STOP BEFORE YOU BUY ANYMORE STUFF AND READ THIS…

Some clarity at this consumer crazy time of year in this post by Becky from Baby Budgeting 

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Parents can often get themselves in a money pit pickle at Christmas. They love their kids and want them to have the BEST time and so they buy and buy and buy for them.  People want their homes to look nice, the food to be great, everyone to look good, If money is tight this can seem pretty impossible and so we go into debt figuring we have the rest of the year to sort it out. It’s not worth the stress/debt that will come,  one day of magic does not have to cost the earth. Read these 10 tips. I hope they help.

1. Wrap early and write a list of everything you have bought your child and that you know they are getting. This will reassure you they have fab pressies and DO NOT need more.

2. You haven't visited Santa? Hold onto your money and visit HERE

3. Not sent your Christmas  cards don’t buy any visit HERE

4. Need a fab table decoration but don’t want to spend money. Here's a beauty

5. Find out what’s on for free over the next few weeks, christingle, nativity plays, craft fir kids at a Christmas fayre and plan your diary. Free and much more festive than soft play!

6. Rich food just makes you and your kids hyper…don’t buy lots of chocolate and sweets. Just a few and RATION them for all your sakes

7. Forgot a pressie? Need some standbys, Don’t panic and buy something expensive, instead grab some hot chocolate packs, batch make these gorgeous choccy spoons and have them on standby.

8. Christmas is about faith, tradition , family not just STUFF so pack your home with reindeer dust , visits to those you love and some carols, storytelling and a Rudolph inspired disco. Plan these into your diary and you will look back on this Christmas and these are things you will remember not the STUFF you bought. One of my kids favourite things is to drive around in the dark and go ooooooooh at all the lights!

9. Dried sliced oranges and some cinnamon sticks make your house smell lovely just add a quick decutter too and it will look brilliant, Get  the best plates out,  Super ironing and hanging yours and the children's best clothes can make them feel pretty special too. Make the best of what you have, there is no need to shop for that feeling you can create it.

10. Breathe, relax  Christmas is for you too mum. Long baths, your music for once, everyone together. Let yourself off the hook. YOU have done a great job.

Oh and if someone invites your family for Christmas dinner...Say YES! It will save you tons of stress (effort, energy and money!)

Have a good one xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

How to say ‘no I can’t afford that’ – to your family & friends

In this post from Becky at Baby Budgeting, shares her tips on how to say 'no', and especially how to handle the situation with your friends and peers when you simply can't afford to do what's 'expected'.

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Being upfront (How to say no I can’t afford it !)

My personal view with family and friends is to be upfront about what you can and can’t afford wherever you feel okay to do so. If you have a partner encourage them to talk to their family and fireinds too. If you can have that uncomfortable conversation about how now you have a little one your funds are limited and you aren’t going to be able to spend money like you used to that will make a big difference. Once it’s said its out there and smaller gifts, refusals for meals out et. will /should be met with understanding.

Offering alternatives 

Not buying gifts at all or never socialising can make others feel uncared about. Money is not the spice of liffe thought is..so passing on an appropriate book you have read as a gift or a bunch of flowers from your garden can mean a great deal. Inviting friends to yours for  a big pot of soup after a winter walk is lovely and costs no where near the same as a night out. Pop your thinking cap on…doing something is always better received than doing nothing,

When you can’t say….. 

If the friendship is too new or lacks the depth necessary for you to be able to say you are skint then stock up on excuses and make sure they aren’t time linited.

e.g  If your answer to an invite out is ‘I am busy that day’ it  will just result in another day being offered. Instead say ‘Oh I much prefer to cook myself and invite everyoine to yours, making a course each.

e.g Instead of saying that the swimming course  was full when you tried to enrol your child  say something like we are currently thinking we’d prefer to teach her ourselves.

eg Rather than aplologising for your gift to them saying it’ll be bigger next time  state proudly that you have put lots of thought into this gift and you truly hope they like it.

Good luck! and please remember if someone falls out with you because you have little money they were probaly never worth your energy in the first place..

Image copyright: sweetandsimplestyle

Summer Holidays on a Budget.

Summer Holiday – (Summer Holleedai) English, meaning time of year that causes widespread panic, over commitment on credit and general feeling of skintness.

Vacations are being bypassed for staycations for many Britons, with more families especially choosing to holiday in the UK rather than travel abroad. The main motivation for this is cost! Whether you go abroad or stay at home, holidays can be costly unless you are savvy about it. We took a short family break recently, used no credit and thoroughly enjoyed it knowing that we wouldn’t be returning home to anxiously wait for payday to come around again. And here is how....

We promised our 5yr old a trip to Thomasland (Drayton Manor) in Staffordshire.

Drayton Manor itself can be expensive (understatement of the year perhaps) at *£89 for two adults and a child over 2yrs for one day. We used Tesco Clubcard vouchers to book Drayton Manor tickets. £11 in vouchers bought one day entry, so for £33 of vouchers we all got in. Cash cost... £0.

Accommodation. Yes we could have camped but I just don’t do camping. Instead we booked a family room at Tamworth Travelodge (6m from Drayton Manor) for £57 in the January sale. A family room gave us a double bed, a double sofa bed (for Kieran which we didn’t have to pull out as it was fine as a single), and room for a travel cot. We had our own TV (with freeview which means Cbeebies for kids while Mums and Dads wake up properly), kettle etc and our own bathroom with bath/shower etc.

Food. We took all of Taylor’s milk / food etc so it was food for three. Two mornings we ate at nearby Sainsbury’s in the cafe (clean, family friendly). £10.57 for 2 BIG breakfasts, pots of tea and coffee and porridge, fruit and a drink for Kieran. The third morning we had “brekky in a bag” from the Travelodge, juice, cereal & milk, a muffin, and a croissant with jam etc, this was £13.50 for the three of us. More expensive than a cooked breakfast but by then it was throwing it down with rain and we wanted the convenience of eating and leaving. Lunches were bought in Sainsbury with the meal deal 3 for £3, a roll/wrap or sandwich, a packet of crisps (many varieties) or a fruit pack and a drink. We each had one of these on the two days we ate lunch so £18 total. Drinks we took with us everywhere as buying inside attractions bumped costs up and ice creams were bought on the way back from places at garages etc. These miscellaneous food costs amounted to approx £15 for the whole holiday. Our main meals (cringe) were at Burger King (which I won’t visit again but that is another story for another post!) and good old McDonalds and cost a grand total of £35.

Food/Drink/Misc  total... £102

Petrol from North Yorkshire to Derby (and back) and driving about... £50 (Be careful where you fill up, motorway service stations all seems to be hideously more expensive fuel-wise than supermarkets or those further way from the main road).

Entrance into a children’s farm (a full day’s entertainment, Punch and Judy show, food for animals etc)... £16.

The whole holiday, rounded to the nearest pound was £235.

This was our first holiday as a family of four and next year we plan to do something similar, but work to reduce the main cost, which is obviously food! How much we actually spent was cringe-worthy but it was convenience,  and worth it!

Bearing in mind that I made a huge saving on the Drayton Manor tickets, the accommodation was booked in January in the sale (And paid for with money left over and put aside from our Christmas budget) and the majority of the food and petrol was paid for with money put aside since January in money pots and the like.... I think we did pretty well!

Have you got any holiday budget tips to share? Any great ways to cut costs more so people can enjoy their hols without the financial burden? I’d love to hear them if you do, next summer will soon come around again!

*Prices correct when we decided on this holiday

Nicki Cawood, Freelance Writer and Blogger at Curly&Candid

Holiday Make Up Tips

Even when you are on holiday, make up is an essential for most women, but you don't really want to be packing your whole make up bag. So here are a few tips on the essential items you need to include in your case.

• Keep it simple. You will still need to remove your make up and other impurities from your days on the beach so rather than taking your whole range of skin care products with you, buy good quality cleansing wipes and a great all round moisturiser which contains an SPF rating.

• Feel like going to the beach without any make up on but want a bit more than just a moisturiser? The why not invest in a good quality primer. Most primers have light deflecting particles to help deflect the light from imperfections and dark circles. They also tend to have sun block in as well.

• Less is more on holiday. If you want to wear make up during the day, use a tinted moisturiser as opposed to a foundation. It is lightweight yet still provides a great coverage.

• Bronzer's are also a great product to pack for holidays. There rich tones help to enhance your tan and can also double up as an eye shadow. Buy a baked bronzer instead of the balls, less messy and last longer.

• Lip glosses are nice and light and add a hint of glamour to your low key holiday make up. 

So you only really need a couple of key items to take away with you to create some wonderful natural looks great for the beach or a night out!

By Kizzy 

Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How To Wear This Seasons Blazer on a Budget

Despite what you may think the blazer still has its place as an important staple item this season. Blazers are all over the High Street in every colour from black to rust and in all shapes and sizes from boyfriend to cropped. 

There is however no reason to run out and buy one! For those of you that have a blazer tucked away in the back of your wadrobe, think about reworking it, rolling up the sleeves or changing its colour. I recently dyed an old cream linen jacket to a deep rust/terracotta colour and rolled up its sleeves. It's given it a whole new lease of life. Also try hunting around your local charity shops for a blazer you can restyle at a fraction of the cost, even a plain black one can be worn with all this seasons hottest looks.

Here are some ideas using both High Street and Vintage.

Colour Pop Tribal

Rubber Food Shopping

Nicki from Curly and Candid shares her top tips on stretching the family food budget.

I promise I don’t actually feed my family on rubber, I do however know how to make my budget stretch.  I give myself a budget of £80 a week for shopping for four of us (and can usually stick to it). This includes any cleaning materials, toiletries etc.  Some people who are savvy shoppers and used to a tight budget will be nodding and know this is perfectly achievable. Others may be shaking their head and wondering how on earth they could manage on such a measly sum. Each to their own, but it is most definitely possible. And this is how...

Guest Post - Beware: Mum on a Budget by Paula Dallison

Since becoming a single mum my income has reduced significantly and I’ve had to look at ways to stretch my money and make savings across the board.

To get right back to basics, I started carrying around a small notebook and for a couple of weeks I wrote down every single thing I bought (trust me you won’t want to do it for longer: it’s useful but so dull). I included parking, newspapers, bottles of water - the lot. It really highlighted how much money I wasted.  I set myself a daily budget. Again, I didn’t need to do this for long because the principle stayed with me once I switched to budgeting on a monthly basis.

I noticed I was spending too much on food by going to the shops every other day. Now, I plan the week’s menus in advance and get the shopping delivered once a week. I can check straight away if I have run out of something rather than chuck it in the basket ‘just in case’ only to get home and find I already have eight tins of baked beans that were on special two weeks ago. The savings far outweigh the delivery charge and I try to stick to the least popular slots which are half the price.

My biggest money saving success has been to get the shopping delivered the day after I think I have run out of everything. Because I never have completely run out of everything. That way the tin of pilchards at the back of the cupboard gets thrown into some pasta with some sweet corn that was lurking at the bottom of the freezer… hey presto, cheap meal. OK, I admit that sounds disgusting, but you get the idea. The kids are miraculously fine with the ‘gross’ stuff at the bottom of the treats basket for lunch boxes without other options and the last few slices of bread get used up for toast. Of course, never follow this policy for loo roll, nappies and toothpaste (or tea bags!) but for most other things it works surprisingly well.

Now I admit I hate shopping. I avoid it at all cost and do as much as I possibly can on-line. However, if I do have to venture out I start to feel an overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction and begin to wish I had that duvet cover, or those earrings, or think that the kids would love those sparkly shoes…. and I invariably come home with something. As the saying goes: What the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over. So my final money saving revelation has been simply this: don’t go anywhere near the shops!

Paula blogs at I've got a drill and I'm not afraid to use it! 

This is what she says about herself: 

I've got more heads than Wurzel Gummidge (and equally badly behaved hair). My day job is an account director in an ad agency, I'm a freelance writer and a trained clinical hypnotherapist (please, please, no 'look into my eyes, not around...' jokes). I live with my two gorgeous children and two ageing moggies and hate asking for help with anything!

Image: Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Halloween On A Budget

Halloween seems to get more and more popular in the UK every year and when something becomes popular it can start to get expensive.

Here are my tips on how to have Halloween on a budget:-

Don’t buy expensive costumes have some fun with face paints instead. You can have any scary design that you want then. Facepaintdesigns.co.uk has some step by step guides and videos on how to create your spooky design. The best deal I’ve found on face paints is Wilkinson’s Face Painting Kit for £2.50!! 

Make your own Halloween mask. You make one using a paper plate or cut out the shape from a cereal box, decorate anyway you like and secure with some string or elastic. Alternatively print off some readymade masks and colour them in, I found some great ones on Womansday.com.

Making Halloween crafts are a great way to while away the afternoon.  Make some spooky paper chains to decorate the house or collect some conkers and make conker monsters. 

Get younger children to colour in Halloween pictures, you can find free colouring sheets online. I find these for you (I know I’m too good to you), Colouring.ws, coloringpages.net , raisingourkids.com and freecoloringpages.com .

Get cooking, make some Halloween inspired food together and have a little tea party. Why not try Cherished By Me’s Butternut Squash Muffins, or these recipes on using up your Halloween Pumpkin on Savings Advice  or these amazing recipes on Je Cook or even these Spooky Spider Cakes

If you want something really low key, they my favourite thing to do is snuggle on the sofa, with popcorn and a hot chocolate and watch a spooky family move.  I’ve found some on Amazon super cheap. Casper the Friendly Ghost is £2.99, Witches is also £2.99 and my personal favourite Hocus Pocus is £3.43 and they all have free P&P.

If you have any other tips or posts to share please do. I’ve got a linky below for you to add your posts.  

NM X