Fabulous Friday Frugal-5 Frugal Things I have done this week 12/05

I feel so passionate about saving money. It is so important to my family we save as much money as we can right now so we can hopefully move this year. I am a strong believer that saving money does not mean you have to go without however. I just find ways to save money on the things we like to have and do. Here are 5 ways I saved money this week:

1. Had a free game of bowling

I have a hobby of entering competitions, mainly simple online ones. So far I have won over £500 of prizes this year including a £100 gift voucher for Red Letter experiences, a light box, £50 of Munchkin baby products etc. I entered a namco funscape competition via Facebook and a runner up prize was a free game of bowling for up to 6 people at my local bowling alley. I took my partner Dan and son Michael today and we had a great time. It really cheered poor Michael up, he has had a ear infection this week. If you see a online competition, enter it! You may not win the big prize but many give runner up prizes. It only takes two minutes. Let me know if you would be interested to see a separate blog post on entering competitions. 

2. Gave a RSVP to the launch of the new Decleor Boutique & Day Spa with Giovanna Fletcher

I follow Giovanna Fletcher who recently shared a Instagram post announcing she was going to be attending the launch of The new Decleor Boutique and Day Spa in Notting Hill, London. It is a free event to those lucky to get a ticket by emailing the company. I took a chance and emailed them and sure enough I am on the guest list. I am really looking forward to it. There will be a talk by skincare specialist Fiona Brackenbury, brunch, treatments and a goody bag. Look out for events like this, they are often free and can be a lot of fun. I have gone to a Body Shop event and seen exclusive preview of The Smurfs film this year via applying online. Look out for a blog post on the launch next week!

3. Earned a £10 Sainsburys' voucher

If you want to earn a little bit of money, one way is via online surveys. I use One Poll and Valued opinions and would recommend both. With One Poll you will get a small amount of money for each survey you complete until you reach the payout of £40. Valued Opinions you can complete surveys until you reach a £10 payout. You can choose which voucher to use this £10 credit on. I like Sainsbury's vouchers as they are great to be used on gifts throughout the year. They had a great sale on toys this week so my free £10 voucher was spent on some toys to be put away for birthday and christmas gifts. You will not get £100s via online surveys but they can help a great deal towards birthdays and christmas shopping or towards your food shop each week.

4. Collected free lego cards from Sainsburys 

If you read my blog post on our April/May favourites, you will know my son Michael is obsessed with the free lego cards from Sainsburys. There are 140 lego character cards to collect and you place them in the official collectors album. You get a pack of 4 when you spend over £10 although if the cashier likes you then you may be handed some more. Michael loves trading/collectors cards but they can be very expensive so these are a great alternative for him to collect. We have been asking our friends and family to pick them up for him as well when they shop in Sainsburys. 

5. Had three no-spend-days 

Not only are we saving money to move this year(hopefully!) we are also trying to tighten our belts this month and next as we have a lot to pay out for. We have alot of family birthdays coming up which require presents, cards, travel etc. While we are careful with how much we spend on these, the sheer quantity of birthdays means it all adds up. We are also going away the beginning of July for Dan's 30th birthday so of course we want money to put away for this. One of the ways we save money is to take part in no-spend-days. This is what it says on the tin. You do not spend any money that day, instead you plan and use the resources you already have. The only expenses were Dan's oyster fare essential to work. However that was the only money spent. When you avoid the shops a no spend day is relatively easy to do so give it a try.

So that was my 5 ways I saved money this week, what do you do that saves money? Let me know in the comments below.

H. 

Best Free Apps for Preschoolers

Not everyone is a fan of screens for children and I totally get that. However I personally think they can be useful, fun and educational for preschoolers if moderated. Michael has a children's tablet Robin from EE and he usually plays with it for half an hour most days. Usually when we want to cook dinner without him disturbing us every two minutes whining for food! These are our favourite free apps:

1. YouTube Kids
Like many other children, Michael loves to watch YouTube videos. However many are not suitable for children which makes YouTube Kids such a great app. The app filters out the unsuitable videos and tries its best to show only appropriate videos for your child's age. You can keep search on or if you really want to limit videos, you can turn the search off. The videos are also categorised (music, learning, explore and music) to make it easier for your child to watch the videos they want. My favourite feature however is the parental timer. I love knowing I can set a timer of how long Michael can explore the app before it turns off. He will hand the tablet over straight away because he thinks the tablet is now turning off.


2. BBC CBeebies Playtime Island
We have a Sky box and the original bundle which means we do not get a lot of children's channels. As a result Michael only really watches the shows on Netflix, Tiny Pop and CBeebies. Naturally he loves this app because it features all of his favourite characters such as Peter Rabbit, Andy and Topsy and Tim. The app has many different games, all of which are fun and educational.








3. Despicable Me: Minion Rush
Michael loves the minions from the Despicable Me films and really enjoys this app. It is a arcade game where your minion collects bananas, dodges obstacles, flies and defeats villains etc. It has different levels including a recent update of a 80s mission. While it is not really educational, it is great fun and one of Michael's favourite apps. The only thing however is there are in-app purchases so be careful your child can not make app via parental controls.


4. Dino Tim: Basic Skills and Addition
This is a great educational free game. In this app children have to solve educational puzzles in order to save Dino Tim's family from the witches which have captured them. It teaches children about colours, words and shapes and can also teach children other languages. The app easily translates into French, Spanish and Italian which is fantastic if you want to develop language skills. Again this app does have in-app purchases.


5. Disney Junior Play
Michael loves anything Disney related and so naturally really enjoys any apps that feature Disney characters. This app features favourites from Disney Junior such as Mickey Mouse, The Lion Guard and Doc McStuffins. It features educational games, puzzles and sticker scenes you collect the stickers for. You can also dress up various characters, watch videos and sing alongs. A great feature is the app being playable offline so you can play anywhere. While it does have in-app purchases they feature only in a pin protected store so only a adult can access them. The in-app purchases expand the app with more of the Disney Junior characters.


Does your child have any favourite apps? How do you feel about screens for preschoolers? Let me know if the comments below.

H.

Fabulous Friday Frugal- 10 Frugal Things I have done this week!

If there is one thing I am passionate about it is saving money! We are currently on one wage and saving to move so the need to save money is essential. However I do not think you have to miss out on the things you enjoy to save money, it takes a bit of thinking. Every Friday I will be sharing the frugal/money saving things I have done that week to hopefully give others some ideas.

1. I used free children's playgroups to entertain Michael. Children's activities can be expensive which is why I am a massive fan of our local sure start/children centres. We are very lucky we have three different centres in our local area which means we have a range of baby/toddler groups to choose from such as toddler talk, play with a story, make and shake etc. They are free to attend and have a range of toys and activities for your child to play. Ranging from 45 mins to 1h30mins they easily fill some time with your toddler. Some Sure Start centres are currently closing due to lack of funding so more people really do need to make use of them.
https://www.gov.uk/find-sure-start-childrens-centre

2. Picked up reserved books from our local library. Another place more people need to use! I have no idea why some are not making use of their local library-ours is great! Our local library holds free events from time to time, children's story time and a sticker book your child can complete by taking our books. I love reading but buying a new book every week can be costly. As a result this year I set myself the challenge to not buy any new books. Instead I have been making use of my libraries online reservation service and reserving the new hardbooks recently released. Really simple to do, you may wait a few weeks if the book is in real demand, but the library sends you a message when you book is ready to pick up.

3. Picked up cheap/free baby items. My younger brother and his girlfriend are expecting their first child in 5 weeks. I am so excited to have another niece/nephew to get some baby cuddles. I really wanted to sort them our a nice gift without spending a lot so have made it my mission to get baby items as cheaply as possible and will put it all in a large hamper. The stuff in the picture below cost me less than £3! Some items I got free by sending of for free samples, the large pampers I got for only £2 using a coupon, the munchkin products I actually won and the rest of the items are from Poundland/Home Bargains. I still need to get them a bit more and will buy the baby a outfit when we do know the sex but its good to know you can sort out a gift without spending loads.
https://www.pampers.co.uk/offers-pages/samples-on-demand- Get a pampers coupon here!


4. Bought Michael's 2017 winter coat in Next Clearance. I always buy Michael's winter clothes in the spring sales this time of year and this week I ordered him a parka coat at £17 reduced from £34. Now you could get a cheaper coat than this, the winter just gone Michael's coat was practically new from Ebay. However I do love Next for children's clothes, I find them great quality, long lasting and nice designs so when I saw this coat I really wanted it for Michael. I have also got jumpers, long sleeved tops, thick trousers in the next size up for Michael put away. It is great if you can buy children's clothes in advance at a reduced prize.
http://www.next.co.uk/clearance/

5.Sent off for two adult Thorpe Park Tickets. Every now and again myself and my partner Dan love to go out for the day just the two of us having some much needed couple time. One of the places we love to go together is to a theme park. Theme park tickets however can be expensive, so I use the Sun newspapers coupons whenever I can. You just collect 10 tokens from The Sun newspaper, send them off and you will be sent two tickets to Thorpe Park saving you a lot of money. I also use The Sun's £9.50 holidays and I am hoping they will again have tokens for Legoland again this year. Last year our entrance was free to Legoland for Michael's 3rd birthday. There are 2 for 1 vouchers, free child entrance, 50% off etc for attractions everywhere so before you go to any attraction, look for a voucher!

6.Arranged with a friend a free haircut. This one was sort of spur of the moment. One of my friends is currently retraining to be a hairdresser and wrote a Facebook status asking for anyone with long hair available for a straight cut for her to practice and put in her portfolio. I volunteered, not only will I be helping out a friend, I will also get my hair cut. Double win! Not everyone will have a friend who can do this, but having a look some hairdressers training collages are looking for volunteers so may be worth looking into. Or look into a mobile hairdresser. Not only can you get your hair cut in the comfort of your own home they are often cheaper than going into a salon.

7. Meal planned dinners and lunch. I do this every single week, and have really stuck to it this week since I am currently trying to eat healthy after Easter and a holiday. Knowing what we are eating means I stick to a strict shopping list, only buying what we need. I would strongly recommend this!

8. Used Youtube videos to work out. On the theme of eating healthily, I have also worked out three times this week. Now gym membership can be expensive and even if I did have one, childcare would mean I would find it difficult attending the gym as often as I would like. However there are a range of workout videos free on Youtube and I mean loads! There is a video for any type of workout you fancy. You can also do a workout in the comfort of your own home. If you do like workouts in a group setting, our local park has free exercise groups running every Saturday so may be worthwhile having a look to see if there is anything in your local area.

9. Added to my birthday/Christmas stash. I buy gifts for birthday and christmas in advance, especially for children's gifts when you know roughly what they like. This week I bought a barbie doll reduced to £2 for a cousin and took advantage of The Book People sale and bought Michael some Star Wars books heavily discounted. Now some gifts I do have to leave and buy full price. Michael's main Christmas present for example I will buy a couple of weeks beforehand because I have no idea what he will want to ask from Santa. However things like books, games, puzzles, sticker sets, clothes etc are perfect to buy reduced and put away for your own child, family children, or birthday parties your child is invited to. On the same note I always have birthday card in the house from the Card Factory where you can buy 7 different designs for £1.

10. Used mini mornings at Vue Cinema. As a family we love the cinema! Michael is really good at sitting at the cinema and sees it as a great treat. However the cinema can be expensive which is why we make use of our local cinema's mini mornings on a Saturday/Sunday and half term mornings. You can see a children's film for £2.50 each. It will be a older film, this week we saw Sing. However Michael really does not care and it is better than paying full price. Also if it is your child's first time going it does mean you lose less money if you do have to leave early. Our cinema also does a children's box for £2 where you get some popcorn, a small chocolate bar and a drink. However a lot of people also take in their own snacks as well further saving yourself money. Other cinema chains offer a similar thing. If you do want to see a new release, we have a  premier cinema not too far away from us where all tickets are £4. May be worth looking into to see if you have one near you.

So that's it for this week, doing things like this does save us a lot of money and does mean we do also have treats. Being frugal/saving money does not mean you always have to go without.

Let me know if you have done anything frugal this week or how you have saved money in the comments below.

H.