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
Inspired by Knickers Models Own
If you follow me on Facebook (click here if you aren't and don't want to miss out!) then you'll probably have seen me sharing posts by the wonderful Knickers Model's Own. In memory of her late mother, Caroline is challenging herself to wear a new outfit a day based only on things she can buy in a Cancer Research UK shop. She's doing amazingly well and has also attracted a lot of media attention in doing so. Inspired by her I've been shopping myself in the charity shops of St Albans... ... read more
Have yourself a very thrifty Christmas
Christmas. Let's face it, it's an expensive time of the year. Well, at least it can be, but here are some of my top tips for having a thrifty Christmas in 2014. Save on Christmas presents If I'm honest here, the really serious thrifty folk will have already done the bulk of their Christmas back in the January sales! Don't despair though if you're reading this in December and thinking you don't have a chance of saving money - you do. Firstly consider who you have to get gifts for. Do they really all need a present? If there are a lot of family members then why not suggest doing a ... read more
A Secondhand Christmas
I try to keep out of arguments on social media. Life's simply too short to go wading in every time you see something you disagree with. Last week though I saw an exchange which just left me speechless. Some blogger friends of mine are taking part in a campaign with the Salvation Army to raise the profile of doing your Christmas shopping in charity shops as a way of supporting charities at this time of year. One particular blogger tweeted about the things that she'd found this year for her family's Christmas presents and someone else (who I refuse to give a link to here - don't feed the ... read more