Don't waste money on heating

It has been a lot colder the last few days and I have had a few people saying that their heating is going on. To me it is still far too early in the year to put on your heating, especially if you are on a tight budget.

Here are some ways you can stay warm without having to pay lots of money:

• If you are cold put on some thick socks and a jumper before switching on a heater.
• Once it is dark shut the curtains to keep in the heat but make sure you open them on sunny days.
• If you have been sitting for a while and feel cold then get up a walk around and get the blood moving and you will feel warmer.
• If you have hot water have a hot shower or bath as this will warm you and is cheaper than running the heating full time.
• Get yourself a warm drink, that helps you feel much warmer.

In the long term these ways will help you keep warm but will only save money in the future:

• Get your house insulated then you don't need to put the heating on for as long or as early in the year.
• Buy warmer clothes such as thermal vests and padded trousers and jumpers so you can keep warmer in the house.
• Get a more energy efficient boiler that will keep the cost of heating down. Choose one that will only heat water when you need it.
• Make sure you have double glazing and the windows don't have any draughts. If necessary put secondary glazing on for the winter months to keep it warmer. Thick curtains also help to stop the heat from escaping.

And don't forget that if you have friends with warm houses visit them more often so you don't have to heat your own!!

New Section in Mora Chat

Mora Chat has a section for work at home mums and an area which gives ideas for online and offline opportunities to make money. If you are interested click here: http://morachat.com/forum/profile.php?mode=register&refer_id=431

Charity Shops

I went out to a different town yesterday and round the charity shops found a couple of fairly rare books that I am going to sell on ebay. I have noticed that the richer the town the better the selection of items in their charity shops. However ones in towns tend to be more expensive than the smaller village ones. They are a great place to get bargains of all kinds, especially toys for the kids as they change their mind about what they want so quickly.

Save money for Christmas

Ok it seems way to early for Christmas but I see some shops are already getting their cards out. At this point I think it is a bad idea to start buying little things if you see them in preparation for Christmas as you will either forget you bought them or they might end up being not suitable. The best way to prepare for Christmas now is to put a bit of money aside each week ready for it.

Write a list of all the people you buy presents for and the approximate amount you want to spend on them. Then work out how much you need to save each week in the lead up to Christmas to afford that much. If you can't afford it scale down some of the prices, you don't need to spend a lot to show you care, even a small gift, if well thought out, can mean a lot.

Once you have worked out what you need to save either find a box to store the cash or open a savings account and make sure you put the money in every week. You will then be sure you have enough without having to have a last minute panic about how you are going to afford everything.

The best way to save money I find is to accept any invitation you get for going over for Christmas. I always find I buy way too much food and so much gets wasted that it costs me as much as the presents.

Toy Library

If you children get bored of playign with their toys you don't have to buy them new toys every time. In many towns there are toy libraries where you can borrow toys for your children and take them back every few weeks and exchange them for other ones. It is also a great way to try out toys to see if the kids are going to play with them before you pay out lots of money on them.

Saving unexpected Money

This month because of the way they are paid out I get 2 lots of child tax credits. This is because they come once every 4 weeks instead of once a month, so every so often I get some extra.

I have decided that the best thing to do with this extra is to save it as I know I already have enough for this months bills. Doing this means that I have that extra for any emergencies that crop up.

Motley Fool Guide to Saving Money

This article contains loads of ways to save money and some of them were things I hadn't thought of. http://www.fool.co.uk/news/money-saving-tips/2007/09/01/seventy-six-ways-to-save-money.aspx?source=ioowftxt0010011