... and here’s how they got on with their plans for this year
Jeff Prestridge: WALK, CYCLE AND RUN
LAST year, I vowed I would use my legs rather than public transport to get around the City of London. I have been true to my word most of the time – and saved a small fortune in the process.
Over the long hot summer I was walking, cycling and running to work most days (often done as a minitriathlon). But as the nights have drawn in and good books have required to be read (Clare Empson’s Him, Belinda Bauer’s Snap and Sarah Vaughan’s Anatomy of a Scandal), I have found myself travelling to work on public transport.
One concession to good health is that I always get off the underground one stop after I should do – and then walk back.
My health kick has reaped financial reward but it has not all been a one-way ticket to saving money.
As a result of using my legs, my car (a beautiful Mazda MX-5) has ended up asleep in the garage. Two flat batteries have had to be replaced.
Sally Hamilton: TOP UP MY PENSION AND EXERCISE
LET’S start with a small pat on the back. I managed to make some progress on topping up my pension as promised a year ago. OK, not by quite as much as I had hoped, but every little helps.
As for my running resolution – my bid to get fit for less – this sadly failed to get off the starting block.
A dodgy ankle was partly to blame, but I did manage to put my running shoes to good use by wearing them for walking. I endeavoured to achieve the 10,000 daily step target – not always met – which meant the running shoes (sorry, walking shoes) were well worn by the end of the year.
Laura Shannon: SWITCH TV, PHONE AND BROADBAND BUNDLE
THUMBS-UP when it comes to acting on last year’s New Year’s resolution. A year ago, I was overpaying a small fortune for my Sky broadband, phone and TV package.
I had become a victim of the ‘loyalty penalty’ – where existing customers heavily subsidise the discounts offered to shiny new ones. It has happened before to a lesser degree, but husband Rob and I usually make a change before too long.
This time we had been side-tracked by our bonnie little baby and we let the contract roll on.
But no more. The baby has become a walking, talking toddler and it was time to trim the fat.
A couple of months ago we made the call to Sky and made it abundantly clear we were ready to leave. We have tried to escape the company’s clutches on numerous occasions over the past decade only to be sucked back in by the offer of a better deal. This time was no different and we stayed. But the result of this exercise means we are £360 a year better off. Yippee.
Toby Walne: GET THE CAR IN TIP TOP WORKING ORDER
MY idea a year ago was to renovate my Sunbeam Alpine, half a century old. Yes, I did end up spending a fortune – but this was just to keep it on the road.
At least £3,500 of my hard-earned money was sunk into the rust bucket following a breakdown while working on a job near Oxford over the summer. A new clutch required the engine to be taken out and some transmission components to be replaced.
To get it through an MOT – not a legal requirement for an old motor but a good idea to avoid it becoming a death trap – expensive welding was required to beef up the chassis. Enough is enough. No more. Goodbye to my beloved Sunbeam Alpine.