The festive party season is supposed to be a time of celebration, but for many, the stress about spending can make these events with friends, family and colleagues something to dread, rather than look forward to.
The festive party season is supposed to be a time of celebration, but for many, the stress about spending can make these events with friends, family and colleagues something to dread, rather than look forward to.
The Black Friday sales have arrived, bringing weeks of discounts in stores and online. All of the hype is designed to tempt us to go on a wild spending spree, but before hitting the shops, always ask yourself: do I need it? Can I afford it? If not, don’t buy it. After all, it’s only a saving if you were going to buy it anyway.
Dolly Alderton’s 2018 memoir about dating in her 20s, Everything I Know About Love, was a runaway bestseller. Critics dubbed her “the millennial Nora Ephron”, the BBC adapted the book for TV and the British author and journalist, known for her Sunday Times advice columns, followed it up with a novel, Ghosts, in 2020. The story of a 30-something woman confronting a date who vanished, it read more like a vehicle for sharing commentary on millennial life than a compelling narrative.
With seven weeks to go until Christmas, now is the time to start planning for the big day. It will be another year of reining it in for many of us as the cost of living crisis persists, with inflated food prices and soaring energy bills continuing to squeeze our festive budgets.