Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.

Never was a truer word spoken!

Sometimes the best way to save a little money, is to start small. We do the best to make the most of our money and still manage to live full lives— just with a smaller price tag! I wrote about some thrifty tips that we use as a family earlier this year, but I think there’s an endless amount of things you can to do save or make a little dosh, whether you’re a parent or not.

Sell Your Junk. Although I don’t do it often, I’ve been known to sell my stuff online before and it’s the easiest, quickest way of making a little extra money, in my opinion— especially if it’s an item or items that you were willing to depart with anyway. A little money is better than no money, it saves space in landfill and it’s true what they say— one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!

Know Your Dates. There’s two kind of date codes you’ll see on food products— use by date and a best before date— and people often get confused between the two. A use by date is the date the food should be consumed by, as it’s deemed dangerous to eat it after this point as potentially harmful bacteria may have grown on or inside the food (even if it looks fine!) A best before date is to do with quality— the manufacturers advise that you eat it before the best before date as this is when it’s at it’s optimum in terms of quality, however you can eat it after this date but it won’t be as fresh. Learn the difference and you may end up throwing less away!

Buy Reduced Products. It’s always worth looking in the reduced sections when you’re doing your food shop, in case there’s a bargain to be had (although don’t buy it just because it’s cheap!) Find out what time your local supermarket do their final reductions for the day, to grab some bits at the best price possible! Even if some food products are going out of date, you could freeze them and save them for later.

Buy Own Brand. I’m no food snob— we always buy supermarket own brand when it comes to the majority of our shop. Often there’s no difference in quality! The same goes for non-foods stuff too— some of my favourite skincare is Boots or Superdrug’s own!

Grow Your Own. If you have the space, grow some of your own favourite fruit and veg. And if you don’t, try growing your own herbs on the windowsill! I always find I waste half a packet of the fresh herbs you can buy, but this way you just pick what you need. It’s so easy (if I can do it, anyone can!) and packets of seeds are very cheap. You could even cheat and buy a plant and just maintain it!

Use Cash Instead of Plastic. It’s so easy (too easy!) to use a debit or credit card when you’re buying something. Actually handing over cash feels like you’re spending money. There have been way too many times that I’ve bought some bits with my card and taken no notice of how much the cashier has told me it’s come to!

Soft Play. Soft play is a bit of a godsend! A quick Google search and you should find an abundance of soft play centres close to you. They’re usually very cheap— especially in comparison to big days out!— and allow you to knacker your child out, while you catch up with other adults. Your local Sure Start Children’s Centre probably has some free activities too, allowing your child to have all the fun, make all the mess and you have none of the clearing up. Win, win!