Like a lot of people, if I’m really honest about it, my house is full of a lot of things I don’t often use and probably don’t really need.

I know why I hoard: I grew up poor, so I didn’t throw things out if there was any possibility I’d need them in the future — because I knew I wouldn’t have money for another one. I also keep things I don’t need for sentimental reasons,…

I’ve been back from Melbourne for a couple of days. I’ve caught up on email, responded to all the comments people left while I was away, sorted out a few things at home… I guess I should get back to blogging!

I’m in Melbourne for a few days and ‘Real Life’ isn’t leaving much time to blog. I’ll be back in Sydney on Wednesday and will post an update then. See you soon!

I’ve been writing a lot about personal style lately, and no series on style is complete without talking about hair. If you want to look great, you need to pay at least minimal attention to your hair because it’s such a noticeable part of your overall grooming. Straggly, unkempt hair tells the world that self-care activities are a low priority to you. In this time-poor age, we have to size each other up so quickly…

[Another budgeting tip from Mr Bargain Queen...]

In response to a previous budgeting post, Terry asked:

Mr BQ, How often do you tweak your budget?

In my experience, a well-estimated budget should only need tweaking when:

1. Your income changes (Cut back to 3 days a week work? Think about the areas in which you can reduce your spending.)
2. Your needs change (ie. Want to join a gym? You need to find that monthly fee somewhere…)
3. Price increases mean the original targets…

A reader, Maggie, asked a great personal style question:

As an almost 50 I feel that I’m about to take another style jump!

My personal dilemma is my own self image as a bit of a “rock chick”, a style which I have carried off without a hitch until recently. My fear of looking, as my dear eldest would say, like “mutton” has led to a classier version of this style, but I am still resistant to…

I got an interesting email this morning from eBay. It said:

Would you like five free* listings?

We’ve noticed that it’s been a while since you sold something on eBay. We missed you and we are not afraid to say it.

Now that over three million Aussies are trading on eBay & there are more potential buyers waiting for you than ever.

To show you how much we missed you selling on eBay, we are giving you five free*…

Mr Bargain Queen’s budgeting tip post, A dollar spent is a dollar spent, is featured in this week’s Festival of Frugality over at Tired but happy. Congratulations Mr Bargain Queen!

My other favourite post in this week’s Festival is How Not to Be Frugal: Too Many Magazine Subscriptions from J.D. at Get Rich Slowly.

Magazines are one of my weaknesses and I’ve been thinking of signing up for one of those cheapie subscriptions myself. Even after paying to shipping…