How much do you spend in the summer compared to the winter? This is a question that’s been on my mind this week as DJ and I go through our summer finances.

DJ raised the issue the other day when we were tucking into lunch outside in the sunshine. He pointed out that we’ve been eating a lot of home grown food recently – cucumbers, salads, peas, broccoli and potatoes from the garden – and that it has probably made a difference to our food bill. Certainly, we haven’t had to buy as much fresh veg from the supermarket over the past few weeks as we might in the winter months. We’ve been doing our best to anticipate what might be ready to eat in the garden, or otherwise, and planning ahead to ensure we use it all up. For example, we’ve been swamped with eggs over the past week as on top of the produce courtesy of our own hens, Molly and Lexi, we’ve also been looking after four hens which belong to our neighbour while she’s on holiday. An average of five eggs a day (somebody next door isn’t laying at the moment but I’m not sure who) isn’t easy to cope with! But on Sunday DJ used up a good few by making a broccoli, bacon and pea quiche, which was delicious.

However, in the summer heat we’ll no doubt be using more water than we do in the winter months, especially as we have lots of tomatoes in grow bags, although we’re making good use of our water butts too. Hopefully we won’t be spending as much on our gas and electricity bills as we would do in the winter because the weather is so warm and it gets darker later. But then again, it’s tempting to reach for the electric fan when it gets too hot indoors.

The garden is such a pleasant place to be that we’re less likely to need to sit indoors with the lights on watching TV or going out in search of entertainment. In fact, the thought of going anywhere or doing much at all in this heat is pretty unappealing. That should also mean that we’re less likely to want to hit the high street and spend up a storm – just think how uncomfortable it will be trying on clothes in a hot, sticky changing room. Just as bad weather can have an adverse effect on sales at the retailers, so can very hot weather, although, that said, I am struggling to find enough lightweight summer clothes to wear.

But, then again, the summer isn’t without its expenses. Many people will still be going on some sort of holiday this year, even if it’s a short break in the UK or a so-called ‘staycation’ which can easily involve spending just as much entertaining yourself at home as you might do on a week abroad somewhere. If you have kids, you’ll be paying for activities to keep them busy during the forthcoming school holidays or paying for childcare while you work.

Then there’s the outlay on sun cream which, if you’re pale-skinned like me, can lead to spending up to £8 or £10 a bottle on the stuff. And while we might not buy as much on food as we do in the winter because the hot weather may take the edge off our appetite, we’ll be tempted to splash out on ice creams and cold drinks to cool us down.

What are your seasonal spending patterns? Do you think you spend less money in the summer than the winter, or with the summer holidays does it work out much the same? Leave a message and let me know.

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Like many people, I was shocked to hear of Michael Jackson’s death last week. Whatever the question marks over his conduct and personal life, I grew up in the 1980s and his music was a big part of my childhood. Thriller and Billie Jean were some of my favourite records from those days and I was furious when my beloved Bad album, which I usually had turned up loud on my Walkman as a teenager, mysteriously disappeared. I’d lent it to my French penpal who was staying with us at the time. When she returned home to France, I wrote her a letter asking if it had ended up in her suitcase ‘accidentally’. I was mortified when she wrote back in perfect English, denying that she had the cassette and correcting my appalling French. But I digress.

Watching some of the old pop videos again on TV over the weekend, it’s amazing to realise just how many hits Michael and the Jackson Five made over the years. Which is why it’s equally horrifying to think of the debts he is thought to have racked up – rumoured to be as much as $500m. It’s difficult to understand how somebody with Jackson’s earning power and back catalogue could manage to squander his fortune so spectacularly - especially as he was once the astute businessman who beat Paul McCartney to secure rights to the Beatles’ back catalogue.

Many of us might feel that if only we had X amount of cash in the bank, we would never have to worry about money again. But it’s never as simple as that. You have to know how to look after it and how to live within your means. It’s always fascinated me that no matter how much individuals or companies might accumulate over the years, they can still work their way through it if they don’t manage their money carefully. Someone like Michael Jackson should have been set up for life, but spending sprees and paying out for money-draining items such as lawsuits, security and huge entourages can quickly leave finances depleted. Britney Spears’ annual budget was recently made public, following a court report on her finances, and revealed that last year she spent $10m of the $12m she earned, including £2m on lawyers, $406,000 on her security detail and $400,000 on childcare and staffing. She will probably have to keep working just to maintain her financial status quo.

Other stars have lost millions not just because of their failure to be frugal, but because they have fallen prey to shady associates with their hands in the till. Courtney Love believes she has been conned out of millions of Kurt Cobain’s cash and property and has launched a number of civil cases to get the money back.

But some stars, at least, have frugal instincts. Spiderman actor Toby Maguire has reportedly told journalists that he is careful with his money because his parents had little cash when he was growing up, Paul McCartney famously sent his children to local state schools rather than private schools and Halle Berry is said to be keen on saving in case the fame train crashes and there are lean times ahead.

What would you do with your cash if you became rich and famous? Would you become a big spender because life is too short, or would you maintain a frugal lifestyle in case you lost it all? Leave a message and let me know.

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Although I do my best to save as much money as possible in the different areas of my life now, especially as cash has been tight this year, I still have some weak spots. One of them is for cut flowers. As soon as I walk into a supermarket and see the beautiful bouquets on display – usually near the front of the store – my resolve to stick to my shopping list weakens and I find myself drooling over the pretty blooms.

I do limit myself to buying cheap bunches and try to purchase things that last a couple of weeks, like cheery chrysanthemums, but it still adds up. And thinking about it now, cut flowers seem like a particularly frivolous purchase really, considering that all they do is die off. But while I’ll cheerfully do without other things, like new clothes, I don’t want to do without flowers around our home. They look so beautiful around the place and they never fail to cheer me up. I’ve tried using dried flowers but somehow it’s not the same as having fresh ones.

So this year to save money, DJ came up with a great solution. He decided to build us a cut flower growing plot in the back garden, specifically for filling up the vases in the house. I like to keep a vase in the lounge, a small one in our bedroom and occasionally a tiny one in the bathroom when we have visitors round, although I try to make one bunch of flowers from the supermarket cater for all three.

I was a bit dubious at first. DJ admits to being a vegetable grower first and foremost and not really seeing ‘the point’ of flowers as, unlike veg, like don’t do anything but look pretty. But he got a book by Gardener’s World presenter Sarah Raven out of the library about how to plan your plot and really did his research. Now the plot is coming into its own and he has made some beautiful displays already using the salvias, calendulas, rubekias and bishop’s flowers. The flowers are chosen for their ‘cut and come again’ qualities, so the more you cut them, the more they keep going. And I’m already impressed.

I’m curious to see how long the flowers will last once they’re cut and in a vase, though. The thing with supermarket chrysanthemums and carnations is that they seem to last for ages. Often I’ll cut flowers or herbs from the garden to make up a homemade arrangement but find they’ll only last a few days. However, apparently there are a number of tricks and techniques to keep cut flowers going for longer:

- Cut your flowers and then leave them in a darkened room in water to recover before using them.

- Burn the ends of the flower stems which exude sap with a lighted match.

- Trim the foliage below the water line to prevent it rotting.

- Change the water in the vase regularly to keep them fresh.

- Put sugar in the water to feed the flowers.

- Use lukewarm water for flowers and cold water only for bulbs.

- Try putting a drop of bleach into the water or a penny to prevent bacterial nasties from growing in it.

- Never put daffodils in a vase with anything else as the other flowers will die off because they produce a toxic compound.

- Keep your flowers away from direct sunlight and don’t leave them in a draught.

Got any tips for keeping cut flowers fresh? Have you come across some good cut flower bargains or a particular variety which is long lasting? Leave a message and let me know.

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Money may be tight for many of us this year, but we’ll still want to toast the holiday season by enjoying a refreshing beer or a glass of wine in the summer sun. Beyond the cut price deals in the supermarkets and off-licences, one solution is to make your own.

A friend of ours used to work for a wine company and very kindly got us some fantastic deals via the staff sales – around £1 a bottle for a while. It was great while it lasted, but now he has moved jobs and our wine cellar is looking pretty thin. So this weekend DJ, a keen homebrew enthusiast, decided to get stuck into bottling some wine he made a couple of years ago, brewing some beer and planning to get some more vino on the go for the coming years.

Brewing your own beer and wine may sound a bit too much like hard work but, believe me, it’s great fun and the thought of all the money you’ll save will soon put a smile on your face. You can make decent beer in the comfort of your own home for 30p a pint or less. And, what’s more, the quality of many homemade beer and wine kits have improved considerably over the past few years and they don’t have to taste like Chateau Neuf du Paint Stripper. Actually, DJ’s apricot wine is just as good, if not better, than some white wines I have tasted from the off-licence.

Beer can generally be made much quicker than wine and will be ready in a few weeks. Wine made from items such as freshly picked or tinned fruit can take much longer to be ready – a year or more. However, rice and raisin wine is a popular beginner’s wine which takes six to eight weeks to make and some modern wine kits can be ready in a couple of weeks, although the longer you leave them to mature, the better they will taste.

To make beer you’ll need a brewing barrel, beer bottles or keg, beer kit, paddle, hydrometer yeast, siphon, sugar, bottle caps and sterilisation powder. A beginner’s kit will set you back about £20, but all of the items you will reuse. For wine you’ll also need some demijohns – large glass containers which hold around five bottles’ worth of wine – and some bottles, airlocks and corks too. Obviously there’s an initial outlay for the equipment, although you will of course be able to use it again and again. To get his demijohns, DJ contacted some local charity shops. They often get demijohns but tend to recycle them because they take up so much room. When they got some in they gave DJ a call and we came and collected them. I think he paid about 50p each. Alternatively, you could put out a request for them on your local freecycle group.

Make sure you take care to sterilise your brewing barrel and bottles etc. carefully. It’s a bit of a drag, but you don’t want your beer or wine to be contaminated. Earlier this year we put some beer on but didn’t take enough care over cleaning the barrel and ended up having to throw the whole lot away.

Have you made your own beer and wine? Got any good tips or recipes to recommend? Leave a message and let me know.

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I was shocked to see an item on The One Show the other night about scam artists deliberately targeting older people. This wasn’t some hi-tech internet scam but very much an old economy one. Somebody would receive a letter through the post (remember that?) telling them that they had won a prize, but to get their hands on the money they would have to pay an upfront fee. Now, savvy users of this blog will know to throw these letters into the shredder, but many elderly recipients take them at face value and have lost tens of thousands as a result.

I was taken aback. These scams were appalling – elderly and vulnerable people were deluged with up to 30 letters a day from con artists all over the world once they’d replied to the first letter, yet were almost addicted to responding and sending off the fees, believing that eventually some day they would win the money. But, if I’m honest with you, it wasn’t simply that fact that shocked me. I have no idea why, but it made me realise I have been labouring under the illusion that older people are more frugal and canny with their money than other generations. In reality I’m sure that this is a completely inaccurate and prejudiced view, but I suppose it’s because of the idea that many of our elderly relatives lived through the war years and learned to make do and mend.

My generation are the spendthrifts, or so I was told. Surely it’s us that have been corrupted by the availability of credit - as many credit cards as you like and endless marketing letters from banks suggesting we take out humungous loans to ‘treat ourselves’? Some of my friends took advantage of these loans and now owe thousands of pounds which they may never be able to pay back. Strangely enough, I haven’t received one of those letters for a while. It’s funny the difference a recession can make to your correspondence.

In contrast, my grandmother never threw anything away and could somehow make a roast chicken generate meals for six people for an entire week. My mother, her daughter, hates owing money to anybody and has inherited the frugal gene, too. It’s her I have to thank for my ingrained habits of filling the shampoo and washing up liquid bottles with water when they’ve finished but there’s still that annoying bit left at the bottom. Nature tells me I can’t be bothered and should just recycle them, but nurture insists I have to get that last bit of detergent out if it kills me.

But does age or experience in fact have anything to do with how frugal we are as individuals? Is it learned behaviour or instinct? While my grandmother was thrifty, my grandfather was not in the least. Even when he was in his eighties, he believed that the whole point of the existence of overdrafts was to have one and use it. Maybe you could try to argue, then, that frugality is a gender issue – that because women ran the home and had to manage the shopping budget they had a keener grasp of the household finances, but I think this would be wildly inaccurate too. I know plenty of women and men who are hopeless at managing their money and others of both sexes who are extremely capable.

Perhaps, then, it’s down to our own life experiences and the subsequent attitudes we form towards money. It’s possible that the experience of making do during the war years could have had the opposite effect on some people in the long term and made them crave luxury. They might have dreamt for years of a letter dropping through the door informing them that they’d won millions and thought that, at last, that moment had arrived, not realising that some evil scammer somewhere was simply trying to steal from them.

Do you think age has any bearing on how we manage our money? Are older people thriftier or do you think younger people are more aware of the best deals available on the internet, for example? Leave a message and let me know.

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