I’ve had this post in draft for a while now and have been waiting for an opportune moment to click that little publish button and share it with you lot. Today I have come across another great blog that gives advice and money saving tips for parents and kids. They are currently running a competition and I’m trying to win an iPad 2 in the iSave, iWrite, iPad competition from PlayPennies.com by sharing this post with you.
It all started with my boss. I’m sure he won’t mind me telling you that he is a particular kind of money savvy shopper and frugal investor who won’t buy into much unless he’s getting a good deal.
At first I was sceptical about his attitude; I thought that really things are just worth what you are willing to pay for them and you either spend or don’t and that was that. But slowly and surely – and with a little help from a whopping great recession – I have been exploring the benefits of deals. And I tell you what, it is addictive. From that first click onto moneysavingexpert.com, to signing up to every newsletter of every company you shop from to get the low down on their deals. I even cut the vouchers out of my Sainsbury’s magazine now, I can’t seem to stop!
There are many very boring things I could tell you about here… How I switched my energy provider to take advantage of saving 5% on every penny I spend at Sainsbury’s, as well as saving money on the energy bills… How I now only visit Pizza Express, Zizzi, ASK, Café Rouge, DimT or Loch Fyne if there is a 2for1 offer or a free bottle of wine… How I scour the supermarket ‘last chance to buy’ section for meat and fish that is about to go out of date, buy it for a steal and freeze it until needed… How I enter competitions left, right and centre in the hope of getting something for nothing (or something for a small piece of writing) and how so far I have won a World Book Night book and tickets to the Ideal Home Show… But…
The money saving tip I have been most excited about is far less sensible, saves far less money but is far more exciting. I got a FREE Clinique mascara at Debenhams just by handing them my old cruddy No17 one that had been decaying at the bottom of my make-up bag for an embarrassingly long time. AND, apparently they do this deal regularly. I need never pay for another mascara again, JOY!
The moral of the story here friends is that saving money and getting deals is all very sensible, practical and really does positively effect ones bank balance and mood, but you really can’t beat a good bit of spoiling yourself… especially when that too is free.
