Family food shop up 15%, that's £780 a year

I know! I was watching the ITV news last night with an open mouth as well!

Figures based on an average weekly spend of £100.00.

£780 (a rise 15%) a year is going to make a significant difference to a lot of family finances and monthly food budgets. Being pregnant or if you already have a young family, I am sure you probably worry about how on earth you are going to put the same food on the table without overspending to the best part of an extra £15 pounds a week?.

BaBeeCard could help you slash that bill to quite a large extent, if you use our discounted supermarket vouchers then you could see the annual increase of £780 drop to either 10% or even 7%. It may not sound a huge amount but it could save you either £260 or £418.50 a year, drastically reducing the figure down from £780 to either £520 if you shop for groceries at ASDA or Sainsbury's or even better £361.40 if you shop at Waitrose.

Use that saving wisely and you could re-invest it into a child trust fund account or even take the heat off Christmas.

With BaBeeCard you get access to our online discount and voucher scheme, buy the shopping vouchers at a discounted price and use them to pay for your weekly shop. The vouchers take between 3-4 days to arrive once ordered online or via the telephone, yes, it does take some planning but if you are serious about saving it's only one extra step and could make a huge difference to your family finances.

As an adult we can adapt our tastes, cut back and reason. The option of changing your child less because the cost of nappies has risen, feeding him/her less because of food costs rising doesn't bear thinking about.

Ok so the BaBeeCard costs £14.95 a year but you will still save a minimum of 16 times that amount on your groceries alone.

BaBeeCard offers a 5% saving at ASDA & Sainsbury's
BaBeeCard offers an 8% saving at Waitrose

With the hike in petrol prices you can look to save even more! (The ASDA & Sainsbury's vouchers can be used at the petrol stations as payment also)

When all hell breaks loose

According to Abby Insurance the average price tag for repairing or replacing damaged items due to kids running riot through the house is a whopping £140.61!

You can read up on the article here.

BaBeeCard has discount partners that may well be able to help with some of the repairs and replacements such as the following:

• Comet 10% discount
• Halfords 10% discount
• Furniture123.co.uk 10%
• Wickes 8% discount
• Argos 8% discount
• Homebase 8% discount
• John Lewis 8% discount

So the cost of the average repair / replacement comes down to between £129.36 - £126.59

Orignal cost: £140.61
BaBeeCard cost @ 8% off: £129.36
BaBeeCard cost @ 10% off: £126.59
Total saving of between: £11.24 - £14.01

Radio Goo Goo - Radio Gaa Gaa - Westside Radio

Sounds like something my baby would say!

I am being interviewed on the radio on Friday 18th between 10-11am for Westside Radio about being a business mum, the highs and lows etc

The interview is downloadable from http://www.thebigdream.co.uk/ (podcast) or you can just tune in.

BaBeeCard shortlisted for the MasterCard Prepaid Awards 2008

BaBeeCard has been shortlisted at the up and coming MasterCard Prepaid Awards in May under the category Best Voice of the Customer Award 2007/8.

This great news comes at time when my energy levels feel at an all-time low due to the constant demands of a wriggling, giggling, crawling and clumsy 9 month old boy, planning my wedding in October and also running a business.

My spirits have been lifted with the nomination along with my mood, now that Summer is nearly upon us and the garden becomes my sons new playroom, the world indeed could be my oyster with half a pint of guiness at the ready!

BaBeeCard is getting the exposure it deserves, I am feeling a new sense of achievement, one that I desperately need to keep me pushing forward at a time when every day is full of new opportunities, frustration, laughter and tears.

Onwards and upwards.

Anyone else got a banana flavoured laptop?

Working on my laptop reminds me of food which then prompts me to raid the kitchen cupboards as every time I type I can smell banana (thanks to my son who has just started to crawl) he has recently decided that mummy is the best large item to climb on by far, especially when I have the laptop on my knee.

Sending emails is now a game of speed to see just how quickly I can type and finish the email before he has either sat on or clicked the enter key, then off it fires mid sentence or even worse, has gobbledeegook firmly placed between sentences.

ksjdhglsdjg;sfdkgs;kg;dfkg

Other electronic items in our living room unfortunately don't smell as appealing as my keyboard, the remote control smells of lentil and vegetable bake, but worst of all is our cordless phone, which he just adores and grabs for as soon as it is in his line of vision. Of course, I am entirely to blame for this as I put it on speakerphone whenever my mum calls. It has now become a brilliant game of "how much of it can I get in my mouth" coupled with "I wonder how much puree I can crush into the mouthpiece to make mummy proud".

Oh well, it could be worse I suppose, at least he hasn't learnt how to take his nappy off yet!

Save with BaBeeCard and Earn with Boots Advantage Card

BaBeeCard gives you access to a 5% discount.

Boots now have a great baby section that covers maternity, travel, mealtimes, nursery & safety, bathtime and changetime.

With 3 for 2 offers on things like nappies, double advantage points on highchairs and pushchairs and even an additional 20% discount on items on top of the 5% discount from BaBeeCard, shopping at Boots will help you save and earn (advantage points) all at the same time.

Example offers:

Huggies Newborn Size 2 - 40 Pack (£5.98 each)
Lollipop Lane Cappuccino Bear Cuddlerobe (£7.50)
Baby GoGo Baby Shoulder Change Bag Red (save 20% was £19.99 now £15.99)

The gift cards are a great way to plan ahead, load £50 (minimum) and use it for your baby essentials and toiletries or take advantage of the amazing deals on larger baby items and get hundreds of points which in turn help you to save even more (I am sure you can sneak in a treat somewhere for you mummy).

If you can bulk buy your nappies on the 3 for 2 offer and earn points you can redeem them against nappy wipes, baby bath toiletries and feeding items.

If you haven't got an advantage card already – you can apply for one here.

Collect 4 points for every £1 you spend. So if you load and spend £50 on your BaBeeCard bought Gift Card (which you only pay £47.50 for) you will have earnt 200 points = £2 which you can then redeem against a 2 for 1 offer or just keep collecting. Round and round we go – happy shopping.

Original gift card price: £50 (minumum load £50)
BaBeeCard price: £47.50
Total saving of: £2.50