it earnestly. It seems inescapable, our departure that is, so we must confront the issue at some time, either for ourselves our nearest and dearest. Funerals can be expensive, and while it may seem disrespectful talking about money in times of grief, […]
Dad had one of his bright ideas. The idea wasn’t original, but it was for Dad – he didn’t have bright ideas very often! Off to the local library he went. Back he came with an Aunt Daisy soap-making recipe. As proud as a peacock at a garden party, he said he was going to […]
According to the Guinness Book of Records, “the heaviest pumpkin weighs 1,054 kg (2,323 lb), was grown by Beni Meier (Switzerland) and authenticated by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth (GPC) in Ludwigsburg, Germany, on 12 October 2014.” The New Zealand record (at the time of writing) is a 754.5kg whopper. We have no doubt it won’t […]
The NZ Herald has a fun story about a one-owner Toyota Hilux that has 1,200,000 km on the clock. The owner says, “The original engine has never had the head off and the gearbox and differential have never come out. However, the radiator was replaced about 200,000 km ago.” He said the secret was changing the […]