Not Using my Van

I'm waiting for repairs on my van and was expecting to spend more money as I have had to use the local shops instead of going to the cheaper supermarkets. In fact if you add up the extra I spend when going round a bigger shop to the fuel cost to get there, I spend more at the supermarket.

Saving Money on Cards

One thing I like to do when giving presents is make them personal. This is particularly easy to do with cards when I can make one designed to suit the individual. However, this ends up being more expensive than buying one. Even a simple painted card with a piece of thin board stuck onto a card will cost more than a lot of cards. Last week I got 5 cards for £1 from Poundland and 4 cards for £1 from The Works, would be very hard to beat that price by any stretch of the imagination.

Writing to Make Money

I have found that a way to make a small amount of money on the Internet is to write content for blogs or web sites. I found a good way to start with this is to sign up to iwriter where you can read through possible articles and choose ones that you know about. The pay is pretty low to be honest, but there are no commitments about how much you write or how often so it really suits me, as with my kids I never know how busy I am.
If I work really hard at it I can make £100 a week, but most weeks it is more like £20. Articles range in size from 150 words to 1000 words and you get the occasional ebook for up to 12,500 (and writing these is where I have made the most money).
The disadvantages are that you can get your work rejected and won't get paid and you don't always get a good reason for it. It is an american site so you will be paid in dollars into your paypal account so you lose money when it is converted to pounds.
Overall I think the site is worth a try if you enjoy writing but I would consider it a fun way to earn a few extra pounds rather than a serious way of earning a living.

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.