VE - I BEAT DEBT

How cheap travel insurance can save your (financial) life!

Travel insurance is an essential for any traveller. Whilst I actively advocate saving money on pretty much anything and everything possible, there are some major exceptions and insurance is one of those things that you shouldn’t scrimp on by not buying – especially when there are so many cheap travel insurance options out there. Pet … Read the rest

How paying for an airport lounge can SAVE you money!

I’ve recently been on holiday and the friend that I was travelling with and I decided that we would treat ourselves to a lounge at the airport prior to departure. Much as this was very much a treat for us, in hindsight we actually saved quite a lot of money by doing this. I’m going … Read the rest

Defence Discount Service – what is it and who is eligible?

Whilst travelling in the US last year, I met a wonderful American couple. He was retired Military and in conversation they told me about all the discounts and deals in place in the USA for military personnel and veterans as a thank you for their service to the country. It got me thinking – do … Read the rest

Why guarantor loans are a terrible idea

You’ve probably all seen the television adverts for an Amigo Loan, even if you haven’t taken in what they are for. Guarantor loans, such as the ones by market leaders Amigo, are pitched as something that can improve your credit, help you get out of cdebt, and something your best mate can help you out … Read the rest

Is becoming an apprentice a good financial option?

I received a lot of questions during the Christmas Cash Challenge about my apprenticeship which I’m doing through QA. I’m a thirty something apprentice and proud of it. Gone are the days when apprentices were doing manual labour such as a car mechanic earning a pittance. Since the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in 2017, … Read the rest

How Side Hustles Led to me Earning a Full-Time Income From Home

I’m Clare, and I blog over at My Money Cottage sharing my top tips for making extra money from home and how to stretch the family finances that little bit further.

My side hustling first started back in 2008 when I was pregnant with our daughter. It seems like such a long time ago now, … Read the rest

Can Prolific Academic actually make you money?

Can you really make money with Prolific Academic? Yes! You really can and it is by far my favourite survey site, and here’s why!

What makes Prolific Academic so great?

Prolific Academic is about so much more than feedback on a new crisp flavour or the design of the packaging for a new brand of … Read the rest

What “The Greatest Showman” teaches us about money

I had some great feedback on my recent post about what “Confessions of a Shopaholic” teaches us about debt and I wanted to look at some other movies or books and look at what we can learn from money about them as well. If you don’t like “The Greatest Showman”, or you haven’t seen it … Read the rest

How to learn for free

Whether you just have an interest you want to learn more about, or whether you want to upskill to further your career prospects, there are millions of training providers out there. Some of them will charge a small fortune, but some provide some really good quality free learning. If you want something specific (like … Read the rest

What “Confessions of a Shopaholic” teaches us about debt

The Secret Dreamworld of Shopaholic book was originally published in 2000 and also known as Confessions of a Shopaholic. The series of books was written by the author Sophie Kinsella and they were a major ‘noughties’ book success. The title book was turned into a film starring Isla Fisher in 2009. Technically this post includes … Read the rest