student savings

Tags

Bus, Dublin, leap card, luas, money, saving, student, student savings

Being a student again means lots of extra work but it also has it’s benefits: student savings! So make the most of the next year I decided it was time to get myself a student Leap Card.

Like the Oyster Card in London, the Leap Card is the perfect way to use public transport within and around Dublin. One of the main benefits of using a Leap Card is you pay less per trip. An additional bonus is you don’t need to carry around loose change when you want to use the bus (you don’t get back change on Dublin buses, all you get is a paper slip that you can exchange for money at headquarters – Dublin Bus makes more than a million euros every year on unclaimed refunds – so most people try an pay exact fares).

And since I am now the owner of a student leap card I get even more savings. I may still have to pay the same amount per fare however the daily and weekly cap on the card has gone way down. No matter how many buses I use in a day I’ll never pay more than 5€ (normally 6.90€), and in a week never more than 20€ (normally 27.50€). If I combine Luas (the Dublin tram system) and bus that goes slightly up but I still pay 25% less than with a regular Leap Card.

Wonderfully it doesn’t end there, by waving the Student Leap Card in certain high-street shops you get reductions and special offers. Saving 20% here and 15% there will definitely make a difference in the long run. Student savings – a perk for all the hard work.

a few euros saved with these two cards

Thursday morning delights

Tags

cinema, Fortuna, happiness, money, morning sun, October budget, photography, photos, roses, surprise, surprises

When I came down for breakfast this morning the roses I bought myself yesterday greeted me, and their unusual colour, a dusky purply-pink, was even more stunning in the early morning sun. But that wasn’t the only thing that was waiting for me.

With a smile on my lips and a happy mood in my heart I went to check my mail and a few surprises awaited me. Between a few flyers, a bill and a bank-statement was a large silver envelope and a small brown one.

The large enveloped contained a night out – it’s contents were two tickets to next weeks cinema premier of Gone Girl in my favourite cinema the Savoy. Thinking things couldn’t get much better than that the small brown overdevelop was going to prove me wrong.

Inside was a cheque, one I have been waiting for for a while, but the surprise was that the figure printed on it was a lot higher than expected. And while it may not be millions, not even thousands, for me this pleasant surprise helps me with my October budget.

But Fortuna wasn’t done with me yet,  when I opened my emails I found my latest payslip and it too showed a higher figure than anticipated. What a way to start a day!

And since I meeting up the girls tonight the day promises to end as beautiful as it began, with lots of smiles, laughs and a skipping heart.

waiting for the penny to drop

Tags

bills, economy, jacob needleman, jumping from springboards, letters, miscellaneous, money, musings, primal emotions, psychology, random, recession, thoughts

It’s Monday morning and I am impatiently waiting on the postman to wander down my street and not pass my door. I can’t wait to hear him pushing two desperately awaited answers through the letterbox, my ears are straining to here that soft thud of envelopes on the floor.

Sadly I have to admit that my foot tapping inability to wait is not because I am hoping to hear from loved ones but rather unloved ones who owe me money. I know such a mundane topic, but one that seems to often dominate our lives, whether we like it or not. And although it is such a big part of everyday life money is often a taboo subject, something that people keep private. Oddly enough talking about money is considered more vulgar than debating sexual habits, desires and other personal issues.

It doesn’t seem to matter if someone has a purse filled with moths or lives like Dagobert Duck, jumping from springboards into wads of cash, their relationship with money is deeply personal. Interestingly enough a study has shown that although how you are raised with money influences how you deal with spending or saving your pennies people are born scrooges or squanderer. And your emotional state also plays its role on your purse strings. Happy, stable people feel less need to spend than those who are upset or depressed, as if defining your worth and well-being is directly linked to cents and euros.

In our economically challenged time money seems to bring out a lot of primal emotions like fear and anger. But American Philosopher Jacob Needleman argues that with the recession scratching on most peoples doors they will turn towards their internal resources which gives us a chance to redefine the importance of external ones like money. After all when asked most people don’t list money as one of the things that is most important in their lives, family, friends, fulfilling dreams, being a good person all rank higher up and earning millions doesn’t really appear on any bucket lists.

I am not a materialistic person, money is not something that drives me to do, create  or be, but growing up with very little has taught me to appreciate it’s value and understand how having none can stifle you. So I work to live and not the other way around but when bills need to be paid and the red on my account turns a threatening dark crimson my primal emotion is anger towards those who have yet again forgotten to pay me what is owed.

So while I wait for the metaphorical penny to drop through my letter-box I do so because I need to pay my rent and not because it makes me happy. But I am sure a new pair of shoes would.