Finance Round-up: Restoring order

The world has been shaken by several political events in recent months. All that has happened has had a big effect on the worlds of business and finance. Currency markets are all over place and the stock markets are up and down. It’s time for us ordinary folk to keep calm and get on with our lives as best as possible. Before long Christmas will be upon us causing another dent in our finances. So for a few minutes sit back and take some advice from our finance bloggers.

At the moment I keep seeing a little picture on social media with a phrase overlaid on top. It goes something like, “I wouldn’t change my children for the world but I wish I could change the world for my children.” Sometimes it’s not about changing people but giving them guidance. Eileen at Your Money, Sorted asks Should kids get pocket money? She argues the case for including encouraging them to save and giving them greater responsibility.

Once you’ve decided to give your children pocket money what’s the best way to let them have it? Can they be trusted with cash or would you prefer a safer method they can still use easily? Chammy from Chammy in Real Life has been testing goHenry. This is a prepaid payment card for children. It is topped up by an adult online or through the goHenry app. The child gets the card and a PIN and then it can be used anywhere with the Visa sign. 

If you’ve really got fed up with the world around recently perhaps it’s time to seek pastures new. Lots of people have said they would leave the country if certain elections didn’t go the way they wanted them to. Easily said but very expensive to do in reality. If you do fancy a spot of travelling on the cheap Jane over at Maflingo has discovered TalkTalkBnB. This is an online site where people advertise free accommodation in their homes in return for their guest to come and speak their native language to them. So the traveller gets a free and friendly place to stay in while the host can get to practise another language in an informal setting.

Since I have mentioned Christmas and the panic buying hasn’t started yet I thought I would share Joanne’s tip for finding some beauty bargains on the high street. On her blog Opposable Thumbs she tells us where she managed to get a £30 nail polish set for just £3!

The first house I bought I moved in just before Christmas. Crazy? Not at all if you know what you are doing (and have very little stuff!). To save you time, money and a lot of stress Medina at Grillo Designs lists her 12 Moving House Tips For A Stress Free Move.

Since our last round-up the days have got shorter and colder which means more electricity and gas will be used by all of us in the coming months. It’s always good to have a look at our energy suppliers every so often and to check if we can get a better deal elsewhere. Jules at Pondering Parenthood has been making several plans recently while preparing for her baby to be born. One of these is saving money by changing energy supplier. She found that simply changing tariff with her existing supplier has meant her saving £30 a month on her energy bills. I think that is a saving we would all like to have.

I’ll be back next month with a special Christmas finance round-up and how to survive the sales. If you want to be included contact me via my Facebook page or on Twitter.