Money saving - want or need?

A bit of background...

When I had my first baby I was very young and very, very poor, I was a single parent almost from the day he was born and money was extremely tight.

Almost everything I had for the baby was either a hand me down from my best friend’s mum or from car boot sales, I remember buying a high chair from a car boot for a fiver, it had a cigarette burn on the tray, and so I cut a plastic placemat out to fit in and cover it up. Seems crazy thinking back that someone would put a cigarette on a babies high chair! Back then I really needed to save money on everything- it wasn’t a choice.

Over the next few years things got worse financially and then a little bit better, things have improved gradually ever since and now we are finally ok, this doesn’t mean that I want to waste money on unnecessary stuff, even though I no longer need to count every penny. I’d much rather save on the boring stuff and spend on holidays and enjoying life.

I believe that some things are worth paying the extra for if they make your life easier and reduce the day to day stresses, it could be a frozen pizza or a cordless vacuum cleaner, it really depends on how much of an impact it makes on life and ultimately if you can afford it. I’m no longer ‘skint’ And there’s money left over after the bills are paid, but I’ll never forget how it feels to worry about paying bills or what you’re going to eat that day.

So that’s partly why I’m always trying to save money, if I’m honest I’m not great at it as I can be a bit of an impulse spender, but I do try and that makes a difference overall, My aim from next month is to start making mortgage over payments as we have a long term left and a relatively large mortgage. I want to save enough this month to pay something extra and then hopefully increase the payments as time goes on.

Here’s yesterday’s spends:  

Boots have a £10 Tuesday - the first I heard of this was yesterday when I walked past a store and there was a display at the front (I’m obviously the target audience) 

I picked up some toothbrush heads - genuinely think £10 was a good deal for these and a Pixi face cleanser, I got a set of these products for Christmas and I really like them, I’ve been using this   

Kate Somerville goat milk cleanser  that I was given as a gift and love but just can’t justify buying with my own money.

I also spent £3.08 in Waitrose on two tins of beans and some baked goods that were yellow sticker bargains. 

I’ll leave it here with a fun photo of one of our tortoises enjoying some watermelon...

Hello and Welcome

Hi I’m new here....

So, this is a brand new blog, I’m not expecting many, if any, visitors, but I like the idea of putting things in writing, so here goes...

I’ve been considering starting a blog, as much for my own benefit as anything else really, for quite a while, I read quite a few blogs and enjoy all the tips and ideas they provide, however I struggle to find blogs where the circumstances of the writer are similar to mine, of course you can come across someone who’s very thrifty, or who’s a similar age to you, has teenagers, or lives in the same county. 

So as I couldn’t really find anyone out there blogging about the day to day life of a 40Something mum to teens, trying to organise the days better and get on top of life in general, whilst saving money and having a life of their own - (there must be some others like me right??) - here I am to take the reins.

I’m an avid YouTube watcher but far, far too self conscious to ever put myself out there, which seems kind of silly as a 40 year old I admit, a blog seemed like a good way forward.

So what’s this about and who am I? 

I’m a 40 year old Mum, working full time, commuting into London daily, trying to get organised enough to make sure there’s always something half decent on the table for our evening meal, whilst struggling to lose weight - it’s a never ending battle! Keeping on top of the laundry and housework whilst making sure the bank balance stays in the black.

So basically just the average parent!

We are lucky enough to live in the countryside, which over the last few months has become something I’ve been so grateful for, we have beautiful walks on our doorstep and have had the opportunity to spend lots of time outside enjoying our surroundings. 

My aim is to share my days here in order to take accountability for everything, If it’s a spending splurge or a take away binge, these are the things I’m trying hard not to do. Becoming less wasteful and more mindful of the things we buy and use is something I’m trying hard to get to grips with, I love the idea of ‘not buying new’ Recycling and reusing but in reality it’s often A good intention that doesn’t materialise. 

Frugal Fridays and Five Frugal things.

I like the idea of both of these, I came across them on the blog Frugalfamily.co.uk So it’s something I’ll be trying to do each week, along with sharing my meal plans and any other interesting (or not) stuff I come across during the week. 

For my first post I think I’ll leave it here. Looking forward to sharing meal plans, frugal finds and day to day living.

Before I go, I wanted to share a photo, these two little guys are new additions, we’ve been given eight little chicks and this pair are just finding their feet and getting used to the outside. The yellow one is called Ethel and the grey one Lavender- although we don’t know if they are male or female yet!