Money blogging and my London Adventures

Last weekend I went to London for the MAD blog awards as this little blog of mine was a finalist in the thrifty category, it was a great night with my fellow finalists and although I didn’t win (well done to Gina for that accolade) we partied hard and enjoyed the evening.  I would also like to thank the sponsor of the category Experian who took us out for a wonderful lunch ahead of the evening do.  As we drank Bellini’s and dined on steak it is wonderful to think where blogging has taken me.  I know I spend an awful lot of time on my blogs, the husband would probably argue too much time, but it has enabled me to do a job that I don’t consider work.  It has given us opportunities I could never have afforded and experiences that money can’t buy.  That is the greatest thing about blogging, that and the friendships it has bought me.

My approach to thrifty is about making the most of what we have.  I don’t claim to be on the breadline but I can’t flash the cash either.  I like making my money stretch out and I don’t like paying over the odds when I can get it cheaper.

After the MAD blog awards and breakfast in the beautiful Royal Garden Hotel Becky and myself hot footed it across London, past Buckingham Palace and over to Holborn for an event for money bloggers.  it was the first of its kind and I was a little apprehensive that it would all be serious money bloggers and not bloggers like me.  However I was really pleased to meet a diverse and eclectic group of bloggers who all blog about money.  There were more thrifty bloggers, coupon bloggers but also more serious personal finance bloggers onboard.   It was a great day and I learnt alot.  Networking or chatting with new to me bloggers was really interesting and inspired me to think about my blog in a new way.

I have some tips to put into practise but also it fired off some topics I want to cover.  Zazzle put together a really quite brilliant presentation on SEO and answered a few of my questions.  I do think I have more to offer on this thrifty blog and look forward to growing it over the next year.  After the sessions there was the first of its kind SHOMO’s which are awards for money bloggers.  Again I didn’t win but I was certainly glad I was there.

The Money Advice service were the sponsor of the day and I learnt so much about the Government backed service and how it helps individuals.  I also learnt about how they can work with bloggers and look forward to developing that relationship over the year.

To sum up it was a great weekend where I learnt alot and came away fired up to do more.

Well done Mrs Bargain Hunter