MoneySaving mums

My 13yo son is needing glasses, but the children frames will not fit him any more. We are looking at adult frames, which, I fear, may be a lot more expensive than the kids ones. We usually pay an extra £20 for a plastic frame, which really lasts the whole year. He used to have the wire frames, but the screws would come…

Hi all, I was wondering if you would mind chipping in some ideas for party bags suitable for 1 year olds! I haven't a clue & I'm on a budget so can't go too wild and crazy. I thought bubbles & balloons might go down well, any other ideas? Thanks in advance :-)

hi, my youngest son will be 8 in jan, he gets all i can afford, own telly and xbox, footy etc. he struggles with school, he's not slow or anything, reads ok and ok with maths, just the attention span. i don't want to waste my hard earned on loads of crap and more xbox games and thought of that new kindle? its in my price…

Updated midday Tues 20th November :) Hi everyone! After a bit of a rocky start we appear to be getting somewhere.. :) We've set up this new Mums & Dads sub-board to help more forum users get their questions answered and encourage new ones. While we're calling it MoneySaving Mums & Dads, it's essentially the place to ask…

My son (year 9) has had his schoolbag stolen last week, along with 3 other fellas, who got theirs back. My son's has not been recovered + has been told by school caretaker" its probably in a bin!". The bag was left at a designated area, on the stage of the school dining hall, which apparently is supervised. So, while I…

Hi folks, My wife and I are looking to start a family and was wondering whether anyone knew of a good guide for preparing yourself financially for it? I've searched this site but found nothing, which I was a little surprised about. Any useful websites, tips, books etc that people have used would be great. Many thanks.

I was just looking at child benefit info on gov.uk and apparently if you are a high earner you end up paying most of the child benefit back as tax. However you can opt out of receiving child benefit - is there any benefit to doing it either way, ie receiving the benefit and then paying it back as tax, or just opting out of…

HI guys our beloved daughter arrived a few weeks back - i am now looking at wat benefits we are entitled to We are a prof couple which earn about £50,000 per year - but the wife will bein maternity for the year and not sure how does this work with tax credit benefit as she will not be paid in full troughtout the year also…

Me and my wife are expecting our first child in April and so it's time for me to change to a 5-door car. I am currently looking at an Aygo/C1/107 (all the same car for those who don't know) for their low Road Tax and high MPG. I am just wondering about practical, real world experiences people may have had with these cars…

hi can anyone help my daughter is thinking of offering to look after her 2 nephews and niece they are all under 6 have just been placed in emergency homes but will be placed into long time care soon. i know she will cope with looking after them and we are all willing to help but i am worried how she will cope finacially…

my 14 yr old has told me he doesnt know what he wants , so he is getting surprises. just after a few ideas please for something other than dvd's cd's games . he already has a scooter, skateboard. bike is a no go. budget of around £100 but would rather get more than one thing for that. HELP!!!

Christmas is coming and I want to buy a present for my niece - who will be one in January. She lives abroad and her parents are well-off so she wants for nothing and I'm really stuck on what to get. It has to be resonably small and light so they can take it back on the plane (they are coming to the UK for 2 weeks over…

Hello, i am currently pregnant and just looking for a bit of information. I was just looking at what sort of maternity pay people have been given, is it normal to only receive the basic amount? I dont want to ask my work as i dont want them to know until around December. Im just trying to figure out what sort of money we…

My OH had our second child 2 weeks ago (bouncing boy) and having pulled a back muscle 2 weeks before the arrival (leaving her bed bound) and a cesarean I wanted all to be happy and harmonious for her return home. Cue my fathers intervention..... He was top of the list to come and visit his new grandson but was "busy"…

Please could some of you help me to answer the question, what do we do wrong. We have a total income of £47,000 per household (South East), 2 adulds, 2 children, age 1 and 5. So far we we paying only 2 days per week for a childminder for my OS and OH worked evenings and weekends to be able to stay at home with OS for 3…

The world could face a shortage of disposable nappies after an explosion and fire at a chemical plant in Japan responsible for as much as one fifth of the global market. Telegraph.co.uk

Looking for some advice please...... DS had asked for an Ipad for Xmas and I feel hes just far too young and its far too expensive a gift for a 6 year old, so I have been having a look at the Leappad and Innotab... anyone already bought these and can give me some feedback on what to get and if its age appropriate? Thanks…