Thinking ahead saves you time and money and maybe more. That old Boy Scout motto really is a good one: "Be Prepared". "Fore-warned is fore-armed" is another good one. They both point to the value of thinking ahead. So here are five of my favourite tips for thinking ahead.

Don't Be Rude: a survey of London taxi drivers showed one rather surprising result. They do not like be shouted at. I don't in anger no one likes that, but they do not like being hailed with an 'Oi!, Taxi!'. One taxi driver said he spoke for many of his mates when asked how they prefer to be hailed. He said: stand where you can be seen and raise a hand. So, if you want a taxi in London don not shout. He also said that he and his fellow drivers consider shouting rude and that they would never stop for someone like that. I wonder how many other cities or countries it applies to.

Divine Inspiration: most people find it hard work to write a book. It is a hard discipline, but one authoress gave this advice to budding authors: never write for less than ten minutes a day. This might sound flippant, but if you try it you will see the wisdom of these words. The fact is, in my experience, that you cannot write for ONLY ten minutes a day. If you WRITE, not think, for at least ten minutes a day, you will get into the swing of an idea and inspiration will flow. Ten minutes will fly past and so will at least thirty minutes. It may stop there, but it might not too.

Going For A Song: if you want something special or expensive and can wait a while, go to your local police station and ask when and where they action off all the stolen, confiscated and unclaimed property. You can pick almost anything sometimes: watches, bicycles, computers, leather coats, all sorts and at a fraction of the cost of a new one.

Upstairs, Downstairs: before guests, visitors or potential purchasers of your house arrive, pour a generous dose of bath essence or bubble bath into the downstairs loo. This will make the cloakroom or second WC smell as nice and fresh as your bathroom. The aroma of the essential oils will permeate the hall.

Dog Owners' Friend: if your dog makes a mess on the carpet, apply soda water liberally and wash the puddle or stain out. Soda water works miracles on getting bodily fluids out of fabric. It takes away the smell too. Therefore, if you are having a guest over who insists on bringing his dog with him, leave a bottle of soda in his room for emergencies and hope that he knows what to do with it. If you want to make sure he knows, you can easily bring it up in conversation or leave a couple of rags or cloths on a tray with the bottle of soda.