Worried about rising mortgage rates?. Fearful of stock market turmoil?

Have no fear. It's time to put your tights in the fridge and hang a dead bird in your garden.

You could try refrigerating your candles -- they will burn more slowly. Or why not read your newspapers online and heal shaving nicks with honey -- it is an antiseptic.

The Penny Pincher's Book Revisited: Living Better For Less offers the perfect way to save money -- and you can even be kind to the environment with the latest edition of the cult British guide.

Penny-pinching is not about being a miserly skinflint but it is a way of life concerned with the world around us, said authors John and Irma Mustoe.

Controlling your money will lessen your demands on the resources of the world, they said.

The couple, whose magazine The Penny Pincher paper won a keen following in Britain and the United States, insisted they were not being 21st century Scrooges just for the sake of it.

The key to happiness is not how much money we earn but how much we spend relative to what we earn, they said of the guide which is being published on September 20.

Their tips range from the practical to the surreal.

The best bird-scarer is free, biodegradable and very quiet, they say.

First obtain a dead bird, then attach one leg to a branch with some string and leave to flap in the breeze. Birds will stay away in droves.

Tights last longer if you keep them in the freezer overnight and candles last longer and drip less if you do the same.

Egg whites make an excellent glue for paper and use sand on your icy paths in winter -- salt can damage the plants and of course sand can be used again and again.

Junk mail can be the bane of many households -- but they suggest turning the envelopes inside out and re-using them.

And one of the most intriguing suggestions is aimed at rumbling tummies -- never go to the supermarket on an empty stomach because hungry shoppers tend to fill their trolleys with expensive sweets and snacks.

United kingdom