5 Ways to Save Money on Your Summber Wardrobe


It’s always nice to treat yourself to a brand new wardrobe ready for the summer, but a new set of clothes doesn’t come cheap. In a tough financial climate, people have to be extra careful about what they spend on luxuries such as new clothes, but there are ways to save money on your summer wardrobe and still look fabulous.

One of the best ways to save money on clothes is to find voucher codes online. The big advantage of this is that you can still shop at your favourite shops and buy everything that you normally would, but you will get a nice percentage of the price discounted. Sometimes there will be different offers, such as buy one, get one half-price. You should also keep your eye on in-store offers; many fashion retailers will have a summer sale, so you should definitely take advantage of sales and offers as much as you can. For example, Diamond is offering a £50 New Look voucher offer for customers who buy direct, out of which you could purchase a number of staple items for your new wardrobe, or a few really classy items for those warm summer evenings.

If you’re creative and arty, you could customize some clothes you have hidden away in the back of the wardrobe rather than buying new ones. Put aside a few pounds and you can buy ribbons, lace, sequins, buttons, and small pieces of fabric. You may even be able to get some of these for free if you know where to go, or for next-to-nothing in charity shops.

While you’re browsing in those charity shops, it’s also definitely worth checking out the clothes they have in stock. There will no doubt be some horrors in there, but retro is really cool right now and you could pick up some fabulous vintage pieces. Not only will you get clothes for a good price, but between buying from charity shops and customizing your own clothes, you’ll have a unique look. There’ll be no danger of walking out the front door and seeing someone else with the same outfit, because yours will be the only one around that’s like it.

Most people don’t go supermarket shopping without a list, but will charge in headfirst when buying clothes and splurge without thinking about it. Have a look through your own clothes so you don’t buy shorts or flip-flops if you already have them, and then make a list of the things that you do actually need and want. Also think about what you’re going to get the most wear out of, and buy carefully. Buy pieces that are either multi-functional or that co-ordinate with as many other items of clothing you already have.

The final thing that you can do to save money on your summer wardrobe is not to buy many new clothes, and swap with friends instead. You could go shopping together, choose things you both like and then swap and share. Or check out clothes swapping events held at local cafés, bars and other venues – basically, you bring clothes you’re ready to part with, and for every item you add to the pile, you’re allowed to choose something from the items other people have contributed. It’s a fabulous way to recycle used clothes, gives you a chance to pick up a pile of new clothing for free, and often benefits charity.

What are your top tips for saving money while updating your wardrobe?

Image courtesy of vanillaechoes / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Wearing prescription glasses truly is a great investment. Why? Because many people in all ages are having sight problems. Now, these problems can worsen if left alone for a certain period of time. But for people with great eyes, how would wearing eyewear be useful? Glasses can help protect the eyes from harmful environments such as ultraviolet rays, screen glare, or extreme light. So, glasses mainly have two advantages: one is to help correct the eye sight of the wearer and two is to protect the eyes from further deterioration or future eye problems.

If buying optical eyewear is considered to be an important factor to perform better every day, it would be wise to choose ones with care and an informed perspective. Purchasing a quality pair should be considered as a necessary investment. However, being constantly on the look-out for discounted prices would be a practical and wise buy. Here are some tips to help in choosing:

Always get an updated eye exam from your ophthalmologist or optometrist. This is the most important and first step to choosing the correct eyewear. If you buy and wear a pair without an accurate and precise measurement of your sight, your eyes may worsen and problems may occur. Having an eye exam is the best way to know what kind of pair you are supposed to get in the first place.

  • Look for quality. Remember that these glasses are going to be used for everyday living. It would be in your best interest to find ones that are durable. It would do great to have them made with great quality materials.  Of course, choose one that would fit your face since it will be one of the first things people will notice when they see you. Remember the general rule: Choose frames that are opposite your face shape.
  • Be a wise buyer! Find discounts. Discounted prices for high end spectacles are definitely a great choice. You can go through newspapers and stores to find discounts and coupons. Savvy shoppers go to online stores. Online stores usually have lower prices for these because they order directly from the manufacturing firms. Try looking through online shops and you might just see the pairs you’ve always wanted to buy!
  • Always do your homework. So you found this online shop which gives out great prices. But when you explore more, you find their products unbelievably cheap and suddenly have this gut feeling that it’s a scam. Believe that gut feeling. Do the research on the shop before buying the chosen pair. Search the web for different feedbacks from previous customers. It’s always as they say, “better safe than sorry.”

Now that you have bought your pair, always wear them to protect and correct your eyes. Remember to practice eye care as well. Just because you have glasses doesn’t mean you can leave out eye exercises. Also, have your eyes checked every now and then. It would be wise to have your sight measured in case they change.

Are you a small business owner in need of cash? Well first off, know that you’re not alone, virtually all small businesses struggle to get off the ground at first, and many need to borrow money in order to reach their full potential.
Secondly, there are actually many advantages to taking out a short-term cash loan for your business. Although a loan of course means extra debt, it actually can be hugely advantageous for your business’ growth and profits.
Don’t believe us? Well here are 5 reasons a small short term loan can benefit your business:

  1. Allow You to Expand

If you want to expand your business but don’t have the cash flow to do it, a short term loan makes sense. A small loan which you can pay off quickly should allow you just enough to expand without having to get into serious debt. If you want to add more services to your business or expand your business or office space, a short term loan could easily provide you with the cash you need.

  1. Enable More Hires

More hires are inevitable if your business is rapidly expanding, but you may need a short term loan to pay for the initial costs of adding more people to your team. If business is booming a loan to cover hires should quick pay for itself, meaning you’ll be able to pay it off super fast and without having to dip into your savings. Extra hires usually leads to bigger profits, so definitely consider a short term loan if you want to increase your hiring.

  1. Easier & Faster than Seeking Investors

Seeking investors is no easy task, especially if your business network isn’t that big or you cater for a very niche market. Having others invest in your company isn’t ideal for many businesses either, as it ultimately involves giving some of your company up to the investor and further slicing your profits. Luckily, a short term loan can allow you to avoid the stress and hassle of seeking investors and the ability to still have full reign over your business.

  1. Tax Advantages

For some small business owners, taking out a business loan can have tax advantages, such as serving as a tax deductible. This can work for short term loans, which means you may end up owing less to the taxman the upcoming tax year. Look into the fine details prior to taking a loan out of course but bear it in mind as an appealing possibility.

  1. Chance to Boost Your Credit Score

Successfully paying off a short term loan reflects extremely well on your credit score as it demonstrates financial responsibility and the ability to successfully manage and pay off debt. If your credit score isn’t too great, you may want to consider taking out a short term loan and then quickly paying it off. This should result in your credit score significantly improving which could make borrowing greater amounts of money (such as a larger business loan or a mortgage etc) much easier.
A short term loan could definitely give your business the boost it needs to do better than ever before. As long as you successfully manage and pay off your loan on time, there’s little reason why you and your small business can’t experience the benefits listed above. Good luck! 


Image courtesy of  Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net


Just because you’re a small business or WAHM, doesn’t mean you can’t do your bit for the environment. Every little helps, so why not implement a few green strategies and make the world a better place?

  • Have your boiler serviced
Summer might be on its way, but it’s never too late to have your boiler serviced – particulalrly if you didn’t get round to it over winter. A Gas Safe Register will check everything’s working efficiently and stop your company from throwing money down the drain on high emissions. The cost is normally covered by decent central heating insurance, so read the terms and conditions of your policy.

  • Start a recycling scheme
Believe it or not, we generate about 228 million tonnes of waste every year in England alone. This means our resources aren’t being fully valued both financially and environmentally, so it’s essential to do something about this. The government have many plans in place, but you can make a difference by introducing a recycling scheme.

  • Save paper
With paper usage in many parts of the world on the rise, our rainforests are in considerable danger. This in turn effects animals, rural communities and can contribute towards climate change, so try to keep your usage to a minimal. Only print, scan and process documents when absolutely necessary and instead rely on PowerPoint presentations and computer programs to get the job done.

  • Say goodbye to standby
Leaving electrical appliances on standby creates around one million tonnes of greenhouse gases every single year – that’s enough to CO2 to fill over 20 million double decker buses. This is a significant amount of pollution, so you must unplug all computers, scanners, printers, telephones and other workplace equipment when they’re not in use.

  • Switch to energy-saving lighting
Most working environments have to be well-lit, but you don’t have to rely on traditional incandescent bulbs to do the job. In fact, these have now been banned by the European Union, so if you’re still using them, switch to compact fluorescents. The latter are a lot more energy-efficient and will help light up your workspace without leaving you with a massive electricity bill.
It’s the duty of every company and employee to protect the world we live in, so it’s worth putting these energy-saving strategies in place.

For small businesses living frugally can sometimes mean the difference between survival and downfall.  In those early days of a business keeping an eye on cash flow and expenses is crucial.
Having started my own online business ‘Custard & Crumble’ last year there are a number of tips and lessons I have learnt to reduce costs and increase profits.  It is important to find out where your money is best spent to drive revenue and profit as quickly and as cheaply as possible.
  1. Use the Internet – it is free and there is a lot of information   out there.  The HMRC website offers a wealth of information across all topics as well as some useful templates you can use for accounting, legal, shipping etc.
  2. Trade Shows – take a look at the relevant trade shows for your business.  Many of these will have offers on the day for different services – web design, phones, accounting etc.  You will also find talks by key speakers where you will be able to take home a wealth of information for free.
  3. Advertising – if you decide to advertise in magazines and newspapers never pay their first offer price.  There are always deals to be made although this is still an expensive form of advertising.
  4. Social media - If you are web based social media is a great and free way to advertise your business.  The only cost will be your time, but your time is obviously money and therefore you need to make a plan and measure the success of your social media campaign as quickly as possible to see if this is right for your business.
  5. Networking – Take a look at your local networking groups.  Again many are free to join and give you the option to tell people about your business as well as find people whose services you might need.
  6. Bills – if you work from home ensure you get your gas and electric bill on business rates –these will be cheaper with the opportunity to claim back the VAT.
  7. Word of mouth – encourage your happy customers to spread the word about your business for you.  Perhaps incentivize them with a discount.  Testimonials are great to show customer satisfaction and will make potential customers more likely to buy from you.
  8. Newsletters – another really cheap way of advertising to replace the traditional and expensive postal mailers.  You can always use a promotional code to track sales from this and therefore your ROI.
  9. Outsourcing – if you cannot afford to employ someone permanently, using an outsourcing company can be a great, cost effective way to get some extra work done. Whether it be content writing, book keeping or design you can get the extra work done leaving you to make more sales!
  10. Research – whether it be web design, SEO, location or banking make sure you do as much research as possible and get as many quotes as possible.  Do not be afraid to play off one company against the other.  Remember knowledge is power and if you know what you need and what’s involved you will be in a far better position to negotiate.


Rachel Bradbury is a Mum of one, Jack an enthusiastic toddler, with another on the way.  She is also the owner of Custard & Crumble, an online luxury nursery store selling nursery furniture, accessories and gifts.
Coupon use has been around for so many years. I remember where my mother kept her old beat up shoebox full of coupons in our old house and how it was organized with index cards too. Every Sunday she would clip her coupons and organize her shoebox, then write a grocery list on an envelope and insert the coupons that she needed to match her list.
I don’t use a shoebox, but I have taken to the envelope system as I had seen her use for so many years. It wasn’t until I became a mother that I really started using coupons. I use coupons to purchase just about everything that I can for our family to help us save money and stay in budget. It has become a way of life for us, and couponing doesn’t have to be stressful, if you are organized and know where to find coupons it will be easy and enjoyable.

  • Where to find coupons

There are many places to find coupons other than in the Sunday newspaper. Until I really started couponing, I never knew about coupons.com, smartsource.com and redplum.com to print coupons. Stores and brands also offer coupons on Facebook, Twitter and on their websites.
Not only do I print coupons from coupons.com, but I also use the app on my iPhone and I can print coupons from my phone to my wireless printer. Target also offers mobile coupons that are sent to you via text message and you can show the text to the cashier to receive the discounts.
Another way to receive coupons is to e-mail, write or call the company and ask them if they have any coupons to send you. You’ll be surprised at how many companies will mail you coupons to use products!

  • Stacking and Doubling

Most stores will allow you stack coupons, which is when you use one of their store specific coupons with a manufacturer’s coupon. For example, at Walgreen’s I can use a coupon from their weekly ad along with a manufacturer’s coupon to save more money on the product. Always refer to the store specific coupon policy.
Most grocery stores also double coupons up to $1. This is certainly helpful if there is an item on sale and you have a coupon that will double. I always look at all of the coupons that I have that are under $1 and match those to the sales at my grocery store so I can get the most for our money.
Each store has a coupon policy and the key is to learn the policy so you don’t run into any issues at check out.
If you’re on a budget, coupons are a great way to save money if you stay organized and use them to your advantage! 




 Nikki Muroski is a mommy of three, a wife and a blogger for her site, Nickel-and-Diming with Nikki. She is also a regular contributor to the CareOne Debt Relief Services blog, a community that provides debt consolidation and money-saving advice.