MUMMY TO THE MAX : Bargain Hunting

Showing posts with label Bargain Hunting. Show all posts

Bargain Hunting #28

Saturday, 30 November 2013

With Christmas round the corner, many people have started to put up there Christmas decorations. If you are like me, I wait until a few days into December to put mine up. Christmas decorations can be expensive so here are some money saving tips to save money this Christmas.

Make your own - From bunting to salt dough decorations you are able to make your own at the fraction of the price the shops would charge. You can make it in to a fun day and get creative with your children or the rest of the family. For ideas do a web search.

Set a budget - There is nothing worse than thinking you have overspent meaning you are short of money for other things. When shopping for decorations set a budget and stick to it. Do not give in to temptation and when buying question in your head do you really need it.

Offers - Many shops at the present moment are doing 3 for 2 deals and reducing items also. Shop around and find the best deal, don't buy the first thing you see. See if you can use any voucher codes or vouchers you have saved up over the year to help purchase your items to make them that tiny bit cheaper.

Limit the use of lights - Lights are pretty however do not go to OTT or you will be footing a hefty electricity bill. Stick to minimum and use other decorations to wow your guests.

Prepare - After Christmas a lot of Christmas decorations will be sold off cheap. If you can make do with some decorations you have this year then why not wait until after Christmas and buy new? This will save you a lot of money.

Bargain Hunting #27

Friday, 15 November 2013

Food shopping can get more expensive around Christmas time as everyone enjoys having a few more treats however you can save money on food shopping with a few simple steps. This will enable you to buy that special Christmas present for that loved one or buy more chocolate to indulge in.

Buy In Bulk - If you buy things in bulk then this can often be cheaper. Ben and I sometimes visit wholesalers to get fizzy drinks in bulk. We often do this at Christmas time when we are expecting guests. We sometimes also manage to pick up stocking filler treats for the rest of the family. We find it is much cheaper than your regular supermarket.

Compare Supermarket Prices - Use the website mySupermarket.co.uk to compare the price of a basket of goods at the UK's 'big four' supermarkets - Asda, Sainsbury's, Ocado and Tesco. As a lover of internet food shopping this is great for us as I am able to compare prices and I always manage to save a few pounds, it also means I miss the Christmas rush at the supermarkets and I can get my food delivered in the comfort of my own home.

Try cheaper cuts of meat - Choosing a cheaper cut of meat, such as braising steak over fillet steak can work this winter. You can use a slow cooker to make meals and this will gradually break down the fibres in cheaper meat, giving great taste at a lower cost. You can also visit local butchers as often they can do a better deal on meat than your local supermarkets.

Use Vouchers - I love using vouchers to pay towards my shopping, weather its £5, £1 or £10 it is money saved which I am able to use towards something else. I often find vouchers in magazines, newspapers however I also check sites on the internet such as http://www.moneysavingexpert.com.

Buy Reduced items - In our house we have 2 freezers, both freezers are normally always full. I often buy reduced items and I end up freezing them. Just because they are reduced does not mean they are not good quality and not edible. Before buying reduced items always plan what you are going to do with them, if you plan on eating them that day as the date code ends eat them, if not see if they have a freezing option and stick them in your freezer to eat at a later date.

Bargain Hunting #26

Friday, 8 November 2013

Its that time of year where it gets dark at 4pm, the nights and days are cold and bills can get expensive because you are trying to keep warm, however I have some money saving tips this week to keep the bills low.

Keep the thermostat down
Last year we managed to run up a large heating bill because we left the heating on day and night. This year we are going to be a lot more money savvy. This year we have decided we will keep rooms like the lounge warm in the day time and turn the radiators off in the bedrooms and at night not put the heating on at all unless it is very cold. We will also leave the thermostat on at 20 degrees instead of putting it up high. If you turn your thermostat down by just 1 degree you could slash your heating bills by 10%.

Find out what you are entitled to
Insulating your home can make a lot of difference. If you are able to keep your home warm it means you are able to save a lot of money on bills. Loft and cavity wall insulation can help you keep warm. There are grants available from gas/electricity companies and you may find you are eligible for free insulation especially if you are on low income. Ring up your provider to see what they may be able to offer.

Add layers

Last winter I spent a lot of my time walking around in a T-shirt as the heating was on a lot. This year I will be wrapping up warm, turning the heating off and I will be wearing 3 or 4 layers. You can start off with laying with vests, t shirts and then go on to warm jumpers.

Go out and keep warm

Instead of sitting in all day worrying about the energy you are using why not go out? There are plenty of places which will be warm this year that are free to go to. You could take the children to a local play group for a few hours, take the window shopping at the local shopping centre, take them to the library or even take them to the park for a run about.

Bargain Hunting #22

Friday, 27 September 2013

We are getting on well with our packing for our move and we move to our new house next month It has been stressful and tiring work however the whole way through I have found ways to save money which has helped us be able to buy some nice things when we move into our new place.

Declutter

When you are moving house you have the opportunity to see everything that has been placed in your house. Whilst I packed I sorted through stuff I needed and didn't need. I had 1 rubbish pile, 1 keep pile and 1 charity pile. Rubbish went into the bin, keep stuff was carefully boxed up and I ensured it was clean before packing and charity was put in a bag or taken to the charity shop. I also managed to sell a few things I found along the way which helped us pay for new things we needed for our new home.

Compare removal hires/van hire

When we looked at moving our belongings we found for us it would be cheaper to hire a van simply because we were only moving up the road. I checked all the websites and compared the price before I decided what company to use. I also looked for discount codes to use to help save a little bit more money.

Packing

Instead of buying expensive boxes for places such as storage companies to move why not visit your local supermarket and see what boxes they can give you? I found the best time of day to do this was the evening as they were restocking the shelves. The boxes are free and all you need is some packaging tape. For 5 small moving boxes we found they where £10 a pack. We have used over 20 boxes and we have not finished packing yet so we have saved a fortune by asking for boxes at the supermarket.

Do your own cleaning

We are leaving the house in a clean and tidy condition ready for the next people to move in. I cleaned as I went which not only saved me time but also money as I cleaned the whole place myself and I do not have to get any one to do it. If you can try and hire a machine to clean things such as carpets and clean them yourselves, hiring a machine will be half the price of getting someone in to clean the carpets for you.

Bargain Hunting #21

Thursday, 12 September 2013

You are able to save large amounts of money through the year by making your own cleaning solutions. Sometimes the initial expense can be a couple of pounds but normally you are able to use the item over and over again which in turn will save you money.

Clean Your Oven - You will need baking Soda and water.

Mix the baking soda and water together, this will make a medium/thick paste. Coat the inside of your oven with a medium/thick paste made from water and baking soda and let it stand overnight. In the morning wear gloves and clean the dirt off with a scour. Go over the oven using a damp cloth.

Clogging Drains - You will need baking soda and boiling water.

Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda into the drain, followed by 2 cups of boiling water the drain should unblock however if it does not then pour the baking soda down the drain again with a 1/2 cup of vinegar and cover tightly. Allow the vigorous fizzing of the chemical reaction to break up the dirt. Once complete pour around 4 litres of water to make sure it is clear.

Clean Windows And Mirrors - You will need white vinegar, water, a spray bottle and newspaper.

Mix 2 tablespoons of white vinegar with 4 litres of water and add the solution into a spray bottle. Squirt on to the area which needs to be cleaned and then scrub with newspaper.

Wooden Floors - You will need vinegar and a spray bottle.

Make up a solution of 1/4 cup white vinegar and 30 ounces of warm water. Put the solution into a spray bottle, then spray on a towel until lightly damp, mop your floors so that any dirt that has formed is scrubbed away.

My 99p Summer - #my99psummer

Saturday, 31 August 2013

This summer the 99p store have been running a competition for bloggers. Each blogger was given £10 worth of vouchers to buy 10 products with and the bloggers were asked to share what products they bought and how they managed to have fun using them this summer. Maxwell and I decided to join in with the competition and show our readers how much fun they can have with just £10.

I bought:

Bath Time Fun

Johnsons Baby powder - Branded baby powder. A brand which can be trusted.

Johnsons Baby Bath - Branded baby bath. A brand which can be trusted.

Baby Bath Crayons - A pack of 6 Crayons, all in different colours, less than 20p a crayon.

Baby Bath Toy - A sieve toy to be used in the bath. Came with 3 plastic toys which can float around in the bath and be captured using the sieve.

Craft Items

Gem Stone Stickers - Lots of stickers. All paper backed so they can not stick anywhere. Eye-catching and shiny.

Glitter Shakers - A pack of 6. All in separate containers and different colours. Brilliant value.

Animal Print Card - The animal print card came in a pack of 20. The card was all different designs and there were also some animal shapes.

Toys

Toy Cars - A pack of 3 small cars. Different colours but all the same design. A cheap little toy to keep Maxwell entertained.

Bubbles - A pack of 2 bubble wands. Small packs but lots of bubble fun can be made.

Food

Fruitshoots - A pack of 4. A treat for Maxwell which will keep him hydrated in the summer weather.

My idea to make Maxwell have a wonderful summer was to use my imagination. All the bits I bought could be used singly in the bath, around the house and doing crafts however I also came up with the idea of using the items in sensory play so we got 2 uses out of them which is even greater value for money than just one use.

My First Idea

I used a old tray, the baby powder and the bath toys which I bought from 99p store to make a fun afternoon with Maxwell. The bath toy included a fun sieve and some plastic shaped animals. Maxwell enjoyed using the sieve to sieve the baby powder and he enjoyed making shapes in the baby powder with the animals. Maxwell also used the toy cars to make fun tracks in the powder.

My Second Idea

On a separate afternoon we used the baby powder which I had stored away in a plastic tub along with the tray and used the animal card and the gem stone stickers to make a game. The animal card came in animal shapes and Maxwell enjoyed burying these in the powder and then digging them out. He then placed the gem stone stickers which had protective backs, so they did not stick to anything in the powder and used the bath toy sieve to find them.

My Third Idea

When it was hot Maxwell and I went outside with a old plastic tub. We filled the plastic tub up with water and used the baby bubble bath to make lots of bubbles in the water. We then decided to sprinkle glitter in the tub and place the animals out of the bath toy in the tub. Maxwell then fished these out with the sieve. Maxwell enjoyed using the tub to draw on with his baby crayons and afterwards we blew bubbles around the garden. After all the fun we had, Maxwell needed to sit down in the garden and enjoy a fruitshoot.

As many of my readers know I love a bargain and the 99p store has helped us create memories and taught us to have a lot of fun this summer. They have also helped me use my imagination and have shown me that things have more uses than just one!

There is something suitable for everyone in the 99p store and I love the wide range of things they have to offer. If you are on a tight budget or you are just looking to save a few pennies I would reccomend the 99p store.

We were given £10 to spend in the 99p Stores and this is also an entry to win an ipad.

Bargain Hunting #20

Wednesday, 28 August 2013

If you want to buy something online or are wanting to sign up to a service, rather than going directly through the website you are able to go through Top Cashback.

Top Cashback is a simple service which helps you earn money whilst you shop. To use Top Cashback you simply need to make a account and wait until you are wanting to spend some money. When you decide you need something you simply log on to Top Cashback and search for the online retailer you want to buy from. If the company is listed, you are able to click and see what offers they may have. The offers range from a sum of money to a percentage of the money which you are going to spend on the site.

Once you have visited the site, the cashback is then tracked. The cashback then has to be approved by someone and the cashback will go into your account where you are able to swap it for money, vouchers or Tesco Clubcard points.

Positive things about Top Cashback:

The use of the site is free. Some cashback sites charge a annual amount meaning if you don't manage to cash much money in, you will find you are not making any money annually.
There are many options to cash out your money you have earned. You are able to get Love2Shop vouchers, Amazon Vouchers, Tesco Clubcard Vouchers, Paypal and Bank Transfer.
If you choose to cash out your money with vouchers you earn 5% extra.
You are able to do free things to earn money - This year I have made £10 by doing free offers which pay.
Topcashback now lets you trade in every £10 of cashback for 1,050 Tesco Clubcard points. This equals £10.50 to spend in in-store, but up to £42 in Tesco Rewards.
You are now able to earn money whilst out due to the Top Cashback phone app via snap and save.

Negative things about Top Cashback:

Some free cashback options only let you pay out via bank transfer rather than a voucher form.
Some other cashback sites offer better deals
Some cashback offers can take a while to process.

If you sign up via my link I will earn £10.00 for each new member referred

Bargain Hunting #19

Wednesday, 21 August 2013

Mummy Blogger, Parenting Blog, Mummy To The Max

The holidays are nearly over and many children will be going back to school soon however if you have not managed to get your little one all there back to school stuff yet, I have some helpful ideas which will help you save money.

Set a budget - Before you even go and buy items, stick to a budget. Keep in your mind what that budget is and work around the budget. Why not include your children in this and explain if you both manage to stick to the budget and spend less then you will split the remaining money with them so they can buy themselves a small treat.

Stick to a list – Write down everything you need and don’t veer from this list. You may be tempted to buy extras or give into children's demands however do they really need it and can you really afford it? Stick to your list and shop around for the best deals.

Check your house - Before you hit the shops check that you don't have items that can be used from the year before. There may be some new pens and pencils tucked in the back draw that didn't get used last year, use those before buying new. If the old school kit still fits why not use it until they have grown out of it before buying new.

Shop the sales - Check online and high-street sales. You can save money on pretty much anything these days from lunch boxes to winter coats see if you are able to find things cheaper. Always look out for discount codes/vouchers when shopping as this can help save more money and buy stationary in bulk as it is something they will need all year.

Trawl charity shops and pre loved sites – you can often find uniform/back to school bits on there. Just because its second hand doesn't mean its rubbish. A lot of things people sale are as good as new and sometimes things can even be new.

Supermarkets - Supermarkets are often tripping over themselves at this time of year with cheap uniform deals and BOGOFs. They try and compete against each other and try and offer the cheapest price. Compare prices on the net before going on a trip to save fuel. If you find a bargain – buy the next size up too so you will save money when your child grows.

Spend a day getting funky - Buy plain items which will be cheaper than character/branded stuff and jazz it up using stickers, glitter glue, badges and even iron on badges which can be used on clothing/fabric bags. This will be a fun activity for your children and show you their creative side.

Label Items - Label all your children's belonging so they do not get lost. If your child keeps managing to loose their belongings this is going to end up making you spend a lot of money. Teach your children to look after their items and if they do go missing, make sure they are easy to identify by placing a simple label on them.

Bargain Hunting #16

Friday, 19 July 2013

Free Products -

FREE doughnut from Greggs. Chocolate lime, raspberry coconut ice, banana shake. Print this voucher and take it to your local Greggs shop.

FREE bar of Elizabeth Shaw Milk Chocolate Butterscotch Crisp (100g) at Sainsburys with voucher. Print off voucher and take to your local Sainsburys.

FREE bag of walkers deep ridged crisps from Nisa. Click on the banner in the middle of the page. Print voucher to claim your free pack.

Free days out -

Eastbourne Airbourne Free International AirShow August 15th - 18th. Click here for more info.

Kirtles, court and kitchens Weoley Castle, Birmingham Sun 28th July 2013. Click here for more info.

Secret Egypt Day, Worcester, Saturday 27 July 2013. Click here for more info.

Bournemouth Air Festival 2013 - Thursday 29th August - Sunday 1st September. Click here for more info.

Bargain Hunting #15

Monday, 8 July 2013

Parenting, Mummy To The Max, Blog, Mummy Blog

Get a FREE Emmi Latte. Simply print this voucher off and take it to your local retailer. (Voucher is located near the bottom of the page).

Get a FREE Red Velvet Cookie from Millies Cookies. Simply enter your details and a voucher will be emailed to you. To find your nearest Millie’s Cookies store, please visit www.milliescookie.co.uk.

Fill in the Coke Recycling pledge and get 25 clubcard points for FREE. Use them in the tesco exchange where they will be doubled or even tripled.

Swap your old electric toothbrush for a new Colgate ProClinical C200 with Absolute Radio. From today (Monday 8 July) you'll be able to swap your electric toothbrush, by registering on this page, then posting it to us free of charge.

Some councils let you have money off or even FREE nappies for your children. Please check the link and see what your council offers you.

Bargain Hunting #14

Wednesday, 26 June 2013

Mummy Blog, Mummy To The Max, Parenting Blog,

Has anyone noticed the date today?? Its under 6 months until Christmas!!!

Since the 1st of January I have to admit I have been preparing for Christmas and I have got so much already.

This year I have plans, my plans are:

Save competition wins to give away as presents
Complete surveys and forms and gain as many Amazon vouchers as possible
Join every reward club that is going and gain as many rewards/points as possible
Save as many coupons as possible to make my Christmas shop as low as possible
Not spend a penny!

In January I managed to purchase a Christmas tree, it was a bargain and I didn't want to have a tiny Christmas tree like we did last year, it cost £7 and is very large. I found buying it in January made it extremely cheap... I will not be spending £50 on a tree this year.

I have been saving as many competition prizes as I possibly can. Instead of giving prizes away to family, I have been saving as many as possible and have been putting them in my Christmas wardrobe. My family so far only have little odd bits however I have already got a lot of bits for Maxwell which range from DVDS to wooden toys.

Now and again I do surveys but most nights I sit down and fill in forms for companies. I normally am given 50p a form and get 2-3 a day which helps me save a lot of ££ towards my Christmas fund. So far I have managed to save over £40 in my amazon account, I have also managed to buy Maxwell many things using my amazon vouchers.

This year I have made sure I have joined as many reward clubs as possible. My favorite clubs include Tesco club card, Nectar and Boots. I especially love nectar as I am able to do surveys and watch videos to gain extra points. So far I have managed to accumulate £7.50... free money = free Christmas.

I am planning to save as many coupons as I can for the Christmas shop. Last year we spent the same amount as we normally spend in a week however we got no extras or "luxuries". I am hoping this will change this year and we will eat like royalty and pay a tiny price.

My aim for Christmas 2013 is not to spend a penny!!

Bargain Hunting #13 - Extreme Couponing

Wednesday, 12 June 2013

Yesterday was a great day for the Mummy To The Max household. I managed to save over £50 simply by using coupons and getting great deals on reduced items.

First off I popped to Boots to get myself some toiletries to take to London with me for Britmums. I went into the shop and went to the Kiosk to get the best deals off my Advantage Card.
There were some great deals including bronzer makeup down to £2.50 instead of its £5.50 price tag and 10% off deodorants/body sprays.
I then headed to the reduced section and was amazed at what I saw. Shampoo down form a £1 to 50p and dry hair shampoo from £2.50 to £1. I picked up 2 of each and headed to the checkout along with some body spray and my bronzer.
I paid for my items and once I had left the shop I found that I had been charged 50p for the dry shampoo instead of £1 and they had taken 20% off the body spray instead of the original 10%. I managed to save over £10 on my Boots shop and I also got advantage points as well as a voucher for half price sunglasses.

We then headed to Tesco, I had no plans of what to buy but my purse was full of coupons so I went around the shop working out what I could buy with my coupons and getting some shopping to feed us for the week minus fruit,salad and veg which I buy from our local market.
I had £4 Walkers coupons, £3 Fox Biscuit coupons and £5 Pampers coupons to use... I also had a lot of £1 coupons and some coupons to use from my Bzzagent trials to use.
Whilst in Tesco I spotted that they had a fab deal on Huggies Baby Wipes - 9 packs for a small £6.28 which is a great saving as I normally only see the wipes on offer at £1 a pack. Before I left my house I also spotted that Tesco were selling there jumbo boxes of Pampers nappies off at £5 so I asked for them to look out the back and to my surprise they had a box - 68 nappies for £5!!

When I went to the checkout I was unsure how much my shopping would cost as I had walked around the shop working out the price in my head and had calculated I would need to spend around £13 of my own money once I had used vouchers.

My shopping came to £49 and I got it for £11.79 which is a amazing saving! I got paid to take the Pampers nappies away as I had a £5 voucher from P&G and also a £1 voucher when you buy pampers nappies in Tesco. I also got paid to take some of the cheese's away as the voucher was more expensive than some of the products. I had a £4 off voucher for a £40 spend as well.

I had a great day of shopping and managed huge savings.

Freebies for this week:

FREE Iced Coffee - Coupon valid until 30/09. Print as many vouchers as you like.

FREE pot of Danio Yogurt - Coupon valid until 22/06 Link via twitter and print off a coupon for a free pot of their yummy yogurt.

Bargain Hunting 12#

Wednesday, 5 June 2013

Coupons
E-vouchers to use online for fruit and veg at Tesco.
75p off £3 or more fresh salad. Enter code GRF66P at checkout
£1 off £4 or more fresh fruit. Enter code GRKFTY at checkout

75p off £3 more fresh vegetables. Enter code GRMNTX at checkout

Valid until 30th June

There is a 50p coupon for hoops and crosses in the tesco magazine on page 13.
The packs are on offer at Tescos for £1 making it just 50p.

There are coupons on Malibu's Facebook page on their mixed cans, and bottles.

75p off malibu pre-mixed can. It is currently £1 in Asda so the vouchers make it 25p
£2 off malibu 70cl. It is currently £13 or 2 for £24 in Tesco, if you press the back button when printing vouchers off you can print 2 lots which means 2 bottles for £18 or 1 bottle for £11.
£3 off malibu red 70cl. It is currently £14 in Asda making it £11 a bottle.

Freebies
There is a £1 coupon on Supersavvyme for Always products at Tesco, some of the Always products are £1 when using the coupon it would make them FREE.

John Frieda Everlasting Blonde trial packs to give away every hour. 200 each hour - from 9am until 8pm for 2 weeks.

Free samples of Pukka Herb tea. Great for the tea lovers out there. Fill the form on the website in and get your free tea.

Bargain Hunting #10

Friday, 24 May 2013

Freebies

Get a FREE bottle of Sprite. Print off the coupon and take it into your nearest stockiest. https://apps.facebook.com/rediscover_sprite/coupon

Claim a FREE pack of Belvita Breakfast Biscuits. Print of voucher and take it to your nearest Nisa Locally.

If you do your Tesco grocery shopping online, it's normally £2 if you want to use the "Click & Collect" service, but it's FREE from 24th May to 3rd June. Just place your order as normal - all of the slots are listed as £0.00 at checkout.

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/

Online Grocery Shops

£12 off your first online grocery shop at Sainsburys over £60 excluding delivery charges. Order for delivery before 07/08/2013. Use code LFC6-9YTP-6MHM.

£10 off Your First Shop Min. £50 Spend using voucher code at Ocado. Expires midnight Sun 30th June. Use code VOU1304996.

£12 off Your First Shop Min. £60 Spend, delivered before June 4th using eCoupon at Tesco Groceries.

Use code XXLLPT.

Please Note - Terms and conditions do apply to all these.

Bargain Hunting #8

Friday, 3 May 2013

Freebies

Get a FREE piece of Original Recipe on-the-bone Chicken from KFC on May 7th when you print or show the attached voucher on your phone.

A pack of 100 FREE Tealight Candles. Just print off the coupon and take instore. You will need your Ikea Family Card to claim these.

FREE 'Big Lunch' Kit - Bunting, Balloons, Tablecloths & Coasters
Halifax is a proud partner of 'The Big Lunch' this year and to help your community lunch go off with a bang they are giving away 7,000 Big Lunch Kits. Each kit contains bunting, balloons, tablecloths and coasters. Fill in the form to claim one.

Free Gaming Apps

Mini Ninjas for IOS FREE It was previously 69p on the Apple App Store, free for this weekend only!

Snoopy Coaster was 69p now FREE @ Apple App Store. Take Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy and Peppermint Patty on the wildest rollercoaster ride on the App Store.

Free Delivery

Toys R Us - FREE delivery on everything until Monday 6th May. No code needed.

Disney Store - FREE delivery - Offer ends on the 5th May. Enter the code MAYDELIVERY

Bargain Hunting #7

Saturday, 27 April 2013

This week I bring you many freebies. ENJOY!

Free Ikea HAMO beach chair instore with voucher for IKEA family members. One voucher per person. Offer valid until 9 June 2013.

These look great for the children in the garden.

Get a free bottle of coke zero! Just enter your details online and you'll be sent an email to print out your voucher.
https://www.freecokezero.co.uk/
16+ yrs in GB, CI and IoM only. Download until 1st May or limit of 1,000,000. Coupon valid until 12th May 2013. Coupon can be redeemed in all retailers where Coke Zero 500ml is distributed, except WH Smith, Subway and EAT. Full terms apply.

Rustlers double decker cheeseburger - Tesco Express Stores ONLY!

On offer until 30th April for £1. You are able to claim £1 cashback with topcashback valid until 30th April. 1 per account.

Please find Details here: http://www.topcashback.co.uk/SnapAndSave/upload/436

B&Q have recently started offering a free sample service on selected wallpapers. You may request up to 8 different samples which will be delivered to your home within 5 working days.
I have found these samples great to add into Maxwell's craft box.

Bargain Hunting #6

Saturday, 20 April 2013

This week I wanted to take a look to see is it cheaper to do a grocery shop online?

Every week for a year, I have always ordered my food shopping online and had it delivered.
I found when Maxwell was younger I was always tempted to buy things I did not need such as new clothes or new toys, however when I do my shopping online I get what I need and only that.

I am able to stick to my budget as I can see what is going in the basket. If the price is too much at the end I can easily remove the "treats" we do not need wheres in store I would not be able to do this very easily.

The negatives I find with shopping online is that I do have to pay for delivery and I am unable to use coupons on my online shop however my whole experience is easier and cheaper than when I go to the supermarket.
Every few weeks I end up going to the supermarket and buying products that I have coupons for. I do not make a special trip to go there.

I recently found a site which is very handy. You are able to compare prices between supermarkets online so you can really make sure you are getting the most for your money
We usually shop at Tesco so I would pop on to mysupermarket and start shopping. I compare the products in my basket as I go and if I find products that make my shop cheaper than at Tesco I can switch to another store and get my shopping from there instead.

Do you like to shop online or do you love shopping in store?

Bargain Hunting #5

Friday, 12 April 2013

Do not get done over by crazy prices. Follow my simple tips.

Just a short post this week however some useful information that may help my readers.

The Royal Mail have now decided to introduce a new system where parcels are now priced on both size and weight – making them more expensive to post.

Parcels are now priced on both size and weight, and unless a parcel is smaller than:
Length 45cm Width 35cm Depth 8cm OR Length: 16cm and Width: 16cm and Depth: 16cm with max weight of 2KG ,it will count as a medium or large parcel.

The parcel you posted 2 weeks ago second class which cost £2.20 may cost you £5.20 now as that is the cheapest price for a medium parcel. In my eyes that is daylight robbery and I am here to help you cut these costs.

Get a template free of the Royal Mail Website - Royal Mail allows you to order a free cardboard template so you can check whether your items will fit into the small-parcel category.

Minimise Packaging - I used to send a lot of my parcels/post in jiffy bags or boxes however I recently brought plastic bags on eBay. They are extremely cheap and very handy to have. They also minimise packaging which could make a difference in weather your parcel is classed small,medium or large.

Use couriers - Couriers beat these crazy prices that Royal Mail have put in place and sometimes using a courier can be more convenient that going to the post office. Some couriers will charge £3.99 for a parcel that is 2kg and £4.99 for a parcel that is 10kg. The most competitive couriers I have found are myHermes or Collect+ but please shop about before you choose which courier to use. Always look at what insurance they offer as well.

You are able to purchase boxes which are the size that Royal Mail wish there "smaller parcels" to be. You can buy them from Royal Mail directly at £11.48 for 10 boxes however you can search the net and pick up a bargain like these boxes for just £15.05 for 100!

For those interested as to the reasons why the prices have increased, please refer to the EU's Postal Service Directives http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/post/legislation/index_en.htm

Bargain Hunting #4

Saturday, 6 April 2013

Free Easter Activities For Children

Get a FREE child's cinema ticket when you buy a adult ticket when going to see Finding Nemo in 3D. It is valid in Cineworld, Odeon, Vue and Empire cinemas. Valid untill the 29th of April.
http://www.disney.co.uk/finding-nemo/downloads/finding-nemo-cinema-voucher.pdf

FREE entry to Morwellham Quay (Edwardian farm was filmed there) worth £7.95 when you register for their newsletter - offer valid until the end of April.

http://www.morwellham-quay.co.uk/index.php?route=product/category&path=69_73

Freebies:

FREE Coffee Nespresso compatible samples. Get a complementary box of CaféPod Nespresso compatible capsules. Fill in your details and get a sample sent. http://www.cafepod.com/free-cafepod-samples/

FREE sample of DryNites® gives ultimate protection, offering your child a better night's sleep and helping you both to manage bedwetting. They also send you a money-off coupon for your next purchase of DryNites®.
http://www.drynites.co.uk/secure/free_sample.aspx

Visit any Origins counter between 1 and 30 April and receive 3 FREE samples of Origins skincare expert samples. No purchase necessary! http://www.origins.co.uk/locator/index.tmpl?cm_sp=Gnav-_-StoresEvents-_-Landing

Free Gaming Apps - Fun For Children:

Toca Tailor iOS from the Toca Boca educational range free at moment - Apple FREE App of the Week! 4 cute characters, more patterns + loads of extra cool accessories! Design and style your own clothes! Suitable for ages 4+. https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/toca-tailor/id556430416?mt=8&affId=1018132

Sonic Dash FREE at Apple App Store. Play as Sonic the Hedgehog as you dash, jump and spin your way across stunning 3D environments. Swipe your way over and under challenging obstacles in this fast and frenzied endless running game for iPad, iPad mini, iPhone & iPod touch.

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sonic-dash/id582654048?mt=8&affId=1018132

Bargain Hunting #3

Thursday, 28 March 2013

If you are on 02 rewards look out for:

Use your 02 reward APP and one FREE Chocomania doughnut from Krispy Kreme. For any issues with redeeming this offer, please speak to the manager. This offer entitles you to one FREE Chocomania doughnut. Find your nearest store at http://www.krispykreme.co.uk/. Valid from 28/03/13 - 29/04/13, but when they're gone, they're gone. Offer valid

Use your 02 rewards app at ODEON - FREE large popcorn, hot dog or nachos! The same code stays on your phone but resets every week so you can use the same code every week!
If you have any problems redeeming this offer, please speak to the cinema manager. With this offer you can get a free large dispensed popcorn, hot dog or nachos only. Use the offer between 20/02/13 - 01/05/13. Voucher can only be redeemed at the cinema retail counter of any ODEON Cinema in the UK, and cannot be used at cinema box office, ODEON.co.uk, the ODEON Mobile site, ODEON App or via the Filmline or ATM. Voucher must be presented at time of purchase, and can only be used once in respect of one snack purchase. No reimbursement for previously purchased snacks will be allowed. Only one voucher can be used per transaction. Only one voucher can be used per week.

Use your 02 reward app for a FREE coffee or any drink at cafe Nero O2 priority moments. Valid on all drinks other than a regular sized caffee latte, cappuccino, americano, hot chocolate or tea are not available as part of this offer.

Coupons: Stock Up On

Refer a friend and get, 75p off Kenco millicano products, Tesco have the Kenco Millicano Wholebean Instant Coffee on offer at 99p at the moment making it 25p using coupon.

Campbells have a 20p voucher off any of there products. Asda have Campbell's Savoury Rice Golden Vegetable, Campbell's Savoury Rice Chicken & Sweetcorn, Campbell's Savoury Rice Mushroom, Campbell's Savoury Rice Mild Curry Flavour on offer for 50p at the moment so would make it just 30p.

Freebies:

Sign up for a FREE pack of seeds! To sign up for a free pack of parsley or red onion seeds, just fill in your details.

Get your FREE sample Here of Taylor Swift's new fragrance, Wonderstruck Enchanted.
One per customer, while stocks last. Sample is 1.5 ml Eau de Parfum Spray.

MUMMY TO THE MAX