Stacey blogs at It takes A Woman ( a really well written, lovely and interesting blog by the way) and can be followed on twitter @svmitche
Hi, what’s your name? Stacey Mitchell
Any kids? 2 boys, 3 and 1
Do you work? FT/PT? No
If you don’t work why don’t you? Nursery fees vs my salary when I gave up working left us at a disadvantage! Worried about being flexible if the children were sick and could not attend a nursery.
What are your child care arrangements? I take care of the children, OH steps in when needed.
How do you manage for money?
Live on one salary, but I sell our junk on eBay and do online surveys, enter competitions etc to bring in money. We manage this money by making sure we know what we are spending, have trimmed the bills down as much as we can and try to meal plan to avoid unnecessary grocery shopping.
Do you worry about money?
Sometimes – at the moment yes as we are getting married in September and although we have been given some money, we still have to find some towards it!
What do you waste money on?
I buy things for the kids without questioning or really researching, which I should as some things I could get cheaper.
Have you made any big financial changes since having kids?
Dropping one salary was difficult, but we have since managed to pay off outstanding debt, so have a bit extra each month now.
How do you make extra cash?
Internet surveys, selling on eBay, I’ve started blogging and done some paid posts recently.
Can you share 3 top budgeting tips for other parents?
1. Make sure you are not paying over the odds for your bills eg get a water meter fitted if you can, make sure you are on the lowest tariffs for everything.
2. Food plan! It’s so much easier to shop to a food plan and you spend less if you stick to it. I plan in a ‘pot luck’ night where we eat leftovers and also one takeaway night every couple of weeks just to make sure we don’t feel like we’re scrimping.
3. Try and research all big purchases to find out if it is cheaper online, is there a voucher or discount code, or cashback that can be had?
I know it’s additional, but I would be lost without the www.Moneysavingexpert.com I find Martin Lewis’s advice so useful and also some of the people on the forum are so happy to help!
Loving your tips Stacey. Thank you !
