MY TOP 10 TIPS TO SAVE MONEY

Hi guys,

It has been a while since I wrote anything on here- I've been really busy juggling motherhood and sorting out things around the house, and now working and slowly working on my business!

Anyway, here are my top 10 tips this month to save money and stay fabulous.

1. Buy your beauty products in bulk. That way, you can focus your money on other things, AND avoid having to run to the shops just as you have run out!
2. Be bargain shop chic. I personally love shopping at charity shops, £5 bargain shops and sales on the high street. Sometimes, when you go to these places, you can piece more unique outfits, as less people are likely to want them. Also, vintage shops are ones that are not to be missed- when you buy a good quality product it can last a lifetime. Also, there are sometimes sales where you can fill a bag for £10- you cant say no to a bag full of bargain buys, now can you?
3. Put aside a small percentage of your income every week or every month (however often you are paid), and buy all the things for yourself or your family that you would need!
4. If you think you need new clothes, have a look in your wardrobe first. You may find something in there that you haven't worn in a long time that you would like to wear again, and you haven't had to spend anymore money on it. If you still want new clothes- have a clothes swap party with your friends and see if you can get some new lovely things without opening your purse! Or if anything, if you haven't checked it out already, mobile app depop is great for swaps.
5. If you haven't got much money to decorate your home, or your tenancy doesn't allow decorating but you still want to give it a homely touch without spending so much, you can just make do and mend! turn old t shirts into cushion covers, old fabrics as curtains, or spray paint furnishings that you would buy from a cheap/bargain/charity shop and make it look very much distinctive!
6. If like me, you are a mum, and don't have a lot of money to spend on your family, then the best way to cover yourself is to buy own-brand products. Everyone that knows me knows that I am an advocate for Sainsburys Basics/Tesco Everyday Value/ASDAs own products. The branding may look awful but believe me when I say that the taste is not! Some products are even healthier than the more expensive ones so definitely give it a thought. Even with nappies- Tesco Baby nappies are really, really, good! Almost like Pampers. :)
7. Get a nectar card/tesco clubcard! the more you spend, the more points you save, especially when you use your nectar card for spending on eBay/Expedia, which means more discounts for holidays- its a win-win situation.
8. If you don't mind secondhand clothing for your baby- I recommend you buy a clothing bundle on eBay- you can get them as cheap as £15 for a bin bag full of products. You can easily resell them as your bubba grows out of them and make your money back.
9. If you have time, batch cook your meals every 2-3 days. It saves so much electricity, if you have an electric only property and equally as much gas!

And finally, plan your meals, every week. I follow a meal plan, up to a months worth, so you get variety every week and not get so bored. If you also buy your groceries online, save that bus fare/petrol and have it delivered to you!

Happy Scrimping- and don't forget to stay fabulous ;)

Ify Katherine xo

Grocery Shopping Online

Hello!

Today I am going to talk about something that has grown increasingly popular- grocery shopping online.

Whilst I wasn't a fan of this at first, I could appreciate the convenience it had for people, especially those who couldn't get out and about easily, or if you were a big business wanting to do a bulk buy. From my first experience (this was with Asda) I didn't have a good experience, because I didn't have assistance with taking the bags upstairs to my studio flat (which was up 4 flights of stairs, and I was pregnant!), most of my items were substituted, and the fact that I have to spend a minimum of £25 (now £40, by the way) didn't appeal to me and cost me £6 to have it delivered, because at the time I was living by myself and only spent a maximum of £20 a week on my food shopping in person.

Anyway- I moved to an area where there was literally NO big supermarkets, only express shops, which is an expensive way to spend money on food long-term and I couldn't travel to the town centre every week as it was costing me £2.90 a week, and I was 9 months pregnant and was pretty worried that my waters would break in public, so at that time, online was the way to go.

So I curled up on the sofa with my fiancee and browsed Tesco online and was pleasantly surprised- I was able to buy quite a lot of items with the budget I had in mind (as I always bought shop branded) and always had at least £5 left to spend, and saved me £20 every week in comparison to shopping in Tesco express.

Also, the price promise that is going on these days has proven to be a godsend, as they email  you codes on discounts for future purchases, which for Christmas, was very useful, as I had saved £16 in one shop thanks to this.

If you have yet to try out food shopping online, then I will give you my 3 top tips:

Plan ahead

Shopping online can be just as, or even more distracting than shopping in person, as there are deals EVERYWHERE, ready to tempt you into buying things that you don't need, so create a shopping list and a realistic budget.

Select a weekday evening

If at all possible- you could pay at least £1 by doing this, which was much cheaper than travelling to buy the things I need at a bigger supermarket.

Collect points

Get a clubcard and register it- every few months you could get a money off voucher which you can use against other purchases.

I hope you find this helpful!

Ify Katherine xo