30 Easy Ways to Save Money

Following on from my money saving tips I've decided to put together 30 ways to save one english pound. It's also the 30th Anniversary of the one pound coin... who knew? I certainly didn't!

1. If you are lucky enough to have a Sky TV package, ask yourself if you really need all the channels that you get with it. For example, dropping the kids channel will save you £1 per month and if you have movies but don't really watch them, that could save you around £8 per month! Give Sky a call and see what they can do for you.

2. If you've got an old tired pair of shoes with some scuffs and imperfections, consider customising them to give them a new lease of life. Wash them however they permit you to and have a look on Pinterest for some crafty tutorials on how to customise shoes.

3. Sign up to Super Savvy Me, they have lots of printable coupons with between 50p and £2 off which you can take with you to the supermarket.

4. Consider places like Ebay for clothes, especially for special occasions, people often list things like ball gowns on there which have been worn once, in immaculate condition, you can pick these up for less than half the original RRP if you can catch them at the right time. 

5. If you're a coffee lover buy yourself a jar/tin of luxury coffee (around the £4 mark) and a flask. Instead of buying coffee every day before/after/during work, have your flask at hand and you'll be saving around £3/£4 per day just by not buying it from a coffee shop!

6. You don't have to get your photo prints from Boots etc. they can often be quite expensive in comparison. Shop around online, a lot of online photo printers will offer free prints for your first order. Snapfish offer 40 free 6x4 prints with your first order!

7. Instead of buying bottled water invest in a water filter for home, then every day fill up a plastic bottle and take that with you.

8. Consider buying some cute handkerchiefs instead of carrying around packets of tissues, these can be washed and used over and over again, and it's got to make blowing your nose look a little more attractive with a little lacy number!

9. Are you seriously considering spending big money on a designer handbag? If so I highly recommend you have a look at some of VIPXO's ebay posts.

10. Might sound daft but reassess how you get around. Could you share a car, get off at an earlier bus stop or even bike/walk to work. This could save you hundreds over period of time. 

11. Consider shopping in places like Aldi, those TV adverts aren't for nothing, their stuff really is as good if not better than the well known brands.

12. Get your sewing needles out if you've got a little hole in a piece of clothing, failing that talk nicely to your mum/nana/auntie and see if they can help you out... saves you having to buy more clothes!

13. Hang your washing out on the line instead of putting it in the tumble dryer. Dryers may be convenient and quicker but if it's a nice sunny day get your clothes pegged out and blowing in the wind... saves energy and money!

14. Cook from scratch instead of using ready meals/eating out; it might take a little longer but it is a lot cheaper! If you go for meals because it's romantic you can make a meal at home just as nice, cooking the meal together is all part of the experience!

15. Instead of paying for music on itunes etc. why not try out an online music service such as last.fm or spotify, both offer free packages. You might not get to pick the exact song you want but you'll surely discover some songs and artists you haven't heard of. These are both legal and above board ways of listening to music for free, alternatively you could listen to your favourite songs via YouTube, VEVO upload lots of up to date tracks and their videos.

16. When making a cuppa make it in a teapot, for 4 people you generally only need 2 teabags if you leave it to stew... if you did it from individual cups you'd probably use a teabag per cup!

17. Turn all electrical appliances OFF at the plug, for as long as the plug is switched on, electricity will be going to the appliance.

18. Consider getting a water meter fitted. Especially if there's only you or you and one other in the house, you like taking showers rather than baths and you don't use ridiculous amounts of water on your garden. 

19. If you have an empty freezer try and fill it, even if only with bread because empty freezers cost more to run.

20. Try not to go shopping on an empty stomach and make a list so you don't buy unnecessary items, don't give into the BOGOF temptations, you'll actually often waste the food. 

21. If you're bored of your current makeup stash, consider swapping some with your friends/other bloggers instead of buying more and more. 

22. When it comes to insurance, whether it's for your car, pet or home, don't settle for your renewal figure. This years figure for my car insurance was in excess of £500... I decline that and ended up only paying £400 with another company. 

23. If you're considering buying a new car make sure you think about its fuel consumption and car tax. There are now cars out there which are very economical with fuel and only cost £30 per year to tax... these kinds of cars will also probably be cheaper to insure. At the end of the day you don't NEED a load of power behind the wheel, the top end legal speed limit in the UK is 70 MPH, anything over that could land you a fine and points. Nobody wants that.

24. Instead of going to the cinema wait until the film you want to see is released on an online rental service such as Blinkbox and rent it from there, saves you the expensive cinema ticket, extortionate sweets & petrol money to get there.

25. Assess your mobile phone contract and see if you actually use the allowances you have. At a certain point in your contract you can lower your allowances and therefore pay less. Give your service provider a call and see what they say but make sure that any changes you make don't lengthen your contract. 

26. Look out for when your essentials are on offer, for example your favourite shampoo or even sanitary products. Buy them at a low price even if you don't need them at that moment because chances are when you do need them they'll be full price!

27. When it's your birthday/christmas save any gift bags you get, you can reuse these during the year (just make sure you don't give them back to the person that gave you them!)

28. Instead of going out in town with your friends why not have a girly night in, do whatever takes your fancy but it's got to be cheaper than the average £50 you'd spend on a night out. 

29. Grow your own herbs/vegetables. If you've got a spare patch of grass in your back garden plant some seeds and get growing! It's relatively easy and so rewarding when you get your first piece of veg! Even if you don't have a garden you can get window sill top boxes for herbs!

30. Instead of buying a load of magazines every week/month discuss with your friends what magazines they like and if they like similar ones to you take it in turns to buy a certain one each every week and then swap them!

Why You Should Take Out Pet Insurance

Some of you may remember that I have a little dog called Jasper, I thought I'd just write a short post updating you all on how he's doing. If you follow me on Twitter and Instagram, you'll know that he's been responsible for all manner of annoyances in my life because of his destructive behaviour; remember the chewed up lipsticks/mascara/concealer? Well especially as puppies, dogs are into everything whether edible or inedible which does pose the first obvious risk of them ingesting something they shouldn't and either causing a blockage or potential poisoning - first reason why you need pet insurance!

just chillin'

I know he might not actually look like it but he's a working English Cocker Spaniel; he has literally just been clipped so he looks like a completely different dog. In the photo he's actually chewing on his favourite blanket, I think most dogs have a favourite toy, Jasper never goes anywhere without one of his blankets; they're like his comfort thing.

If you're reading this and you have a dog then chances are you'll totally understand where I'm coming from when I say he is like a best friend to me. I know that no matter what happens he will always be there wagging his tail looking like the happy chappy he is, ready to give me a cuddle and probably a little kiss. In my opinion, dogs really are one of the most loyal animals you can possibly own; which is probably why they are so easy to get attached to. 

waiting in anticipation for the next biscuit

Like most young dogs, Jasper has endless amounts of energy. I could literally walk him 20 miles a day and I still think he'd want more, he's always in and out of bushes, water, mud... you name it that boy's been in it! I think some times I baby him a little bit though because I don't want anything to happen to him so I'm always cautious of where we go for walks, weary of other dogs and also the environment around us. I have heard so many stories about active dogs who have been running around, fallen awkwardly and seriously injured themselves. This is my absolute worst nightmare, muscles can easily tear and bones can easily be broken, which can mean a very expensive trip to the vets which is why I think it's so incredibly important to take out pet insurance just in case*. It might seem an unnecessary payment every month but I think it's so important; it really could be the different between being able to get your dog treated for their illness/injury and not. Fortunately (touch wood!!!), we haven't had too many visits to the vet other than for vaccinations but I just like piece of mind of being covered for any eventuality. 

Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm Review (Combination skin)

I've been using Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm on and off since December. When I first started using it I loved it, as you will have seen in my first impressions of Emma Hardie Morgina Balm review post there was initially no negative reaction from my skin so everything was all good. But as I mentioned in the post it takes at least a month or so to make an informed judgement of a skincare product (I think, anyway).

Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm £34.00 Feel Unique

Unfortunately my skin took a turn for the worst around 2 weeks ago and I couldn't work out why. I had stopped using Emma Hardie every single day and I used it only as an indulgent treatment when I went in the bath (The rest of the time I used REN Clearcalm Clay Cleanser) so I had to start narrowing everything down to try and work out what was wrong. I had already cut my skincare routine right to the bare bones because I had been using La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo and it was working well for me. I was literally only using Emma Hardie when I got a bath (which is around 1-2 times per week, obviously with showers in between!). 

One morning I woke up with really painful spots on my cheeks (I never normally get them here!). They weren't white heads they were just really really painful blind spots. My face ached so much it hurt to even touch it to put make up on, it is honestly one of the worst breakouts I've ever had and I couldn't work out what it was. It wasn't 'that time of the month' and besides they were in the wrong place for them to be hormonal spots. I couldn't work out what it was that had caused it so I just concentrated on getting rid of them with clay masks and the Effaclar products which eventually sorted me out. I kind of forgot about it and carried on with my normal skincare routine, REN then La Roche Posay. 

One night I used the Emma Hardie whilst in the bath because I wanted something to relax and unwind; the gorgeous scent of Moringa was exactly what I was looking for. I used it as I usually would, with a clean flannel and warm running water... thought nothing of it. Until the next morning when I had another breakout, similarly bad to the last one I'd had and I realised what it was... the Emma Hardie Cleanser.

I am genuinely gutted about this because I did love using it, it melts away make up like no other and smells divine but something in it is obviously too much for my skin. As you will have seen I've been using this in the bath for a while but unfortunately I've realised it was the root of the breakout troubles I'd been having. I daren't try it again to reaffirm this because honestly the spots were horrendous but thankfully my skin is on the way to recovery again with the help of the Effaclar products, but the Emma Hardie will be going in the bin. 

Have you ever had an adverse reaction to skincare?

Please remember that what doesn't work for me, might work wonders for you, I have seen plenty of rave reviews for this product but my skin is combination and prone to breakouts which is why it hasn't suited me.