PRETTY YOUNG THING

With Christmas approaching fast everyone starts to go into panic mode about how expensive this time of year can be. I thought i'd put together a post with a few money saving tips so you can save a bit of money before the festive season. I have Amelia's birthday in November too so always need to save abit of money around this time of year. I'd like to take her on some festive days out too!

Organisation- I think one of the most important things when it comes to saving money is to be organised! Start by writing a list, it can be as detailed as you like, you should write a list of your income and all of your outgoings. This makes it easier to see how much money you have left over each month after your bills. With this money you can then start to budget it. This can actually show much how much money your spending on rubbish like take-away coffee's and those odd random £2 and £3 here and there.

Loyalty Cards- Using loyalty cards like Tesco Clubcard and boots card can be a great way to save money. I usually shop at Tesco so can end up with quite alot of points. The great thing about Tesco clubcard is you can spend your points on shopping or you can boost your points and spend them on days out or eating out. Tesco also send out loads of really good vouchers so check them out to save even more! I save my boots points and use them to buy Christmas presents, Boots always have 3 for 2 on their Christmas gifts so it's such a good place to buy gifts.

Shop around!- Now days its super easy to save money. All you have to do is shop around, get online and compare prices. It's so easy to get great broadband and TV deals ,You can pop in your postcode and it's super easy to see all of the different providers in your area. They also have a great filter section so you can find the best deal that suits you! You can get a bundle which includes, Phone, TV, and Broadband and can actually save money by having a single package rather than separate providers. You also only have the one bill to worry about too which is great! I've actually had a look as we already have broadband with Sky and to add on a TV package it's only actually an extra £10 a month for 301 channels including Sky Atlantic, this also includes a Sky Q so we would get catch-up which is amazing! So if your looking for a to save money on your broadband or TV package it might be worth having a look at a package.  For all other services like gas and electric suppliers, insurance etc you can use comparison websites to compare and find the best price.

Meal planning can also be a great way to save money! By planning what you will be eating you can just buy the ingredients for your meals, check the cupboards and see what you already have in to stop you buying things you don't need. By knowing what you are having for dinner you are less likely to order a take away or pop into your local supermarket and spend too much money on a quick easy dinner.

Those are just a few ways that you can easily save money in the run up to Christmas, I know that I need to start meal planning again as this always saves up money and I should really write a budget for Christmas so I know what i'm getting everyone and how much i'm going to spend so I don't overspend.  How do you plan on saving money for the festive season?




shop around, get online and compare prices

This year I want to do some exploring, I want to visit lots of cities and explore some sites. There's so much to do in the UK. We are planning on taking a trip to Liverpool, I have been there before but that was years ago! I've been having a look online at what Liverpool has to offer and thought i'd put a post together on a few things that caught my eye!

* this post contains pr samples

We are hoping that in the next 5 years we will own our own house. Right now we rent and we plan on renting for a few more years. We have discussed mortgages but as i'm only working part-time we are better off waiting until I go back to work full time when Amelia starts School. I don't think it makes much sense for me to work full time as we would have to pay for childcare for Amelia and i'd rather spend this time with her. I thought i'd share a few ways in which we intend on saving money. We need to save money to pay for deposits and renting fee's and we currently live in a part furnished apartment so we will need to pay for furniture and other appliances.

First up is making cut backs.  Do I really need to buy that pair of boots? Going out for extravagant
meals. It's good to look at your statement and see how much you really spend on unnecessary purchases for example those £4 coffees twice a week add up, you can buy a whole jar of coffee and put it in your own to-go cup. I was spending £17 a month of a cinema car that I don't use and wasting £30 a month on my gym membership.  I know it's not the same but if you want to save money you have to make these simple changes. By making these little changes like parking a little further away from town or why not walk to the shops instead of driving?

Meal Planning - We waste so much food and it's because we never plan our meals. Plan your meals for the week and write a shopping list. Then go to the supermarket and just buy whats on your list, I find online shopping is a good way to save money too because you don't get tricked into buying those £1 offers at the end of the aisle. Also by doing a weekly shop you use less fuel going back and forth to the shops and you tend to eat what you have in rather than going to get something else for dinner.

Shopping around  - why pay more for something?  You can browse different websites online and find out what stores have the best prices and offers on those products that you need. Going to shops like Home Bargains or Savers for your household goods can save you loads compared to the supermarkets. As I mentioned above we rent a part-furnished apartment so when we move we are going to need to buy everything from a sofa, fridge-freezer, washing machine and tumble dryer. It's good to shop around online and there's websites like latestdeals.co.uk who have loads of really good deals on appliances. Another way to save money is to look for vouchers when shopping as you can save lots of money by looking to see if there is a voucher before you buy, even if it's just a free delivery code.

Buy secondhand - There are so many products that you can buy secondhand, one of my friends bought a secondhand sofa and its lovely. It's a huge grey corner sofa and I would never of guessed it was pre-owned. You can find some really good deals on furniture, I bought our Ikea dressing table second hand and it looked brand new and it cost me about £20 instead of the retail price of £120.

Even after following my money-saving tips we will still need to look at a service like Zippa Loans to buy some of the furniture and to put towards a deposit. This way we can manage the monthly repayments. I think we will buy a new fridge/freezer and then look into getting a second hand sofa and some wardrobes. I think we could bring our washing to our parents for a couple of months and then save up to buy a washing machine instead of paying out loads at the same time.














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* this post contains pr samples

It's December and with Christmas around the corner it's time to get organised and go shopping for those Christmas gifts. I haven't bought any presents yet as I have just had a baby so the last few weeks have just flown by and I haven't had chance to even think about Christmas. I will hopefully be able to order most of my shopping online and then will pop to the shops over the next week or so and get any other bits. I don't have many people to buy for and i'm sure our friends and family will be understanding that I haven't gone mad this year. 

I love getting perfume for Christmas and I usually buy perfume for a few of our family members. My mom always asks for perfume and I always try and buy her something different. She tends to stick to the same few perfumes so I like getting her something new to try. It's really easy to shop for perfume on Fragrance Direct as they have so many different brands at really affordable prices. They also have really good descriptions of the fragrance so you can decide if it sounds like a scent you would like, they also have lots of reviews so you can see what other customers think. 

I picked out this Marc Jacobs scent, it's described as a woody, sexy scent. It's gorgeous, the scent is really warm and sweet. It is a sexy scent and I'm so happy with it. I've had so many compliments on this perfume too. The bottle is gorgeous, I love the dark greeny/blue shade of the bottle and the gold detailing, this looks amazing on my dressing table. 

I also picked out this Joop WOW fragrance, i've actually picked this out for my dad as he always needs new aftershave. I am a fan of the original Joop fragrance so I thought i'd see what the WOW fragrance is like. It is a very masculine scent, the combination of bergamot, cardamom and violet create a warm fragrance that is perfect for this season. It's not overpowering so perfect from day to night. I really like the bottle, it's simple but sleek. 

Head on over to the Fragrance Direct site to check out all of the amazing fragrances they have to offer perfect to gift this Christmas. They have so much choice and with free delivery and a gift wrapping service it makes gift giving so easy. Do you have any fragrances on your wish list this Christmas? What is your favourite perfume or aftershave and what kind of scents do you usually go for? 






* this post contains pr samples.

You may have seen Clint featured on the blog last week, we have collaborated with Boohoo this month and they have kindly sent over some bits for Clint. If you didn't see his last outfit then check it out here. CLINT WEARS BOOHOO THIS SEASON


Boohoo have a really good selection of menswear, they also have a good selection of sizes and colours. Clint was after a few basics to add to his wardrobe this season so he picked out a few t-shirts and this lovely grey hoodie.

He's teamed this dark grey hoodie with his skinny jeans and trainers so a comfy but casual everyday look. He's actually wore this hoodie a few times now and it's a really nice thick material. It's very cosy and soft so it's perfect for the colder weather we've been having.

As I mentioned above he also picked out a few new basic t-shirts. Boohoo have such a good selection of t-shirts in all different sizes, colours and styles. They are really affordable and are a really nice quality. He picked out this nice khaki colour muscle fit crew neck which I think really suits him, Khaki is one of my favourite colours for the Autumn.

He also picked out  a two pack of muscle fit t-shirts, in Black and Grey. They have other multi-packs of t-shirts so you can easily replace your old tops for some nice new ones.  As you can see they fit really well and are a really nice quality.

Check out Boohoo if you are after some really good quality menswear. Clint was really happy with all of the items he received. They all fitted really well and are all lovely quality. I'm sure he will be placing another Boohoo order very soon as he's seen a few jackets that he likes for the Winter.










* This post contains pr samples, I have not been paid for this feature. The post is honest and my own opinions.

* Homesense kindly sent me a voucher to go and pick out a few bits from their Halloween range. I have not been paid for this blog post and the post is honest and my own opinions. 

 * this post contains pr samples, this post is honest and my own opinions. I have not been paid for this post.