Brits paint the equivalent of Great Britain more than 200 times over according to new insight from Homebase. This is the collective distance of 50 journeys to the moon and an average of 36 rooms per person during their DIY lifetime. The research into the nation’s DIY habits was conducted to mark the launch of Homebase’s Value range, a collection of more than 300 budget home essentials covering DIY, gardening, home and decorating.

Half of Brits surveyed say they would decorate more if it was cheaper, with one in six admitting they have never decorated a single room in their life. People can now decorate without having to worry about the cost with the new Homebase Value collection of budget essentials including 150 items for under £5. The range aims to keep the cost of our love of DIY and gardening to a minimum, encouraging people to pick up a paintbrush or trowel and not worry about the pounds.

The survey showed that there are certainly some rooms that get more attention than others and the living room comes out as the real favourite. More than 50 per cent of people questioned said it was their favourite place to decorate, while the hall or landing were most frequently neglected.

Simon Yeomans, category marketing manager for Homebase comments: “Our research proves that the nation truly has a love for DIY. Almost ten per cent of people questioned would rather be decorating than socialising. We want people to feel inspired and know that they don’t need to spend a lot. By introducing an affordable range of good quality basic items, we hope more people will be encouraged to transform spaces in their homes and gardens”.

The research also shows a switch in the more traditional gender roles in British homes, with 51 per cent of women now taking charge of DIY and decorating. In many cases it is due to the man of the house handing over control, with a quarter of men (25 per cent) saying they get their wife or girlfriend to deal with the household DIY.

TV presenter Terri Dwyer, who has madeover more than 200 homes in 60 Minute Makeover says: “Giving your home a more homely feel certainly doesn’t need to cost the earth. There are lots of ways you can brighten a room on a budget. A splash of white paint brings a fresh, clean feel to a room while basic accessories bring warmth and a homely feel to any house. With the basics now available at affordable prices, there’s no excuse for not dusting down the overalls and getting stuck in. You can use the money you save to be extravagant elsewhere”.

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With the cost of heating water for a bath these days many house owners are adding the facilities of a shower which not only is cheaper to run, but a quicker and more environmentally friendly way to achieve personal hygiene.

Finding a company to carry out any plumbing job in your home can vary in price dramatically. Last year I remember the run up to Christmas being rather stressful, a new bathroom project I thought I could do myself ended up needing the services of a local company when I ran in to problems. I called a few companies for quotes. Some local and some that offered a national service. Prices varied from £180-£550 to complete the job I started which left me thinking I would either end up in more problems or paying more than I needed too.

A small firm local to me called Allan’s Bathrooms based in Worthing offered me a competitive quote and carried out the work early evening so I didn’t have to take time off work. They were neat and tidy and came with good recommendations from a friend. The job was completed in time for Christmas. It’s always worth asking for recommendations and well worth following them up, especially after you see the horror stories on popular television programs like Rogue Traders on BBC1

To slim down your chances of being stung by rogue traders you can research quality tradesman local to you on websites like checkatrade.co.uk. They offer you a directory of trades and services that have been vetted to high standards, for example by verifying insurance, qualifications and professional memberships. Not only that, but they also monitor traders work on an ongoing basis by collecting feedback directly from their customers.

The advantage of keeping things local is the support and continuation of community cash flow which can provide important improvement to the look and feel of the town you live in.

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It’s been a hard emotional year for many people, receiving something funny from a friend in your email can lift their spirit for the rest of the day.

I received a special message from Father Christmas himself this week that made me smile. I thought this video was great so forwarded it to my friend. His son had sent a letter to Santa and still hasn’t received a reply back; as it’s cutting it a little bit fine this will be a great replacement.

As technology advances every year, if you want to send a cool special message to a family member or friend from Father Christmas this is a great little video from Portable North Pole. You enter the persons details, answer questions about them, even upload a picture to make it even more personalised. You can see the demo before sending your message and it’s completely FREE. This will put a smile on the face of any child or adult and it’s delivered in to the recipients email account immediately.

Another little amusing video I received was from elfyourself.com it was clear from my sisters video that as a family we are more than capable of entering Britain’s Got Talent next year and winning.

Sending a video or e-card to your chosen person will always involves giving the recipient’s email address to the e-card service so always check the term of use as some operators might misuse this email address for spam or advertising purposes. If you are sending anything like this to a business check first, you wouldn’t want to get in trouble.

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Zoo Jewellery’s ethos remains the same today as it did twenty years ago. They provide innovative affordable jewellery with a great service.

Over the last twenty years Zoo Jewellery has developed a good reputation for selling beautiful innovative jewellery from around the world and in particular specialising in silver jewellery. They now have a strong on-line UK Silver Jewellery store as well as a high street presence with three gorgeous shops in the South of England.

At Zoo Jewellery they stock an amazing variety of both world made and UK made silver jewellery which you can buy through their secure website. They send out Silver Jewellery throughout the UK, Europe and World-wide on a daily basis you only have to take a look at their testimonials page for feedback from loyal customers.

For the first 12 days in December they are giving away an amazing 78 items of jewellery, everyone’s a winner because if you tell a friend you receive 10% discount code to use online. Play every day for your chance to win.

Check out the hottest silver jewellery from Zoo Jewellery in the brilliant Jewellery Catalogue.

The 56 page Jewellery catalogue is packed with great jewellery gifts ideas for women and men for the ideal Christmas present including the exciting Coral, Turquoise and Native American collections.

Simply call them on 01243 790006 to order your free copy of their essential jewellery gift guide or alternately, you can use the form to request download or have the Zoo Jewellery Catalogue to be sent immediately.

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Every little helps as a certain large supermarket says, and this is certainly the case for local Jewellery retailers Zoo Jewellery.

The Silver Jewellery specialist has been offering free delivery on all UK orders throughout October and we have heard this is going to be extended into November as well.

There are as many as 150 jewellery items available for next-day delivery; with the site also offering upto 20% reduction on typical store prices. In fact, Zoo Jewellery make it incredibly easy for anyone looking for silver jewellery. The jewellery collections at Zoo include: Silver Rings, Silver Bracelets, Amethyst Jewellery, Amber Jewellery and other Gemstone Jewellery from the likes of Kit Heath, Hot Diamonds, Kurt Zeiss and St Justin. Plus if you spend over £26.99, you get a free pair of Zirconia earrings.

For more details of the free delivery offer in October and November have a look at the Zoo Jewellery website.

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Rule changes to Individual Savings Accounts set to come into force next month are the perfect opportunity for the over-50s to ensure they are using the tax breaks to maximise the returns available, says Heron House Financial Management.

“Tax-efficient Isas should form the bedrock of the majority of people’s money savings strategies,” said Heron House financial planner Saran Allott-Davey. “This is important to remember at a time when many people we see say they have been steered away from Isas by bank sales staff towards more complex structured products.

“Recently they seem to be pushing plans that pay eye-catching rates on savings provided the same amount is placed in an investment product which charges higher fees. This is great for the bank’s profits but probably not as good for consumers as simply having a sensible Isa strategy in place that works well over the long-term.”

From October 6th the Isa allowance for the over 50s (and those who will reach age 50 during the 09/10 tax year) is set to increase from £7,200 to £10,200 – of which up to £5,100 can be cash. These higher limits will apply to all Isa savers from April 2010.

Saran Allott-Davey said there were some important principles that can help money savers maximise their Isa returns, in particular to focus first on interest income ahead of dividend income.

“Isas are most tax-efficient for cash and fixed-interest investments such as bonds and gilts,” she said. “Basic rate taxpayers can avoid paying 20 per cent tax on interest and higher rate taxpayers avoid paying 40 per cent tax.

“Cash Isas should be top priority to new savers and we recommend most people focus on one rather than setting up new ones each year with different providers – it simplifies administration, gives access to more generous rates and makes it far more likely people will review and transfer to secure a higher income.”

She said Isas are less tax efficient for dividend income from share investments which already have a notional 10 per cent tax taken which cannot be reclaimed.

“Basic rate taxpayers have no further income tax to pay whether the shares are held inside or an outside an Isa so the main benefit is to shelter the profits of asset sales from Capital Gains Tax which is in any case only payable on gains above £10,100

“Shares Isas makes more sense for higher rate taxpayers who can avoid a further 22.5 per cent on dividend income. In this case the general rule is to place higher yielding shares and equity funds in the Isa ahead of those paying low or no dividends unless the holder expects to enjoy significant capital gains.”

Saran Allott-Davey said that in her experience most new clients coming to Heron House need to rethink their Isa strategies to deliver greater tax benefits. She said: “It is easy to do and even small gains can compound up to large sums over long periods of time.”

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Recent work that has been completed for Worthing’s Taste of Bengal included new wood laminate flooring in the waiting area and a solid marble top for the reception counter the reception area walls re-plastered and a new colour scheme introduced.

All this shows how the restaurant is moving with the times, as evidenced by its recent venture into outside catering.

Parties, weddings and other functions can all be taken care of by the Taste of Bengal. Choose from a selection of starters, main dishes, side dishes, Indian sweets.

The food is delivered in heated serving dishes ready for your dining table. Prices are from £7.95 per head (Minimum of 12 people) with children less than 12 years catered for at a cost of £4.95

All the food comes with disposable plates and cutlery. Cobra Good Curry Guide, has again considered the Taste of Bengal worthy of an accolade in Kalam’s current Guide. The meat cooked is so tender and the spices enough to get your taste buds wanting more.

The Taste of Bengal can be found at 203 Heene Road, Worthing, BN11 4NN, the south-west junction with Tarring Road. It is open seven days a week from 5.30pm to 11.00pm, including bank holidays.

Free delivery service is now available for orders over £17.50 anything under is only £1.00 within a five-mile radius (minimum order £8.95).

Parties, weddings and other functions can all be taken care of by the Taste of Bengal Worth mentioning are two new dishes to the Taste of Bengal; lemon rice and a ’special’ dish of chicken garlic with green chillies which possesses a madras-strength flavour.

The Taste of Bengal Indian takeaway will be celebrating 25 years in Worthing this October, you may have heard it on Splash FM last week, in recognition of this commendable milestone they will be throwing a Birthday party for all their valued customers at Worthing FC football club so for a chance of an exclusive invitation when you come to collect your takeaway meal complete a voucher and hand it in with your name an address the next time you collect your takeaway. The Taste of Bengal are proud sponsors of Worthing F.C youth team.

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Facebook is not only great for communicating with friends and family you can also get help from them to promote your business or website, many friends of mine have inspired many ideas over the last year or so, why does it have to stop there? Friends of friends or people you don’t even know can be just as inspirational.

You can promote your niche, or service within your group of friends, create one yourself and see, just ask people to join, create discussions, where people are involved. Within your group you can promote your business brand if you have one, include your business and contact details.

When you sign up you can join a network, I joined the Brighton network because I want to promote my website to the 61,688+ members of Brighton who are on Facebook. I can communicate with other members by leaving messages or joining in discussions, also my group is global so anyone in the world can give feedback or ideas.

People join you as a “Friend” and this means they should want to help you, your friends, brand and ethics will really help your route to market anything.

I create notes and link to my site, which have interesting content for people to read, you can create automatic notes through your blogs RSS feed, so people can read your blog via your profile status and comment on it as well.

I have recently set up Twitter, this integrated with Facebook and an iPhone allow my friends to read stuff that’s important to me even when I am working.

Talking about friends, I would like you to help one of my friends with sponsorship if you would take a few more seconds to read on.

More than 1,000 women die every month from breast cancer in the UK. Breakthrough Breast Cancer is committed to fighting this devastating disease through research and awareness, and has established the UK’s first dedicated breast cancer research centre, in partnership with the Institute of Cancer Research.

The Platex Charity Moonwalk is in London on the 16th of May 2009 please give generously.

http://www.justgiving.com/sophmoonwalksagain

If you want to save money within your business, you can always ask for help, email us at youcouldsave@hotmail.co.uk with your information.

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Innovations over the years have made oven cleaning less of a problem but what about the problem with 80% of the ovens we all own?

If you don’t have a self cleaning oven there are some oven cleaners out there you can use, but they never really clean the racks to a satisfactory standard, after speaking with a local company in Sussex who have won national accreditation for the recycling and resale of second hand appliances they are NOW offering the following service to new and existing customers.

For those of you who don’t have this self cleaning oven, remove the oven racks, grill racks and bring them to Affordable Appliances in Worthing, they will dip them in a special tank and within minutes have your racks sparkling clean, no mess, no stains on your kitchen floor, and in April only £3.99 per rack, as its time for the start of the BBQ weather why not bring that rusty or dirty grill along too?

Or perhaps if you want to treat yourself to a full oven valet why not give the Oven Cleaning King a call.

Affordable Appliances
211 Tarring Road
Worthing
West Sussex
BN11 4HU

Telephone: 01903 239739

Don’t forget to clean the inside of the oven door, with a little bit of cleaner and a rag, wipe the inside the door, paying close attention to the seal around the door. Rinse well with a damp sponge and rag.

You should also wipe clean the outside of the oven door and the stove.

Tips for keeping an oven or stove clean.

Before you clean your oven for the first time, consult your owner’s manual.

If your Sunday casserole spills or whatever your baking spills, clean up the mess when your baking session is complete.

To prevent spills in the first place, line a cookie sheet with foil and place it under the rack you are cooking on. Or you can use a non stick oven liner

www.affordableappliancerepair.co.uk

www.ovencleaningking.co.uk

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The ever deepening credit crunch brings with it many money saving opportunities, particularly if you have been considering home improvements and building work. One such improvement that has plumetted in price is installing your own swimming pool.

Not so long ago swimming pools were reserved for the rich and those living in California. Modern materials and swimming pool design has made pool ownership within the reach of many ordinary people. If you have the space in your back garden you can have an above ground pool installed and operational in no time at all.

Many swimming pool supply companies are struggling to maintain business as people tighten their belts which gives you the opportunity to negotiate significant discounts. So why not shop around to see what you can get for your money. Then encourage the pool supplier to throw in some essential pool accessories like a year’s supply of swimming pool chemicals.

It really is an excellent time to get that pool that you have always wanted. They are cheaper than they have ever been and if you get it installed now you will be ready for the hot weather when it arrives.

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