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Thrifty Tips and Trips Mum

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Thrifty Tips and Trips Mum

Just a working mum with a messy bun and her bargain buys! | Highlights for kids trips below👇🏻| Radio Lincs ‘Thrifty Mum’ 📻 Local Magazine Columnist ✏️
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02/12/2025

PR Invite | Christmas Light Trail🎄

Belton’s Christmas Light Trail will always have a special place in our hearts. We first came in 2020 when our son was born, the year there was barely anything festive you could do, especially with a newborn. Somehow we managed to book last minute, bundled him up and wandered the trail…and from that night it became our annual tradition.

So to be invited this year was honestly a pinch-me kinda moment. Thank you so much for having us 💫

We arrived earlier than ever before (on the trail by 4:15pm) and actually loved it, just getting dark, very calm, and not too busy. Being early in the season helped too! We’ve been at all different times over the years, weekdays, weekends, even Boxing Day…and this was definitely one of our favourite visits.

We were there for around two hours, but you can make a whole evening of it with the food stops, rides and family activities. They switch things up every year so it never feels the same twice. One of my favourite additions this year was the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ lights paired with the song, such a magical touch ✨ Our little boy also loved the swing boats!

Belton is about 45–50 minutes from us, so it feels relatively local and every single time it’s been so well organised and truly family-friendly. It’s a gorgeous way to bring all ages together and enjoy a bit of Christmas magic around the grounds and the house itself.

We had the best time, thank you again for the kind invite 🎄❤️ Would absolutely recommend if you’re looking for a festive night out in Lincolnshire 💫

30/11/2025

Let’s talk Mum Guilt vs Business Owner Guilt 👀

MUM GUILT

1️⃣ Feeling like you’re never fully ‘off work’.

The guilt: Your mind stays in work mode even at home.

How I handle it: Set specific working hours, have a separate work/personal phone and try to keep boundaries that protect family time.

2️⃣ Feeling like the house/life admin is never done.

The guilt: You can’t be fully present, fully productive and keep a perfect home.

How I handle it: Outsourcing what drains me (hello, to my bloody wonderful cleaner!) and making small sacrifices to justify the cost of outsourcing those things ie. Not having regular beauty treatments for example and choosing “done” over “perfect.”

3️⃣ Feeling like your child hasn’t had or experienced “enough.”

The guilt: Worrying about experiences, stimulation, memories.

How I handle it: Less pressure, and remembering that presence isn’t always doing, sometimes it’s simply being.

BUSINESS OWNER GUILT

1️⃣ Not replying fast enough.

The guilt: Thinking slow replies lose clients.

How I handle it: Working within my hours the majority of the time, staying professional and trusting the right clients respect boundaries.

2️⃣ Not giving the business the time you once could.

The guilt: Life looked different before kids.

How I handle it: Prioritising high impact/urgent work and embracing that this motherhood season comes first and won’t be forever 💔

3️⃣ Content not being “perfect.”

The guilt: Wanting everything to be gold.

How I handle it: Focusing on consistency and my client’s goals, dropping perfection and remembering one imperfect post doesn’t define my work.

30/10/2025

If you’ve got a dinosaur mad child, ROARR! is absolutely worth a visit. We’ve been a few times now, but this time we went for their Halloween experience and it was such a fun and cute twist on the usual day out there!!

We’ve done a lot of dinosaur activities over the years (including one in London that cost over £100 for just 90 minutes a few weeks back 😩) but this really is such better value for money.

For around £60 approx, we spent pretty much the whole day there and it’s great in all weathers too with a nice mix of outdoor, under cover and indoor activities to enjoy!

In summer, there’s the splash pad, multiple outdoor play areas and the ride on cars to really enjoy! On cooler and wetter days, you’ve still got soft play, fossil digging and multiple shows/meet and greets to get stuck into! And that’s not even half of it 😍

This Halloween, they added themed extras, like little “school-style” classes (think Harry Potter vibes) where kids collect stamps in a booklet for each lesson they attend and get a free gift at the end 🧙‍♂️ There was also a Halloween maze, a themed Halloween film in the dinosaur theatre and spooky touches/photo opps throughout the park.

The ‘Valley of the Dinosaurs’ walk is still as impressive as ever, it’s always the highlight for us. I think our son’s just about coming to the end of his peak dino phase now, but honestly, this has always been one of our favourites for a full day out, especially if your child is dino obsessed like our son has been since he was just 17 months old 🩵

If you’re in Norfolk and have a little dinosaur lover in your life, ROARR! is 100% worth the trip and good value for money when compared with other park prices/dinosaur themed activities we’ve done over the years! 🦖💚

27/10/2025

I’d say from the age of finishing university, early 20s through to my 30s, I more or less lived paycheck to paycheck…and even that wasn’t always enough. I was often overdrawn, had credit card debt and at one point I was even driving around uninsured because I didn’t realise my partner (at the time) had stopped making the payments! True story.

When I say I didn’t have money to live the life I was living (on the outside), I really didn’t. And it wasn’t even that lavish a life! But 10 years on, life looks very different and I’m lucky to have a lot more financial stability 🙏🏼

But those years taught me so much. How to shop smart, stretch a food shop, make meals go further, lessons that have stuck with me ever since. And even though I don’t have to live like that now, I often still choose to. Because I know how to make my money stretch and I’d rather spend those pennies I’ve saved on something that matters more to me.

There was a time when people would come round for dinner and I’d be panicking about how to feed them. I couldn’t afford all the ingredients for something as simple as a spaghetti bolognese! So I had to get scrappy and that’s really where I learned how to make the most out of what I had.

Now, I still love doing that. Making meals out of leftovers, finding creative ways to use what’s in the cupboard, it’s a mindset that’s stuck with me. And honestly, I think it’s a great thing for kids to see too.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not perfect at it, I wouldn’t have the time to do this for every meal. But when I do, this is how I do it….and this is how you could do it too 👌🏼

23/10/2025

If you’re looking for a fun, budget-friendly half term idea, Tyrrell’s Farm in Cowbit, Lincs is one of our favourites for pumpkin picking! 🎃

We’ve been every year since our son was born and it never disappoints. It’s completely free to get in, you only pay for the pumpkins you pick (plus food and drinks if you want) and there are loads of free photo spots and plenty of space for the kids to run around.

This year we spent £26 altogether and that got us our carving pumpkins plus loads of smaller ones for our front door display. We’re big into Halloween decor in our household!!! There’s a lovely coffee stand on the weekends and last weekend there was even ‘The Cheesy’ Pig, serving pork-based comfort food like loaded fries, honestly UNREAL 😍 .cheesypig

What I love most is that you can make it as thrifty as you like, grab just a couple of pumpkins and spend less than a fiver, or make it a full family outing for an hour or two without paying any entry fees!!

We’ve been to other pumpkin patches and Halloween events over the years (and we love those too), but Tyrrell’s Farm is such a great option for a simple, affordable, traditional and local day out. Thumbs up from me 👍🏻

Save this post for your half term plans and follow for more affordable family trips, days out, random money saving tips and my Monday mornings recs on BBC Radio Lincolnshire each week 😍👌🏼

16/10/2025

We were heading to London recently when our train ended up running late. Frustrating, right? 😩😩😩 But then I discovered Delay Repay!

Here’s how it works:

• If your train arrives at your destination 30 minutes or more late, you’re eligible for a refund

• The exact amount depends on how late you are and which train company you travelled with

• Claiming is simple: just go to the train company’s website, fill out a short form with your journey and ticket details, and they’ll even estimate your refund for you. I did a quick google and it took me straight through to the relevant delay relay page

• Some companies will pay directly into your bank account, while others may offer vouchers, depending on your preference

• Most refunds appear within a few days to a few weeks, depending on the provider

On the way home, I filled out the form (literally a 5 minute process) and a few days later, the money landed straight in my bank! 💷✨

So next time your train’s delayed - claim for that inconvenience! Just search “Delay Repay” with your train provider and fill in the quick form! No complaint emails needed 👏🏼 Easy peasy 👌🏼

12/10/2025

On the eve of my son’s fifth birthday, I heard this audio and wanted to share 💭

Raising a boy has truly felt like what I was meant to do. I’ve always been a bit of a tomboy…super sensitive but also quite bold, loud, and always ready to get stuck in….and I think that’s made me very suited to being a boy mum, amongst many of my other traits! 🤪 We never found out the gender of our baby but I knew in my gut he was a boy from the very beginning.

Motherhood has taught me so much, but raising a boy especially feels like such an important role. I’m so conscious of raising him to be a good man, as well as a good boy. Each birthday, I can’t help but reflect, not just on the year gone by, but on the whole journey so far. It honestly feels like only yesterday he was born.

I want to raise a man who’s proud to be a ‘manly’ man, strong, dependable, a good provider, a good husband, but also one who’s sensitive, open and knows he can come to me about anything ❤️

I hope as he grows older, we stay close and connected, even as he builds his own life and follows his own path 💙 Proud to be a boy mum 🥹 Proud to be HIS mum 🥹

10/10/2025

The best meals for me usually start with “I’ve no idea what I’m making but sod it, let’s see what happens…”😂😂😂

This creamy tomato and mushroom pasta was made entirely from yellow sticker bits and fridge leftovers…and it turned out bloody delicious!

🛒 Less than £1 a portion
🧀 All made with random odds and ends
😅 0 perfection but 100% bloody lovely 😂🙏🏼

I’m all about realistic cooking….cheap, easy and good for feeding a family without stress.

👉 Save this for random and real dinner inspo and follow for more random recipes, budget hacks and realistic mum life! ❤️

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