Campanile understands that often post-festive Britain can be full of Monday Blues and time to pay off those credit cards, so we have put together some of our favourite money managing tips to get you through the penniless period.
- Money-saving meal plans
Eating in?
Yes, meal planning can be an arduous task, especially when writing it for a fussy family but by ensuring you know what meals you will be cooking means that you will know exactly what groceries you will need.
We stumbled across One Pound Meals cookbook by Instagram chef Miquel Barclay – super tasty, hearty meals – check him out here.
Eating out?
Forget meal planning, and be on the hunt for meal deals at restaurants – when you are working away from home or cooking is the last thing you want to do after a long day, eating out doesn’t have to break the budget! Restaurants up and down the country often do early dinner specials or meal deals.
If you are staying with us, check out our 2 or 3 course meal deal – head to our on-site restaurant for more details.
- Staycations
With the hard times looming in January, more and more people are opting to holiday-at-home and with the cracking combination of Campaniles low-priced rooms and great UK locations, to see some of our favourite staycation destinations and activity ideas, check out our Staycation article or the Campanile City Guides for some holiday inspiration.
- Listing Makes the Purse Sing
To follow on from the first point, the humble shopping list can greatly help a family on a budget. This can be made in to a game by creating mini lists for children, where they are trusted to retrieve the items and bring them back one by one.
And, rather than adding sweets to the list, give the little ones a budget to stick to. This way they learn the value of money for themselves while feeling empowered by having a choice.
Project coordinator at Louvre Hotels, Linda Matzler says: “I received monthly pocket money back when I was teenager. It was great having my own money, but I also had to pay certain things like my phone bill from it. That made me aware of how fast and easy you can spend money, and was a great life lesson as I now think twice before I buy anything – I always question myself, do I really need this or is it just a silly purchase?”
- Sale Shop
By shopping in the sales for up-coming birthday presents, you could save yourself a great deal. We recommend buying timeless gifts that can be given to a variety of different people such as: books, puzzles, clothing accessories and home fragrances.
We’ve put together some of the larger retail parks that are close to our hotel locations:
- Trafford Centre, Manchester
- Bluewater Shopping Centre, Dartford
- Bull Ring, Birmingham
- Liverpool One, Liverpool
- The Broadway, Bradford –
5. Sell Sell Sell
After the gift-giving season, the likelihood is that your home has been filled to the brim with new toys, clothes, replacement parts and the latest tech. With January being the month of ‘tightening the belt’, why not start the spring-cleaning early by selling the unused clutter. You can sell unwanted items on eBay to make a tidy profit or, alternatively you can sell on your local Buy and Sell Facebook group for free.
Photo credit: Fabian Blank
