As my children are growing older

We are beginning to need less stuff

With the twins turning nine this week

They are more about art and books and outdoor adventures

Than puzzles and games and toys

When the twins were babies we had two of everything

We have already donated lots of our belongings to charity

Friends and family

But the loft is still filled to bursting with bits to sell

Some things are going to be harder to part with than others

I am not sure our 9 year old twin travel system

Would compare well against more modern designs

There are also all the sentimental outfits

I cannot sell or giveaway

Just in case we have grandchildren one day

But selling baby paraphernalia is only one way of making money

Money that we need to feed our large family

And fund their fun and education

Here are some others ways to make and save money

Ways to make money to feed hungry mouths and fund family fun

Get a job
This is an obvious one but not always a possible one. I have four small children at home all of the time. Home educating my children is my full time job. A job which I adore but does not pay me any money. In fact it costs me a lot of money in resources and classes and field trips. And food! Children at home all the time eat all the time! My blog is my work and I try to earn what I can to help pay for food and resources for our family and home.

Sell stuff online
If you have things to sell online is a great way to do it. You can sell on Ebay, through local selling pages and Facebook pages. If you have children’s clothing try to find a branded selling page as you will get more money for your items as people will understand their value. Amazon is good for selling books through, I sold all my uni books this way and it worked really well. Before selling take good photos of your products and do your research into where to sell what.

Sell Stuff at a Car Boot Sale
If you have lots of household items and toys to sell a car boot or table top sale could be a good idea. It is the season for such sales at the moment. Search your local paper or look out for signs in your area.

Save vouchers and coupons
Use money off vouchers when you are shopping and look out for vouchers for days out on cereal boxes. We have been able to afford many more edventures this way. Also collect points if available from stores that you shop in regularly, Tesco, Sainsburys and Boots have great points / rewards schemes.

Search out special offers
Try to find the things you need to buy on offer then spend your saving on a special day out or on picnic food for an edventure.

Make the most of memberships
We have National Trust membership and English Heritage as well as for a local farm park. Although it is a large outlay at the beginning we more than make our money back in the number of times we visit their sites. It is a cost effective way of making sure we can have lots of lovely affordable days out throughout the year.

Find fun for free
We have recently joined the library as I can no longer afford to sustain my children’s reading habits. They read ALL the books! We also love exploring our local woods and doing a tour of local and not so local playgrounds. We also love to stay home and play together in the garden and watch TV. A trip to the seaside can be fun and free apart from fuel.

Meal Plan
I save SO much money on my weekly shop when I plan what we are going to eat for the week. I also throw less food away which is a huge plus for us a family and as inhabitants of planet Earth. My aim for the summer is to plan our food as much as I can to save money to go towards our edventures.

Shop the sales
Try to buy ahead of the coming seasons, it takes a bit of planning but you can save lots of money for a rainy day by buying Christmas decorations and cards straight after Christmas, and buying clothes for next summer this summer in the sales. Have a list of things that you need when sales shopping and stick to it otherwise you can end up spending more than you have on things you do not need.

Pay Day Loans
Buying things we think we need that we do not really is a problem I recognise in myself and others that I know. Buying things because others have them, because we see other families using them.Social media has made this much more of a thing in recent years. We have to be firm with ourselves, fair in our thinking and frugal in our spending. I find that money is much like baby loss in that no one wants to talk about it, especially when it is not good news, not going well. People are embarrassed, ashamed, afraid to ask for help. If you are running to a very tight budget, it is so easy to get blown off course. A big special occasion, car trouble, a medical emergency. Unforeseen financial outlay of any kind can be problematic. It can cause anxiety and stress especially if we do not talk about it. No one wants to be in debt, no one likes to be in debt but sometimes it is the only way. And when that time comes you might need to make use of a Cash lady loan, to see you through your unexpected circumstances and get you back on your feet.

July is an expensive month for us

Birthdays galore

I am aiming to have a No Buy August

To try and recover from all the outgoings of the month before

Less outgoings without compromising outings

Is the August I am aiming for

What are your top tips for saving money

Or making your money go further?

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