​BIG NEWS! I bought some tights! I hear you asking, what is she on about, how is this big news? Well, I don't wear tights as I don't wear skirts or dresses, I live in jeans and trousers.

So Why did I Buy Them?

I bought them because they were supposed to be really comfortable fitting tights which didn't keep falling down. I wanted to try them to see if that was true and thought ooo, I might get some skirts to go with them! I completely gave in to the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO), everyone else was trying them therefore I needed to or I was missing out. Amazing marketing by the tight company convinced me I needed them!

What Happened Next?

For lots I am sure these tights have been fabulous.

For me I wouldn't know if they are fabulous or not as they are still beautifully wrapped in the tissue paper that they were packaged in!! I have had these tights for around 9 months and still not opened them properly or worn them, or bought skirts to go with them!! What was i thinking?

For me they were a complete waste of money as I had bought something I did not need and I will probably never use. But a valuable lesson learnt, or more likely a reminder as I am sure I have bought many things in the past which I did not need or use!

Want versus Need Money Mindset

So from now on I think about the tights and I ask myself some questions. Do I need the thing? Will I use the thing? Am I buying the thing just because of Fear Of Missing Out?

Getting a handle on whether you actually need something, or whether you just want it will save you lots of money! In the case of the tights I wanted them, but I definitely did not need them!

For more money saving tips visit some more of my blogs:
50 Money saving Tips at Your Finger Tips
My Top 10 Ways to Save Energy
Saving Money on Food Bills

You can also join my mailing list here:

Can you relate? What have you bought recently which you clearly did not need? I would love to hear your stories!

​Love Teresa xx

This is what I have been working on! My new Ebook, stuffed full of money saving tips all gathered together in one place for you. You can buy it now for just £1.99!

As well as 50 money saving tips it also includes a weekly meal planner and monthly budget planner which you can print as many time as you like!

Follow the link 'Buy Now' if you would like to buy and once you have purchased click on the link 'return to merchant' to get instant access to the Ebook which you can then save, and print as well if you like. I will also email you a copy.

For you FREE money saving tips direct to your inbox join my mailing list!

I hope you find some useful things there to help you. I would love to hear about your money saving journey!

​Love Teresa xx

Buying second hand or pre-loved items has always been a great way to save money, so I had to include it in my money saving blog section! We can save money and help the environment by re-using what we can.  Some examples of things I have bought pre-loved in the past include children's clothes, children's toys, furniture, shoes, books, jigsaw puzzles, games and of course my car! Most recently I bought a bike for my daughter's birthday. Second hand yes, but virtually no wear on the tyres! Saving about £60 compared to buying a new bike. At the age she is, she is still learning to ride a bike and growing so fast that it is likely to only last her a couple of years, so why buy new?!
​
​Why Buy Pre-Loved?

• it will save you money
• it is better for the environment
• often things have a lot of use left but get thrown away
• you might only need the item for a short period of time, so why buy new?

Re-using items is helping the environment too, preventing things being sent to landfill and reducing the amount of items needing to be produced as you will be buying fewer new items. As much as possible when I have finished with things I sell them or pass them on for free to someone who can make use of them and get more wear out of them.

Where to buy from?

• Facebook selling pages
• Ebay / Shpock / Gumtree
• Children's pre-loved markets for example Little Monsters Preloved and Little Pickles Markets
• Car boot sales
• Charity shops

​These are also great places to sell your unwanted items to make a little cash! Or to donate your items too.

For more money saving tips visit my other money saving blogs. Including 5 Quick Ways to Save money.

For options to make money visit 'How I Earn' and also see my blog for 5 ways to Bring in Some Extra Money.

Love Teresa xx

Here are my top 10 ways to save money by reducing your energy consumption. Great for you as you save money and great for the environment too!

​Please note I am not an expert, these are just some of my thoughts and ideas!

1. Turn it Off

If you aren't using it turn it off! Lights, the TV, computer etc. Don't leave things on standby as they are still using electricity.

2. Turn it Down

Turning down your heating by just 1 degree will save you money. How about your washing machine? Can you wash at a lower temperature? And only boil the kettle with the water you are going to use! All these little things add up to help to keep your energy usage and costs down.

​6. LED Bulbs

LED bulbs use less energy, have a longer lifespan and are more efficient than other bulbs. They are also brighter than traditional energy saving bulbs. To learn more about LEDs, here are the links to two articles: 
Climate change: LED lights making dent in UK energy demand
LED Lighting

Utility Warehouse customers can qualify for free LED bulbs for life, contact me if you would like to find out more.

7. Only Heat the Rooms you Use

If you live in a large house and struggle to afford to heat it, then turn down or turn off the heat in the rooms you aren't using. Just heat the parts of the house that you are using.

8. Insulation

If you are a homeowner and aren't planning on moving for a while, invest in some extra loft insulation, to prevent the heat escaping through your roof.

9. Double Glazed Windows

Again for the homeowners. If you don't currently have double glazed windows, then consider investing in them. If you have double glazed windows check they are in good order to ensure they are still keeping heat in well. Although they are more expensive, triple glazed windows are also an option available.

10. Solar Panels

And finally for homeowners, consider having solar panels installed. Once installed these will generate green energy from sunlight to power your appliances. This will reduce your energy bills, but you will obviously have to pay for the installation. More information on solar panels can be found here.

I hope you have found something here that can help you. Click the button to join my monthly email newsletter with money saving tips sent straight to your inbox! 

Love Teresa xx

A great money saving tip, as many people will tell you, is to set yourself a monthly household budget and stick to it! Most people think that sticking to the budget is the hard bit, but actually I think setting the budget in the first place is harder. Let me tell you why.

Budgeting

​Budgeting is a difficult process, it makes you look at all the income and expenses you have, and if the expenses are more than the income it can bring home to you that you will have to do something about the situation! This may mean cutting back on some of the things you love in order to reduce expenses. Or it could mean you have to find a way to bring in more money. These are often hard decisions to make.

If you are forced to face up to having more expenses than income, it can be really hard to see a way to change that situation. For this reason I believe setting a monthly budget can be a really hard process.

It can also be hard to know exactly how much you usually spend on some essential items, like food and fuel. I want to encourage you to make the best estimate you can so you can at least get a place to start from.

Deciding you need to cut back on what you are spending can also be a challenge. How do you decide what needs to go? Some costs are essential costs like bills, food, fuel, clothes which are pretty fixed and there is not much you can do about it. In this case it can be a case of trying to reduce your spend perhaps by buying second hand clothes for example.

Aside from the essential bills, it is then up to you to choose and prioritise which things you are paying for that are important to you.

I would like to encourage you to start setting a monthly budget to see what situation you are in, especially if you always seem to have too much month at the end of the money!

I hope this has helped you to get started with a budget. If you would like to ask anything feel free to contact me. Don't forget if you are experiencing financial difficulties you can get help from Citizens Advice, who can help you with debt and budgeting.

​Love Teresa xx

​The Easter holidays are approaching and it has got me thinking about getting out and about with the kiddies. So I thought I would just share with you some of the things I do with my kids on a budget and hopefully it will give you some ideas and perhaps some money saving ideas too. I get lots of ideas from other mums when I am talking to them so please add your ideas in the comments as I sure I will find them useful!

Days out don't have to be expensive.  Here are some pictures of my two out and about at some free things!

Free Days Out

My first choice is always free days out! There are so many examples, here are a few:

• ​Park
• Bike ride
• Picnic
• Visit family and friends
• Visit the Library and keep an eye out for free events being run in the library
• Walks in the woods
• Other local walks, we are lucky to have Chew Valley Lake nearby and Shearwater is not too far
• Go to the beach, sand and water keep my kids occupied for ages!
• Our local Church organise many free children's events, including fun-days, messy play, and pancake parties
• Our local Baptist church organises a children's festival during the Summer holidays which is all free, Nfest
• Free places to visit for example near us we have Nunney Castle, Bath City Farm

Cheap Days Out

There are many cheap options out there which will keep your little ones busy for a couple of hours, or you can combine with some of the ones from the free list to make it a longer day out!

• Swimming
• Soft play
• Cinema, often cinemas will have cheaper kids films on in the mornings
• Outdoor adventure centres, eg my kids love tobogganing at Mendip Outdoor Pursuits
• Local events eg we have a local steam train station which we often visit especially when they have special days planned for example Easter Egg Hunt!
• Local fairs, fetes, family days
• We are local to Bookbarn International and my daughter will spend ages browsing the books while I drink tea!

Pay for an Annual Pass

Buying an annual pass is more expensive in the short term but it means you can have free access as many times as you during the year, which is ideal if you choose somewhere which is quite local to you. We have annual passes for Longleat, which are expensive initially, but actually are well worth it for the number of times we visit during the year and the number of events we are able to attend using them.

​Choose somewhere near to you that you kids love visiting and invest in an annual pass. Then next year go for somewhere else so they don't get bored! Or invest in National Trust or English Heritage membership to give you free access to lots of different places.

Food

Pack a picnic, drinks and snacks, this will be much cheaper than buying food while you are there. I always have to carry food with me as my kids always state they are hungry at inconvenient times!!

​We all know that cooking from home is cheaper than eating out or getting takeaways. So why am I talking about it here? It's obvious right? Think about it for a while......how often do you pop to get a sandwich while you are at work, or a coffee on the go? It is surprising how all of these add up!

With some planning and preparation you could save lots of money on your food bills.

Here are my ideas for saving money on your your food bills:

• Cut out takeaways, or make them a treat not a regular option.
• Reduce eating out, make going out for food a treat maybe once a month.
• Prepare lunches to take out with you, or picnics if on days out.
• Take a bottle of water (or even a flask of coffee), better for your wallet and better for the environment!
• Cook in batches and freeze for some quick meals when you are busy.
• Plan your meals for the week, have a menu on the wall!
• Shop with a list of everything you need for the weeks meals.
• Shop around for your food and use discount supermarkets.
• Shop yellow stickers, many reduced items can be frozen for when you need them.
• Use your local market stall holders. I used to have a fabulous fruit and veg stall which I visited once a week in my town. He has sadly stopped trading due to the long hours. I used to save lots of money on my fruit and veg every week, easily saving me £10 a week and quite often more than that
• Reduce your food waste. Freeze leftovers or use them the next day. Cook only what you need. Have use up meals to use up all your leftovers, you get some random combinations but it can be fun!
• Make your slow cooker work for you if you are out all day. You then have a meal ready for you when you get home making it less likely that you will reach for the takeaway menu!

Now I LOVE eating out! I like cooking at home, but now and again I just want a break from it! So I am trying to now treat it as a treat and not do it so often.

The key to being able to save money on your food bills is really in planning your meals. I have attached a lovely freebie here for you to print off, to help you to start planning your weekly meals, just click the button to download it! 

I hope you found some useful things there to help you. I would love to hear our ideas too, comment below!

Love Teresa x

Subscriptions

Check what subscriptions you are currently paying for.  Are there gym memberships you pay for monthly but don't get full use out of? What subscription boxes are you paying for that you don't use any more?  Then look at the ones that you use, but could perhaps manage without for a while. Whilst I pay for Netflix and Spotify and I use both regularly, I wouldn't hesitate to cancel them if I was struggling to find that money each month, or needed that money for something more important.

Last year I paid for an online exercise app, which surprise surprise I don't now use! I thought it was a one off payment, but no.....there it was in my recurring payments in Paypal. I cancelled that pretty quickly!! So a top tip is check Paypal for recurring payments!!

Direct Debits

Do a review of your direct debits.  Some will be essential like your water, utilities and other bills. Are there others there that you don't need? When I was really short of money I cut the direct debits back to the bare minimum.  I also found it more flexible to pay some bills when I knew the money was there rather than paying by direct debit, but if you do this still keep on top of the bills.

Have No Spend Days

See if you can go a day without spending any money at all, then try to see how many days you can do in a week! Including all those coffees, sandwiches and snacks that you buy when you are out and about. It is surprising what you can cut out when you are going for a no spend day!

Pay Off your Debts

Firstly always pay the minimum on your debts to avoid charges being added. Pay off your debts as quickly as you can, without leaving you short for your daily living. Pay the debts that have the highest interest rate first and take advantage of balance transfer rates if you are able to.

If you are struggling to pay your debts then please seek help from your providers or Citizens Advice.

**​If you are struggling to pay your debts then please seek help from your providers or seek financial advice from Citizens Advice.**

Rent out a room

If you have (or can make) a spare room in your house, a great way to bring in some quick extra money is to rent out a room. This can be for short periods, or you could decide to do it for longer term if you find the right person. Air bnb make it very easy to find people who are looking for short term stays as a cheaper alternative to hotels.

This is a very easy way to bring some quick money in if you need it.  The disadvantage is that you will have someone you don't know in your house.  In the past I have had friends renting rooms from me, which is great as this takes away the problem of having someone you don't know in your house.

Sell your Time

​Much like a traditional job in that you are swapping your time for some money, but much more flexible. You can work in the gig economy earning by making deliveries, or taxi journeying, or working through agencies which specialise in the sector in which you have experience.  For example, there are agencies which deal with care work or home help work and you can take on work on a flexible basis. You could also see if people you know need cleaning done, or gardening, or other jobs which you could do for them.

The disadvantage is that the work may not be available at the times when you are able to work or want to work.

Matched Betting

If you are able to follow instructions then you can do matched betting. I have done this in the past and it brought me in good money every month for over two years. It is not gambling as there is no risk involved if you follow the instructions.

The disadvantage is that you will need to find some money to get started, although you will quickly get this back and lots more! I have blogs on my matched betting journey here.

Sell Some Stuff!

I am sure you have stuff around the house that you don't need or don't use anymore. Sell it! Don't put it in the loft for when you might need it, use it to get some extra money coming in. There are car boot sales, ebay and of course Facebook selling sites, all great ways to shift the stuff you no longer need. And you will feel great for having a good sort out and declutter too! I have done this with lots of children's stuff that they have out grown, clothes, toys and larger items like a travel cot and car seats.

The disadvantage is that you can only do this once every now and again!

Writing Sites or Survey Sites

These are usually free to join and you earn by writing short articles, or answering surveys. Income can vary depending on the sites you use, so look around and see which ones might work for you.

The disadvantage of these is that you may have to invest a lot of your time to earn decent money.

I hope some of these ideas get you thinking. Most of these are short term solutions. If you find you are short on money on a regular basis you might need to consider other longer term options, perhaps training for a new job, looking for more hours or starting your own business from home alongside what you are currently doing.

Sometimes a quick look at how your money is being spent can help too! See my Blogs on Money Saving Tips.

Love Teresa x