​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 the same for direct debits as you did with subscriptions.  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! 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

Today I commented on two 'oh no its Monday' facebook posts, that I LOVE Mondays! For me Monday is the start of a new week, giving you a fresh start, and bringing lots of opportunities in the week ahead. I love planning for the week ahead, which I often do on Monday. Sometimes I do my planning on Sunday and then on Monday I am just ready to crack on!

What My Monday Looks Like

I start the day as I always do during the week, with getting ready for school and doing the school run. Then I spend an hour at school listening to some of the children in my daughter's class reading. It is only an hour of my time out of the week, and I am there already anyway dropping my daughter off. I find it so rewarding and it is a great way to start my Monday and start my week.

I get home about 10 am and start on my to do list, looking at my diary to see what I have coming up and what I need to prepare for as well as looking back at last week's list to see what I have left to do or finish.  I prioritise what needs doing.

I also spend some time on Mondays catching up with customers, contacts and team members, seeing if they need any help, letting them know when their orders will be arriving and so on. Anything coming from that gets scheduled and put in the diary or on the to do list.

I then start working on the three Most Important Tasks from my list. Sometimes I like to tick off some quick and easy jobs first, this then gets me going on the harder tasks on my list. I usually manage to get lots done on a Monday!

​What if Monday isn't going well?

Things don't always go to plan and sometimes I get blocked and can't get things done. This usually means I need to clear my head! I do for a walk, the fresh air helps and I can often be seen talking things over with myself walking down the street! Don't worry I am having a team meeting!

Do What You Love #lovewhatyoudo

It hasn't always been like this for me. I remember when I dreaded going to work on a Monday morning, so much so that it ruined my Sunday as I was filled with anxiety and dread for the next day. I only lasted 15 months in that job! That was in 2001-02, I have been self-employed ever since.

So if you HATE or DREAD Monday morning........talk to me! OR have a look at my part time options which you can grow alongside your job until you can leave your job!

If those options aren't for you, then look around for other options. Find something you love doing. Just don't go on hating Mondays!

​Love Teresa xx

​January for me is now an exciting time, full of plans and excitement for what the year ahead will bring. It wasn't always that way, I used to dread January, being short of money and struggling to get to the end of the month. This year I have felt so much more positive and excited for the coming year.  I think a lot of that mind shift has come from putting proper goals and plans in place for 2019.

I started by setting up a vision board with all the things I would love to see in my life in the next year, 5 years, 10 years and beyond. Then I put timescales on some of those things, some are not achievable in this year but it doesn't mean I can't be working towards them. Others are very achievable for this year, and some I am nearly there already. For example I have a new cooker on my vision board, I have out the money aside but not decided on the one I want yet! I am also have paying off my debts on my vision board, I have been working towards this for a while and I am very nearly there, with May being the deadline!

From these visions, and putting timescales and I started to set some goals for this year, which I then broke down into monthly goals. Some of these are personal goals and financial goals, others are goals within each of my businesses. With my goals in mind I could then start to plan what I needed to do each month to work towards those goals.

​I will continue to work consistently and take small actions every day to work towards my goals. I now have a framework in place which I hope will help to keep me on track for the rest of the year.

​Good luck with your goals for this year!

Love Teresa xx