Archive for the Money Saving category
London on a budget
Posted on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 17:43 by Michelle
London is always very expensive, but as my children have gotten older it has become one of the few places we can go where everyone is happy.
I used to live in London so always feel comfortable there and usually know my way around. We traveled to London by train, and as I have a family and friends card and booked as soon as the dates went on sale the return journey was less than £50. I know there are lots of complaints from those who live in London, but as an infrequent visitor I love the public transport there and it puts my local public transport to shame. I keep an Oyster card on automatic top up so that I don't have to worry about fares for me, and kids are free (on buses) until they are 16, but the last time we went we were asked a few times for their cards. Now kids over 11 have a Zip card, that wasn't available to kids outside London when I had been before, it is now, but you have to apply 3 weeks before you go and I had not realised. However there is still a £1 daily travelcard available for kids (up to 4 children with 1 adult) which gets them on the buses and tubes and covers all zones. It is off peak so not to be used until after 9.30am. I'm not sure how the pricing of this works as the first day I was told it was £2 each as I don't have a travelcard on my Oyster but the next few days I was only asked for £1 each.
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Sorting out our accommodation is always my first priority. A few times I have managed to bag a room at The Hoxton when they have had their £1 specials and it is a lovely hotel. The bar is quite trendy (and expensive), but there is free wifi and some PC's for general use in the lobby. It is a short walk to Old Street tube and there is a fridge in the room where they put a pint of milk and a bottle of water which is a nice touch. The breakfast bag they leave is nothing to write home about, yogurt, banana and OJ, but when you've paid less than £60 for 3 nights, who's complaining. It's not really a family hotel, but a great place for a girly get away or romantic weekend.
The last twice we have been I have managed to get a family room from the Travelodge at £9 per night. This is a spectacular price when you consider that 4 of your can sleep comfortably in a family room. I've stayed in a few Travelodges in the capital and would give those near Kings Cross a wide birth simply because they are very dated and a bit grim inside the rooms. This time we were in the fairly new hotel on City Road. The train from Newcastle takes us to Kings Cross and the bus from there stops right outside the travelodge door. The rooms are clean and spacious, but if you do stay there, take ear plugs, there are some clubs nearby and of course some guests returning late at night. One of the great features of this hotel for those on a budget is their buffet breakfast. This is not haute cuisine, but eggs, bacon, sausages, mushrooms, as well as toast cereal and muffins to help yourself to as much as you want, although already good value for money at £7.50 any children in the room eat free with a paying adult. To use my recent trip as an example 3 nights with an eat as much as you like breakfast every day for 4 people, (me and 3 kids) at a total cost of £49.50.
I did encourage the kids to eat heartily at breakfast and that really kept the price down. When we were wandering about during the day, a stop at Starbucks (or Tesco Express) late afternoon and we were fine until dinner. For dinner I printed off vouchers before we went. So we had lovely meals at Yo Sushi and Pizza Hut, as well as one costly, " lets walk into the next place we see" but very nice Indian. The Pizza Hut we went into was in Leicester Square, I'd normally not venture in to somewhere 'so touristy that it does not matter what the service is like' but the vouchers had to have a named shop on them, and I knew I'd be able to find that one. I was very pleasantly surprised, The service was quick the portions were generous and the staff were pleasant.
Getting around always takes up the majority of our time as I prefer the buses but can't work them out, but I did get to visit the Dr Who exhibit at Earls Court with Chris while the girls spent their Christmas money at Camden. We also had a great time in the Science Museum in the Launchpad area, I've been to the science museum before so think that bit must be pretty new, as I don't know how we can have missed it. There is something similar in Newcastle in the Discovery Museum, but my kids know that inside out. I'm very pleased that we went to Launchpad on a weekday when the schools were back in and when there were not a great deal of tourists in the city because it was still pretty hectic in there.
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Our highlight was the ice cream in a lovely Italian place called Ciao! just off Leicester Square, they have a gorgeous Eraclea which is a sort of hot chocolate custard. It's similar to chocolat and churros in Spain. The kids loved the ice creams and the staff were attentive and friendly. It became somewhere to drop into after a long and very cold day of walking and I sincerely hope it is still there the next time I visit.
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|Posted in Eating Out (RSS), Family (RSS), Food (RSS), Money Saving (RSS), Travel (RSS)
The UK's top 10 Money Saving Sites
Posted on Tue, Nov 11, 2008 at 14:05 by Michelle
Having referenced a few of the places I get great deals from I thought
I'd right a comprehensive list of the best sites for saving money that
the UK has to offer. If you know of any more please feel free to add
them.
They are in order of my particular preference and usefulness.
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Money Saving Expert -
the daddy of them all, what Martin
Lewis does not know about money saving, you can be sure one of the
many active MSE forum
members will. When I was first learning how to manage with a budget,
this money saving site was my lifeline. My favourite area and one of
the most popular forums is Money
Saving Old Style here I learned how to cook, how to menu plan, how
to organise my kitchen and the rest of my house and how to get double
duty out of old items. This is the first site I turn to if I am
considering buying something or want help with anything from laying a
floor to getting rid of a computer virus. The forums are helpful
places and although they might not always have the answers someone
always knows where else you can look.
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Hot UK Deals - this used to
have a much better format, but as it became more popular it was
necessary to upgrade the site and I don't find it so user friendly
anymore. Now I get all of the messages via RSS and then take a look
through there for the bargains. When I used to look at the forums I
was guilty of seeing something that was a bargain and buying it, now I
go to the RSS feed and search for whatever it is I am looking for and
see if there has been a deal posted. If I'm lucky there has, if I'm
unlucky there has and it's expired. I've been looking for netbooks, as
two of the kids want these for Christmas, ermm, they are coming down
in price, but not far enough yet.
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Quidco - this is a cashback
site. If you're going to buy anything online sign up to quidco and go
through their links. I have been a member for about 3 years and had
£307 back from my purchases in that time. The money is better in your
pocket than theirs.
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Freecycle -
although
you do save money using Freecycle, it's more about saving the planet
from landfill. A Yahoo group that originated in the states, most towns
in the UK now have their own very active Freecycle
group. The idea is that if you are getting rid of something and it
isn't worth the time/effort of selling it, so would end up in the bin
or at the tip, list it at Freecycle and someone will have a use for it
and come and collect from you. I've used it a A LOT, for different
phases I've been going through, my home wine making adventure cost
nothing more than the ingredients as the demi-johns, bucket and all
other paraphernalia was donated. I got rid of all of the clothes the
kids had grown out of on here, as well as those extra kitchen utensils
that seem to procreate in the drawers. The idea of Freecycle
is one that I am passionate about and I know it works, if you aren't
already in a group, join now. The negative side of Freecylce and the
one that most people complain about is the amount of emails you will
get, when you sign up request daily digest, or to read the group
online, otherwise the emails can be overwhelming.
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The
DVD Forums - this is an odd one, it's a bit like HUKD
but sometimes things are posted on here that never make it to other
forums and vice versa, I have these posts by RSS also and it is always
worth a browse.
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Skyscanner - I love this
site, it's the dogs you know what at finding the lowest price on
budget airlines.
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Bob's
Free Stuff Forums - all sort of freebies posted here by the active
members.
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Downsizer - An american term,
but a British site, I like this site for foraging ideas, home growing
and sustainability, all the things I'd love to do but haven't got
round to yet. I did learn how
to joint a chicken at this site. Loads of hints and tips on how to
do all those things your granny used to do, and a very active forum.
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Mad
about bargains - This site lists the current supermarket offers,
what the offers are, what the amount of saving is and when the offer
ends. Not only on the BIG 4, but Co-op, Iceland, Waitrose and
Morrisons. I buy a lot of my groceries at Lidl, but sometimes with
these offers the supermarket works out better for eg. Lurpak
spreadable currently on offer at Asda 2 for £3 but at Lidl the
comparative is £1.58
- My Supermarket - A great idea and, if you do all your shopping online, well worth going through this site. Although I do use for big shops at Christmas etc, I feel it's not quite as good as it should be at the comparisons. If you do use this shop sign up to Ipoints, (another cash back site) and you get money back for doing your shop through mysupermarket.co.uk.
Posted in Money Saving (RSS)
Buying stuff
Posted on Tue, Nov 11, 2008 at 11:41 by Michelle
Sometimes I have to spend money. Actually I spend a lot easier than I should, but I still feel like moths fly out of my purse when I open it. Anyhoo, right now I need a printer. I go through the motions of justifying needing it, but I'm very good at doing this as my need is subjective.
I've had a great printer for about 8 years, it is a Brother HL 1030 and it has been great, loads of clear quick and quiet prints, but now it just refuses to print. You would think that as my other half is a printer technician, he might have taken a look at it. Despite me having told him about 4 MONTHS AGO that the printer does not work, and that threatening him that I AM GOING TO HAVE TO SPEND SOME MONEY, he still has not looked at it. In fact, at the weekend before we got out of bed, I was looking over some podiatry work (it's all drugs, sex, and rock and roll in this household) and mentioned the printer again, for maybe the 4th or 5th (hundred) time, and he said
"sometimes, they just stop working, it's old".
No shit, Sherlock. So I've sort of been on the lookout for one for a while, and as always price is the most important factor. I discovered on HUKD that there are more Xerox color printers in stock at the amazing price of £63 as there is £30 off with code XRP1. I've ordered one, it wasn't really what I wanted, I was going to have another Brother mono, but this comes with another free cartridge as well, so it is a great deal. I have to admit that the colour will help, becasue trying to see the difference between the perimysium and endomysium in a black and white print is somewhat difficult. You may wonder why someone who is studing podiatry would even need to know this stuff, (I certainly do), but instead of questioning those who know better I keep my head down and learn what I'm told.
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Posted in Money Saving (RSS)
The butcher, the baker and the ...fruiter
Posted on Sun, Oct 12, 2008 at 17:36 by Michelle
Oh, you might know the fruiter (pronounced froo'ta, or even froo'ta'rer) as the green grocer, if you're not from the north east of England. I try to buy most of the fruit and veg from the fruiter, it lasts longer, but more importantly it costs less than the supermarket, and we are lucky that there are still a few independent shops left locally.
The baker, well, I do most of my own baking, but since I lost the paddle for the bread maker, and it makes better bread than my hand made efforts I've been buying bread. I hate buying bread, it costs such a lot, over £1 for a loaf is way too high for my conscience. I try to get it when it's marked down and fill up the freezer, but I've been avoiding the supermarket as I'm particularly skint this month and have just picked up bread and milk as needed. I needed a few things and had a trip to Lidl planned, I asked my neighbour if she fancied a look over with me, she suggested we went in her car and headed to the newly opened Lidl's in South Shields. When we parked up she told me of a Gregg's seconds shop that her mam had been to which was near enough for us to take a look. Oh my, 3 small seeded loaves for 75p and 12 bread buns for 50p. I got a few of them and a pack of the ends of caramel slices, yummy. So we're OK for bread this week, and Gregg's seconds is firmly on my shopping trip agenda. (There's another of these Day Old shops on Westgate Road).
The butcher, this feels like a real indulgence I remember when I was small accompanying my nanna to the huge butcher on the corner of the high street in Gateshead. There was an aisle up the middle of the shop and butchers working both sides. There was sawdust on the floor and you could smell blood when you walked in. In the 25 years I've been buying meat it has mostly been from the supermarket. To be honest, I wasn't even sure what to ask for in the butcher's and in the supermarket it's so easy to pick up from the sterile, prepackaged, uniformly cut and extremely limited supply of meat. Last September I sold my car and decided to use public transport, (this exercise lasted for 6 months) but as the buses had convoluted routes, I found there was a butcher practically on my doorstep. What a find this turned out to be, a friendly, family butcher in Concord. I go there now about once a week. If I want thick pork chops they cut them that way. If I'm cooking burgers or making my own sausages they mince up the best pork or mince for the purpose. It's not organic, I can't afford that, but I'm assured that it's outdoor reared, it doesn't have water added and it tastes great. The butchers that work there are so friendly and helpful that it's a pleasure to shop there. The last few weeks, my purchases haven't been much more than mince and ham shanks. Thank goodness for winter when it's so easy to make nutritious, warming and cheap soups.
Luckily my daughter is not a fussy eater
Me, after the 4th night of soup: "Are you fed up with soup for tea?"
Her, "not when they are different types".
This week we've had;
- Leek and potato
- Roasted pepper and tomato
- Roasted butternut
- Chicken and veg,
I bought 2 free range chooks from Lidl's which made
- 6 portions of soup
- 2 days sandwiches for 3 people
- jerk chicken for (4 legs)
- fajitas for 3
- chicken korma for 4.
I know Jamie Oliver did the feed your family for a fiver advertising for Sainsburys, but I'd really expect to feed my family for a fiver a day, not a meal. And, while I'm on the subject of Jamie Oliver, the new show he's doing, 'The Ministry of Food' fantastic idea, people do need to be shown how to cook again, but really, families on benefits and he's showing them meals made from salmon and tuna steak, get real, it's possible to eat very well without spending that sort of money on ingredients.
|Posted in Frugal (RSS), Money Saving (RSS)
Money Saving
Posted on Sat, Aug 30, 2008 at 14:32 by Michelle
Unfortunately many people aren’t aware of just how easy it is to spend less money.
A quick look at my favourite finance site Money Saving Expert shows just how painless large scale savings can be.
Spending less without cutting back isn't just possible it’s extremely easy.
The first big savings can be made by simply changing gas and electricity suppliers, but go further by looking at what you spend now and where you could spend less and the potential savings are huge.
When I first started ‘Money Saving’, or taking more of an interest in our families I looked at some of the places we spent money, and shopping around meant I saved £1000's over the year.
- Food Shopping
- Home Phone and Broadband
- Mobile Phones
- Water Meter
- Digital TV (Sky)
- Council Tax
It is time consuming, but every minute spent checking it out is money in the bank for you week after week.
Once you start becoming more financially aware it's difficult to view spending in the same way.
I now know that it is the job of shops etc to get my money from me, and it's my job to make sure that when we CHOOSE to spend money we get the best possible value for every penny spent.
There are many places to help with getting the best prices. Money Saving Expert can be a one stop shop, and is always my first port of call. The others I regularly use are www.confused.com and www.gocompare.com.
|Posted in Money Saving (RSS)
Gateshead Taybarns - The Ultimate Eatery
Posted on Fri, Aug 29, 2008 at 19:57 by Michelle
We just returned from having 'wor tea' at this recently opened restaurant. I was searching for something on the internet last night, and you know how you end up going down rabbit warrens of information...well I stumbled on a review for the above. I thought it had to be worth a try and could add to our restaurant repertoire, which is one other buffet type place, and a lovely Italian, that we go to on birthdays and anniversaries.
When I found the restaurant I realised we had been in before in the buildings previous incarnation as a Brewers Fayre. The service today was certainly faster than that, possibly as it is now serve yourself.
The food was OK, it was nothing special, and if you're only paying for yourself as part of a group then it's pretty good value.
We went before 5 to take advantage of the lower cost (£5.95) and for 4 adults, me and the 3 kids, (who are adults at 10 in Taybarns) it came to just under £30 for the meals and a refillable glass. Now I could do a pretty spectacular meal for £30 at home, in fact I can get most of the weeks shopping for that, but I would have to do the washing up.
It wasn't very busy when we got there, but there was a queue coming in when we left. There was a good range of food, salad, roast meat and veg, a wok and pizza counter as well as the dessert section.
It hasn't been open very long, and was very clean the seating is contemporary, and it was a pleasant experience. It couldn’t help but remind me of the eat as much as you like places in the states, Golden Corral etc. I can foresee openings of many more restaurants of this ilk.
For some reason on the Taybarn site this is called Taybarns Newcastle, but as far as I know Swalwell is Gateshead, it's certainly south of the river. There seems to be snobbery around all the new or good things being classed as being in Newcastle - or the oft coined Newcastle-Gateshead as if it's become one town!
- Newcastle Hilton - Gateshead
- Newcastle Marriott - Gateshead
- Metro Centre - Gateshead
Posted in Eating Out (RSS), Money Saving (RSS)
Boot Sale Bargains
Posted on Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 12:30 by Michelle
I go to a boot sale almost every weekend, this is something my partner and I enjoy, although we don’t often buy very much we have had some wonderful bargains. My best possession from a boot sale purchase has to be my Kenwood chef, which I got for £10 including a potato peeler and mincer.
When I was there this weekend, I turned on my newly installed sports tracker on my lovely N95 phone. It did run out of battery, but not sure yet if that’s because Sports Tracker is heavy on juice or because my phone had not been charged overnight. Even with the new software I’m lucky to get 24 hours out of the phone, and often much less with any applications running.
It did manage to plot my whole walk though and I was quite surprised to see that I walked 3 miles. It looks odd on the Sports Tracker website as you see my concertina path through a field. While I was there, I was thinking about the strange things you see at a boot sale, there often tends to be runs on things and for a while almost every seller had a glass chess set, then there were salad spinners to be seen on every other stall.
Although there is often something unusual, this week was head and shoulders above the rest. On one stall I saw a broken mannequins arm, as people went past most picked it up and examined it closer. I thought about it for some time, but apart from possibly some sort of bizarre art or paperweight, could think of no reason for wanting to own a severed arm.
As we left the field and joined the car park a man was taking a pony out of the back of a van. I’m not talking a horse box here; this was a small Bedford type van, and a very small cute looking pony. Maybe he had became agitated it the back of the van, something had obviously excited him, as I noticed after I took the photo minus the pony’s head.
My purchases this week.
- A couple of DVD’s to sell - Exorcist Trilogy and Blazing Saddles (both now sold)
- Books for my daughter - she’s currently reading anything about people who have overcome tragic young lives. A popular subject apparently, and we got her 4 books.
- Denby coffee pot and jug – this was a real find, everyone was packing up and this was behind a picture all they wanted was £1 for both bits. They had broken the sugar bowl and creamer on the way there. Profit from them will be sweeeeet.
Posted in Money Saving (RSS)