Doing Christmas Large!

I love Christmas, it is such a fun time and one I always look forward to. In the old days it meant time off Uni or work and plenty of dressing up, going out and having a tipple of two. For the last decade it has been about staying home and enjoying the time with my family. Building memories and traditions, some that have stayed with us and others we have had to adapt or even scrap completely.

One of the earliest traditions we adopted was wrapping all the kids presents on Christmas eve whilst watching a Christmassy film and having a Chinese take-away. My husband and I loved this and it was so easy when we only had one child and he went to bed at 6 or 7pm. Then even when we had three children all of a younger age it was still doable but over the last few years we haven't been able to start wrapping until about 10pm at night and with three kids and lots of gifts it started to get very tiring. The final straw was when we moved to East Sussex two years ago and our nearest Chinese take-away did not deliver and is a 10 mile round-trip.

Sadly that tradition had to stop but really it is no major issue as the conference centre where we live closes at midday on Christmas Eve and all the community and many of our returning friends come together to celebrate Christmas together. This year we expect there will be about 110 of us. Can you imagine how exciting my kids find this?

20 Tips to get More from your Money

Money in Glass Jar by Shutterstock

Just over two years ago we moved to East Sussex from Hertfordshire and with this move came lots of change. I gave up my out-of-home job, we sold our house and dh took a massive pay-cut. Without a doubt it is the best move our family ever made but it didn't come without its fair share of challenges!

Due to the massive cut in our income we have had to look for ways to be much more creative with our money and to save spending out unnecessarily. I'm not the type to go without all my luxuries so we have had to shop smarter to get the things we need (or even just want). I thought it might be useful to share with you some of the ways that I have become thrifty and saved money along the way -

1. Pick your credit card wisely. We pay off our balance every month so interest rates hold no real attraction for us but we do like to choose a card that offers us a little extra. Our card comes with points for every pound we spend and then we can exchange these for restaurant, cinema and holiday vouchers. We gain loads of days and meals out in this way.

Credit Ratings - Do they even matter?

Credit Report Photo from Shutterstock

We hear talk of our credit rating constantly nowadays. Can I take a mortgage easily? Not sure, they need to check my credit rating. Well, surely I can take out a mobile phone contract? No, not so quick, again a credit check is needed to see how I score. It isn't just the big expenditure nowadays like buying a house or car that result in your credit rating being assessed it is also the more every day like monthly paid insurance and even some bank accounts. But I wonder how many of us really understand what it all means and more importantly how we can effect it.

So lets start at the beginning, what is a credit rating? Investoedia defines it as "An assessment of the credit worthiness of a borrower in general terms or with respect to a particular debt or financial obligation."

My mama used to say...

I'm trying to raise three responsible savers and spenders!

Well actually it was probably my Dad that used to say 'Michelle, don't go getting yourself in debt, only buy what you can afford. There is no use living a life that is beyond your means' and you know what? It sure took me a long time to learn that.

Now at the ripe old age of 41 I know he is right and that living in constant debt and therefore worry is no fun at all. Of course we all have debts - mortgages, loans and credit cards but the challenge is to keep them in check and to make sure they do not spiral out of control. I'm in the lucky of position of living in a borrowed house right now, which means we do not have a mortgage and on the one hand this is fabulous and eases my mind but on the other I then have the worry that we are not currently investing in our future. Luckily I have my eyes firmly fixed on God and that means I can let Him be concerned about the years to come and I just need to focus on being obedient and loving right now.