Change Your Attitude; Not Your Outift

Went to see Prodigy at the NIA in Birmingham last and it was f*cking awesone (pardon my French!). In between all the pogoing, moshing and weird ravey style shapes I was throwing I had a bit of an epiphany (in case you're wondering I'd had half a lager, half a bottle of Smirnoff Ice and a Maccy D's, so it wasn't an epiphany of the E's are good variety!).

As I looked around the crowd before Prodigy took to the stage I was quite surprised by how many young'n'trendies were surrounding us (we were about 1/3 of the way back in the standing area). They were all there preened and polished. Girls in party dresses and 4" heels, blusher brushes at the ready to guard against any make-up malfunctions. Boys in neon rimmed shades. They danced around to the DJ like they were at Hed Kandi and I seriously thought I was getting old.

Prodigy storm on stage with Worlds on Fire - the place goes semi-mental but there's not quite the atmosphere I was expecting. Fair play, this is a track off their new album so maybe some people don't know it. A few tunes in and there are massive pockets of space around us. We move forwards. The space fills with a more up for it crowd, out to dance; not out to impress - suddenly there's an atmosphere. Was it just me, but did the young'n'trendies like the idea of saying they "went to see Prodigy last night, ah it was mental" but didn't actually want to get mental in the process?

I am obviously too young to have ever been to a proper rave, but I'm thinking the atmosphere was as close as you could get in an environment as sanitised as the NIA. The vibe was fantastic. A mish-mash of baggy trousers and trainers, cyber-kids with glow sticks and some girls who'd chosen nice dresses but were more interested in the vibe than if their mascara had run (respect!). Didn't see any trouble by us. If someone invaded your space, a gentle tap on the back was enough to get them to move out of your way.

As I left the gig (covered in sweat and beer, make-up sliding down my face; but with a euphoric feeling in heart) I thought it just goes to show you can spend as much money as you want on the trendiest items in town, you can spend hours preening yourself and looking pretty. But at the end of the day its your attitude that makes you enjoy life, and that's something you can't buy.

Ditch the Car - Part 1 - Public Transport

Like me, do you enjoy a lovely* daily commute to work? My place of employment is about 30-miles away from my home. I know I could live closer, but after being made redundant three times in my professional career so far I'm pretty sure that 'a job for life' no longer exists and so I'd rather live in an area which I like surrounded by family and friends and travel for my work.

Granted, my ideal way to get to work (given that teleporters haven't been invented yet) would be whizzing down the motorway, donning my shades and cherry red driving gloves singing along to Girls Aloud. OK so, in reality the 'whizzing' would be replaced with a slow crawl along the M42 - I know - I've tried (except between Christmas and New Year when anyone with any sense books time off work - it's nice and quiet then).

Plus, there's the cost. If I was to drive to work I'd need to refuel my car every week. Depending on the price of petrol that would cost about £30. Add to that the cost of parking at approximately £10 per day (yes, really!). That's:

£10 x 5 + £30 = £80 per week!
£80 x 4 = £320 per month!
£320 x 12 = £3840 per year!

Eek! And, that my budgeting babes is why I chose to let the train take the strain. Obviously the singing to Girls Aloud had to stop. And OK, so the train isn't the most glamourous mode of transport (unless we're going back to bygone days of steam) but spending 40-minutes a day on the train means I can catch-up with paperwork, reading, phone calls and even sleep. Things you certainly can't do whilst hurtling or crawling down the motorway.

Plus, there's the cost - I get a monthly train pass which sets me back just £54!

Taking the car @ £320 per month Vs taking the train @ £54 per month = a difference of £266 per month, that's a staggering £3192 per year!

Maybe your need to sing along to Girls Aloud is worth over £3k per year? If not, it might be worth seeing if public transport could be a more budget friendly way for you to get to work.

Happy travelling!

Babe xx

*Irony intended

Swap Glossies for Free Magazines

You can't beat the simple pleasure of kicking back with a Chai Latte, a selection of chocolate biscuits and a good old glossy magazine. For me it used to be Red, Marie Claire, Psychologies, Company, Easy Living, Glamour, or sometimes even Vogue. But (in case you hadn't noticed!) we're in a recession and - while it pains me to say this - somethings gotta give. So these days when I curl up on the sofa it will be with freebie titles courtesy of the likes of Asda, Odeon, Merry Hill, Office, the John Lewis Partnership, Boots or Style Birmingham.

Personal faves at the moment are Source magazine (John Lewis Partnership) which has a fab range of articles on home, travel, cooking and lifestyle and isn't too hard sell. Meanwhile, Style Birmingham satiates my fashion-fix.

That's not to say I'll never buy another glossy again. But by cutting back my consumption it means I can justify buying that perfect Pea Coat (reduced from £70 to £40) and matching scarf (see left) from Oasis!

So next time you're on the High Street keep your eyes open for the freebie titles. Just make sure they are actually free before you wander off with them!

Happy reading! Babe xx