Save £1000 in a day!

As always happens around this time of the year newspapers and magazines are full of ways to save money so I thought I would have a go.

1.  Apparently if you have more bedrooms than people in a house, then you can save with a water meter.

My current annual water bill is £320, according to the Water Meter Calculator my annual water usage would cost £221.

£99 saved.

Total: £99 saved.

2.  You can claim a tax rebate if you wear a uniform which you are responsible for washing/laundering yourself.

I do not wear a uniform.

£0 saved.

Total: £99 saved.

3.  Check that you are receiving the correct child benefits.

I have no children.

£0 saved.

Total: £99 saved.

4.  Earn £125 by switching banks

Due to my credit score (which I am working hard to improve) I am currently unable to change banks.

£0 saved.

Total: £99 saved.

5.  Check that you are on the best energy tariff.

I check my tariffs every year and move as necessary.

£0 saved.

Total: £99 saved

6.  Analyse your budget.  Are you spending more than you earn?

I don't have a credit card, neither do I have an overdraft, therefore, if I haven't got it, I can't spend it!

£0 saved.

Total: £99 saved.

7.  Sign up for free monthly tea and cake at John Lewis, or a free daily coffee at Waitrose.

I have neither John Lewis nor Waitrose locally.

£0 saved.

Total: £99 saved.

8.  Haggle down other utilities.

I phoned Virgin last year and said I was cancelling, I had £5 a month knocked off my bill.  Unfortunately this has been wiped out by the annual price increase.

£0 saved.

Total: £99 saved.

9.  Reclaim mis-sold PPI.

I have never been mis-sold PPI, I have always fully understood it and refused it if I felt it was not necessary.

£0 saved.

Total: £99 saved.

10.  Check around for better mortgage deals.

I do not have a mortgage, the house is fully paid off.

£0 saved.

Total: £99 saved.

11.  Check around for a better car insurance deal.

I do not have a car.

£0 saved.

Total: £99 saved.

12.  Check around for a better credit card deal.

I do not have a credit card.

£0 saved.

Total: £99 saved.

So whilst £99 is a good start, it is far, far short of the £1000 predicted, and frankly, by the time I have taken a day's annual leave to have the meter fitted, I am not going to be making a saving.

Has anyone else tried to save £1000 in a day?

Recurring Dreams, are they trying to tell us something?

I have three recurring dreams, (1) the dream is the same every time, with just a few more details added each time; (2) a different dream each time but set in the same buildings, I have no idea where these buildings are, or even if they exist, I do not recognise them and (3) the dream is different every time, as is the location, but the same man appears in all of them, again I have no idea who he is or if he is real.

Dream No. 1 - This dream is initially set in offices, the initial office is a long rectangle with dark blue carpet.  There are metal shelving units along one wide, all containing electric equipment.  I notice water running down the wall behind the units and dripping onto the electrical equipment.  The end unit is empty apart from a roll of dark blue quilted material which I drape over the equipment and head upstairs to find the cause of the leak.  It is a huge fish tank in the office above.  Then I wake up.

Since the initial dream, the room has changed to more of an hotel room, still long and rectangular with the dark blue carpets, the metal shelving and the electrical equipment, but now with a bathroom added.  Later still, the bath is running and overflowing.

In the dream I am either the person whose room it is and I am trying to deal with the leak and sometimes I seem to be an invisible bystander.  Occasionally a big dog runs into the bathroom and starts drinking out of the bath.

Dream No. 2 - This dream changes every time, but is set in the same location.  It is a large mall type building with a garage attached, a car repair garage rather than a parking garage.  It is set in a large grassed area which looks like an abandoned industrial estate.  There is a single lane in from the nearest road and you exit via a single lane to the opposite direction.  There is a row of houses by the entry to the inwards lane, and their cars are parked opposite to them.  The dreams are too many to mention here, but no two have been the same.

Dream No. 3 - Again, this dream is different every time, it is also set in different locations every time too.  The only constant is a man that appears each time.  He is tall, with long hair tied back in a ponytail, and wears black jeans, boots, a long leather coat and a leather hat, not a cowboy hat, more flat crowned than that, something I would consider an Australian Outback hat.  I always got the impression that he was younger than me.  

In the last dream we actually spoke, and it turns out he is a couple of years older than me and originally from New Zealand.  We talked and we hugged.  Then I woke up.

Do any of these dreams mean anything?  I've never had a recurring dream before.