Sales

It's January sales time, and I'm making the most of looking through the last few reduced items seeing what I can get for next years Christmas presents. Best bargains so far:

Sainsburys - transparent pencil case 3p
Tescos - set of pink erasers 25p
Wilkinsons - glass tea light holder with christmas tree design - 25p
Matalan - Set to make a car for 8 years+ - 50p (buy one get one free offer)

Cars

I've had problems with the car I share with my ex, so I'm now going to share my boyfriends car. This does come with some problems if you both need the car for diferent things at the same time, but genreally it works out fine, and save lots of money on insurance, tax, MOT's and services.

Valentines Day expenses

Don't be taken in by the shops advertising all the symbols of love that you should be buying for valentines day. A home made card means a lot more than something produced by a shop, especially if you carefully make up your own rhyme.

Instead of buying an expensive present or going out for a meal, why not cook a nice meal at home instead. It doesn't have to be that expensive just take care with how the food looks and it will be highly appreciated.

Borrowing

I read an interesting article on the Motley Fool website yesterday saying how if you borrow money you might think that you are able to buy more than other people, but in fact, because you spend so much more paying for them because of the interest on the credit, you in fact end up with a lot less in the long run.
So waiting for things and saving up means you will have more, even if it takes you longer to get it.

Going out for Free

I often find that I turn down nights out because I can't afford to buy drinks. One way round this is to drive so that you can't drink alcohol and in return for giving a lift to your friends they often give you free drinks. As long as your friends don't live too far apart and you spend loads on petrol, you can still have a night out with your friends.

Library Books

Today our house is scattered with library books. My girls love the novelty of reading a new book, and although nothing is the same as have a brand new book of their own, borrowing from the library is the next best thing. They get a great deal of enjoyment out of it and experience a big range of different stories that they would never had read if I had to buy them for free.

Cold verses savings

I have decided to stuff saving money on my heating at the moment. My central heating is still not working, and I have had a radiator plugged in all day upstairs, and it is so nice not to feel cold up here. I still only have the little halogen one downstairs so it is cold in the kitchen, but I can put up with that.
It is forecast to be really cold at the weekend so I have decided to just keep the heating on. It is green energy so I don't need to feel guilty about the environment, and I have got to the point where I just want to be warm.