Money News: Mad Hatters
❚ In August, John Lennon’s cowboy hat, worn in the Beatles’ 1965 US tour, fetched £5500 at auction. Can’t Buy Me Love? Maybe not. But money can buy you a lovely hat.
❚ The original tattered fedora worn by Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull sold for £12,300 at a charity auction last year.
❚ U2’s Bono misplaced his hat in London while he was in Italy this summer … so he bought a £1070 plane ticket for some guy to fly and fetch it for him. As you do.
❚ The ‘Chapeau d’Amour’ (hat of love) was created in 2004 and was made using woven platinum and is covered in diamonds. Worth £1.5m, it’s the most expensive hat in the world.
Save Money: Best Deals in London
SNAP UP A CHEAP TIPPLE
Make a drinking friend very happy this Christmas – and save yourself a fortune. Aldi is offering a whopping £250 discount on a 40-year-old luxury Scottish whisky. From December 8, the German supermarket will sell Speyside Single Malt Whisky for £49.99 instead of its usual price of £300. But with only seven bottles per store, you’ll need to be quick.
FIND LOCAL SALES
Use the Local Sale Finder app – free for iPhones – to hunt down bargains on clothes, travel and restaurants in your area. Just punch in the postcode of where you are and away you go. See itunes.apple.com
EAT GREEK
Until 29 December, you can pull off a classy date at The Real Greek restaurants for just £20. Print a voucher at therealgreek.com, take it to a venue of your choice, and you’ll get seven dishes to share between two people, plus a free drink each.
How You Spend It!
Mary Pavlu, 20
Job Online team assistant, Allison At Home
From New York
Lives Kensington
How do you budget?
I give myself a weekly stipend. This helps me to decide if what I’m about to purchase is worth it or not. I usually have money left over at the end of the week, which makes me feel better about splurging on weekend trips.
Any money-saving tips?
Pack a lunch. I always bring a sandwich rather than spending money in a café. It saves me a £25 a week.
Last big blow-out?
My student Oyster card. While £75 isn’t bad for a month of unlimited travel, it’s still a lot on a budget.
What non-essential items do you spend money on?
Winter accessories! I can’t say no to the adorable mittens, scarves, and hats I find at various markets. I guess you could say that I’m pretty anxious for the first snowfall.
