Thrifting

One of my New years resolutions was to try and save money where i can both to stop waste and also out of necessity and it has now become a hobby, no an addiction!. Its amazing the buzz that comes from getting a bargain. Years ago before kids and mortgages my money was spent before it arrived. so i have always considered myself to be a spender rather than a saver, but i suppose that with four kids and the massive amount of money that they cost along with mortgages and bills, i have finally grown up over the years and changed my attitude to money. Lets face it we work hard for the money we get and want to make the best out of it, we have shopped at Aldi for years and actually spend less now than we did when it was just three of us and we shopped at Morrisons, and i always go a local butcher as its cheap and tastes far better than anything you can get from a supermarket. Plus i budget and plan. One of the new eating habits i started was to plan my meals for the week and write a shopping list and i have stuck to it ( along with the diet/healthy eating, which is going ok, slow weight loss but i am not restricting myself). I sit down for twenty minutes each week and plan what meals we will have. It actually makes it so much easier in the week, as i hated thinking what will we have tonight and then you get stuck in the rut of making the something over and over again. I don't chose the days just seven meals then i pin the list on the fridge. I also write down when we run out of something, and after i have done the list i check what we have and don't have. I have cut about £20 per week off our shopping which is between £50 and £80 per week depending on if we are stocking up on basics and nappies, cleaning stuff , dishwasher tablets etc and we have next to no waste anymore. Not bad for a family of six and its not like we go without and deprive ourselves of things or its all saver stuff, we eat well.

We have booked a holiday at a Haven again this year as the kids loved it so much, we booked it last year, when all the early booking deals were on. We paid £240 for a prestige caravan for 7 nights, last year we paid £379 for a standard caravan for 7 nights that we booked last minute so another way of saving. Most people think its cheaper to book last minute but its actually better to book when they first go on sale.

So with the holiday approaching i need to make a start on getting some holiday clothes for the kids.Usually i will go to town and can spend hundreds buying summer clothes, and with the weather we get here they might not even get worn much, or i can pay for something really nice only for it to get ruined on the first time its worn by a chocolate ice cream or damp grass staining it, or it getting torn when climbing a tree. I have never been one for designer labels and think that the supermarkets have really good quality affordable kids clothes, My mum has always enjoyed looking round the charity shops and always seems to come back with things for the kids, so i started looking too and quickly realized how fab our local Oxfam shop is. This is my favorite as its the cheapest and they also sell lots of new things from TU which i think have the wrong sizes in and perhaps that's why they sent them to Oxfam. Also they sell loads of cheap craft stuff, little packets with beads or sequins etc for 20p each and then big bundles of craft papers and things for 50p. Over Christmas i bought craft kits such as Make a peg people nativity and make a penguin cushion for 99p each. I bought bundles of baby clothes for alex for £2.99 for 20 items. I love having a look round and its rare i come out empty handed and some weeks i am really lucky like this week. I spent £25 pound but look what i got

 All these shirts and they are good makes, Fatface, Next, Ben Sherman, Gap, Billabong.

 A crean linen waist coat and Trousers for Alex from Autograph M&S an a shirt that matches, this little outfit was £2.59 same as the shirts all kids stuff is £2.59 for 3 items or 99p each.

Amongst the things i got for me a jumper from Zara, and a dress from Next

Mollys dress from Gap

In total 22 items for £25.00, a total bargain and it all in really good condition. My thrifting has also led to using e-bay more, Last week i bought two bundles for Molly total cost £34.00 and about 40 items, in fact she has more clothes than she needs now for summer, Like i said saving money is an addiction now and i love getting really nice sometimes  clothes designer for next to nothing. Definatly habits i am going to continue and all the money i am saving can go towards more days out and holidays!!!!!