There was pumpkin carving on offer at the shopping centre. So we did have to queue for a very long time - however we got the FREE pumpkin and the lovely ladies carving out the images we made. Most importantly I did not have to deal with all that squashy stuff inside.

Sometimes its about making the most of what you have already spent money on. The questions about fireworks started early in my house and the local options are amazing and are actually all for very good causes but it does end up a lot of money with entrance and most of them now have rides to pay for and candy floss etc.

So managed to convince the kids that as we had Merlin Passes which we bought instead of a summer holiday this year that we should do fireworks at Legoland instead. We went yesterday and got there early as it does get full and I was not prepared to pay extra to make sure we got in. Made sure I was organised enough to take a picnic and we went in at 10.30 and and left at 8.30pm saw all the fireworks, went on any rides with shortish queues and saw several shows. I was going to have tea in one of the restaurants and use the kids eat free after 3 offer but cheeky people changed it to after the fireworks which was too late for us and we had to just grab an extra sandwich.

The Merlin Passes are a large outlay and not sure I will be able to afford it next year (although I will start the hunt for better ways to get them - Tesco vouchers I have heard works well?).

I am going to see that I get the best value ever from mine this year. We bought them in August as we were going to drive to Scotland to visit a friend and it meant we would pass Alton Towers on the way and Warwick Castle on the way back. While we were in Scotland we happened upon the Sealife at Loch Lomand which was also covered by the pass. We also went to Legoland a couple of weeks ago so with today's visit we have already more than covered the cost. I wonder how many other visits we can squeeze in before next August?

Will keep you posted.

Netmums have 101 ideas for FREE family fun. Will be giving these a go and will let you know the results!

http://www.netmums.com/activities/101-ideas-for-free-family-fun

So one of my other ploys to have some treats with less money is to sign up with some mystery shopper type places. I have used Market Force a couple of times now and this week I managed to go out to a local restaurant and had £20 contribution to the food and had £3 in payment. In return I wrote a report on the food and service. If I had been on my own it would have worked out as a completely free meal. However as I had others with me it meant a reduction in cost by £23 and without it we would have stayed at home.

https://secure.marketforce.com/uk/shopper/shphomepage/

I am so pleased with this prize from Ryvita that has just been delivered by courier. I was just looking for something to nibble on.

This is the result of our hardwork today. Free lavender from freecycle a few weeks ago has now dried out and we have used the free material to make a little lavender bag. Kept us quiet for ages!

I have signed up to www.fieldagent.com and using this site you can download an app and do store checks for products.  My plan is not to go out of my way so was pleased when a store check came up at the supermarket I was planning to go to for my shop. I had to check availability of the products take a couple of pictures and buy a couple of the products. For this I should have earnt £5 and had the value of the products refunded and I also get to keep the products.

Look what dropped through the door! A lovely red and black notebook – I do love stationery and even better for free. It did not have a compliment slip with it so I can’t thank whoever it was who ran the competition I entered and I can’t really remember but I am very happy.

My daughter loves to watch Disney princess films and earlier in the year wanted to see the live action Cinderella. For me to take her to see it when it first came out would have cost about £20. However by going to the kids club at Everyman cinemas and getting a combined adult and child ticket it is £3.00. As they have cosy sofas too I was very happy to spend a Saturday morning like this.

If you fancy the dog thing but for a good cause instead of money.

I met a lady today who walks dogs for a charity called the Cinnamon Trust. When a older person is no longer able to walk their beloved pet then volunteers offer to do it for them. This can either be a short or long term arrangement depending on the persons situation. Seems like a wonderful idea.

http://www.cinnamon.org.uk/volunteers/

The Cinnamon Trust - The National Charity for the elderly, the terminally ill and their pets -...

The Cinnamon Trust - URGENT APPEALS! Volunteers we need your help.

CINNAMON.ORG.UK

Today I managed to get a bedside table from freecycle. Not amazing but for the kids room so will only get pen on it anyway so very happy to have it for no money.

Still on the dog front we have tried out another company. They are called Barking Mad and although you do get a little bit of money this is more about the joy of having a dog. We have a wonderful dog staying at the moment - not sure we will want to say goodbye. I have also had to walk this one twice a day so that's mounting up on the exercise front too.

Another added bonus is that with the weekend coming up my kids entertainment will be the dog and he can't be left for long so thats a good excuse for not going out anywhere else and spending any money.

www.barkingmad.com

Crafting has become big in my household (not that I am any good at it). So recently I paid a visit to Hobbycraft and managed to spend a fortune and still did not seem to have everything that we needed. So I have been keeping my eye out on Freecycle / Freegle for which things people were giving away for free that might keep the kids happy. So excited as managed to get this huge pile of fabric for free!

Just had an email from Ocado who I use to get my bigger shopping delivery's that they will be charging me 5p per carrier bag inline with all supermarkets.
However the good news is that they will refund me 5p for every bag I give back to them too so hopefully it will mean that it does not cost me any more.
But the even better news is that they will also give me 5p for every carrier bag from another shop too. So I am hoping to dig out all those hiding around my house and hand those it too.

Free food today - a neighbour gave us some cooking apples and I made baked apples - followed a recipe from the internet and I have to say they did not taste as I remembered them from my childhood - I don't think I left them in the oven long enough. However they filled a hole which was good enough for me. My kids turned there noses up though!!

I have signed up with www.dogbuddy.com to see if we can have the joys of a dog without the expense. I have had the first dog to stay for a 3 days which was just about the right amount of time for kids to still find it exciting. I set my rate at the lowest available so that I can build up a customer base. Result is after the website takes its cut then £51 should be on its way to my bank account.

The best dog sitters in UK | Local and trusted dog boarding | DogBuddy

Find the best dog sitters on DogBuddy. Dog walkers and dog boarding services near you. Includes 24/7 vet line & insurance. Better than kennels!

UK.DOGBUDDY.COM

With the plan to get things for free I have been entering competitions. The other day I went to the Radio Times festival with tickets I won on their website. I got to see a talk from the writer of one of my favourite shows which was wonderful and would have cost me £30 for the 2 tickets. Entrance to the actual festival area was free which was not very well publicised so we could have gone and just not see the show and still had a good afternoon and if they run this again I might do that. There was a BBC experience where you could try all sorts of things including reading the news, doing the weather (which was emailed to you!) and having a fake photo with DR Who (printed out there and then for free), the CBBC Arts magazine were doing free crafts for children and best of all the ITV stand were giving away free water, popcorn and pick and mix sweets! 

However as this is supposed to be a money saving page then need to fess up about being disorganised as something else came up in the morning and as a result spent some money on the day which had not been the plan. Firstly parking - I did not leave enough time to park a little further away and walk so ended up in the paid for car park £8 (could also have saved money if I had pre-booked). I also did not manage to make the planned picnic so spent money on a pizza which was very tasty but cost £12, we also left the water bottles we nearly always take with us on the side at home (as my 6 year old companion pointed out 5 minutes down the road) so we bought some drinks before we discovered the free water from ITV.com.
So on balance £25 for the day was over budget but we still managed to get about £45 worth of freebies for the day and really enjoyed ourselves and it definitely counted in my eyes of one of life’s little bonuses.

So first bit of extra money in. I have joined a facebook selling site and posted something I no longer needed and kept falling over. Only £5 but a start and its cash in my pocket.

The kids want a dog! There is no way I can afford that. However starting to look at different options for them to share a dog. I met a lady today who walks dogs for a charity called the Cinnamon Trust. When a older person is no longer able to walk their beloved pet then volunteers offer to do it for them. This can either be a short or long term arrangement depending on the persons situation. Seems like a wonderful idea.

http://www.cinnamon.org.uk/volunteers/

Ok - so money is a little tight at the moment - not terrible but I should be starting to stop all those little extras that make life worth living. So I have decided to try and find some small ways to either earn extra money or get something for free. Not trying to make a fortune just keep the little bonuses in life that I like.