Who else is struggling with being frugal when they are buying Christmas gifts? I am guilty of really going overboard at Christmas and I spend way too much really. I am finding it hard to buy things for my 9 year old and so being distracted by random gifts that I’m not sure will be used much after the initial unwrapping. I find it easy to buy for my teenagers and this makes buying for the 9 year old stressful!
I have made some smart choices though and been frugal where I can be this week.
- Firstly I have been meal planning which always saves me money. I planned meals around what we already had in the cupboard and in the freezer. This is freeing up space which is also a good thing. We eat so much better when we meal plan, rather than buying convenient food I am cooking from scratch which is cheaper but usually healthier too.
- Another way I have made money this week is by working smarter. I have hired another freelancer and this has helped my focus, taken off some of the pressure which has also resulted in me getting more work and making money. So it proves that outsourcing can be really beneficial to small businesses. It is always worth looking at your skills and how you can use these to make money. When things are quiet for me I take on freelance writing jobs that I see advertised. I am actually still registered with a teaching recruitment agency as well as I don’t want to shut the door totally on teaching. I usually take on a little tutoring each year which keeps my hand in, although this next year though I will be tutoring my own son through GCSE’s so wish me luck there! If you work in care and nursing there are similar agencies including Cygnet Jobs which match you with suitable opportunities. Whether you are looking for a part time boost or full time they can help you find the job that you need.
- I went to a women in business conference this week and it is usually something I shy away from. But I went along, made a few great contacts and listened to Leon Streete who was incredibly inspiring. It has really motivated me. This wasn’t a frugal thing in itself but it is in another way as I have made some plans for next year and focussed me. The money spent has already helped me formulate how I can make more money next year.
- There are some great sales on this week and I bought a new dress that was half price, therefore it is definitely frugal as I was going to buy it anyway.
- Secret Santa is another frugal way to help celebrate the season. I am taking part in two this year, one with a group of bloggers as we miss not having an office and workmates, so we do a secret santa! The second is with the family I am spending Christmas night with. It is a little bit of fun for the evening and cheap as we only spend £3 per pressie.
We would love you to join in with us by sharing what frugal and thrifty things you’ve been up to this week. Whether it’s an Instagram picture (#5frugalthings), a blog post or even a video. Just add your link to the linky at the bottom of this post. You don’t have to share five things you’ve done, anything thrifty or frugal that you’ve been doing is perfect.
We’d like to make this a great little community linky so it would be brilliant if you could comment on a couple of the other blog posts linked up. We’ll make sure that we comment on all posts and if you have a Pinterest friendly image then we’ll Pin your post to one of our boards too.
You’re more than welcome to copy and paste the badge above but it would be even better if you could let your readers know that you’re linking up with us by adding a little line to the bottom of your post like this one:
I’m linking up with Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s ‘Five Fabulously Frugal things I’ve done this week linky.
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