Inexpensive Chidren's Bedroom Ideas

A big financial challenge when raising children is keeping up with their interests and, dare I say it, 'fads'. It's not unreasonable to expect a child to go through their interests quite quickly, as they change from being little children to almost-adults in a few short years. There's a lot of pressure from their peers, too, so subjects that were once everything to them can suddenly seem babyish and uncool. So how do you create a bedroom that will stand the test of time without needing completely revamping every time they go through a new phase? Having raised a couple of teenagers now, I've put together some inexpensive children's bedroom ideas to keep things current without breaking the budget or creating a lot of work for yourself. 

The Best Family Video Games to Play Together

Video games were never a big deal when my daughter was small, she was never really interested, so I wasn't introduced to video games in any great abundance until my son was old enough to get involved. Now, like many parents, I worry about the effect they might have and how long he should be spending on them. Although I've written about my thoughts on Fortnite, I am by no means an expert, but I do happen to know one. There follows a guest post from Andy Robertson, author of the Taming Gaming book for parents and video game journalist, who gives a brilliant insight into the positives of video games for children and the best family video games to play together.

Looking After Children's Mental Health with Mindscreen

I was approached by the lovely team at Mindscreen to ask if I would review their Mindscreen Experience Toolkit, which helps parents learn more about their children's mental health and how to support them. I was very excited about this prospect, as it's no secret that mental health is a massive issue for children and young people today and, as parents, it can be really worrying. There are more outside influences than ever before in our children's lives and most are not easily accessible to us. Technology constantly advances and throws up new potential threats with each new app or chatroom and the pace of life and demands on our kids can seem relentless, so I am right behind any tool that helps parents navigate those tricky teenage years. 

How I Cut My Bills by £130 a Month

Last year, I decided to overhaul my finances to see if I could save some money each month. I felt that I wasn't fully in control of what I was spending and it was too easy to use my debit card without really thinking about my outgoings overall. Along the way, I found out a lot about why my spending was higher than it should have been and some great ideas to get better control of the monthly bills. As times are hard for a lot of people right now, I thought I would share how I did it, in the hopes it helps someone else avoid the same traps I fell into and save some money too. The first and most important step I took towards getting better control of my spending, was to get a banking app on my phone. 

20 Ways to Personalise a Rental Home

When my daughter was small, I lived in private rental properties for six years. During that time, three landlords wanted to change the use of the property, so I had to move, which threw up a couple of problems. When you rent privately in the UK, you quickly learn that everything you buy has to be removable, as you could have to leave with a couple of months notice. You also find out that it takes a lot of imagination to make your house a home, as landlords don't like you drilling holes or messing with the decor. Here are 20 ways to personalise your rental space, without spending a fortune or annoying the property owner when it comes time to compare landlord insurance.

Understanding the History and Basics of Reverse Mortgage

The chances of you coming across the term “reverse mortgage” may be high. However, do you knowwhat this term is and how it works? Not everyone has access to in-depth research on this subject matter. You may or may not find this area useful at the moment, depending on how close you are to retirement. Nevertheless, it is worth understanding this financial opportunity as it may come in handy for you or a close relative. A reverse mortgage is the financial safety net any retiree, who is also a homeowner, needs. 

Guest Post Collaboration with All Reverse Mortgage Inc.

17 Ideas to Help You Relax

We're fully in the swing of work and school now and it's surprising how quickly normal routines kick in and you almost forget about that weird six-month blip where the world just sort of stopped. It's hard to believe it's possible for the whole of society to just grind to a halt, but it did and now we're all trying to find our way back into some kind of normality. One thing I have really noticed since all this crazy Lockdown business started is how important relaxation is. We've been through some pretty stressful stuff, but going back to work is stressful in itself and I've found myself quickly falling into the old pattern of not fully relaxing because there are always more things I could be doing.