You may have noticed that things have changed around here – the blog has a fresh look and I can now sum up what From Aldi To Harrods is about with the phrase “make money, save money and live the life YOU want”.
I recently received a comment on a YouTube video, stating that “If you have to buy all reduced food then you really are living on the bread line….?? The occasional reduced item is fair enough but an entire shop is bordering on a problem…“. At the time I laughed it off with a comment about being able to afford regular holidays, but the truth is that this comment really, deeply upset me.
The thing is, I have been on the breadline. Both during my childhood and as an adult. As a teenager, my family was homeless and lived in a hostel for 6 months until we found permanent housing (and there are very few people who know this about me – I have only recently told Tony!); we received food parcels throughout my childhood. As an adult, both Tony and I spent some time unemployed. I have worked extremely hard to build a better life for myself – last year I became debt free and 2015 sees us getting married and having an amazing Disney honeymoon. Tony has been in a well paid job for 18 months now and I have more than doubled the income I had before I was unemployed. I could go on and on about how hard I work with a full time job, freelancing and earning extra cash along the way, but let's just say that we are in a great financial situation right now.
I want to stay in a great financial situation, which is why I choose to be thrifty and make extra money. Previously it was a necessity – there simply wasn't enough money available so we had to cut back and earn extra. But now I want to protect what we have, because we never know what is around the corner. Simply put, if you have a limited amount of money (which most of us do), wouldn't you prefer to spend as little as possible on the necessities? Therefore leaving you more money for things that you want to buy – whether it be holidays, nice clothes, a nice car or whatever. Or if you can get the items you want at a cheaper rate, why not? That's more money in your pocket! And by making extra money and making savings where possible, we can afford a wedding at a luxury wedding venue with a Disney honeymoon on top!
This comment has prompted me to have a slight blog redesign – a chance to state clearly what From Aldi To Harrods is about, as well as helping readers to know where to start. I would love to get some feedback from you, so please feel free to drop me a comment about the redesign or anything at all!
Don’t take any notice of these (insert your own word here!), you’ve managed to get your life back on track and are proud to share it with complete strangers – good for you I say.
I separated from my husband in June 2014 (thank goodness) and although I know this first year on my own with my 3 children is going to be hard, I kind of relish the challenge of it all; after I was trying to feed 5 people on about £10 a week before so I’m sure I can do a hell of a lot better now that I’m minus the ‘adult child’.
I love looking for bargains at next to nothing prices; if I can’t use it that day I freeze it to use another time. This along with coupons I manage to give my kids treats that they wouldn’t normally have. Last week I got 4 Onken yogurts for 60p – 3 reduced to 25p and 1 at full price 85p, then a £1 off 4 coupon. It takes a bit of juggling but it is doable.
I enjoy your blog and the new design is great. I agree with you, I would much rather spend less on essentials and be able to enjoy a good holiday. I also think there is popular misconception that if you buy reduced food items you can’t possibly have good diet. We buy plenty of reduced items and have a varied, enjoyable and nutritious diet.
The new blog looks great. I was brought up to save, never borrow money, live frugally, and it is in my personality to the core. It’s fun!
New design looks fab, very clean.
Ignore people who carp. The more you save on some things, the more you have to spend on things you really want!