BaBeeCard gets a 5 star rating

Prepaid cards make great claims to save you money, but how do you know which one to go for? You can be reassured by independent reviews like this one for BaBeeCard. We were really pleased to hear that the reviewers at Prepaid365.com gave the card a 5 star rating. The review reads, “The BaBeeCard does exactly what it says on the tin - helps deliver excellent savings across a wide range of mother and baby products.”

Other plus points highlighted on the independent review site included the Moneyback Promise whereby you get back your initial investment of £9.95 if you have not saved that much in the first year. The only down point that Prepaid365.com found was that the card only come in pounds sterling: the rest of the world is just going to have to wait!

The BaBeecard has also won a couple of great accolades: in the Times Business Money Central feature on ‘Money Saving Tips You Never Heard Before’ the first tip is to ‘Get a BaBeecard’. And BaBeecard won the ‘Best Prepaid Gift Card’ category in the Prepaid365 Awards earlier this year. With this sort of endorsement, you really should check out how BaBeecard can save YOU money too.

Old Fashioned Economy and Super Savings

If you are tightening your budget, why not look back sixty years or more for some simple savings tips. During the Second Work War rations were introduced and everyone was encouraged to ‘make do and mend’. If you ask your parents or grandparents they will remember being encouraged not to waste anything, and that’s a lesson we could all do well to follow today.

One big area of potential waste is food, and there is a simple way to save here. Just make a weekly meal plan and shopping list. When you shop ONLY buy foods on the list. You will soon work out a plan which includes regular family favourites which saves you time and stress planning what to cook each evening too. You can make additional savings on food from your favourite supermarkets by joining a discount club like BaBeeCard.

Tescos' gives new meaning to buy one get one free!

Every little helps is Tesco's slogan, and in the case of handing out double at the ATM, it seems their slogan is ringing true.

Imagine the delight when putting in your bank card and requesting £20 and getting £40 back, I am sure some people must have thought there was a camera somewhere for a "youv'e been punk'd" episode.

I am such a worry wort and have a massinve guilt complex, so much so that I just put the last Smarties Mini Bite back in the fridge for my son when he wakes up from his afternoon nap, even though that little gooey chocolatey bite is a calling me and won't let up!

Just as Tesco launch their big PR campaign to inrease footfall by doubling the clubcard points they manage to give out an extra £5000 in cash due to computer blip at the ATM. It seems it would cost more money to chase each customer to retrieve the money so they have just written it off as a loss.

Technically, taking the money and not reporting it is theft, but the Crown Prosectution Service has said there is no crime that deals specifically with being overpaid by an ATM.

It's funny how things always seem to balance out in the end, some families are desperately struggling with the rise in food prices and general living costs. Life works in mysterious ways and some prayers are answered in the way you would least expect. It seems every cloud has a silver lining, so, ENJOY your windfall people and be grateful to Tescos' for giving you a helping hand.

You can read the full article here

Sainsburys': from paper voucher to Gift Card

We have now moved to a Gift Card from paper vouchers for the Sainsburys' 5% discount available to BaBeeCard cardholders.

You can still use your discount on petrol and can also use your discounted Gift Card to purchase other companies Gift Cards instore at Sainsburys.

Here is a link to the FAQs surrounding the Sainsburys' Gift Card.

With summer sunshine and BBQ's galore, I am sure the 5% discount on everything in-store will come in handy this summer.

You can use the Gift Card at the till against other in-store promotions or coupons from magazines and newspapers.

London, a cheaper city! you sure?

Well, before I fell head over heels with my now husband (yes, it really was one look and ooeer missus) I used to live in East London in a bubble, yes you read that right, I literally lived in a bubble called Bow Quarter which had it's own fitness centre, underground shop, bar, restaurant, estate agent, telephone box and statue in memory of all the little matchbox girls.

If someone had told me then that London was inexpensive to live in I would have laughed them outside the big iron gates that seperate "the bubble dwellers" from the real world but apparantly London has droped 13 places to number 16 in the annual worldwide cost of living survey from Mercer.

It seems that the recession and the weak pound have helped London become more affordable.

Now that I live in the countryside and have a son and another baby on the way, I view my cost of living in a totally new light, my money used to be spent on me, me, me and now it's spent on the family so I tend to equate things to how many nappies, wipes and toys could I buy with the same money I just blew on a light bite or meeting a friend for lunch.

When I think back to my days of singledom, I cringe at just how much money I spent on completely unecessary things like another handbag, going out 4-5 times a week and an obscene amount on convenient and tasty food & drink!

I am still not convinced London is really cheaper than it was, I think people have altered the way they live and are consuming less and tightening their purse strings more.

It will be interesting to see where London sits on that list in the next couple of years as we slowly claw our way out of a recession.

Some London facts:

- Over 300 languages spoken
- In 2008 52 Michelen stars were awarded to London restaurants
- 5 airports server 155 worldwide destinations
- Every week the 409 escalators in the London tube cover equivalent of several trips around the globe

What are your thoughts on London, do you still find it a very expensive place to live or have you noticed (apart from interest rates dropping) a decrease in your living expenses day-t0-day?

Check out the TimesOnline for London living on the cheap http://tiny.cc/livingcheaplyinlondon

If you already have a BaBeeCard then why not take advantage of the London based offers we have available to you, some examples below such as:

Taste London:
Eat well, pay far less! Taste London membership gives you half-price meals at 400 of London's best restaurants for 12 months.

Annual membership normally - £69.95
BaBeeCard special rate - just £34.95!

Supermarket discounted vouchers
Save 5% on every shop at ASDA, M&S and Sainsburys' (all in-store products)

Clothing:
10% discount at GAP
8% discount at TopShop, TopMan, Dorothy Perkins, Outfit & New Look
5% MotherCare

Department stores
5% discount at Selfriges & Co
10% discount at Debenhams & House of fraser
8% discount at John Lewis

Out & about
8% off at London Eye & London Zoo, Theatre Tokens, Madamme Tussauds, London Dungeon

Plus many many more offers at over 100 retailers.

How to offend family at Christmas

Buy them a diet plate, it's that easy!

Here I am searching on the BaBee discount portal chuckling to myself as I am trying to find some presents for all the birthdays I have coming up. The reason I am chuckling is because Weight Watchers is one of our discount partners and I am still trying to shake off the embarrassment I caused at Christmas when I bought my partner, my soon-to-be mother-in-law and my cousin something called "The Diet Plate".

Now me being me, I thought it was a GREAT idea. The Diet Plate has markings all over it for portion control (I even bought one for myself) as I wanted to try it out as a weight loss alternative to dragging myself to the gym.

Guess what? The diet plate didn't go down very well!! I managed to offend pretty much everyone and now have to pretend the diet plate never existed as I focus my conversation on the amazing "other" presents they got from me instead :-)

So, please don't take this post the wrong way I am not suggesting anything un-toward, I just thought I would mention the great deal for those of you who may want to shake off some post baby weight or even for those of you who are already longing for summer dresses, shorts and spaghetti straps.

With BaBeeCard you can save £20 when you join Weight Watchers.

Original price: £59.80 (£29.95 subscription + £9.95 a month x 3 months)
BaBeeCard price: £39.80 for 3 months
Total saving of: £20.00

I wonder how many triple chocolate fudge cakes you could buy with £20?