Christmas shopping was so much simpler when the kids were younger!Their Christmas wishlists were so predictable that I could do most of my shopping for them even before I asked them to tell me what they wanted for Christmas. Those were the good old days - the days of dolls and dressing up and of Lego and magic tricks and the days where it was probably more about quantity than quality if I'm honest.Now, at the ages of 14 and almost 12, Christmas is a whole different ball game.Last year, I tried to make it more about experiences than gifts because I'd rather give them memories than … [Read more...]
Does this happen in your house when one child is naughty?
In our house, something very odd happens when one child isn't behaving as well as they should be.Take last night for example, both kids came in from school happy and smiley and went upstairs to change out of their uniform. They were both a bit tired so they sat relaxing with me for a while downstairs while we caught up on our days although Mater Frugal was more interested in when he could get on his Xbox to play FIFA 17 at that point if I'm honest.Miss Frugal and I had a slight disagreement about something totally random and she had a little mini sulk. As soon as Master Frugal realised … [Read more...]
Why you should join English Heritage….
A year ago we went along to a local priory for a quick look around and ended up signing up for an English Heritage annual family membership.The decision to join English Heritage was definitely a spur of the moment decision but it's turned out to be a good one as we've had so much fun with it and as far as value for money is concerned, the membership ended up paying for itself within about three weeks if I remember rightly!Our favourite property by far is Whitby Abbey and we've visited there about five times over the course of the year using our membership. We even went on Halloween … [Read more...]
Homemade gifts – thoughtful and thrifty or tight and cheap?
I want to know how you really feel about homemade presents - is it really the thought that counts or would you feel a little disappointed getting a homemade gift from someone.I think that in some camps there's a bit of a misconception that by giving a homemade gift, you're being a bit tight and trying to save money by doing so (I'm in no way referring to a rather aggressive Facebook thread I read a few days ago here ;-)) whereas in my experience, homemade gifts can, and often do, cost more than a smellies set that you can pick up randomly in the 3 for 2 at Boots.Here's where I'm … [Read more...]
Small things that make me smile {September 2016}….
September's my least favourite month of the year to be honest as it's the anniversary of when my brother died and the anniversary of when my Mam found out just how ill she was the year later. I've also struggled with going back to work this month after being off for most of the Summer ill and we've had all of the usual stress of going back to school and the various bugs and dramas that come with it.So, all in all, it's been a funny old month with more than it's fair share of lows but I think the lows have made us spend more time together and enjoy each other's company more than … [Read more...]
How easy is it to change energy suppliers?
I'm always recommending that if someone wants to save money then one of the first things to do (after meal planning obviously ;-)) is to change energy suppliers for all of their utilities because the chances are that (a) they're not on the best deal they could be on and (b) there's usually some cashback to be earned for switching.I know from the replies I've had to this advice that lots of you go on to change energy suppliers and save money every single month but more of you decide that it's too much hassle and that the savings aren't worth the effort. And I totally get that.But what … [Read more...]
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