Finance Round-up: Getting into the swing of things

February can be an odd month. The days are still quite short and quite often, like this year, it is absolutely freezing. After getting through the financial pain that is January it can be hard to focus on your goals for the rest of the year. So many of us limp through year before finding it is December and the expense of Christmas hits us again. If you have found that you have broken your New Year’s resolutions already don’t fret. From general savings tips to getting the best deal on your holidays we’ve got advice on how to make and save money.

If you want to get motivated to get into good money saving habits then start off my going down some lists and see what you can tick off with ease. Our bloggers have complied some great ideas such 51 of the Best Frugal Living Tips from Laura at Savings 4 Savvy Mums, 30 Easy Money Saving Tips for Families from Charli at One Wage Family and 50 ways to save money by KatyKicker. Meanwhile Thrifty Mumma has been looking at how to have a family and save money.

For some easy to digest ways to start saving money have a look at the 5 ways to budget like a pro from Eileen at Your Money Sorted. If you do nothing else this year in savings terms then take the easiest money saving challenge from Kerry at Money Saving Journeys.

To get saving regularly you need to make this a good habit to have. Starting off can be easy but it is something that can drift off. Faith at Much More With Less has been looking at harnessing your laziness in order to make saving easy. Meanwhile Emma over at Emma’s Savvy Savings and Mrs Moneypenny Lynn have taken the Btox Challenge with new bank B which has lead to them thinking about their attitudes to money. 

One of the best expenses in the family budget is the weekly grocery shopping bill. We can’t stop eating food but we can change some of our expensive habits and use some clever tricks to save money. Kaya from Earning by the Sea has been using the Shopmium app to earn cashback on her shopping. If you like using coupons to get money off your shopping then Savvy Dad Olly has been finding out the best places to find them. If you are someone who throws away their receipts without a second thought think again. Your receipts and other people’s discarded receipts can be worth money or loyalty points as Michelle from Time and Pence has investigated the practice of wombling.

Once you have done your grocery shopping the savings don’t just stop there. From meal planning to economical cooking methods there’s cost savings in everything you do. Nicola at The Frugal Cottage suggests using a slow cooker and stockpiling food. To make the most of the meals you make Fiona at Savvy in Somerset has been bulking out meals using methods such as a soup starter and filling puds.

How many bank accounts have you got? Perhaps it is just the one or another joint account for bills. Sarah at Frugal Happy Homemaker tells us why we should have five bank accounts to get our finances in order.

When people have struggled with their finances and had debts a hangover of that can be a bad credit score. This can affect your future ability to get good loan rate and credit agreements. You could even get turned down for having a mobile phone contract. If you need to build it up Sara from Debt Camel has been looking at saving with LOQBOX.

One of my favourite ways to make a bit of money is to sell on eBay. I also like to scan down it as well to try and pick up a few bargains. One thing I usually find is that whatever I am after lots of other people seem interested in as well. Clare at My Money Cottage has been using Bidkit to find items listed on eBay which have misspelt, finish in the middle of the night or items starting at a penny. All these types of auction will be less popular and so should attract fewer bids.

If you are serious about the getting your family finances in order then it’s time to teach your kids to be financial responsible as well. Jane at Skinted Minted Mum explains the importance of teaching your children about personal finance. Meanwhile sisters Joleisa have been thinking up ways to make your child love saving.

Talking about children, if you pay for childcare now is the time to sort out your payment vouchers. The current scheme is closing to new registrations in April 2018 and you currently have the choice between Childcare Vouchers and Tax-free Childcare. Emma at The Money Whisperer has been looking at the differences between the two schemes.

I, like many people, pay my council tax over 10 months which means that February and March are months in which we have extra money in our bank account. For us this is a couple of hundred pounds and Cass at Diary of a Frugal Family has been wondering what people do with their extra cash.

If you’ve saved up a bit of money or worked extra hard this month then you may feel like treating yourself to a meal out. To get the best value and ensure you don’t fall for some clever money-making tricks Kara from Your Best Friend’s Guide to Cash has examining all the ways that restaurants try to make you spend more.

Finally, for many of us the ultimate luxury is a holiday while for others it is an annual necessity. Whatever your attitude to holidays is we all want the best value for money we can get. Consumer expert Helen at The Complaining Cow has rounded up the best tips to getting a good deal on your holiday booking.

If you want to feature in a future finance round-up then contact me via my Facebook page or on Twitter.