Mummy on a Budget

Some money-saving tips for mums with children, or indeed anyone.

- Use washable nappies! This saves at least £500 a year, that is compared to the cheapest disposable nappies on the market and taking into account the laundering costs. We use 'the pop-in dream-dri' by Close Parent. You don't need to soak the dirty nappies beforehand, just keep them in a bucket till you are ready to wash them in the machine. They dry mega fast because of the kind of material they are made from, you could almost put them on straight from the washing machine! We find them very good.

- Cheapest washable nappies inserts I have come accross are Boots own make, 100 for £2.50



- Cheapest baby-wipes ever: Morrisons value range, 18 pence (!) a packet. We use them and they do fine. They are excellent also for cleaning your stainless steel toaster and kettle, wiping any spills on the floor, wiping hands, cleaning the inside of the car etc, the possibilities are endless! Apparently they are made in the same factory as Johnstone's. Talking about Morrisons value range: I also use their washing powder, rice, breadsticks (very tasty) and 30 pence chocolate. Tastes great!



- Buy in bulk! Always cheaper in the long run. (As long as you are sure you will definitely use it and it won't go off before you do). Get big sacks of porrige, rice or potatoes.

- Use a bar of Johnstons soap rather than baby bath as it will last longer whereas with baby bath you can easily overdo it and use too much. There is a link found recently between using bath products for babies/toddlers and allergies/eczema/dry skin so less is more! (The study also said that it is not good to bath your wee one every day as even just warm water can dry the skin out and get rid of our natural oils which prevent dry skin and eczema)



- Never buy (any!) juice, it is bad for you! It is best just to drink water or milk and eat proper fruit for your fruit intake. If you don't like the taste of plain water, why not add a slice of lemon and/or lime. Makes it a lot more drinkable, you only need 2 thin slices for a jug so a lemon and lime will do all week!




- Get your milk (v cheap) and toilet rolls from Farmfoods! Never found any cheaper toilet paper, and it is lovely and soft! They also usually have cheap colgate toothpaste and toothbrushes.



- Go on a healthy eating regime with your family (I don't like the 'diet' word). If you cut out biscuits, cakes, chocolate and crisps you'll save loads of money! (You could allow yourself to have one 'day of treats' a week so you don't feel you're loosing out too much)

- Hardly ever use shampoo. The ingredients of most shampoo are actually bad for your hair and plain water does just as well most days, or a wee bit of conditioner. Also a study found that cheap shampoos do the job just as well as more expensive shampoo.

- Re-use your hooverbag instead of replacing it! Just empty it into a bag and bin it. You will need gloves for this and  be careful because it can be messy.

- Sharpen your razor blades yourself instead of replacing them as they can be very expensive. This guy shows you how: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ADaRIqy0Dc

- Cheapest handwash I have come accross so far is Boots own make (original) which is only 50 pence.



- Watch this space, I'll add some more soon DV