The other week, I was invited to London for an event hosted by Savoo. It was a Save Up event, attended by DealPros, of which I am one (more of that later). The event was to get us all together to encourage us to save money. Now, as most of you know I am from Yorkshire. I also have possibly the most thrifty Grandma in the entire world so it probably comes as no surprise that I am rather frugal with my money. Even more so since I became a student and we are poorer than poor!
Even before I was a student, I always used to use vouchers, either ones you cut out or online codes. I have always shopped around and bought good quality clothes for the children, but second hand on ebay or in charity shops. Christmas presents are often bought for my entire family from a charity shop, especially as they generally all have a half price sale on Christmas Eve!
I think there is quite a negative connotation with money-saving. People tend to be quite proud that they don't have to scrimp and save. I am proud that I do save money. I see nothing to be ashamed of. If I can buy my children good quality toys or clothes second hand, cheaper than that of a cheap high street store brand new, then I will. I am proud of the bargains I have got over the years. I think we should all be encouraged to change our mentality towards money saving. It really isn't anything to be ashamed of.
The event also introduced us to mySupermarket, a company I have shopped with for a while now. They compare all the prices from the majority of the major supermarkets so that you can compare your weekly shop at each one. Their site is simple to use and easy to get good results.
The conference was very inspiring and I had a lightbulb blogging moment which should result in a new blog in the next few weeks (hopefully before I am back to university). I will obviously keep you updated. The conference also made me realise that there is so much more that I could be doing to save money. This weekend I am going to start meal planning. Partly for financial reasons but mainly for organisation. I get in from uni late and I often haven't thought about what we will eat that night. This means we eat really late or we get a ready-meal which certainly isn't ideal. The children eat well. I have pretty much always planned their meals and I freeze portions so that we rarely run low.
As a DealPro I am encouraged to share coupons and online codes with the Savoo community and also with you. As such, I am going to start a weekly money saving post in which I share deals which I think you will like. All you need to do to save money is click on the links I post and sometimes you might also need to use a code which I will provide you with. If there are any specific companies you want to see deals from then let me know and I will keep my eye out for you.
Savoo also announced a very exciting competition, one where you could win £10,000! All you need to be is the UK's Smartest Shopper. Click on the picture below to enter.
