Monday Money #201 A ‘Must’ buy Chromebook week

I thought I had done really well last week with my spending. I had the boys with me for a week and we didn’t get one takeaway or go out for dinner. However as I go through my AMEX, Bills account, Amazon spends and business bank account I realise that actually we spent a shed load last week.

I must start with the MUST buy chromebook. My eldest goes into year 10 in Sept and we were informed by his school that he HAS to have a touchscreen chromebook computer. We were sent two options to pay monthly from a school approved organisation. There were two options, a £410 Acer or a £460 Acer. I don’t rate Acer as a laptop brand. Also I looked up those specific laptops and found them much cheaper online.

But I guess most people have just signed up to the expensive school scheme, which wow includes insurance. And aree now paying for there not great laptops over two years.

I chose the Mrs Mummypenny alternative option. I got DJ a decent HP (my preferred laptop brand) chromebook from Amazon on Prime day last week. It was £249.99 down from £349.99. And I had £86 in vouchers to cover some of the cost.

Why are schools saying that we MUST buy this technology for out children? What about the people who cant afford it? Anyway I made my stand by doing my own thing, although it did cost £249.99 for a laptop for DJ.

Latest VERY Popular Article for The Mirror

Last week my latest article was published for the Mirror and its gone viral. I share how to feed a family of four for a week, breakfast, lunch and dinner for just £42. I did this two years ago and it was £40, I was surprised to repeat the exercise and find that food was only £2 more for the whole week.

Free Summer Holiday Entertainment Ideas x 10

My latest article on my website is ten incredible ideas to keep the children entertained during the summer holiday, from free bowling to free pool visits, nature hunts, treasure hunts and beach. Always the beach.

More Holiday Costs

There were a few more holiday costs to hit last week. £60 on more clothes for the eldest son. £150 on new underwear and bikini for me, okay that was more of a treat spend. I love a new underwear shop, especially from my favourite Fitting Room in Stevenage. Clare is brilliant and I have got all my underwear from her for the last 10 years. I also bought two more book for holiday reading. I plan to do a lot of poolside chilling in Paleros, Greece.

Food Spend

So admission time. We didn’t get any takeaways or ate in any restaurants last week, but we did still manage to spend £196 on groceries. I, blaming the multiple visits to Tesco for Magnum ice-cream multipacks.

Contact Lenses

I spent £67 on six months worth of contact lenses from Vision Direct online saving na extra £3 by buying through Top Cashback. Although these normally last longer, nine months. I don’t wear the lenses every day and I might let them go on for a little longer than 30 days. And never (rarely) sleep in them.

Other Spends

Nothing of interest, just normal life that costs money. Fuel, Plum Auto savings, Cinema trip to see Thor and normal bills, mobile phone, Netflix, Amazon Prime (it has sneaked back in AGAIN) and life insurance.

Total Spend for the Week

This all means that I managed to spend a total of £945. Ouch. Must be better this week. Which I will because I’m at Standon Calling and as I’m working so everything is free!!

As it festival time and then holiday time I’ll be taking a break from these weekly posts for a couple of weeks. I’ll be back on August 8th.

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Lynn Beattie

Aka Mrs MummyPenny

Personal Finance Expert

I write about personal finance made simple, lifestyle choices that will save you time and money, as well as products and services that offer great value.

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One Response

  1. The article was very successful; the layout was tight, and the content was very good and rewarding. I hope you’ll share more with me.

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