Doing Christmas on a tight budget

Christmas is a truly expensive time of year. Beneath all the joy and giving is money spent on presents, wrapping, cards, decorations, food and more. In yesterday's post I spoke all about feeling overwhelmed at this time of year, monetarily or otherwise. It's something that can really weigh you down, so today I'm chatting all about doing Christmas on a tight budget.

10 Budget-Friendly Hobbies to Start in 2017

There's so much 'New Year New Me' stuff floating about the internet right now that I find pretty demoralising. For starters, I don't want a new me. I want to improve the old me. Trying to recreate myself in someone else's image, or start again from scratch isn't going to work. How am I meant to get rid of all of my past experiences and turn myself into a completely different person? I just can't. So, a lot of my resolutions involve challenges that I'm placing for myself, and include continuing or starting up a few hobbies that I want to pursue this year. Here's my list of 10 hobbies you could start in 2017 too that won't break the bank:
1.) Learn a new language. Yes, this sounds bloody expensive, but have you heard of a gorgeous little app called Duolingo? It basically lets you learn a language completely free of charge. You're not just stuck to translating text either. It involves listening to speech and typing it out both in your language and the one you're learning, mini vocab tests where you pair words up, and tests for your pronunciation, amongst other things. It also updates you each time you become one percent more fluent and you can add it to your LinkedIn profile. (This isn't a #spon by the way, I just love the app).
2.) Start puzzling. I know this sounds super lame, but I find doing puzzles so cathartic. The act of sorting all of the pieces out and building a fuller picture gradually helps me to completely chill out.
3.) Get involved with mindfulness colouring. This is basically my favourite trend, ever. I've got a little collection of colouring books now and filling them in makes me feel so creative. I'm not brilliant at anything arty, but I LOVE doing this, especially in my new Wuthering Heights colouring book.
4.) Help out the local wildlife. I've kick-started this with having a bird-feeder in my garden (that and the food cost me about £3 in total). Plant some things, help out with fundraising for wildlife charities, or even volunteer at a local rehab centre for injured wildlife. This is such a nice idea for a hobby and I really want to get more involved.
5.) Yoga. There's this weird perception that you need to be a white, thin, rich woman to do yoga, but it has benefits for everyone, and you don't need a huge budget to do it. Yoga with Adriene YouTube videos are where it's at for me, but if you don't enjoy her methods as a teacher then there's a whole world of yoga YouTube videos out there. I bought a £5 yoga mat to got started and I haven't paid a penny since then whilst doing yoga for the past two years.
6.) Start the 1001 books challenge. There's a list of 1001 books to read before you die. I reckon I've probably read ten. You can buy the book which has the list in or find it for free online and get cracking.
7.) Do some creative journalling. I've got the 'Start Where You Are' journal and it's fab for completing each night before sleep. It contains a whole range of creative ways to think about things. Alternatively, you could start your own bullet journal, or use something like a 'Wreck This Journal' for a bit of fun. 
8.) Pinterest DIYS. I have a whole Pinterest board of these waiting for me to try, but I just keep forgetting to find the time for them. Spruce up your home with some cheap DIYs, or even just get crafty.
9.) Blogging. You all knew this was coming, didn't you? Although blogging can be costly, you don't *have* to spend anything on it. Write about what you love, take pictures if you want, and share your thoughts with the world.
10.) Re-learn the art of letter writing. This one is something I want to keep up in 2017. Snail mail is so cute, and I love getting it through my post box. Pick up a writing set in the sales, or just use a pen and some blank paper and let the people you love know they're being thought of!
So there we have it, 10 hobbies for 2017 that won't bankrupt you. Are you starting any new hobbies this year?
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Dealing with Weight Gain Part Three: On a Budget

This is the third part in my little mini series called 'Dealing With Weight Gain'. The first part was all about how to deal with it in general, the second was all about blogger confidence and this part is going to be all about not breaking the bank in order to handle your weight gain. I posted the former two way way earlier on in the year (in fact I think one might have just caught the tail end of 2015!) so this post is something that I've been thinking about for just about forever. 
I've been into the whole idea of 'clean eating' for quite some time now, and in fact my blog was originally based all around it, BUT after some time away from this life style, I came back to find that all of a sudden it was a lot more class based than ever before. I used to feel content eating my brown pasta with turkey mince spag bol - a meal that was both simple and, most importantly for me as a student, cost effective. However, in the last six months or so, all of my research into going back to 'clean eating'  showed me that the game had changed. Brown pasta wasn't a think to be used anymore, and turkey mince? Well, you may as well just use plain old beef mince. Instead, simple changes seem to have been replaced with smashed avo on toast (grim) and a need to buy endless amounts of cauliflower so that you can use it as a base for pretty much anything. It really seems to have become a game exclusively for the middle and upper classes.
I know, I know, it seems like I'm being really cynical here, but for a while I totally bought into it, in all senses of the word. Soon I was a proud owner of gluten free organic soy sauce, and a tub of organic brown miso paste. Because, you know, I NEEDED these to make the recipes I was coming across. At the time I was doing online shopping because of the shifts I was working, and I started to find that neither Morrisons nor Asda could satisfy my needs anymore - it had to be Ocado, because no where else was 'good' enough to offer a massive range of organic food, or all of the niche ingredients I was coming across. The problem was that I'm neither middle or upper class, so I was totally grinding my finances into the ground with this belief.
Soon I found myself almost doubling my food bill because I had become so wrapped up in the idea that I 'needed' to lose weight and this was the only way to do so. If you've read my overcoming food fears post, then you'll know how much I hate trying new foods, so doing this all of the time was making me miserable. And guess what I turn to when I'm feeling rubbish? Junk food of course! So I ended up half eating super healthy food, and half scoffing away on takeaway and chocolate. This in turn then bumped up my expenditure even more.
As well as this, I came to the 'realisation' that I needed a gym membership - because obviously if I signed up to a gym contract which took another hefty fee out of my account each month I would have to exercise, right?! If any of you have done something similar then you'll probably know how it went down: I rarely motivated myself to go to the gym, but because I had the membership I didn't want to exercise at home, so I ended up doing precisely nada.
After a few months of this I came to the realisation that I'd pretty much been duped by the media into spending a ridiculous amount on trying to lose some weight, but in reality, all my waistband was doing was expanding. Clearly something had to change if I really did want to go back to a healthy weight for my size. So, I took my mind back to when I first decided I wanted to eat healthy, and considered what I did that was different, and realised that everything was so much less toxic back then. I could make myself simple, cheap, nutritious meals without feeling like I was missing out because it didn't contain a so called 'superfood' ingredient. Now I've had the time to look at what I was doing however, I feel like I've come to an understanding with myself that I don't need to feel pressured into buying silly foods I'll never eat just because all the health bloggers on Instagram love them. And neither do I need to buy an expensive gym pass. So, here are my top 5 things I'd keep in mind in dealing with weight gain on a budget:
1.) Stay realistic with meals. I'm a big fan of meal planning, but if I plan a day in which I'm hoping to eat smoked salmon on rye toast with a quinoa and pomegranate salad in the evening, I'm probably going to be grumpy at the end of the day and end up ordering out. Think about what your body wants and needs and find a simple way to keep things a little healthy.
2.) Shop around. Did you know that Aldi actually have a massive selection of fresh fruit and veg that's incredibly affordable (and even has a fairly decent selection of affordable organic ingredients!). We did our main shop here for a few weeks and legitimately halved our food bills.
3.) Keep things simple. If you don't want to spend three hours cooking a meal that you might not even like, then don't. Find something easy and filling that will keep you going without slaving over the oven. Don't feel as though you have to over-complicate things just because you see other people doing it on Instagram - you can't see what they're eating off-screen, and besides, who gives a fuck what strangers do?!
4.) Remember that exercise doesn't have to be expensive. Heard of Pokemon Go at all? Seriously though, me and my boyfriend downloaded it as soon as it came out in the UK and we've done more walking in the last few weeks than we probably have done altogether in the last year. I'm not even exaggerating here. If you're not a fan, then remember that there are tonnes of way to get your dose of exercise in, and you can even create a mini gym at home with a set of dumbbells and some Youtube videos!
5.) You don't have to keep up with all the fashion trends. Starting to have fewer and fewer items of clothing that fit you really sucks, and there's no way about that. But, if you've been gaining bits of weight here and there, then buying a whole new wardrobe every month or two is really not going to be realistic. Instead, keep your comfy baggy tees for time inside the house, and treat you to a new piece of clothing or two every month, rather than ALL the clothes. Plus, you can find some rare treats in charity shops for a fraction of what you would expect to pay for new clothes!
I really hope you enjoyed this post - let me know if it's been helpful!
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Things to do in Plymouth on a Budget

Despite having lived in the UK all my life, I haven't actually travelled much around our little island. This is something I really want to change in the next couple of years. My sister is currently studying at university in Plymouth, and my boyfriend knows just how much I miss her, so a couple of weeks ago we made the four hour trek down there to stay for a few days. Whilst he drove I provided the entertainment of shouting 'road trip, road trip' every few minutes, and making up my own lyrics to songs on Radio One (a standard long journey process for us). 
As we're both currently job hunting and saving for a flat, we really didn't have much cash to spend, and thankfully, we really didn't need to. We stayed for four days and spent hardly anything, despite drinking on a couple of nights and going out for dinner. The first evening we hit up Revolution Bar, and had some awesome cocktails and surprisingly really tasty food. I posted a whole review of it a couple of weeks ago. Side note: if you go, get the nachos - they have vodka salsa and it's really damn tasty. This was a great place to go to enjoy a nice atmosphere and yummy food and drinks without a massive price tag.
The best thing to do when you're low on money and visiting Plymouth is definitely to go to the Hoe and the Barbican. The Hoe is not only glorious because you get to take pictures with road names like 'Hoe Approach', but because it's basically the main seafront-y area. Plymouth doesn't really have a formal beach (correct me if I'm wrong), and this is really where the centre of everything is. it's got the awesome lighthouse as well, which you can go up if you pay a couple of pounds. We opted not to do this, and instead we bought some picnic bits, and sat in the sunshine to eat a (slightly hungover), but really picturesque lunch together. 
Next up was the standard night out. We honestly probably spent about a tenner each on this (including food) after pre-drinks, aka it was my kind of night out! As my sister is a first year student, we hit up all of the bars near her that turned into clubs later on in the night and had a whirl. The best part of the night? The fact that there was a cafe called Caffeine Club open 24/7. I mean, guys, I GOT NACHOS AT 4AM. The town I live in has nowhere open at 4am for food, let alone somewhere that will actually serve you food on a plate. I was basically in Steph food paradise, and the price of the food at Caffeine Club is astounding. Plus, for all you tea lovers out there, you can walk in at any time of day or night and get a pint of tea.
Anyway, these were basically my favourite parts of heading to Plymouth for a few days on a budget. let me know in the comments what you would include!
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Best on a Budget | Makeup Revolution

A few weeks ago I made the best decision I've made in terms of makeup for my skin possibly ever, and bought Makeup Revolution's Ultra Bronze (£3) and Pressed Powder (£2). The uber-cheap price meant that I was a tad skeptical at first, but for a fiver I may as well have gone for it!  My combination skin means that foundation often doesn't sit very well on drier patches of my face, which doesn't look brilliant and makes blending incredibly difficult. However,  Makeup Revolution's pressed powder effortlessly blends in with my base foundation (Lorea's True Match in Rose Ivory) and actually makes my skin tone look even for a change. I've found this and the bronzer to be a perfect lightweight solution for every day wear. Although just a little warning: if you have fair skin you need to use as little as possible, because it is quite strong! Have you tried any of their products?

Life is All About Balance | Turning 21

A few weeks ago I hit the big 21, and had to make up my mind about how to celebrate it on a fairly strict budget as I was heading to Tenerife the following day! I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by my nearest and dearest, and headed for a cheeky breakfast juice at my new favourite eatery in Leamington, Pure and Raw.

We headed for a day trip into Birmingham with my boyfriend where I ate some gourgeous sweet and sour chicken with coconut rice (my favourite oriental dish!) and picked up the final bits and bobs I needed for holiday.

This year has been pretty tough emotionally, and I'm so glad I've managed to get to a state of wellness both physically and psychically by ensuring that I maintain balance in my diet, exercise and routine. Here's to another, even better year!

How did you celebrate your birthday this year?