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We know providing for a family doesn’t come cheap – especially during a cost of living crisis. There’s the food, the nappies, the clothes, the games, the cots and bedding … the list goes on. According to the most recent data from the Office for National Statistics, the average family spends £481.50 a week to cover living expenses. But with prices rising, other research has found the UK’s poorest families have £40 LESS spare cash a month than they did a year ago.
Budget-friendly supermarket Aldi takes family meal times into consideration by having Super Weekly Offers and a Super 6 fruit and veg, where different items are discounted every week. You won’t have to think too hard about what to cook when it’s on a great offer! For example, you could try swapping your regular nappies and baby wipes with the Mamia range from Aldi.
Whip up some recipes and keep them in the fridge or freezer, then simply take them out to defrost and heat up when you’re ready to eat. You’ll be so grateful you’ve got a meal ready to go after a busy day.4. Follow the 50-20-30 rule Aim to spend 50% of your income on living costs and essentials, 20% of your income on savings and 30% of it on other spending.
Keep an eye out for brilliant savings in store or online and follow Aldi on Instagram for updates on when the 2023 Baby and Toddler events are taking place.6. Do things for free Keeping the family entertained doesn’t always have to cost an arm and a leg. However, keeping track of your spending by logging what you bought and how much it cost every day will help you clearly see when you spent a lot and why, and the price differences between shops.Perhaps the family could grow their own vegetables or you could dye your own hair?
‘We’ll definitely have a break after this one. We got to have a break because we’ve done five year old, four year old, one year old, and now another one. We’ve got to have a little bit of a break, I think.’Luckily for Joe, he’s a fan of a hectic household. ‘I just love the chaos. I don’t like quiet,’ he told us.‘And I’m so used to having kids running around, and it is stressful.
‘I think Leni, she’s always on me, she’s always on Rosie, so I don’t know how she’s going to react to the new baby coming. But they adapt, don’t they, pretty quickly. And I’ve just got to spend a bit more time cuddling Leni and looking after her and stuff so she doesn’t feel left out when the new one comes along.’
‘So I really try to be a different parent. So when my kids are whinging and arguing and fighting and it goes from zero to 100, my stress levels got really high. My cortisol goes really high. And I want to scream and shout. ‘And the reason Marley is getting good at football is because I’m out there in the rain when it was freezing cold and pi**ing down.
Hear more on The Netmums Podcast Find out more about Joe’s family life plus his new kids’ book Fitter, Healthier, Happier on The Netmums Podcast.It was packed with brilliant guests, from popular children’s author Jacqueline Wilson, Gemma Bird aka Money Mum, Steve Backshall, Ollie and Gareth Locke-Locke, Kelsey Parker, Dr Ellie, Nigel Clarke and Sarah Beeny.
Successful applicants will get three bottles from the range to test and review over an eight-week period. Explaining why Aldi was launching the initiative, Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying, Aldi UK said: ‘We embrace the opportunity to gather feedback from our trusted shoppers. 2. Swirl: ‘Pour a small measure and swirl the glass anti-clockwise,’ Sam advises. ‘Swirling ensures a more intense aroma, as it releases what are called “volatile” aromatics.’
But new research — part of the Children of the 90s study — has been published in the journal Paediatric Research and questions whether measuring fat as waist-to-height ratio would be more effective. I know I’m firmly in the minority when it comes to thinking weighing children in schools should be stopped. And I get it. We weigh babies and toddlers to determine how healthy they are, so why is it a problem to weigh primary school kids too?
We are teaching them that being fat is bad and being thin is good. So it’s no surprise that eating disorders in children have increased by 66%. The Women & Equalities Commission’s cross parliamentary inquiry into body image stated: ‘We recommend that the Government urgently reviews the NCMP to ensure it is not creating undue body image pressures in children.
Rather than just being about weight, in an ideal world, the scales should indicate bone mass, muscle mass, water percentage, and height, providing a comprehensive view of the child’s physique. This information can be presented in percentiles, similar to how it’s done at birth.Every six months, we measure their height and compare it to the average for their age. For example, I might explain, ‘If 100 children were lined up, you would be the 79th tallest.
Schools could play a role in this by providing parents with comprehensive fitness reports, including assessments like the bleep test for kids, these could simply be completed in PE. Initially, the HSF was due to close on 31 March. However, in his spring Budget, the Chancellor announced he will extend the HSF for a fifth time – with a £500m cash injection to councils to allow them to re-open their schemes until September 2024.
‘Applications for the £200 of support are now open to any resident across the borough who may be eligible.But it’s not just Bromley residents who can benefit from this cash help – households across the country are able to get help through the HSF too.Here’s how your local council can help you with supermarket vouchers, cash payments, energy grants and more.
Bromley Council can only provide one award per round of funding and multiple applications from either a household or individual will not be accepted. It was initially introduced in 2021, with the DWP allocating £842 million of help to local councils this tax year. Other councils will be waiting to see how much of the £500m funding they will receive, before announcing how they will help their residents between now and September.If your local council is not here, check with your local authority to see what help might be available to you.
If there are ways to save money on family days out, we are all ears, so when we saw one mum sharing a cinema trip money-saving hack, we got excited. Casey Major-Bunce, who posts on Intagram and TikTok as Major Mum Hacks, revealed a genius way to stop her children nagging her to buy them hot food at the cinema.
‘Add a sprinkle of normal cheddar cheese or Red Leicester, mix together, then add in the microwave for a further 15 seconds,’ she advises, before adding that she puts the cheese sauce into a food thermos flask to keep warm. But some weren’t keen, with one person saying, ‘I’m all for taking in my own bag of minstrels but hotdog?! What’s next? Roast dinner?’
We stepped inside the magnificent London County Hall and immersed ourselves in Agatha Christie’s gripping tale of justice, passion, and betrayal. We had courtroom stall tickets which placed us in the thick of the action as the enthralling story of Leonard Vole’s murder trial unfolded around us. I took my best friend who is a single mum for Mother’s Day. She’s obsessed with ITV dramas, so it was the perfect gift. I did debate bringing my 10-year-old daughter along too, and I wish I had as she would have loved it. Maybe next time!
Things to note Keep in mind that the entrance is located at the back of the building, so you can save yourself from unnecessary walking along the riverside by heading straight for the rear of County Hall.CHAT: With other parents in our forumThousands of families are to get an extra cash boost from the Department for Work and Pensions to help ‘smooth out’ an upcoming transition to a different benefit.
It means a lone parent aged 18 or over on Income Support could get an extra payout of £169.60, while a couple who are both aged 18 or over would get an extra £266.60 over the two-week period. ‘The DWP aims to send migration notices to these households – around 440,000 in total – by September 2024.’Claimants will be sent a letter asking them to apply for Universal Credit and giving them a date to apply by .
However, Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit are both paid by HMRC, not DWP, and anyone on these benefits won’t be paid the extra cash. What is Universal Credit? Universal Credit is an all-in-one government benefit to help with living costs. The DfE said: ‘From that date, eligible working parents of children from 9 months old will be able to register to access 15 hours of government-funded childcare a week, with the offer beginning from September 2024.
Parents of babies aged nine months will be able to apply any time after your baby is 24 weeks old, so long as they will be turning 9 months old by the 31 August 2024. For example, this means parents of children born on or after 1 September will have to wait until 1 January to get the funded hours. Will there be enough childcare places available? Previously, the Education Secretary Gillian said it could never be guaranteed.‘All you can do is put all the plans in place and then react if you need to’ when asked whether there would be enough childcare spaces available as part of this scheme.
‘In the event that some providers may ask for codes ahead of August, the government has been clear that no provider should set deadlines for September childcare codes earlier than 31 July 2024.In his spring Budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt pledged more money for nurseries to be able to offer the free childcare.CHAT: Money adviceI realise I’m a bit late to the party with this one – brow lamination isn’t brand new – but it certainly has become a hot trend.
How long do they last? The effects are immediate and brow lamination can last up to six to eight weeks. I also didn’t know if it would work if they had been previously microbladed but at my consultation, when I also had a patch test, I was assured I had enough hair. This week the TV star and mum-of-three is sharing her very honest thoughts on: Ready to dive right in?
For instance, Jarrod loves his PlayStation but he also knows to not take the liberty and spend time with me. We both have our different interests and what makes us happy – it’s totally normal to have your own things! But your husband should also know that you need some love and attention.
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