How I Budget and Save Money

A few months ago I did a post all about ways you can save money on your food shopping. I really enjoyed writing it and I actually have a few other tips on ways you can save money so I really wanted to do another. There are only a few tips but they are all easy ways to cut back and budget each month.

Plan For The Month 

As we're only on one income at the moment a few days before George gets paid we will sit down and plan for the month ahead. We always know the total of our bills but we'll still make a note of how much is to come out, we'll see how many food shops we need that month and set aside a certain amount, we will then account for any extras e.g. Georges brothers stopping, or someones birthday. We will then be able to see what is leftover for the month which can be used on clothes, cinema trips, meals etc. If we didn't plan like this each month we'd be in a mess. The more money you have, I suppose the less need there is to do this but for us it's a real priority so we can stay on track and always have enough for bills and food. If you find each month you're running out of money or struggling, plan, plan, plan for the following month and set aside money for things!

Keep A Bills Book 

Following on from the last point, keep a bills book! We just use a simple notebook but you can get really specific ones from places like Paperchase which go into so much detail. We just write down what we have coming in each month, the total amount coming out and then we will write down exactly what we have leftover so then throughout the month we can update it when we've spent some. It's a bit tedious but to save money it has to be done. For me it's vital to keep it all in a book, it's so easy to refer back to then if we want to check if we have enough money for something.

Survey Sites & Vouchers 

If you're wanting to get yourself some freebies then there are a few brilliant survey sites out there where you can earn money and vouchers for very little work. If you're a student then there is Student Beans, you can get lots of free things and discount codes on here but there is also a panel section where you can sign up to do surveys and with each one you can earn from about 20p to a few quid, but it all adds up and I've had earnt some spare money on there over the last few years. There is also Toluna which does take quite a lot of surveys and time to get rewards on but it is worth it. I've had a few £10 cinema vouchers, £10 Marks and Spencers vouchers, and also New Look. I really think sites like this are worth the time. Another site you could use if you're a student is My Uni Days. You can get loads of discount codes from there and when you're a student any extra money you can get off your shopping is a bonus.

Reward Cards 

A lot of supermarkets offer a rewards or points card. These are great to just scan every time you do your food shop and points get added, all adding up for you to use in the future. There is Tesco clubcard where you collect points and every 3 months they will send you vouchers to use based on the amount of points you've collected. One of my main shops at uni was Tesco so I managed to get some really good vouchers from it. There is Morrisons Match and More card where again you collect points every time you shop there or buy fuel. Every time you get to 5000 points, you can exchange them for a £5 voucher. It can take a while for these points to add up but they all do eventually and then it's a nice little bit cut off your food shopping. You can also get points cards for places like Boots, Superdrug, Paperchase and The Body Shop. These all offer different things like free delivery, birthday gifts, discounts and with some you can use points to pay instead of cash.

Meal Planning & Cutting Back 

I talked about this a lot in my last money saving post but I still wanted to touch on it here. If you want to cut back on your food shopping bills then I find meal planning really helps. If you have no idea what you're making each week then it's easy to just pick loads up from the supermarket and a lot of it goes to waste and never gets used. Spend half an hour each week thinking of meals you want to make and I promise it will make life so much easier. It's also a good idea when you do go food shopping to look at the reduced stuff. You can find some great packs of meat reduced just becase they're going out that day, buy them and freeze them if you have a meal planned with them later on in the week. You can find some really great things reduced sometimes so it's well worth having a look. Another tip that can help cut back on your food bill is going to supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl. They are so much cheaper and the quality is just as good. Asda has some great offers on most weeks but I've found the prices of their meat has gone up recentely so I'm loving Aldi even more at the moment!

So, I hope these tips on saving money and budgeting help some of you! Everyone is different but for me planning, keeping a track of money and changing supermarkets has made a big difference!

How do you budget and save money? Do you think any of these tips will help you?

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Spring Candle Haul

So Spring officially starts next week but I just couldn't wait to publish this post and as the weather seems to be brightening up and getting a little warmer I think it's okay. I wanted to show you some new candles I've bought recentely as the majority of them are so perfect for spring and summer! They all smell so sweet and refreshing!

I am obsessed with buying candles from supermarkets at the moment. Asda in particular have such a huge range to choose from and their wax melts are so affordable and smell amazing! I know the Sparkling Cinnamon Spice and Sunlight On Snow don't scream spring and warm weather but I picked them both up last month reduced and honestly they both could be used all year round. I've already used some of the Sunlight On Snow and it is so refreshing. I can melt one of these in the afternoon and it will just make the room smell like I've done a deep clean. It's a subtle scent but one that lasts for ages. I haven't got round to using the Sparkling Cinnamon Spice wax melts yet but I think these will be a good one to melt at night when I just want to get cosy with a blanket and a film. I'm not quite ready to let go of winter yet. Blueberry Cheesecake is another one on offer at the moment so I had to try it. I was really intrigued by this and had no idea what it would smell like but it's so nice! These are all usually £3 which I think is a really good price anyway but I got all of them for £2 each!

Two other candles I have picked up recentely are the Grapefruit and Citrus Crush Votives from an independant shop in Meadowhall. I've had some of their candles before (baked apple - YES!) so last time I went I really wanted to pick up a few more. These are £1.99 each and I would say are just as good as Yankee Candle. The scent of both of these is so strong! The citrus crush one reminds me of Mango and Passionfruit drinks from Costa and Starbucks and the Grapefruit one is basically The Body Shop Grapefruit range in candle form which is perfect as it's one of my favourites. I'm still yet to burn these as I think the packaging is so pretty but I'm gonna have to soon, I think they will make our living room smell amazing!

I am so obsessed with all of these, I think the packaging of all of them is so pretty and they honestly all smell incredible.

Have you tried any of the Yankee Candle melts?

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Cath Kidston Wishlist

Cath Kidston is one of those shops I very rarely tend to go in but when I do I JUST WANT EVERYTHING! I went in a small one in St Pancras last time we were in London, bought the cutest mug and just fell in love with it all. I then decided all of our mugs have to one day be Cath Kidston and I also decided I needed all of their London themed stuff. As there is so much I would love to get my hands on, I thought why not do a little wishlist?

The first thing I had a look at was the mugs. I am just obsessed with buying them and I honestly think one day I will have a huge cupboard just full of them! 

• The first one I saw was the Yellow Flowers Mug for £7. How pretty is it? I think this is such a perfect one for Spring and Summer. I think this would be such a nice gift if you know someone who has a birthday coming up over the next few months. 
• I then saw the Sketched Rose Mug which is on offer for £5 at the moment. I think this would be such a nice one to have in to use when people come round. Again just so pretty. 
• The last mug I saw and feel like I really need is the Raining Cats and Dogs Mug for £6.50. Dogs are one of my favourite animals and if I see anything with a dog or a bear on then I have to get it. 

• I love all of the kitchen bits on the Cath Kidston site but one that caught my eye straight away was the Elvington Rose Decorative Bowl in Yellow. I have a feeling I'm going to become obsessed with yellow this spring and summer! How nice is this? I doubt I would ever want to use it, it's too pretty but I just love it. 
• We actually really need some more glasses and this set of Rose Tumblers is perfect! I can't get over how gorgeous everything is. 
• Next I found this Keepsake Tray which would be perfect for my bedside table. I don't think it would match at the moment but one day it would be perfect for all the annoying things I have nowhere to put. I'd use it for things like my This Works Pillow Spray and my perfume.
• As I bake quite a lot I want to have a really good set of scales. I found the Walton Rose Scales and I don't think I would want to hide them away, they'd have to be on the kitchen side somewhere! I love old fashioned scales like this.

• One of the final things I saw was the Latimer Rose Double Zip Purse. It's quite expensive and at the moment it wouldn't be justified spending that amount but one day I would love to treat myself to something like this.
• The last thing I just need to get one day is the London Cotton Pyjama Bottoms. I would love to get these when I'm at my target weight and as I basically live in Pyjamas they would be worth the money. I couldn't do a wishlist like this without mentioning London when they have so many gorgeous themed things.

I've lost count of the amount of times I've said the words pretty and love in this blog post but those basically sum it all up! I just want everything!

Do you like anything on this wishlist? Are you a fan of Cath Kidston?

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The Story Behind The Photo #2

I feel like I should apologise for the amount of posts I do based on London or the amount of photos I include of it, because I know it's a lot but when I started this series I knew there were a few photos of it that I really wanted to include so I'm going too. Regular readers of my blog will know of my love for London I'm sure so to some it won't come as a surprise anyway!

This is one of my favourite photos. Ever. I love it so much and it was one that had to be included in one of these posts. This was from our second trip to London in March 2016, we went for 3 nights and this was taken on the first. We had a really chilled first evening and went on the nicest walk around the southbank and westminster. The sun was just setting, the lights were on the London Eye and all of London looked even better than usual. I love this picture because I just decided to take it on a whim and I managed to include Big Ben and The London Eye, the sky looks beautiful and I love the addition of the taxi just driving round the corner. It's probably only me that looks at it and think it's a good picture but I love everything about it. Every so often I'll go back and read all of my London posts and I honestly just smile reading them. For me it is the best place in the world and I feel such a connection with it. I've never known how to describe it but I actually saw something on Sophie Anne Taylors blog a few weeks ago which just completely summed it up - Fernweh. Fernweh is a german word 'This german word, means an ache to get away and travel to a distant place, a feeling even stronger than wanderlust. It literally translates to 'distance-sickness'. While someone with wanderlust might sit at home and happily fantasize about all the places they might visit, someone with fernweh would feel a deeper sense of longing, a sort of homesickess but for foreign lands'. Whenever we go to London I feel like I'm going home. It feels so normal to be there and any worries or anxiety just goes away. I don't think anywhere no matter how far I go or travel, will ever come close.

Did you see - The Story Behind The Photo #1?

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