If your children are any thing like mine, their bedrooms will probably be bursting with toys - some loved, some they've grown out of, some they don't play with and even, in our case, some that have never been out of the box! Don't get me wrong, we don't spoil our two but the fact is that even just taking into account birthdays, Christmas and the opportunity for them to spend their own pocket money at car boot sales has resulted in them having a lot of toys each.We have a regular clear out and have one planned for this week which the kids are looking forward to. Not.There's lots of … [Read more...]
Family Friendly Frugal Meals – Spaghetti Carbonara….
Yesterday I went to the official launch of MFEST which is a family festival taking place this July at Harewood House near Leeds and promises to be a 'Feast of British Music and Food'. I'll let you know more about MFEST in a later post as it really does sound like a great family weekend but for today, I just wanted to share this with you:It's a signed copy of one of Aldo Zilli's cookbooks, signed by the man himself after the surprise cooking masterclass we got from him. He showed us how to make Spaghetti Carbonara without using cream and I can honestly say that it was one of the most … [Read more...]
How we make room in our budget for fun….
As I've said before, my main reason for being frugal is so that I can afford to work part time and spend more time with the kids.But (there's always a but).... It's also really important to me that, as a family, we have lots of fun together and even though I know there are plenty of things we can do together that don't cost a penny, there are also lots of things we like to do together that do cost money.We allow a set amount of money each month in our budget for fun things, which could include anything from going to the pictures or bowling (doesn't happen often as it costs so much … [Read more...]
Are you paying too much Council Tax….
Council Tax makes up a large part of your monthly expenditure so wouldn't it be great if you could reduce the amount you pay, and even better if you could get a nice fat cheque at the same time?Well, maybe you can. Apparently up to 400,000 houses in the UK have been assigned to the wrong council tax band and it's really easy to check if your house is one of them. If it is, you could have your future Council Tax payments reduced and get a rebate for any past overpayments.It's basically due to the fact that when Council Tax was first introduced, the government needed every house in the … [Read more...]
Family Friendly Frugal Meals – Cheats Naan Bread Pizza
Guess what? After more than two months of being ill and four (possibly 5) courses of antibiotics and steroids, I think I actually feel better! I have gone a whole day without having a mad coughing fit and I have my voice back enough that I can actually hold a conversation without squeaking at some point.This weeks meal plan reflects the fact that I finally feel able to cook properly again - we've had lots of slips up recently where I have been too tired/ill/miserable to cook so we've had more ready meals and takeaways lately than I would like to admit but in my defence, I just haven't … [Read more...]
Family Friendly Frugal Meals – Homemade Fishcakes….
I went to the supermarket this afternoon with my little shopping list having planned our meals for this coming week but when I saw the overflowing reduced section I had a complete rethink and changed my plan completely based on the bargains I got. I'm really pleased as we have some lovely meals coming that we wouldn't normally eat due to the prices they usually are....Sunday - Homemade Fishcakes, chips and mushy peas (see below) I managed to pick up some Haddock for 59p for two fillets which made enough for us all- Bargain!Monday - Homemade chicken nuggets and potato wedges for the … [Read more...]
