I've said it before and I'll say it again - Legal and General's #MoneyHangouts are really teaching me quite a bit. I thought I was quite up to speed on all things property related after remortgaging last year, but actually sitting down and watching their latest hangout on Property has made me realise just how much more there is to know, and also how many problems there are with property in this country at the moment. There is a shortage of houses, especially for families, in certain parts of the country and this means that people are finding it harder and harder to find a home. Knowing how ... read more
Property – Your options explained #MoneyHangout
Property. A house. A flat. A roof over your head. Your place. Home. Whatever you call it, everyone needs somewhere to live and for most of us it is our biggest expense. But finding somewhere to live isn't always straightforward, and depending on what your particular situation is I'm sure there are lots of things you want and need to know going forwards. That's where Legal and General are hoping to help with the next in their excellent MoneyHangout series - Property - Your Options Explained. Just following questions that I've seen asked online recently I know that there are people ... read more
Latest charity shop haul – May 2015
I've not been having as much luck as usual in charity shops of late. Despite lots of looking there just haven't been any items of clothing I really liked and Ladybird books seem to have dried up a bit since the publicity push for the 100th anniversary of the publisher. Still, all my efforts have turned up a few gems - so here's my latest charity shop haul. I'd love to hear about what thrifty gems you've found recently. ... read more
Understanding pensions with #MoneyHangout
It's a couple of weeks now since I took part in Legal and General's #MoneyHangout about pensions and retirement finances and to be honest I'm still trying to digest all the valuable information I learnt and act on it. There I was trying to pay attention during the hangout and be ready to ask my question on cue, and instead I found myself furiously scribbling notes as it was so useful! Just to share with you some of the particularly useful points that I took away with me. Firstly, to try to track down pensions that I have from old employers and ensure that all my details were up to ... read more
Getting to grips with Family Finances – Retirement and Pensions #MoneyHangout
Family Finances. They can be a bit of a headache can't they? There always seems to be so much to think about and the various rules about tax and allowances can leave you feeling confused and unsure about exactly what you should be doing for the best for you and your family. Children in school are not taught about the basics of budgeting and as a nation we don't really talk about money and finances - it's just not a very British thing to do. But, how are we going to get better if we don't talk about things? And how are we supposed to know what we should be doing if there's no one talking ... read more
More charity shop clothing finds
I've not had much luck in charity shops over the last month or so. Lots of looking but very little that I actually wanted to buy. I either found things I liked but in completely completely the wrong size, or the things in my size (or close to it) were just not my style at all. All that changed this morning though with my usual post knitting group wander around. Both Scope and Oxfam in St Albans came up trumps so have a look at what I came home with for under £35 in total. I've also been having a lot of success with my previous charity shop finds. A George black dress that I featured ... read more
Switching suppliers and embracing green #PowerToSwitch
In my dream world this is what the roof of my house would look like. Solar panels and possibly even a small wind turbine too. I dream of being self sufficient when it comes to electricity and as I sit here on a sunny and windy day it frustrates me so much that I can't be powering the laptop I type on with renewable energy. But, I am. Well, sort of. You see, last year I finally got round to going on to a utilities price comparison site. For some reason I'd been putting it off for years as I'd just always assumed that it was going to be a really tedious process to go through and that I was ... read more
Another amazing local charity shop haul
Sharing my charity shop finds seems to be getting quite addictive! A quick trip down to my nearest two shops brought up some great finds for both me and the kids this week. And once home I was even able to put this outfit together from my trip and a couple of things I picked up at the WI clothes swap before Christmas. Total outfit cost of just £6.99 and yet I even had a mum at a school coffee morning telling me how much she liked my outfit. I'll call that a result! ... read more
Cooking from Frozen – Chilli Con Carne #CoolCookery
In our house, when you say that you're going to do dinner from something in the freezer that usually means fish fingers, or possibly chicken nuggets, served with oven chips and (frozen) peas. Now, in my opinion there's nothing wrong with a dinner like that, but it's not the kind of thing that you want to serve up every night of the week. It was my mum who really enlightened me when it comes to cooking with frozen ingredients. She's always had things like frozen mashed potatoes in her freezer, which she swears by using when making cottage pie and similar. It was when she started living on ... read more
How to shop in charity shops
As I think I've mentioned before, back in December I took on the new role as the thrifty correspondent on the West Herts Drivetime show on local station Radio Verulum. On the first Monday of each month I talk to host Danny Smith about a variety of thrifty topics and it seemed like they would be ideal subjects for a series of thrifty vlogs on You Tube so here goes. I'm kicking off with my tips for how to shop in charity shops and come away with some bargains. Let me know what you think and what your top charity shop shopping tips are. ... read more