Can you kit your child out for school on £80?

Cubling will be starting school in, ahem, 3 days time. Which means that we had to embark on this school uniform business, which to me is new territory as I didn't go to school in the UK and there were no school uniforms in Germany. It was daunting to say the least and I felt a tiny bit lost and aimless when I went into this experience having no idea what is needed, how much of it and where to get the best bargains. After having done it (and having made some mistakes), I'm sure I'll do better next time.

Most Wanted, the lifestyle magazine of vouchercodes.co.uk has set me the challenge to source a full back to school kit on the high street for under £80. That's a challenge I'm really keen to take (I'm pretty sure I went over!), and maybe there are some useful ideas for those of you down south who are still doing the back to school shop.

I started out with a list of items from my daughter's school website and the recommendation of a specialised shop. We headed there first, because there were some pieces which had logos on them and I wanted to make sure we got them from this shop. Unfortunately, something got lost in translation and I walked out with a pinafore costing £15 but no logo wear (and no information as to which items actually have the school logo), and a tie for £3.50. Eventually I found out that it was the jumper and the polo shirts - I'd bought the latter already so added 2 jumpers to the bill at £9 each. Well, at least I supported a local shop with my purchase. Another specialist shop had a 10% off week but we didn't manage to take advantage of it, so I could have saved £2.

We were lucky to walk into a 25% off all clothing sale at Sainsbury's and I jumped at the opportunity. However, I wasn't the only one so there wasn't an awful lot left in the correct size. I did buy a set of 2 blouses (£2), 2 skirts (£3.75 and £4.50) and a pack of 3 polo shirts (£2.25).

Next up was Tesco, which wasn't as cheap full price, but still pretty cheap in comparison to other shops. I bought a two pairs of trousers (£3 each) and a cardigan (£3). While the price tag was great, the material wasn't in part and I really don't like the feel of the trousers and the cardigan. If you shop at Tesco's a lot, you can get double your value from your clubcard vouchers.

Finally we went on the "get all the rest" mission, with a visit to Clarks for shoes. While this totally burst our budget, I was keen to get decent shoes that would last daily wear. We got a pair of normal shoes (£34), and plimsoles (£9). A quick visit to M&S got us another pinafore (£6), and a school bag (£12). While this was not the cheapest deal, I knew I could take the gear back if not needed and I have to say that the feel of the clothes was much better than those bought at Tesco's.



Pencil case and notebook had been given as presents and we're still to get a water bottle which I've seen from £2.99.

There was talk of a blazer, however it is not listed as part of the school uniform. While they can cost £60, I have seen blazers for £15 in some supermarkets, so it's doable on a budget. Still, if you add shoes and blazer there's hardly any money left to get the rest. School uniform definitely is an expense on the family pocket, although hopefully it will mean less money is spent on other clothes.

As part of my attempt to live more sustainably, I had tried to get some back to school clothes second hand. I wasn't very lucky sourcing anything second hand. I trailed all our local charity shops but they just shook their heads, arguing that as the items were cheap in supermarket chains, there was no market for second hand. This is a real shame and once again demonstrates how we have become a throwaway society and don't value resources. If the gear is still ok, I don't see why they wouldn't be good enough to use again. Apparently there is one charity shop that specialises in children's wear and back to school wear, and it's located in Uddingston (which I decided was too far for us).

So, I could have kept the budget lower and my top tips are:
- shop for cheaper shoes. I'm sure there are plimsoles for £2.50 in some shops, and supermarket shoes are cheaper too. I have been bitten on quality before and decided to splash out as there's no use saving on shoes if you have to buy a second pair a month later. (£22 saving)
- Don't buy clothes from specialist shops (£9 saving)
- Plan your shop: look out for the best deal and don't get more than you need (£5-£20 saving)
- Keep an eye out for special offer days, I'm sure every shop will have these at some point during the summer holidays

- Know what you need and stick to it - I'm sure 2 pinafores, 2 skirts and 2 trousers are totally overdoing it. We have no dress because the school colour is blue and Cubling point blank refused. I'm sure I'll shop more wisely next year when I know exactly what gets worn and what is needed.
- Set time aside to research or source second hand - because I shopped with 2 kids I often just went for whatever I saw first rather than consider the price. Also if I had had more time I'd have trailed ebay for second hand stuff. There is a lot on right now, so you may still grab yourself a bargain, and that's where you can get a good deal especially on the more expensive items.

What we spent:
pinafores: £21
skirts: £8.25
trousers: £6
blouses: £2
polo shirst: £2.25
cardigan: £3
jumpers: £18
tie: £3.50

bag: £12
shoes: £43
= £119 - £36 potential saving if I'd shopped with a budget in mind: £83. So it is almost possible to shop with a £80 budget, but I have a feeling you'll have to compromise on shoes, and have a hawk's eye for special deals, plus a lot of determination to spot those bargains! Do you have any tips that I missed out on?

Full disclosure: I received £80 to spend on schoolwear as a research project from vouchercodes.co.uk for this article. It was a great opportunity to try and see if I can kit out my daugher on a budge. All contents and views are mine and specific links are not sponsored but are items we actually bought. The decision to buy these was entirely mine.

My new toy

I've got a new toy. It's small, shiny and white, quite stylish really. It has wireless even. There's a display, which has me glued. Even 4 year old and baby are taken by it - must be because it gets so much attention so they wonder what it's all about.

We've been doing silly things like switching on the hoover or the kettle to see what it does to my new toy. And switched it off again. It's an energy monitor and apparently just having it in the house will make you reduce your electricity consumption significantly (I don't get how and why, because, if you're energy aware anyhow, and try not to have anything on that isn't needed, how can the mere presence of this slinky little thing change your habits?) I've been told.

Can we get it to zero? No, I think there are switches in this house that I don't know of and I'm not mad enough to switch off freezer and fridge, though who knows, it may still happen, just to see if, once all appliances I know of are switched off, there is still some sneaky something eating our money.

Of course it's summer and even a good one at that, so we're out a lot and not using much electricity at the moment. It's quite reassuring that even after a few days, our total consumption doesn't add up to any significant amount. I'm surprised how little the hoover uses when on economy setting, and how much the kettle does. I've definitely switched off lights a tad more frequently already, and ventured into cooking in the half light (we have a very dark kitchen and dining room and the lights are usually on there).

Oh it is fascinating, my geekdom is most definitely tickled. I even managed to install it myself (it was easy, so I don't think I can really pride myself with great DIY skills, but still). I've done tests of all kinds checking what makes the numbers change. For example: the chargers plugged into the socket which are warm, surely they'll be using energy? But no, no change detected. How about the microwave, there's a display, so some energy must be going in all the time? Yes, it does. Not a lot, but enough to make me switch it off at the socket in the future. The same must apply to my oven, just that I haven't got the foggiest where to switch it off (and I do use it as a clock, so I might stick with it).

I'll have my new toy for another 2 months, I wonder if it will change our habits and save us some money. tbc.

Money saving tips for Christmas

Is anyone else broke? I am. Big time. I never knew how much holidays to warm places can cost and used to backpacking really. So here we are, two thirds down the Christmas present hunt, only the start of December, no credit card (out of principle, I don't do credit cards) and slightly unsure of how to manage the rest of the month. I don't blame Christmas or the holiday we booked (we need it, and haven't been on a holiday since our honeymoon so we kinda deserve it), really and truly I blame the housing market. Or the combination of the three. I wouldn't be broke if my lovely flat would only sell - and if I hadn't renovated it (which I did so it would sell) and hadn't had a home report done for it (which I did, you guessed it, so it would sell).

So, from now until the ominous sale of the flat, we have to go on money saving setting.

I'm sure I'm not the only one scratching at the bottom of their purses, and why not share some top money saving tips? So here are my top 10 and it be great if you could share yours in the comment box below.

1. Find a better deal on your insurance(s) (I saved 100 quid today just on home insurance, no bad eh?)
2. Send e-cards instead of real Christmas cards. Good for the environment too
3. Recycle old Christmas cards to make new ones or for name tags.
4. Be creative with food. Cook from scratch and get better at buying just what you need, and use what you've got before buying new food so it doesn't end in the bin (tip courtesy of Zooarchaeologist over at Being a Mummy).
5. Don't eat in cafes or restaurants. Take snacks with you and eat at home. Cruel but really, how much do cafe's charge for food and drink? I can get a pound bag of coffee for the price of just one latte.
6. Make presents instead of buying them. Seriously, people have so much stuff that most presents end up in the next charity shop anyway so why not make something that is personal - surely those presents won't get chucked out a week after Christmas. Some of my do it yourself ideas: home made photo calendar with a bit of scrapbooking, home made Christmas cookies, home sewn and knitted bits and bobs for the house, handmade Christmas decoration.
7. Declutter your home and sell old stuff on ebay, give it away on freecycle or to charity shops. It's satisfying, you can breathe again in your home and you may even make some money. And if you don't make money, you make someone happy. Even better.
8. Head over to Violet Posy's Thrifty Christmas. Great ideas for presents (see 6.)
9. Turn light and heating off in the rooms you're not in. Don't have heating come on timed, just switch it on as you come in. Turn it down if you get too hot in the late evening. In fact, turn the temperature setting down a bit. Turn off your chargers and other items on standby when not used.
   
10. Don't get your roof repaired or your plumbing fixed. OK, I'm joking, but I'm getting ever so slightly used to having water come in through roof, ceiling, walls, into and out of cupboards, having overflowing baths and sinks. Our drains seem to have decided to let water in rather than out, when it rains. It rains a lot in Western Scotland. But that's another story. Cubling's comment: Need Bob the Builder come fix it! We got Ronnie the Plumber, Bob was busy).

Above all, I hope you can join me in appreciating the things we do have a little bit more every day. Like Cubling's infectious giggle when Mr Tickle is running for her, or her delight in being scared of Daddysaurus. And, in spite of being broke, I'm so looking forward to the holiday I can't really afford because I can't wait to see Cubling find out about sandy beaches and the sea without freezing her toes off.

Any more tips? Please do share!