Showing all posts tagged budget

In Interior Design, MoneySaving

£100 living room makeover challenge!

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on 3 Comments

When the lovelies from Moneysupermarket got in touch and asked me if they could send me £100 I wasn’t going to refuse was I?

As it turns out, what they had in mind is right up my street! As many of you know I like to stick to a budget. After Kieran was born and I gave up my previous full time work to build a business that meant I could work from home, we  realised very quickly how important having a budget, and sticking to it is!

Moneysupermarket have sent me a £100 prepaid debit card. My challenge is to use the £100 in any way I want but everything I buy has to be under RRP.  I love a challenge and have decided to use my prepaid card to do a mini living room makeover. Hopefully this mini-quest will illustrate how pre-paid cards are a great way or setting and sticking to a budget but also will help me examine the ins and put and report any pros and cons of the card I have to my readers.

This is where you come in… I need to find retailer  ( online ideally as I’m limited locally) that offer sales / items less than RRP which can help me furnish my living room. Do you own a site I should look at for accessories, wall art, soft furnishings etc? Can you recommend one?

I’m hoping to use my reader knowledge to explore new and better known stores to complete this challenge, on budget and have some fun doing it.

Recommend away!

In General, MoneySaving

Savvy spring savings

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on

 

photo by kenteegardin via PhotoRee

Spring has arrived! As well as the hope of some decent weather, this also means new council tax bills and the beginning of the new financial year. While it is wise to keep an eye on your outgoings throughout the year, a spring clean of your finances is a great way to check that you are paying no more than you need to and getting your budget in order.

Every April I used to do “The Ring Around”; spending hours on the phone ringing my bill providers and making sure that I was getting the right deals and discounts. In recent years I have become lazy (or savvy!) and have done my comparisons online.

The fact that energy prices are higher than ever and don’t seem to be dropping anytime soon is a surprise to no-one. Unless you all know something I don’t, we have no influence over the world energy market and wholesale prices. The only way therefore to keep any control over what we pay out for our gas and electricity is to check our tariffs and switch plans or providers as appropriate to make savings.

It is not always necessary to change your energy company, it could be as easy as changing which plan you are on and that change can save you money! I don’t like paying out if I don’t need to, I’m sure you don’t either so make sure that you are being savvy with your outgoings, be it your gas and electricity, your broadband and phone or personal finances.

I can always find ways to spend (or save of course) money that I keep out of the bill company’s pockets, and by taking an extra few minutes out of my day to make sure I’m not paying too much, I can have the cash to do it!

 *This is a sponsored post but regardless is sound advice and true to what myself and my family believe.

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