Five simple tricks to help you spend less

Winter is an expensive time for most people, not only because of Christmas, but also because the changing season reduces some of the potential for free days out - sitting on the beach in the pouring rain when it's below 5 degrees? No thanks. However, for our household, the Winter months are cripplingly expensive, and here's why; Christmas, eight birthdays of immediate family members, two MOTs and services due and one car insurance renewal. Ouch.

For this reason, I have developed some coping mechanisms to help ensure that we can enjoy Winter without overstretching ourselves or ending up with hefty credit card bills as Spring time blossoms. To help spread Wise Old Rabbit mantra, I will discuss my top five tips for minimising your outgoings without reducing your festive spirit.

1. Plan your meals and buy only what you need
This will take you just ten minutes of thinking time with a pen and paper, and the benefits are numerous. Not only will you reduce your spending on impulse items, you will also be less likely to reach for the take-away menu when you get home as you will never find yourself facing an empty fridge with an empty stomach. 

2. Leftovers for lunch
It doesn't really take a genius to calculate that packing your own lunch will cost a lot less than buying a £3-£5 sandwich meal deal each day. The flaw in this theory is that in order to take your own sandwiches to work, you need the inclination to wake up early and make them (as sandwiches made the day before they are due to be eaten are invariably vile). I can only imagine that there are a lot of households where that just does not happen... However, this simple solution will allow you to have your sleep and eat it... if you like. When you make your evening meal, make an extra portion and re-heat it for lunch the next day. This meal is likely to be more satisfying than a cardboard packaged sandwich, and will certainly cost you less in the long run. 

3. Spread your Christmas shopping
The most expensive and stressful way to do your Christmas shopping is to allocate all shopping to one Saturday in December spent in a hellishly busy town centre. You will not find everything you need and in desperation will end up spending a fortune on over priced tat such as crystal ash trays and rhinestone embellished bubble bath. To avoid this horrendous fate, start your Christmas shopping as early as you can bare. This doesn't mean that you have to go to your local shopping centre every weekend, just search the homeware / clothing clearance isles in your local supermarket each time you go and keep an eye on Amazon's daily deals. Keep a little notebook with you, or a list on your phone, of each person you need to buy for and every item you have built up so far. Your Christmas shopping will be over and done with before you know it.

4. Pot luck parties
Nights out drinking with your mates can be the route of the best stories and fun times. But, repeat this ritual once a week (or more frequently), and not only will the experience become monotonous, but you will also find yourself all too often overdrawn. Far from suggesting a cut back in socialising, I simply urge you to be more imaginative with your plans. Choose a host, and split the supplies for an evening in between each attendee. There should be a person responsible for each of the following; starter, main course, desert, drinks and cheese. This is a much cheaper way of hosting a great dinner party and can be every bit as fun as a night commencing at your local weatherspoons...

5. Mid week date night
Setting aside some time just for you and your other half is always important, and never more so than when the Winter time blues start to creep in. If you usually go out to the cinema or for a meal on a Friday or Saturday night, try switching to a mid week date night. Voucher cloud (the app discussed here: http://wiseoldrabbit.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/the-best-bargainista-apps.html) frequently has 2-4-1 or 25% off deals at an abundance of chain restaurants. Many other non-chain restaurants offer mid-week deals to fill their tables, or cheaper early bird menus. Team this with an Orange Wednesdays code for your local cinema and you have a fantastic date night for a fraction of the price!

I hope that this post will help some of you to manage your outgoings over the expensive festive season. Above all, please remember that you time is worth more than any gift. Give it generously to those who you love and enjoy a few days break from the stresses of normal life.

Until next time... spend wisely, give generously,

The Wise Old Rabbit

*Review* Zoella Blissful Mistful Fragranced Body Mist

Long before the notion of creating a blog myself ever entered my mind, I became an avid subscriber to many different video bloggers (vloggers, if you will). I started my youtube subscription collection with a wonderfully talented lady by the name of Kayley Melissa who creates fantastic tutorials focused on all aspects of hair and beauty, but mainly on imaginative and beautiful hairstyles for the viewer to recreate. Kayley comes across in such a personable way that it makes me wish I was her friend; a trait which leads nicely on to the subject matter of this post - Zoella.

Zoella is a hugely popular British beauty blogger from Brighton. Like Kayley, her approach to vlogging is captivating and I can catch myself watching her back catalog of videos for hours on end. When it was announced that Zoella was to launch her own beauty range, I was eager to try the products. My research lead me to discover that Zoella had produced a fragrance for under £10 the wise old rabbit in me jumped for joy! And so, for you dear readers, here is my review of Zoella Blissful Mistful Fragranced Body Mist, £8 for 45ml.

Let's begin with the packaging - this delightful spritz is presented in a little glass bottle adorned with white polka dots and topped with a rose gold lid. Its exterior is so beautiful I am sure any girl would be happy if presented with this as a gift. 

The scent is described as a "super feminine blend of fresh and floral notes". I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the scent is not at all sickly-sweet but is instead a nose-pleasing blend of girly notes reminiscent of palma violets mingled with a light musk. In my opinion I feel that Zoella has created the perfect balance - a scent light enough to be suitable for daytime but adult enough to suit anyone.

Despite its price, and its insistence on not being a "perfume" this fragrance lasts surprisingly well! I wore the fragrance all day and only felt the need to re-apply after cooking our evening meal.

In short, Blistful Mistful is a little bottle of sunshine. I am delighted with it, and can only hope my wonderful family read this and decide to put the rest of Zoella's pleasing products on my Christmas list... (*HINT* - the candle please...)

Before I go, if this post has encouraged you to seek out the wonderful ladies discussed here (and I really hope it has), allow me to link their youtube channels below. 

Kayley Melissa - www.youtube.com/letsmakeitup1

Zoella - www.youtube.com/user/zoella280390

Until next time... spend wisely, give generously,

The Wise Old Rabbit

Autumn Favourites

Sad as I am to see the warm Summer evenings fade away and become replaced by chilly nights which seem to start at 4pm, I am always comforted by the beautiful reds, golds and greens donning the majestic tress of our countryside. Moreover, the bright cool days provide the perfect partner to a long walk, a chance to re-energise and blow away any dark clouds forming over your mood.

It is with this attitude towards the darker months that I approach this post, to elude to some of the bounty of Autumn ever present for those of you willing to scope out a bargain. I have attempted to categorise my post to allow to you match your reading to your mood.

Food

Spatzle
September saw the return of "German Week" at Lidl, and my local store is still stocking many of the goodies. My all time favorite German purchase is dried Spatzle. This yellow delight is a kind of egg pasta, which is more dense than the traditional Italian version. Although it is often served with cheese sauce, I find spatzle is the perfect gravey-mopper to accompany sausage casserole, Hungarian goulash or any other kind of stew which you might normally have with mashed potato. At 99p for 500g, it is a must try.

Cabbage
Be it green or white, this Autumnal staple is a delight in salads or stir fries and can also be served with more warming dishes such as curry or casserole. Meera Sodha's best selling cookbook 'Made in India' provides a beautiful recipe for Simply Spiced Cabbage which transforms a plain white cabbage into a tremendous side dish, delicious eaten hot or cold. Whilst I fear it would breech some kind of copyright to put the recipe here, I urge you to buy this book if you are partial to a curry. The recipes are easy to follow, the ingredients are simple to find and the results are absolutely mind-blowing.

Butternut Squash
Peel it, cube it, season it, roast it, devour it. I love to eat this sweet, orange delight along side roast potatoes in a roast dinner, or just dipped in garlic sauce. Butternut squash is also beautiful mashed and served as a lighter alternative to mashed potatoes, or stirred through a cheesy risotto.

Beauty

Boots Essentials Curl Creme 250ml, £1.89
I am what a good friend of mine would refer to as "a curly girly". My hair is naturally curly, a trait I have grown to embrace (in contrast to my teenage self who would straighten the hell out of my hair, daily). In the Summer, and in fact whenever I can get away with it, I will scrunch Boots Essentials Styling Mouse Curl (£1.10 for a large fuchsia bottle) - which I SWEAR by - through my damp hair and allow it to dry naturally. However, this approach is not possible on freezing mornings when I must leave the house before my hair has had time to dry naturally. In these desperate times, I mouse up, blast my hair with the hairdryer until 70% dry and then reform my curls with the help of this wonderful creme. I rub the product between my fingers and twist my hair from the bottom in medium sized sections. I then use the residue on my hands to smooth down any frizz around the top section of my hair.

Natural Collection Blushed Cheeks, £1.99
As my sun kissed glow fades, a blusher is essential. I love this particular product not only for its fantastic price, but also for its build-able quality. This blusher is perfect for adding a light glow for work, or layering to produce a more dramatic look for nights out.

Seventeen Stay Pout Lipstick, £4.49
I feel that Summer months lend themselves to a more subtle make-up look, while Autumn and Winter months permit a more dramatic look. For me, Autumn is the start of red-lip season. I prefer a matt look, which this product provides, and my only requirements beyond that are great colour and minimal smudge. Tick, tick, tick. My favorite shade is Infared and I urge you to give it a try as it is every bit as good as No 7 Stay Perfect Lipstick which is more than double the price.

Miscellaneous

Half Price Sainsbury's Homewear
Since the season change, Sainsbury's has had a lot of offers on their homewear including half price bedding. As I changed over from my Summer to my Winter duvet, I felt I was over due a new bedding set. I purchased a beautiful blue and white chevron style set for just £10. Sainsbury's also have a beautiful new range called "Nature Trail" which provides comforting soft furnishings and finishing touches in warm green, brown and orange woodland colours. In my experience Sainsbury's clothing and homewares are always excellent quality and well priced. Even better than that, all large Sainsbury's stores have a clearance isle where bargains can often be found - so make sure you hunt around to find yours.

Matalan App
I am not entirely sure when Matalan launched their app, but I have only recently discovered it myself, and it is absolutely fantastic. Once downloaded, you log into the app using the number on your Matalan Reward Card (which is free for those of you who do not already have one), and can access exclusive discounts as well as the usual rewards, such as birthday vouchers. Better still, there is nothing to print or to remember to carry with you, as you can simply show the cashier your voucher code from the screen of your phone. I have already taken advantage of a 20% off code and will certainly be checking in for more whenever a Matalan is nearby.

Until next time... spend wisely, give generously,

The Wise Old Rabbit