5 Frugal things post 39

I can’t believe it I have actually made it through these past three weeks alive. The busyness of the working calendar and meetings galore in London have taken their toll and I got an annoying summer cold last week. Bring on the coughing fits when I was with Amazon discussing chocolate and coffee.

I have been manifesting a few things for the past few months. We didn’t have enough money for a big summer holiday like we have done in previous years so I have been ever so keen for a blogging holiday opportunity to come along. This week it did!! We are off to Corsica tomorrow with Mark Warner. We have had to pay towards it, but its basically costing the same as the week in Cornwall that we had originally planned at the end of the summer holidays with no extra expenses when there as everything is included.

So Cornwall is cancelled and Corsica is on. We are packed and ready to go! So I have lots of frugal prep things that I have done this week.

Holiday packing

I had a good root through my cupboards to locate holiday goodies such as insect spray, paracetemol, sudocream, aftersun etc. I found it all without having to buy anything new. Sun cream is an essential and lots of it, Aldi very kindly gifted me lots of bottles. I’ve not really bought new anything for the holiday. I got myself 50 Euros just in case we need any spending money. Hubby is keen on having a week at home with a quiet house, golf to play and watch so hes staying behind and working rather than losing a weeks salary. This also means he can drop us to Heathrow in the morning. Nice. Lots of money saved there.   

Federation of Small Business Awards

On Thursday I attended the FSB London business awards. I was nominated for three awards and was most excited to go along to a black tie event at the Emirates stadium. I received the most beautiful full length ball gown from English brand Alie Street. My bag and shoes were things I already owned. And the beautiful Georgia from Brush Beauty Concierge  met me in London to do my hair and make up. Dobell sent an amazing value tuxedo for my awards show partner my best friend Neilboy. My wonderful friends at PensionBee lent me space in their office to get ready! Here I am on the roof garden with Jasper, the main marketing man.

I didn’t win the awards. But to be short-listed for three awards, best new business, best digital/technology and best creative/media business is amazing ad such an achievement for Mrs Mummypenny! The companies that beat me where amazing and employed a lot more staff!

10 Free things for the summer holidays

Six weeks to fill with the kids is a challenge particularly if you don’t have lots of money to spare. So I wrote a guide, with the help of a few friends with a fab list of 10 free and fun things to do with the family. Take a read.

Nail in fills

I can go for four weeks with my same calgel nails on. I had my nails infilled this week, which means a new layer on top of the old ones. It costs £24 rather than £29 and will last for another four weeks. I love my nails being done and it gives an extra boost of confidence. Since I have had them done ten people have commented on how good they look!

Can you see..my nails are ombre. ❤💖 them a lot. This is stage 1 of thursday operation awards ceremony. The nails are ready. And match my dress and toes😂 Thanks @beauty.by.genevieve as always perfect nails. And perfect timing. #grateful to my baby Jack for spending a mummy day today with me being such a good boy. #3positivethings 1) I was paid for a very old mystery shop today which funded my new nails 2) Hol plans all sorted for Saturday. Boys ever so excited. And not long to wait. 3) met hypno Heather for a coffee this morning for a good chat. So calming. My testimonial video is now live and shared on Facebook and Twitter. . . . . . . . . #lawofattraction #loa #gratitude #dailygratitude #thankful #positivity #lawofattractionquote #moneysaving #frugal #ukblogger #ukbloggerlife #ukmoneyblogger #bloggingyourwaytoriches #hypnotherapy #heatherhall #summerholidays #newnails #ombre #ombrenails #almondnails #instanails #calgel #jackism #mybaby

A post shared by Lynn James (@mrsmummypennyuk) on Jul 17, 2017 at 1:35pm PDT

Free Mascara

I joined a fab new Facebook group this week run by my amazing blogger/writer friend Lotty Burns. Luxury on a budget is a fab place for luxury deals, the kind of deals that I am interested in. I spotted that Red magazine this week had a free mascara worth £24. And I needed a new mascara! I invested the £4.20ish into the magazine for my holiday and also have a fab new mascara. Which works well for my no spend on make-up mission for the rest of 2017.

I am linking up with Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s Five Fabulously Frugal things I have done this week linky.

Have a great summer hols week this week, can you be frugal and save some money?

A friend tries Aldi for the first time – And she loves it

Marianne is a relatively recent friend, we bonded in a pilates class and ended up in Vegas at the same time. We have a shared love for fitness, nutrition, cakes and Las Vegas. Its cool to have so much in common. She also loves to have some luxury but on a budget. My constant raves about Aldi have had an impact and she has taken the plunge and done her first weekly shop. Over to Marianne.

I love shopping

I love shopping – albeit for food or clothes. To me it’s all a necessity although I can understand how you would get more pleasure out of a new dress rather than a pack of minced beef!

Last Monday I decided to go and see what all the fuss was about and do an Aldi shop. On average I probably visit a supermarket three times a week. Our household of only three eats a lot and everyone has a different diet. Grocery shopping can be a real pain at times to ensure I am getting the right things at a decent price.

Aldi versus Waitrose

This week I gave Aldi a turn from my usual Monday morning Waitrose and free coffee ritual. Of course I know the coffee isn’t free – you’re paying for the privilege of entering this holy establishment!

Not knowing the layout of the store I decided to wander through all the aisles to ensure I learnt what products were available. Most noticeable thing was that they don’t stock a lot of your high street brands. Many are alternatives – I did a double take on the crisps that looked remarkably similar to a famous brand. This I found happened a lot during this shopping trip. Products are not a specific brand but you could be easily mistaken.

Fruit, Veg and Meat

I loaded my trolley with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables that all looked great quality. Next in line was the meat. I am very particular about my meat and only like to eat British and have always thought you have to spend more for better quality. Well I was shocked here! I bought two ribeye steaks, lamb chops, bacon, minced beef and smoked salmon all at such low prices and all looked great quality too. I then moved onto the cheese and found all types available, I was after a specific cheese and they had it which again surprised me.

Health & Beauty

Before I went to the check out I of course went through the home section. I wanted to buy the Lacura range face cream that I had heard so much about and looked for the under eye concealer. Alas the latter was not available – probably sold out at £2.99p a tube!? I got my day cream for a great £6.99 and decided that I would definitely return to buy the sun cream range when we went on holiday this summer. Great value products and rave reviews mean I will definitely give them a go.

As you can see from my picture I bought a lot of things – enough to feed us for at least 5 days. The most amazing thing was the price! All this came in just below a staggering £52?! Amazing! And so was my steak and stuffed mushrooms and Roquefort sauce that evening! I’m a convert and will be back again soon to replenish my fridge and see what delights are in the ever changing offer aisle.

I won’t say I will never go back to the major supermarkets again as unfortunately sometime ease and proximity take over at times but this will definitely be a regular shopping trip for me. If I was grading this supermarket Aldi gets an A!

Thank you to Marianne Lowne for this post.

10 Free Things to do with your Family this summer holidays

No spend days during the long six-week summer holidays are extra important to us as a family. For us it means that if we save on lots of days out and activities then we can splurge on other things like a week’s holiday. We always do lots of things for free so I have pulled together my list with the help of a few friends to give you lots of ideas on fun things to keep everyone happy. After all, if we can keep them amused and stop them fighting then parents are happy people!

When I say free I mean free, literally no cost to eating or entry to where you are going. Sometimes this may require strength to say no to your children and yourself! But we can do this. We can make ten days in the summer holiday no-spend days and still have tons of fun.

For the long days out this will require you to take packed lunches, snacks and drinks. This food is taken from your weekly shopping budget. It may also require a drive or a train ride. Taken from your weekly transportation budget.

1) The ever so simple country walk

We all live near to nature, even if you live in the middle of a city. Find some green space and explore. Walk to a corn field and walk around the edges. Take out the kids on their bikes. Go to the woods and created houses from branches and tree. I like to write a list of 20 flowers, trees, animals and birds that the children need to search for. Always a family for a spot of competition the winner might get to choose which DVD to put on when we get home from the walk.

Ensure you take a big bottle of water in your rucksack and fruit and energy snacks for when they start moaning that they have walked too far.

2) Geocaching

An extension to the country walk if the run treasure hunt world of Geocaching. Check out this website for a nice video explaining what you do. I have just done a quick search and there are 10 treasure spots within one mile of my house alone! I can see how recently they have been visited and how easy they are to find. You will need to take some treasure with you to replace the treasure that you find. I am sure the kids can find a toys or gift that you no longer need to put in the treasure chest. How cool is this free pirate adventure?

3) Visit a free museum

So many museums are free, from the huge Science Museum or Natural History museum in London to the smaller places more local to you. The one pictured here is RAF Hendon. Money Saving Expert has a fab list of free museums where you search by location. In Eastern England, particularly Cambridge we have the choice of around 10 free museums to visit and then another 20 in London. I have just seen the bank of England museum is free. We are so doing that, how exciting. And apparently you get to hold a gold bar. Thank you to my friend Cleo of the Graffiti Academy for recommending this freebie.

4) Go to a Splash Park

We love a splash park in this household. Luckily, we are surrounded by them in lots of parks so I am guessing it’s the same for you as well, wherever you are reading this post? We have them in St. Albans, Stevenage, Letchworth, Royston. All very near to where we live. Just take a couple of towels and your packed lunch and you are good to go.

5) Assault Course at Park

Check out your local park assault course/exercise course. Our most local big park is Fairlands park in Stevenage that has a course of apparatus running through the fields and trees. The boys can do pole climbs, monkey bars, chin ups. They like to compete and have me take videos of chin up records! Thank you Emma Bradley for the reminder of another freebie activity.

6) Free community activities

Check out the free classes at your local church, library or Sure start children’s centre. All of these organisations offer freebie activities. There will be play in the park, messy play, rhyme time. All sorts. Ask around in local Facebook groups or google it. Thank you Rebecca Megson for this suggestion. Fab writer and friend of just the 29 years.

7) Plan your summer with Clubcard vouchers

The boys are very keen to go to Legoland this summer. I have been before and it is amazing, especially for three boys who all adore Lego. Alas I’m not paying full or even half price for tickets as it’s so so so expensive. For me and three boys, just checked online and if I booked at least 7 days in advance is £135 for us. Oh my gosh.

Instead I will use my Clubcard vouchers and get four tickets from there. The tickets will cost £13 each in Clubcard vouchers so I need £52 in my Clubcard vouchers account. I tend to save them up so I have that.

I would also ensure that I took plenty of drinks and a packed lunch and snacks. We will also avoid the shop!!

8) Fruit Picking

Now is a great time to hit the berry farms and go fruit picking. Near me I have them all, strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, even the blackberries are starting to go black. And of course, you are not going to pay for what you eat!! I have a few places I know where we can go proper freebie blackberry picking, or foraging so we might end up doing that. Make sure you know what blackberry is though and don’t go picking any near a road or below a metre in height (where animals might have weed).

9) Recycling box creativity

I always have a craft box suitable for any given moment of inspiration. Whenever I get stuff from goodie bags or packaging it all goes into the craft box. I just let the boys go wild with creativity. There are tons of amazing printables online that you could find. Or even printables to then make card models of things. I did lots of Finding Dory last year. I know we will be doing lot of Cars 3 themed stuff this year.

10) Cake baking

I properly love baking with the boys. I used to love baking with my mum too so I am sure it has come from her. We make fairy cakes, chocolate cake, marble cake. We make Victoria sponge, cookies and ginger biscuits. And the most fun part is always licking the bowl!

TIPS TO AVOID CAR HIRE RIP OFFS FROM BETTERSAFE

School’s out in a few days! The summer is here and many of us are looking forward to a stress-busting holiday and some well-deserved family time. Just the 4 sleeps until we head off to Corsica! Cannot wait.

Once you’re off the plane, picking up your hire car keys should bring you one step closer to that hard-earnt R&R. But sadly, all too often, the car hire desk is the most stressful part of the holiday with unexpected and unfair charges.

We hear from so many customers who have faced ludicrous charges for excess insurance policies. As reported in a recent Daily Mail investigation, the excess charged by some companies in the event of a collision can cost over £2000 and the average is £1000. Excess insurance cover allows customers to avoid these huge excess fees but some car hire firms charge as much as £18 a day.

Independent Excess Insurance

One way to avoid being stung overseas is by taking out independent excess insurance before you travel for as little as £1.99 with a company like Bettersafe . So, if you do have a bump, you don’t need to worry.

Here’s a checklist of actions that you can take to avoid stress and unfair charges on your holiday.

1. Research and book early to avoid higher prices, fluctuating exchange rates and hidden costs. Always read the terms and conditions.
2. Always take out standalone excess insurance cover. It is cheaper and easier to book before you go away. Nine years ago when Dylan was a baby we went to Italy for a wedding and hired a car. Hubby drove too close to a tree, big scratch resulted in a horrendously big charge. Since then we have always taken out standalone insurance cover!
3. Beware of fuel policies. It is usually better to have to return the car with a full tank of fuel. I fell foul to this last year in Spain and was charged £100 for a full tank of petrol at the desk in Alicante. A full tank does not cost £100 in Spain!!
4. Do you need an International Driving Permit? A UK licence is accepted throughout the EU but elsewhere you may need an IDP. The Post Office, the AA or the RAC will arrange one for you.
5. Make sure you know the rules of the road. This information can be obtained from the AA and the RAC.
6. Unlimited mileage plans will avoid penalty costs if you are going on a big trip.
7. Pay for a separate driver at the time of booking instead of at the rental desk. Again I have fallen foul to this and hubby last year was the only person who could drive the car for two weeks in Spain to avoid the £200 charge!
8. Check the car inside and out before pulling away from the rental office. Take photos and make notes on the hire company’s form regarding scratches and dents.
9. Make sure all paperwork is completed when the vehicle is returned. If the hire depot is closed, take as many photographs as possible to avoid your credit card being debited for alleged damage. Check credit card and bank statements for the next few months.
10. Report unreasonable practice. The European Car Rental Conciliation Service (ECRCS) has a free service to look into unresolved complaints. But remember, the ECRCS only deals with complaints about member companies – currently Avis, Alamo, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, National and Sixt.

Contact the Bettersafe team on 0203 740 4431 or email them at enquiries@bettersafe.com

This is a collaborative post.

5 frugal things post 38

How come July is such a busy month??!! There is one week left until term ends for the two elder boys, and Jack has already finished pre-school. But I still have a ton of work to do and more meetings in London this week, all mashed into one day on Thursday…Here are my 5 frugal things post 38.

This week saw me go into London Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Tuesday was a a day with all three boys at school so hubby and I celebrated our anniversary (14th July) on Tuesday. Wednesday was a full on 11-hour day running around Christmas in July events. Thursday was a more relaxed trip to Cricklewood for a new kitchen launch with Wickes. I was able to get a cab there and back which was much more relaxing.

Anniversary Lunch

Hubby’s birthday and our anniversary are 4 days apart so we normally combine the celebration into one lovely meal out. This year we went for Murano, an Italian Michelin starred restaurant owned by Angela Hartnett. I have wanted to go for many years and was not disappointed. The restaurant looked flawless, the service was amazing and the lunch menu was perfect seasonal food and very reasonably priced. 3 courses was £33 per person. We pimped up the dessert by swopping it to the cheese board instead of dessert which was an extra £8 each. I am a huge cheese fan so this was a must. We also had a glass of wine matched to each course so we did end up spending a bit extra on wine and on a glass of sparkles when we got there. The whole lunch ended up costing £210 including service.

And here is the food. So good for our 10 year anniversary. We went lunch menu. Mackerel for starter with risotto for main. Cheese board for dessert. Also thrown in was bread, olives and parma ham anti pasti and dessert sorbet rhubarb and strawberries. We asked the sommelier to chose wine to match. As to be honest we havnt got a clue. She assured us she wouldn’t go over the top. Bill came to £210 inc service. This really is amazing value for money in a top London restaurant. With incredible service. I would deffo go again. @ohneil August yes? . . . . . . #anniversary #10years #tin #murano #mackerel #risotto #nettles #cheeseandwine #cheeseboard #gorganzola #goatscheese #quince #winepairing #instafood #instafoodie #mealoftheday #foodie #londonfoodie #michelinstar #gordonramsey #greatvaluelunch #italian #gourmet #loveeatingout #londongourmet #instagood #yummyinmytummy #yummyfood

A post shared by Lynn James (@mrsmummypennyuk) on Jul 11, 2017 at 8:03am PDT

This maybe sounds like a lot to a frugal person but as a person who has ate many a lovely lunch or dinner at Michelin starred restaurants this is incredibly good value. You could quite easily do this lunch deal for less than £50 per head with just the one drink if you so chose to. The great thing about Michelin starred restaurants is that you also get extra courses like olives, bread and parma ham and a refreshing sweet mini dessert. I would definitely go back, particularly for the service as everyone we spoke to was so welcoming and friendly.

To save a bit of money we used our 2 together rail card which meant our train tickets for £18 rather than £27;-)

Christmas in July transport

I meet Emma from Emmaand3 website, my wonderful co-author of Blogging Your Way To Riches and partner in crime on Wednesday morning at the Soho Hotel for the Philips Christmas in July. We love this location and have been to a few events there together. The art, flowers and rooms are just beautiful. I have a post going live next week all about the goodies from the day so you have that to look forward to but the day cost us basically our train fares into London as everything else was given to us, food, drink and transport. We walked very far, choosing to walk between events rather than Uber or tube it as with traffic it was quicker. I did 22,000 steps that day!!

I got quite a haul from the events that we went to, here is my Youtube video with my haul. Quite a bit of it has been eaten or gifted to people by now;-)

Awards time

Next week sees me head to the London Federation of Small Business awards where I have been nominated for 3 awards, best new business, best digital/technology business and best creative & media business! I am so excited to be nominated for such prestigous awards and three times! My outfit is now sorted out. My dress has been gifted by a beautiful British (designed and made in Britain) retailer Alie Street. They specialise in women’s formal wear, from party dresses to awards dresses to wedding dresses. I can’t wait to show you the pictures on Thursday when I am all dressed up. Claire Wacey helped me choose a dress, I shortlisted three, she chose the dress that would suit me the best and she was so right!! Georgia Souter of Brush Beauty Concierge whom I met at the E.L.F. make-up launch party in May is doing my hair and make-up.

To complete the look I needed a statement necklace so I popped into Miss Boutique an independent clothes shop in Knebworth high street. I took my dress and the owner helped me choose necklaces that matched, a tad stressful with 3 boys eager to get home after school. A necklace found costing just £16. Much less cost than alternatives I had seen at Oliver Bonas or John Lewis and its good to support a local small business.

My partner for the awards is my best buddy Neil boy, hubby and I have too many other commitments on Thursday with the boys (football!) so hubby is staying at home, plus its at Arsenal Emirates stadium, not sure he can stand being there! Neil has also been given a beautiful tuxedo by Dobell a fabulously affordable men formal wear company. I’m also going to have a look through the website for formal clothes for the boys as we have a wedding in 4 weeks time:-) I think a smart waistcoat will look very cute.

Actual Anniversary Day

Hubby and I celebrated our ten year anniversary on Friday. We decided to cook a nice home cooked dinner. Hubby choose a beautiful sea bass dish, served with a broccoli and orange salad and a capers and anchovy chunky sauce. It was amazing. I just worked out the cost which was an incredible £4.77 for two with Aldi ingredients. I never would have thought that broccoli would go with orange, capers and sea bass! He used this BBC Good Food recipe. Dessert was a passion fruit Eton mess from Aldi!

We drank Aldi champagne that came in the goodie bag from the Christmas in July event, served with Blueberry popaballs (blueberry flavoured balls). I also might have gifted some Godiva chocolates to hubby too;-)

Matalan Shopping

Matalan is a shop that I havn’t been into for years, despite seeing the adverts all the time on TV! I arrived at my Thursday Wickes event early so popped into Matalan next door for 30 minutes to check it out and see if it was as good value as I had been hearing. Gena who does my nails raves about it.

The childrens clothes looked good, so I picked up a couple of very cool T-shirts for Jack. One of which he is wearing in the Christmas in July YouTube video above, costing £8.50. I also picked up some very cool yoga/running leggings. Purple of course. Just £14. And they fit like a glove, small size:-)

I am linking up with Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s Five Fabulously Frugal things I have done this week linky.

Tell me all about your frugal things this week?