Good afternoon and welcome to issue three of Me, My Money & Monday Musings. It’s the first day back at school and I’m so glad I survived half-term hell and the kids have gone back, are you? Holidays are great when you can actually take some time off to spend with the kids but when you are self-employed, working from home and trying to juggle it all, it can feel like hell on earth!
And now that Little Miss Diva is almost a teenager, she’s not so interested in the free and affordable events I find for us to do during the Bristol school holidays. Sleepovers, shopping and Snapchat are definitely more fun than hanging out at a church craft morning with your mum…
My birthday treat…
However, it was my birthday during the half-term holiday so there was one day where she had to be nice to me all day long and I got to choose what we did. So, we met up with friends and took our pooches to Racks Bar & Kitchen in Clifton for a lovely leisurely lunch.
Now, I’m always harping on about this place because every Tuesday you can get a pizza for just 1p when you buy another one – but what I didn’t realise is that they serve up very reasonably priced lunches every day of the week from just £6.
I tucked into the Goat’s Cheese, Spring Onion and Sweet Potato Frittata (and a glass or two of £3 Prosecco!) and Little Miss Diva chose the Chilli Beef Nachos. The restaurant is a former wine cellar so it feels really welcoming and homely and the food was spot on! The staff were also really friendly and our dogs were made to feel just as welcome as we were.
All about you…
Next year I’m going to be a little bit more organised and plan my day way in advance. You can actually get away with spending nothing at all on your birthday – if you take advantage of all the freebies you’re entitled to. The best thing to do is sign up to these companies before the big day and with any luck your inbox will be flooded with freebies come the actual day!
Start the day off with a free sweet treat from Greggs, a free Krispy Kreme doughnut or £5 off at Hotel Chocolat. Then head to a Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Las Iguanas or Frankie and Benny’s for a free birthday lunch or tea!
There are also loads of pubs and restaurants that will treat you to a free birthday drink including a free bottle of Prosecco at Pizza Express, a sharing cocktail at All Bar One, free champagne at Miller & Carter, free bottle of Prosecco at Prezzo, free bottle of Cava at La Tasca in Liverpool and London and free birthday drinks at TGI Fridays. I also received emails with birthday discounts from Very and H&M but I didn’t know that you could get free beauty treatments on your birthday at Debenhams – that’s one for next year definitely!
Slimming on a budget…
Although it was my birthday, I’ve still managed to lose a few pounds. I signed up to Slimming World in Knowle in January and although I’ve stopped going for my weekly weigh ins – I’m still sticking to the basic principles of choosing to eat healthier and being more mindful of my snacking habits. I can see that weekly weigh ins are essential for some people to keep them inspired – but I feel that now I’ve been put back on track I can do it on my own. It also means I can save the £5 weekly weigh in fee and have more time to get stuff done.
If you’re thinking of joining, there’s usually a voucher in Woman’s Own that will waiver your £10 joining fee and there’s lots of support online if, like me, you’re too busy to attend a weekly meeting. I’m also swapping the expensive Iceland SW range meals for cheaper alternatives in Aldi and I’ll let you know how I get on. That’s it for this week folks, look out for Tuesday Tips tomorrow if you like free pancakes and free beer!
I hope you enjoyed this issue, please feel free to let me know – Broke in Bristol – & beyond is on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter where you can share your money-saving tips with the bargain-loving community. More from Broke in Bristol:
20 life hacks that will save you a fortune.
Skint? Why not start a side hustle?
Big savings at local businesses with Bristol’s new discount card.
