10 Mother's Day Money Saving Tips

We all love our mothers and will do anything just to make them happy. One of the best ways to appreciate your mother (wherever she is) is by having her in mind during Mother's Day and buying her a gift. You shouldn't, however, spend too much on your mother's gift, she too wants you to be wise. Discussed below are a few tips on how to save money on this mother's day. 

You can use freebie websites to find a great gift for your mum. https://ukprize.co.uk/ is a good example of penny-pinching websites that can help show your mother some love, even when low on cash.  You could also use promotional sites to find gifts, scrapbooks, or even learn how to make a hand cream or sugar scrub for a present.  While you shouldn't spend lots of money on your mum's present, you need to give her something that shows how much you love her and care. Here are a few tips how to treat your mum on Mother's Day without breaking the bank. 

1.    Homemade Gifts

Handmade gifts show how attached and appreciative you are to the other person. The fact that you took your time to make the gift is proof enough that you indeed to love your mother. You do not necessarily have to make a gift card, but rather prepare something your mum would love and enjoy, say a key ring, candle, sugar scrub, or a homemade hand cream. 

2.    Beauty Hamper

Everyone knows what makes his/her mother happy. Learning simple things such as her favourite toothpaste, shampoo, and other beauty products is one way to know what to give her for a present. All you need to do is make a basket filled with all these items/products, decorate the basket with ribbons, and then give to her on Mother's Day. 

3.    Prepare a Scrapbook

Some creativity is needed here. A scrapbook can help send you and your mum down the memory lane from when you were born, to the fun moments you had together. Dig in the good old family album and carefully pick photos that you feel will make your mother happy. Use these pictures to make a scrapbook. 

4.    Flowers

If you wish to get some flowers for your mum, but cannot afford it, you can then take the initiative to jazz them up as a DIY. You will need an inexpensive vase, some glitter and paint, and some fresh flowers. You can pick these in the backyard or anywhere else you can get beautiful fresh flowers. 

5.    A cheque is a welcome idea too

Although you may be trying to save some money, you can still surprise your mother with an 'I owe you' personalised cheque. The cheque can be in the form of lunch or dinner for some days to come. You could also choose to pay for her manicure and pedicure. 

6.    Create a playlist composed of all her favourite jams 

You probably have heard your mum humming some of her favourite jams while cooking, in the shower, or doing the laundry. Some of these tunes help her relax or take her down the memory lane. Taking the time to create a playlist with all her favourite songs in it can contribute to elevate her moods. You could burn these tunes on a CD, or load them on her phone as well. 

7.    Prepare her favourite meal

Instead of taking her out for dinner, why not make her, her favourite meal. This will not only save you some money but also create more time to spend time with her. Nothing satisfies a parent more than just spending some time with her children, and sharing a meal. 

8.    Check out promotional deals and coupons 

You will find plenty of promotional deals and offers online on mother's day. You can take advantage of these promotions to give your mother a treat. 

9.    Give her a thoughtful yet inexpensive gift

We all have that one thing we have been yearning to have for years. You might have heard your mother wish she had something but never really had a chance to get it. Use this opportunity to get her that particular item she has been looking for. This could be a car phone charger, a gorgeous photo frame, or just a new purse. 

10.    Show her some love

All these gifts would be worthless if you didn't show your mother that you loved her. There's more to showing someone that you indeed love and care for them than just saying the words.  Spending the day with her, cooking or cleaning her house are some of the small deeds that make a tremendous impact on our parent's hearts. While you may not realise it, she will appreciate this from deep within her heart.

How To Get An Endless Supply Of Perfume Samples

One of the best ways to sample a new scent is with a free perfume sample. 

How To Find Free Perfume Samples 

At Your Favorite Store 

Almost all major stores will allow you to try on a perfume before you buy it. Take a look at a department store with a makeup counter and you will more than likely find many bottles on display to try. Some stores will actually have small vials of their most popular scents that will allow you to try the scent on at home. In addition, you do not have to visit the most expensive stores in town for this privilege. You can find sample bottles to try at your local drug store. However, the more expensive the perfume is, the less likely they are going to leave bottles on the counter. 

Magazine Inserts 

Another source for popular perfume samples is right in your favorite magazine.The majority of women's magazines will feature a full-page ad with a scent strip included allowing you to sample a fresh scent. 

Included As A Gift With Your Purchase 

Many times when you make a purchase in a department store you may receive a perfume sample as a free gift. This allows you to sample another scent by the same manufacturer or a similar scent that you will more than likely enjoy. You will typically find these promotions running around the holidays and other times when perfumes are in hot demand. 

Online Samples 

It is no secret that people love free samples, and the internet has become the go to guide to find them. There are many ways to find free perfume samples online. Just a few include: 

Simply start by checking the website of some of your favorite perfumes and see if they are offering any samples or if they do when you sign up for their mailing list. 

Before you place your information in a contact form, ensure it is through a site that you trust. Many samples that you will request that come directly from the manufacturer can be trusted, however, third party sites may simply be trying to gather your email and other contact info. Be sure that you are watching out for sites that are asking you to sign up for credit cards and other deals to get a free sample. Many times they are just trying to get you on the site, and the hoops you have to jump through for a bottle of perfume are simply not worth it. 

Testing Sample Perfumes 

It is important that you actually try perfume samples on your body as opposed to just sniffing them. There are mild differences in all of our body chemistries that create a subtle change in each scent. In addition, the warmth of your body will also have an effect on the overall scent of the perfume. 

For the best results, it is best to try on a perfume sample for an extended period of time. This will help you get over your first impression of a smell and see if you enjoy it over the course of an evening. 

However, it is important that you do not overdo it when it comes to free samples. If you stay in a store and cover yourself in various scents you will not be able to come to any conclusion, other than you are drowning in various scents. You may even buy a perfume you thought you enjoyed, but it was actually a combination of two or more. 

How To Use Extra Samples 

There are going to be times when you end up with more perfume samples than you can use. Here are a few tips on how you can use those. 

Use strips and cards in your dresser drawers for a fresh scent all the time. 

Full up a small basket with a nice assortment of samples for a pleasent gift. 

Place them in a guest bathroom for visitors to try. 

Simply pass them along to your friends and coworkers. 

Let younger girls have them to experiment with and play dress up. 

They can be donated to a shelter to use for personal care bags. 

As you can see, there is never really a need to spend money on perfume samples. These samples will help you find the right perfume without having to spend a dime.

How You Can Find Free Stuff Online

Everyone on earth likes getting things for free. If you spend a lot of time on the Internet, you may notice that there are free samples and other things available on a number of sites. You may want to know how you can get more of it. 

Thankfully, finding free stuff is easy when you know where to look. If you'd like more free items in your life, take a look at these places and see what's available:

Recycling Communities

Because more people are focused on keeping the environment protected, more and more people are giving away their old possessions instead of throwing them out. You can take advantage of this by joining a recycling community. You can score everything from free furniture to free electronics in these communities. 

Manufacturer Websites

Look on the websites of some of the products you'd like free samples from. If you're interested in trying the new Burberry fragrance, go to their website. If you'd like to try a Kashi bar, go to Kashi's website. Many manufacturers have a form where you can request a sample right off their website. Check back regularly; the samples that are available for free regularly change. 

Free Sample Blogs

There are a lot of blogs out there that are completely devoted to finding free stuff from all around the web. If you follow these blogs, you'll get to see all kinds of samples, from samples for foods to free coupon codes to samples of toothpaste. No matter what sort of stuff you're looking for, you'll be able to find it. You may wind up trying something you never would have tried before!

Social Media

Look at hashtags like #free and #freestuff on social media. You'll see all kinds of people offering discounts, free samples, and more. This can be a great way to get a special deal of some extra savings. Just be careful about what you click on. Try to only take free samples from social media accounts you trust. Sometimes, scam artists use these sites as well, and you don't want anything to do with them. 

As you can see, there are all kinds of places to get stuff for free online. If you're looking for some great deals or want to find a few free samples, give all of these places a look. You'll be able to find some truly amazing things.

Your Complete Guide To UK Freebie Websites

Tons of freebie websites can be found all across the web, but not all of them prove to be worth your time and money. In this guide, we list our top picks.

Britons are always on the lookout for cheap deals, which explains why so many companies and individuals have flooded the internet to offer free items online.

However, you might end up frustrated after using a website that doesn't really give you anything of value. To help you save time, here are the best freebie websites in the UK and why you should choose them over others.

AllFreeStuff

Pros

Most websites give away freebies from members of the public. UKPrize, however, takes a different approach. The vouchers, samples, and freebies they offer all come from companies. You can find a range of items from baby starter kits and gardening tools to calendars and table lamps.

-Users can subscribe to the newsletter to stay updated with all the discounts and special offers.

-The site provides online discount codes, in-store offers, and details of free competitions.

-Users are able to rate the offers, providing others a clue as to how good a particular offer is.

Cons

-Most offers can only be accessed on Facebook.

Tips For Avoiding Freebie Scams

It's not uncommon to hear stories about people getting scammed by freebie websites. Surely, you do not want to find yourself as the next victim. While it's great to have things without shelling out money, you need to be extra careful when picking what offers to sign up for. It's always tempting to jump on a bargain, but you could end up burning a deeper hole in your pocket.

Before you go hunting for freebies, keep the following tips in mind to avoid getting scammed.

Never Pay for a Freebie

This one sounds obvious, but you'll be shocked by the number of people who pay for a freebie. If you have to pay money, then it isn't a freebie. Steer clear of all websites that require you to pay for the offers you want.

You will stumble upon plenty of websites that ask you to pay for processing, shipping, and handling fees. These fees only require a small amount of money, but you should not fall for it. Freebie scams will lure you in and after paying them, they will run away with your money in their pockets.

There are also websites that ask you to check out their free trial offer. They will tell you it's necessary before you can get your freebie. Again, this is a trap! Expect that you won't get any offers and your personal information such as credit card details to be stolen.

Use Trustworthy Websites

Huge companies offer a ton of free samples such as Walmart and Target. Their goal is to let you try the product and when you like it, you will buy from them.

Remember that the marketing budget of these companies are immensely big. They can afford to offer countless free samples. Just make sure that the particular brand of the free sample comes from the corresponding website.

Do Not Share Sensitive Information

In most cases, free websites will only ask for your name and address. This is common for practice even for big companies. But if you're asked to provide additional information which you're not comfortable sharing, then do not push through with the offer.

Some websites ask a bunch of questions before giving you access to the freebie. As much as possible, only provide the minimum required information. Any additional information is likely to be used for marketing purposes, which means you will have more junk mail going to your inbox.

There are also cases in which the company will ask for your email address and phone number. This is pretty common, but if you don't want to share this information, then just call it off.

Getting more spam emails should be expected. As soon as you join the mailing list, you will be sent marketing messages regularly, which could get annoying at some point. A good tip is to create a free email account just for subscribing to freebie websites.

Listen To Your Gut

You might have seen a particular offer on a forum or social media, with many people saying it's legitimate. You do not even have to provide personal information such as credit card details, phone number, and social security number. But if your gut tells you that something doesn't seem right, then don't do it despite what other people tell you. Just move on to the next freebie and find something you feel totally comfortable with.

Tips For Saving Money On Holidays

All of us love a great getaway.  Whether that means booking a cosy UK retreat or jetting broad and seeking out some warm sunshine, it is wonderful being able to escape your daily routine for a couple of weeks and exploring a new part of the world. However, we are not under any illusions that holidays are often quite expensive, particularly if you will be traveling as a family.  In order to help make booking a bit less stressful and less expensive, we have compiled some of the top tips for you on how to save money on your holidays.  

Utilise your points

Make sure you don't simply allow your supermarket rewards card to gather dust sitting in a drawer or in your purse.  Turn those points that you have been accumulating on your Nectar card or Tesco Clubcard into free money to use on your holiday.  Points can be redeemed against flight purchases and hotel bookings also and help to pay for annoying costly extras such as airport parking. Also, you can earn points on your holiday purchases that you make as well, which can then be using for paying for food shopping after you return as well.    

Get rid of the credit card 

It can be a really good idea to get an airline credit card to save money on your holiday.  By using it on a regular basis you can earn air miles that can result in large discounts on flights, inexpensive upgrades and a few freebies now and again.   However, when it comes to getting your getaway actually booked, hide that credit card in your purse.  There are some companies that will charge you an incredible 2% on the holiday amount simply for booking using a credit card.  That can really add up if you happen to be going on a long trip with a family of four people. 

Timing really is everything     

Timing really matters when you are booking a holiday.  For example, were you aware of the fact that the cheapest day for booking your holidays is on Tuesday?  According to industry experts that is the day when last-minute deals are released by airline operators, which can result in big savings for your entire family. 

Tuesdays are not only the least expensive day to book a holiday.  They are the cheapest day to fly as well.  Whenever possible, try to avoid booking any flights that leave on either a Friday or Saturday since those days can really increase the price of your trip.  You also want to ensure your fly during the afternoon instead of the evenings, since that can also save you a lot of money. 

If you know precisely where and when you would like to go, then be sure to book as far in advance as possible.  That will give you a longer time to pay for your holiday and allow you to take full advantage of any exclusive offers that are available such as free children's places whenever your kids go on holiday for no extra charge. Those deals run out very fast, so you need to grab them just as soon as they are offered.  It you are a bit more relaxed when it comes to when and where you want to go, then go to the airline websites and check out their last minute deals for some amazingly low prices as your departure date nears since airlines are attempting to get rid of any extra seats they have. 

Do your research

When doing research, a bit of hard work can really pay off big time.  There are many different criteria that can help to slice a lot money off of your holiday costs.  

First of all, check to see it if would be cheaper for your holiday meals, hotels, and flights to be paid for separately, or whether it would be much more cost efficient to go with an all-inclusive package.  Try to keep in mind the amount you think you will be drinking and eating and how much it will cost for transport from the hotel over to the airport is going to me, which in all-inclusive holiday will be include, since these types of elements are the ones that can make the prices on your holidays skyrocket when hey are booked individually.   

Then, be sure to check to see if there are public holidays at the destination you are visiting at that time.  We recommend that you avoid going then unless you are specifically going to see see the public event or holiday.  Traveling will be much more expensive during that time and it will be very busy and crowded.   

You will also be able to save lots of money as long as you don't mind taking an indirect flight or going home on a different airline.  That can be a bit more time-consuming and trickier to research, so you should use websites such as Kiplagged and Skyscanner to do all of the hard work for you.  Enter your ideal dates and destinations and all of the least expensive flight options will be shown.  

TopCashBack

If you spend at least £10 through TopCashBack on your holiday and they will reward you with giving you £10 to spend on whatever you would like.  This is a very easy way of saving money on accommodation, transport, and holiday extras that you are buying already at large companies such as Hotels.com, lastminute.com, or Expedia.co.uk.  Any extra money you can put into your pocket will mean less stress when spending money on souvenirs or ice cream for your children.