The Money Guide to Transform your Life – My Book – Recommendations

Childhood/Money Mindset Chapter 2

The Cambridge Money University study, age of beliefs being formed.

Budgeting – Chapter 3

My spending diaries from Lockdown

My Money and Mindset Book recommendations

Meaningful Money by Pete Matthew

It Is only Money and it Grows on Trees – Cara MacMillan

The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho

Big Magic – Liz Gilbert

Untamed – Glennon Doyle

My Money course recommendations

Emotionally Wealthy People

Debt – Chapter 4

Debt Charities and Guidance

If you’re feeling out of control with your debt repayment, maybe unable to make minimum payments and are not ready to make a plan yourself, please, please go straight to the Citizens Advice, Christians Against Poverty or Step Change. Three amazing and FREE places for debt advice.

I would also recommend visiting my debt expert friend and colleague, Sara William’s website Debt Camel. An incredible amount of content to help with every type of debt situation in the UK.

Check Your Credit rating with Credit Karma for free

I use Credit Karma to check my credit file every few months. Handily they email me to tell me when my credit score has changed. I can check to see if it was me, or possibly fraud.

Up-To-Date Credit Card best Deal Details

Money Saving Expert is a brilliant website to find the best up-to-date credit card 0% deals.

My Debt story – Dear Debt it’s time to say Goodbye – FREE eBook.

A link to my free eBook Dear Debt It’s Time to Say Goodbye – where I have shared my debt diaries.

Emergency Savings – Chapter 5

Great places to save your emergency funds

This list changes all of the time so I recommend buying a weekend newspaper and checking their money section for the Best buy. iWeekend and FT Weekend have great comparison tables and I have written for both newspapers.

Most of the challenger banks offer the Saving pot function. I personally use Starling Bank.

Money Saving Ideas Chapter 6

Independent Mortgage Broker Trussle

 If you are six months or less from the end of your current mortgage deal my recommended mortgage broker is Trussle. We both get £100 in Amazon vouchers if your re-mortgage is successful. http://ssqt.co/mzgdRSs

Mortgage Calculator

Mortgage calculator on Money Saving Expert to play around with your own mortgage numbers to check the savings

Energy Company

I recommend the same company that Which? does, and I have been a customer for three years so have tried and tested their customer services many times. Octopus Energy, the one with the giant pink Octopus.

Here is my refer a friend link, pop in your monthly costs, current provider, and address to see if you can save. If you decide to switch, we BOTH get a £50 credit to our bills. (credits can then be transferred out to your bank account!).

Comparing your Insurance

If you choose to purchase travel insurance annually, as with any other insurance you take out, always compare and most likely switch companies every year for insurance deals. I have found a (personally tried and tested) good independent company to help you find the best deal here. Look at Compare by Review that will tell you the best policy based on things like customer service, trust pilot ratings, claims process and value for money. The cheapest is not always the best option.

Car insurance Pay as You Go

By Miles are a pay as you go insurance company. I paid a lower upfront amount of £170, then pay 3p per mile that I drive. This has been the best decision ever, considering that I drove approximately 20 miles in April 2020 in lockdown. You can get a quote from here. It is worth it if you are a lower mileage driver, so less than 8000 miles a year. 

Cash Back website

Here is my refer-a-friend link to set up an account with TopCashback.

Food App, voucher codes recommendations

Download the apps or sign up to newsletters for places like Prezzo, Toby Carvery, Harvester to get regular money saving vouchers.

Recipe Box Recommendation

Get £20 off your first two orders with Mindful Chef and give me £20 refer-a-friend credit by popping my email address lynn@mrsmummypenny.co.uk into the voucher code box. Simple!

Do you wear contact lenses?

Vision Direct is an online contact lenses store and is so much cheaper than the high street stores like Specsavers. My monthly contact lenses are £10.50 a month rather than the £18 that I previously paid at Specsavers. Vision Direct are also very good for glasses!

Cleaning products

Prescription costs

If you need lots of prescriptions in each period of time you will be better off buying a prepayment certificate. In April 2020, the prescription cost is £9.15 (check with your doctor just in case the drug is cheaper to buy without a prescription anyway). A three-month prepayment certificate is £29.65, or a twelve month is £105.90 or £10.59 paid over 10 monthly instalments. You can get a certificate from here

Family Money Saving Chapter 7

Childcare costs Government Website detail

Holidays – A French Gite

My friend Carolyn Haycox runs the most beautiful holiday place with 5 different gites, named after fruits. The grounds are huge with all sort of games and sports for the children, plus a swimming pool. She also has chickens, ducks, cats, and cows in the field next door. It is idyllic.

Two for one tickets to London Attractions

Be clever and use your train ticket to get buy one get one free tickets. You need to print off a voucher before you leave home from the website Days Out Guide.

London Zoo is just one of many 2 for 1 offers, look at what else you can do. London Aquarium, London Eye or the London Dungeons are a few ideas. So much more to choose from too.

Save 40% at the cinema and family days out/food Kidspass

I get 40% off our Cineworld tickets by having a Kidspass subscription. This is a membership club that get you money off all cinema chains, family food and family days out. It cost £2.99 a month. Well worth it as we go the cinema at least once a month.

Geocaching

Food Money Saving Chapter 8

Bolognese recipe from Mrs Mummypenny

Flapjacks

I found an amazing recipe for Flapjacks from Lorraine Pascal with a touch of lemon rind and ginger powder. There are oats, syrup, soft brown sugar, butter, raisins. Totally unhealthy but so yummy. Definitely one to make.

Marble Cake

We make this one all the time, using the BBC Good Food recipe. It’s so easy that the boys can now make it by themselves. Although I tend to not let them swirl it at the prebaking stage, as we end up with a brown mess rather than a marble effect.

Victoria Sponge

Many a recipe tried here but the best has to be from Faith Archer, and it is an award winning recipe (village country show!). Tried and tested for my 43rd birthday, a total winner.

Scones

Another thing I have tried to make in the past and have failed. Again Faith comes to the rescue with a wonderful recipe for scones. I baked these for VE day with lashings of clotted cream and strawberry jam. They were amazing and so reminded me of home, Cornwall and a cream tea.

Chocolate Chip cookies

Whenever I say, ‘Boys shall we bake?’, the boys ask to bake these. The best chocolate chip cookies in the world, courtesy of my amazing baker friend Emma Chizlett (you’ll always be Chizlett to me!).

This recipe makes loads, maybe 30 cookies, so you pop the ones you do not bake into the freezer for the next day. But I can guarantee that once baked they will be scoffed within five minutes. They are amazing. I can easily put away four in one sitting. I like to make them with a mixture of white and milk chocolate chips.

Making Money Chapter 10

Mystery Shopping

Sign up to become a Mystery Shopper for Proinsight.

TopCashback

TopCashback has a great referral scheme where you and a friend both share a bounty when they sign up and use TopCashback actively. This can be £5 each, or sometimes £20. They change it all the time, but I have a lots of friends sign up, and followers, So if you want to sign up use this link and we will both benefit from some sign up cash

Online Surveys

Are online surveys a good way to make money – No!

Refer A Friend Offers

Octopus Energy

You get £50 forswitching and signing up, so do I. Via a credit to our bill

PensionBee

If you transfer your pension you get £50 added to your pension pot, so do I.

Top Cash Back

As already mentioned, you get £5 for signing up, I get £15 (offer varies all the time though!)

LifeSearch

Fab independent insurance broker – You get either £25 or £50 cash back depending on value of policy, I get £50 to £100, depending on value of policy.

Mindful Chef

add my email address to the referral section – lynn@mrsmummypenny.co.uk

 You get £20 off your first and second orders, I get £20 credit to my account

Trussle Mortgage

 If you re-mortgage and get a new mortgage with independent mortgage broker Trussle we both get £100 of Amazon vouchers.

MaMa Furfur YouTube Channel – Why MLM marketing is so bad


Protection – Chapter 11

LifeSearch are my independent insurance provider and are experts at providing you with a policy that is perfect for your needs. 

Statutory Minimum Sickness and Holiday Pay Info

Statutory Minimum’s for sickness and holiday pay exist – check the  government website in the first instance.

Wills – Beyond Life

Use this super simple online service from Beyond.Life.

Chapter 12 Savings Recomendations

Buy a weekend Newspaper such as The FT, iWeekend and look at their best buy tables.

Chapter 13 Investment Recomendation

Source of statement that just 23% of women hold an investment product in the UK compared to 35% of men is taken from this article.

I use Vanguard for my personal S&S ISA, my money is invested in the Life Strategy Funds.

My children’s Junior ISAs are with Fidelity. I have worked with both of these companies on sponsored campaigns and have thoroughly investigated how they work.

This is my view and my view only. Investments can go up and down. If you are unsure take advice from a recommended financial planner or adviser.

Chapter 14 Pensions Information

Main Government Site for State Pension Information

Pension Bee Referral details. we both get £50 added to our pensions if you open an account.

PensionWise for free over 50 pension planning guidance

Financial Planning Firm Recommendation

Jacksons Wealth Management

Disclosure, many of these links are affiliate links and I will earn a fee if you sign up as a customer. In many cases you will also receive a welcome bonus as well.

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Lynn Beattie

Aka Mrs MummyPenny

Personal Finance Expert

I write about personal finance made simple, lifestyle choices that will save you time and money, as well as products and services that offer great value.

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