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We have all said it. I just don’t have time. We use this as a throw away excuse for not getting our finances in order. Since becoming debt free, every penny I earn and every penny I have is mine. You might think that would make me spend comfortably and not worry about money. You’d be wrong, debt changed us. It made us thrifty and resourceful even after we’d paid our debt off. Now we can have fun without spending money but enjoying our time instead. Once, we never made time for creating a budget, planning or organising and the consequence...

So you’ve sold your old mobile phone and rooted through your gadgets to see if you can spare anything techy to sell. Your winter wardrobe has been ruthlessly taken apart and distributed to all four corners of the earth. You’ve dusted off your DVD, CD and book collections and have gone through the tedious task of listing the ones you no longer want on eBay (despite knowing you’ll get pennies for them). You’re convinced: there’s NOTHING else left in your home to sell on eBay to make money! Right? You might be surprised then to learn that there are some...

(For Part One of Frugal Queen’s Easter Holiday Activity Countdown, see here.) Following on from the first seven days of activity suggestions, here are ideas for the second half of the Easter holiday countdown. You’ve already taken the time to celebrate Easter in any way you choose – taking up yet another day of the holiday. That might have meant ‘messy church’ where children can make ‘Palm Sundaes’ or joining a family fun service. Alternatively, Easter might have meant a family day for you – where you can invite grandparents round and play board games. And on the eighth day…everyone...

It’s lovely to have our children home from school and with us all day during the Easter holidays. I brought up my children with very little money and know exactly what it’s like to need to be creative and fill up a school holiday with activities and next to no money to do it. Here is the first part of my countdown of the days of the holiday with something to do for each and every one – without having to fork out a load of money to keep everyone entertained. Check back next week for the second half of...

Today is the day the Bankruptcy & Debt Advice (Scotland) Act (or BADAS as it’s more commonly referred) introduces new legislation to debt advice, a new route into bankruptcy amongst other brand spanking new changes. So what’s changed? • MAP or ‘Diet Bankruptcy’ as I like to call it A new route into bankruptcy for those who are on benefits or those who do not earn enough to allow them to make a contribution to their debts. The fee for this application is £90, less than half of the £200 it will cost you to apply for ‘full fat Sequestration’...

Easter, for most of us, is the first break any of will have had after Christmas. The message is loud and clear; you need to go on a mini-break and bust out thousands for a trip to some over-priced woodland resort in the Midlands and you will be a very bad parent if you don’t take your children. You will of course, need to follow that mini-break with school holiday meals out, trips to the cinema and bigger and more expensive Easter eggs than you’ve ever seen before. What the actual heck is wrong with everybody? Really! There are plenty...