A MONEY-SAVING expert mum has shared her top tips on how to have a fabulous half term break with the kids on a budget.
Gemma Bird, better known as Money Mum, is a money-saving Mum and social media sensation whose savvy & thrifty ways have helped her pay off her mortgage by the time she was 40.
Aged 18, Gemma lived at home and was able to save 30k towards her first mortgage by working three jobs.
She has often worked up to five jobs at any one time, until recently, never earning more than 25k.
Money Mum still has an eye for a bargain and regularly shares her tips as part of the Saver Squad on ITV's Lorraine and on her Instagram.
Here, Gemma shares her nifty tricks to have a fun-filled half term on a budget…
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PRE-BOOKED FUN
If you are heading to a theme park, it's always best to pre-book for the best prices. It's also worth trying Day Out With The Kids website, which offers up to 58 percent discounts on theme parks – you can try it out with a £1 membership for 30 days.
DISCOUNT HOLIDAY
Check out tried and tested sites like Groupon and Lastminute.com (aside from holidays, it also offers experiences, activities and theatre discounts).
MUSEUM DAYS
Talk with friends & family and plan ahead.
Establish if anyone has memberships that allow discounts or free/half-price guests.
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For example, the Tate Modern allows members to bring up to 6 children for free to any exhibition.
Check National Trust memberships to see if they allow a guest – National Trust Family Membership means under 5s go free.
Heading for a day out with Grandparents? – check for Senior discounts on activities too.
FREE EVENTS
Some museums, galleries and local libraries offer free activities for children; for example, the Tate Modern offers a chance for kids to create their masterpieces – using the gallery's digital sketch pads, they can see their own art projected onto the wall.
SAVE ON TRAINS
Planning on using the train for activities over the Bank Holiday and Summer holidays too?
It's probably worth investing in a rail card –it will pay for itself in no time!
There are lots of options, including the Family & Friends Railcard – which offers 1/3 off train travel for adults and a whopping 60% off for kids and costs £30 for 1 year.
GET SAVVY
Sign up for Newsletters from places you would like to visit, including theme parks, restaurants and pubs – so you will know if offers or discounts are available. It's ideal to set up a new email address just for this purpose.
TAKE INSPO FROM THE U.S.
Planning on having friends over? Adopt the American' Potluck' – where everyone brings a dish to share.
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FUN FOR FREE
There are lots of free things you can do together as a family, so get creative:
- Make a time capsule – include information about what's happening in your lives now and open it up in a year to see how much things have changed! You could even include a Q&A about anything from favourite bands to ambitions and best friends etc – it's lovely to see how children's ideas change as they grow up.
- Create a fun obstacle course in your garden or local park.
- Have a teddy bear picnic.
- Have a kitchen disco.
- Have a water balloon fight in the garden! Invite friends around and split into teams -then let the games begin!
- Arrange a toy swap with friends and family or via a local Facebook group.
- Turn a walk in your local park into an adventure by creating a scavenger hunt from nature; for example, find three different shaped leaves, a coloured stone, and the brightest coloured flower and tick them off a list.
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