Having children in today's world can be a pretty expensive business - just feeding them a varied and fresh diet can cost a pretty penny and when you take into account money spent on clothes, toys, books and days out you're soon looking at an alarming yearly spend if you're not too careful.
Of course there are ways around this, and I think most parents end up finding their own little ways to save money here and there - it could be argued that you don't need to buy new clothes or toys when charity shops and Facebook selling sites are an option which of course is true but I personally prefer to buy things new - not that there is anything wrong with buying used or nearly new items but it's just my personal preference not to - Throughout the years I have found some ways of doing this which mean that I actually spend very little, and so today I thought I'd share my top money saving tips with you.
1) Shop The Sales
It sounds so obvious but it's surprising how many people only look at the sales once a year once January rolls around, but actually there are so many opportunities throughout the year to shop the seasonal sales and I like to use them to their full advantage.
I always buy the majority of the childrens clothes a year ahead - at the end of Summer I shop the sales and buy clothes in their sizes for the following summer - it may sound a little over-prepared but I have found that it saves me a small fortune and means that I don't need to compromise on their wardrobes at all - they always have a wardrobe bursting with clothes but I have never spent much on it at all because they're mostly from the sales.
It can get a bit tricky where babies are concerned as you can't be too sure what size they'll be in, but I have never taken a gamble that didn't pay off on that front and even if I did end up with items that didn't fit - I'd have no problem selling them on as they were so cheap to begin with!
This year I have already bought the majority of the boys clothes for NEXT years summer holiday in September 2017, and Sailor already has his Christmas outfits put aside which I bought for 70% off!
Each year I always make sure that I buy their winter coats for next year in the Sales too, I always use the Pumpkin Patch sale for this and for the past two years I have bought them beautiful coats worth £50 and only paid £7 each for them!
To ensure you're aware of when the sales go live it's worth signing up for companies newsletters, and you'll often get a discount code for doing so too.
2) Use Social Media & Internet Tools To Help You Find The Bargains
There are SO many money saving help sites, forums and groups around these days that you should rarely have the need to pay full price for anything if you know where to look.
Facebook groups such as Bargain Buys For Busy Mums are IDEAL to join up to as they publish details of flash sales and bargain finds multiple times per day - I have picked up so many great bargains from this group, infact I already have Tyne & Noah's gifts bought and put aside because of it - an Imaginext Transforming Batcave for Tyne worth £90 which was on sale for £30, and a Little Tikes Sit & Play Pirate Ship for Noah worth £35 which was on sale for £17.50!
Voucher codes websites are also a great tool to use when you're buying something specific, it's always worth checking a site such as Revouchers before completing your purchase as they have over 6,000 voucher codes available for use with top retailers - you never know what offer you may find or how much money it could save you, well worth the 10 seconds it will take to have a look before you buy!
3) Save On Delivery Costs
Again, it sounds cliche but every penny you can save should be saved as it really does soon add up - I personally do a lot of my shopping online and I found that the costs of deliveries were really adding up, when all it really takes is a few extra clicks or a bit of forward planning to save money on that front.
For example, when buying through Amazon be sure to read the notes around the delivery charges - I often buy books from them and book orders over £10 are delivered for free, quite often my total has been around £8 so rather than pay an additional £3.95 for delivery it makes more sense to buy an extra book for £2 - saving money and getting something for the difference too.
Companies such as Tesco have started offering delivery saver options for grocery shopping too, this is something I have signed up to and I find it completely worthwhile - each month I pay £6 upfront for the Delivery Saver membership which means that when I check out my grocery shopping, I don't have to pay a delivery charge - I can select any of the options at all (With some of the prime time slots costing £5 alone), and use it every day if I wish (I only need it once a week, but still!) for delivery of orders over £40.
As I have my shopping delivered each week, this is a saving of between £6 - £14 per month depending on which delivery slot I choose.
Do you have any money saving tips to share? I'd love to hear them!
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