And just like that December arrives. I have to say that the darker/colder months are zooming by pretty quickly. Before we know it the days will start to get longer again, the temperature will warm up and we will be back in spring and summer again. A time when I am much happier!
Last week saw me do lots of TV, radio and podcasts. It all seems to happen in the same week! I appeared on The Sun Savers weekly Facebook show talking Black Friday tips and savings. I did my regular guest spot on BBC Radio Kent on Tuesday night talking saving money for Christmas. I talked yellow sticker food reductions shopping on Monday for BBC Berkshire.
And then finally I did a TV appearance interview for CGTN, a show called ‘The Agenda’ shown on Sky. I was being interviewed about my experience of debt, how it impacted my life and how I went about paying it back. Hair and make-up done for this interview, I always love this!
Black Friday Bargains
Of course it was Black Friday. Did you avoid or did you find any bargains? I had some specific gifts on my list, pressies for the boys which I did find for bargain prices and bought. I found Jack some Nike trainers for £23, original price £50. I stacked discounts using the Nike code of 30% off sale items, plus I bought via Topcashback and saved another 9%.
I got 20% off some Hype clothes at Debenhams, more pressies for the boys. And then I found an Instax camera for a bargain low price at John Lewis, including film. I was using the Idealo website to track the prices on this and saw it drop on Sunday 1st Dec so grabbed the opportunity to buy it that day!
As I said everything was on my list to buy, no impulse purchases. I did well. Money was saved!
The Christmas Decorations are up
Dylan was away most of the weekend for football so the Josh, Jack and I decided to Christmas-ify the house. Josh decided to do something different this year and create a Christmas room. The tree is in the corner of the living room, there are lights hanging around the room and Josh created a tinsel curtain on the archway separating the living room and dining room.
We did a quick shopping trip to The Range for a couple of new decorations and even more tinsel! I love The Range. Great value for money, a huge range of decorations. The boys loved choosing a couple of new bits to decorate the house.
Toby Carvery
Roast dinner was at Toby Carvery this week. I haven’t been there for ages and had forgotten a) how busy it is, but b) how much of a bargain it is! Roast dinner for one adult and two children was £21!! And you absolutely fill your plate up as much as you can!
No pictures unfortunately as my plate was piled high and not looking so pretty. There were five choices of meats, including turkey, gammon, beef, lamb and pork. Yum. The yorkshire puddings were huge and there was maybe 10 sides dishes to chose from with vegetables and potatoes. Both boys cleared their plates and loved it. We will definitely be back.
Nativity Costume
This year Jack is a donkey. He was totally not impressed when he found out. He wanted to be one of the children or aliens. Yep the nativity is an alternative one this year. Anyways donkey outfit needed to be sourced this week. I suggested that I could make it. No, Jack flatly refused. So his costume is grey shorts and t-shirt and I found some donkey ears, nose and tail for £3 on the internet. Bargain and better than the full on donkey costumes where the cheapest price was £12.
Octopus Energy Sign-Ups
I have loved seeing so many of you readers sign up to switch your energy to Octopus. My trusted energy provider also the only provider recommended by Which. The prices are great and their customer service is even better. But the icing on the cake is that if you do switch we BOTH get a £50 credit to our bill. This will probably come in Jan/Feb, perfect timing when money is a bit tighter. See if you can save money through switching your energy by clicking here and get a £50 credit to your bill!!
Win One of Eight M&S Christmas Hampers
Don’t forget to enter the UK Money Blogger competition, a brilliant one for Christmas where you win one of eight fabulous Christmas hampers, the full details are here. Entering is as easy as following a few bloggers on Twitter and Instagram. And the more you follow, the more chances you get to enter the draw.
