Summer sales saving money.

Most savvy saving families like us will have already scoured the shops or be planning to hit the shops to snap up some bargains and clothes for their little ones during the mid-season sales.

We recently snapped up some new clothes for Bug at bargain prices at Tesco in their clothing sale.  The ongoing final clearance clothing sale at Tesco with up to 50% off on selected items both in-store and online has an array of children’s, women’s and men’s clothing on offer.

Other supermarkets also have clothing sales running at the moment.  George at Asda has an up to half price sale on clothing - I just wish I could get to an Asda store to see what items are on sale in-store as the items I fancy for Bug online are no longer available in his size.  Morrisons have a summer sale on their Nutmeg range of clothing with selected lines on sale in-store only – having never had a chance to try the Nutmeg clothing due to no local Morrisons stores stocking the Nutmeg range of clothing I wish I was able to snap up an item or two of clothing for Bug during the Nutmeg sale as their clothes look adorable and colourful.  Sainsbury’s also has a sale on the Sainsbury's Tu range of clothing with saving of up to half prices on offer in-store only.

New clothes for Bug at bargain prices.

Being a family on a tight budget and watching our spending with a #SpendingDiary I am always on lookout for discounts and offers on products we need to help us save money.

One of the benefits of living in a town is that I can snap up bargains and browse the sales a lot easier than when we were living in the sticks, miles away from the shops.

As Bug is growing fast there is always the need to update his wardrobe which can be very costly.

Needing to get him some new clothes yet having limited funds I was delighted to see some cute t-shirts in Bug's size on sale at Tesco the other day.

Sprucing up our garden without breaking the bank.

As I have previously mentioned the garden in our new home needs a lot of TLC after being unloved and not tended to for a long time.   Even though we have slowly been trying to spruce up our garden by giving the grass some much needed TLC and ridding the garden of weeds unfortunately a lack of funds means it is a slow process to completely transform our garden from a unused barren space into a beautiful haven filled with lots of flowers, garden ornaments and garden furniture.

Being on a low income and watching our spending with a #SpendingDiary in the hope of saving money and improving our financial situation, I have decided to look upon turning our garden into a beautiful and blooming space as a long term project rather than splurging to transform the garden all in one go, spending money we can’t afford to spend to get everything we want for our garden.

As we can’t afford to spend a lot on our garden, with a lot of hard work I have been making the garden look a little better by getting rid of the weeds and clearing the garden debris left behind by the previous tenants.  The work we have done in the garden so far has improved how the garden looks without breaking the bank.

When we moved into our new home we had no garden tools, plant pots or garden furniture at all, so starting from scratch to kit our new garden could potentially be very expensive.  One of the big expenses that we needed to get for our garden was a lawnmower so that we could tend to the garden and keep it trimmed and tidy.  Dreading having to fork out the expense of buying a lawnmower I had been keeping an eye on ebay and local selling sites in the hope of picking up a second-hand lawnmower at a fraction of the cost of a new one.  Thankfully a couple of months ago my wishes for a cheap second-hand lawnmower were granted when I managed to snap up a working Flymo lawnmower on ebay for the bargain price of 99p!!!

Watching our money with the #SpendingDiary campaign.

Unfortunately many families across the UK have money problems and sadly live a hand to mouth existence.  A recent report by the Children’s Society and debt charity StepChange, featured on the Wilson Field blog, highlighted the financial pressure families across the UK have to deal with. 

According to the worrying report one in five UK families are struggling with financial issues and over one million families are suffering from ‘problem debt’, where they are at behind with at least one bill or credit payment.  Sadly the report also highlighted the fact that many families are taking out loans and debt for basic living costs such as food and heating.  Matthew Reed, Chief Executive of the Children’s Society, said “Families are increasingly relying on debt as a way to make ends meet – but we’re in danger of ignoring the impact this is having on children now and in the future.”  The report also looked at the impact financial pressure and debt has on children, with many children from families with money problems suffering from anxiety and being bullied at school.

As Wilson Field realise how easy it can be to fall into debt especially for people already struggling financially, Wilson Field want to raise awareness of financial issues and the strategies to manage financial problems.  Wilson Field, who offer personal debt advice to help you get your finances organised, have teamed up with a number of family bloggers, including myself, on their #SpendingDiary campaign.

For the Wilson Field #SpendingDiary campaign I will be keeping a spending diary to record our family finances with a little help from this useful financial pack from Wilson Field, consisting of The Wealth Chef by Ann Wilson, a Budget Book and a Shopping List/Meal Planner notepad.