» Listings for April 2018

1. Make money in less than 24 hours by selling gold online

   Posted on 2:00pm Monday 30th Apr 2018

   We recently sold gold online for the first time.  In fact, it will probably the only time we sell gold as we don’t often have gold lying around our home!  The only piece of jewellery I own is my rose gold wedding ring and I can’t see us buying any more.  Ben inherited a small 20g gold bar a couple of years ago and we decided to sell it last month to fund a new TV for our living room and one for the kid’s playroom.  In this blog post I’ll share with you how you can sell gold online and have the cash within 24 hours.

   

    

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   I wasn’t desperate to get a new TV for us, we actually went to the store to choose one for the kids.  They haven’t had a TV of their own yet as they are still young, ages two and five, but I thought it would be a nice addition to their playroom.  Plus we signed up for Netflix at Christmas and have two logins, so we can watch two TVs at once in the house if we like.  But we ended up coming out of the store with two new sets!  My old TV was around eight years old, so it wasn’t the most modern of TVs.  It also made a high pitched whirring sound when on standby – I thought I had tinnitus for months until I worked out it was the TV!  

   

   We recently decided to subscribe to Netflix and stop watching regular TV, so a smart TV seemed a good option for our living room too.  We decided to fund our purchases by selling a small bar of gold for £600 and by selling my old TV for £75.  Luckily Facebook Marketplace was super quick for selling my old TV and it was gone in one day with no haggling.  The gold was surprisingly easy to sell too.

   Related: How we saved £315 per year on our TV and broadband in 5 minutes

   How to sell gold quickly and for the best price online

   We’ve never sold gold online before and I was honestly a little dubious.  What if we sent it and never saw it again?!  Of course we used Special Delivery to post the gold in case it was lost in the post, but there was still no guarantee we could trust the gold company to send us the cash.

   I did a little research and read reviews of various companies and one name kept popping up - Hatton Garden Metals.  They had great reviews and many claimed they had the best prices too.  I also checked out eBay to see what the bars were selling there for, but we didn’t really want to wait for a sale and were worried about dodgy buyers!  Hatton Garden Metals it was.

   The whole process was amazingly simple and quick.  I spent no longer than five minutes on their website filling out our details and selecting the type of gold we wanted to sell.  I was able to see the expected price for the gold right away and I knew it was a fair price based on my research.

   I printed the email and packaged up the gold along with the email printout.

   At 2pm I posted the gold at the post office.

   By 11am the next day the money had arrived in our bank account!

   The money is sent by faster payments the day it’s received and valuation is accepted, which in our case was at 11am by a faster payments bank transfer directly into our account.  That was money in our account just 21 hours after finding their website!  Crazy!

   I’d definitely recommend checking out Hatton Garden Metals for a pleasant and easy transaction if you are looking to sell some gold online.  It was the swiftest experience ever. 

    

   More ways to make and save money:
   Mustard Car Insurance Comparison Promises to Beat Your Cheapest Online Quote
   Today I saved BIG on my car insurance and MOT. Here’s how…
   How to earn cashback on things you already buy
   Where to get affordable family travel insurance for a pre-existing medical condition
   How to save time and money on your laundry with Ecoegg

   

2. 5 ways you can reduce your kitchen waste today and save money

   Posted on 12:05pm Monday 30th Apr 2018

   I keep seeing the hype about Zero Waste everywhere and it’s a great initiative to get involved with.  I think the government need to start taking more action and enforce things such as companies only being able to use recyclable packaging, but until they do there are a few ways we can be more eco-conscious in our kitchens ourselves.

   

   Here are 5 easy ways you can begin to reduce your kitchen waste today and save money:

   

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   Never buy single-use plastic straws

   There is absolutely no need to buy throwaway single-use plastic straws for the home.  Even if you are having a party there are paper straw options available, which actually look much cooler!  The best thing to do is order some eco-straws.  I found mine on eBay and they’re made from metal and last a lifetime!  Simply wash them after use and clean with a tiny straw cleaning brush, then reuse them over and over again.  This will save money and stop so much unnecessary plastic waste.

   Order an organic veg box

   Have a search on Google and check out which local companies deliver organic vegetable boxes to your door.  We’ve used Abel and Cole before and currently use Wholegood via Ocado.  Friends of ours highly recommend Riverford.  Not only are you being kinder to the environment by supporting organic farming methods, but you’re supporting local farmers and bettering your health.  Organic veg boxes can be much better value than buying the same items singularly, so find the best deal.  Some companies have excellent enticing sign up offers including half price boxes or even a free box, so you can save a small fortune on your weekly veg.

   

   Make use of veg scraps

   If your county council has a food recycling scheme then use it!  It’s much better for something to be recycled and turned into something useful than thrown into landfill, even if it is food which can rot and degrade.  If you have pets then you may be able to give them your scraps, just check if there’s anything they can’t eat.  We have chickens and can give them most of our scraps which they really enjoy!  This will also save money on their regular feed.

   Stop using cleaning wipes

   Cleaning wipes are handy, but they are not very environmentally friendly (even the biodegradable ones come in a plastic wrap) and they are very costly.  Instead, opt for a plant based cleaning spray and a fabric cloth that can be washed time and time again.  If you can find a bottle of concentrate cleaner that you water down yourself, even better. This will reduce plastic waste and save money in the long run.

   Wash without detergent

   So some of you may be lucky enough to have a utility room (it’s on my dream home wish list), but lots of us do our clothes washing in the kitchen too.  It’s totally possible to stop washing with detergent and fabric softener and instead wash and dry your clothes with Ecoeggs.  These clever balls are filled with natural mineral pellets that can last for an entire year, depending on the size ball you buy and amount of washing you do.  If you have a dryer then the dryer balls stop the need for any fabric softener as they soften the clothes as they dry.

   There are so many ways you can start to reduce waste in the kitchen, be more eco-friendly and even save money in the process. 

   Related: My Current Top 5 Natural Home Cleaning Brands

   

   

    

3. Money Making Mums Blogger Interview: Asha Carlos from Yeah Lifestyle

   Posted on 12:00pm Friday 27th Apr 2018

   Every Friday I invite other bloggers and money making mums to share the ways busy parents can make money from home.  These are real life people making a living from home who can share their experience with us and inspire us.  If you’d like to feature in this series with a guest post of a relevant topic or you’d like to take part in the interview, please do get in touch or find the interview questions by clicking here.

   

   I love making money from home.  As a busy mum to two young children, working from home for myself provides me with the flexibility I need to care for my children and avoid high full time childcare costs.  It also means I get to do what I love.  I’m an advocate of earning money online and from apps.  I’m always looking for new ways to make more income from home and hope to be inspired by the many people in this interview series.

   Enjoy.

   

   Welcome, tell me a little about who you are, where you’re from and introduce your blog.

   Hi I am Asha Carlos the Owner and Lead Blogger at Yeah Lifestyle. Yeah Lifestyle is a lifestyle blog covering Cheshire, Staffordshire as well as Manchester areas. We do reviews, cover shows as well as share upcoming events that are happening around the area.

   Tell me, how do you make money from home?

   Through writing blog posts, reviews, offering affiliated links, banner placements and sponsored posts.

   What makes it suitable for mums?

   The ability to spend more time at home, while doing laundry, cooking, cleaning and taking care of the little ones and earning an income as well.

   

   What are three benefits of working at home?

   1. Spending time working but still having flexibility that I am able to pop into my children's school for meetings or activities without asking for permission or applying for leave.
   2. Having the joy of being able to pop out for coffee with friends if I want to.
   3. Lastly, not having the stress of travelling to work and back on busy roads.

   What are three negatives?

   1. I find that because I work from home, there are no set hours and I tend to work long hours which can be not a very good thing.
   2. Also my income depends on what job I get so not having a steady income means not knowing how much I will be making next month.
   3. I also find that I need to be disciplined enough to avoid too many coffee mornings with other mums and just concentrate on work.

   If you could only pick one, working from home or going to an employed job for the rest of your life, which would you pick?

   I would definitely pick working from home, as even though its long hours, I am able to fit around my children's school and after school activities and still do other house work at home while working. I could not do that if I worked elsewhere.

   People say they find it hard to be productive working alone at home. What keeps you motivated?

   Music, I have the radio on and basically knowing that if I don't keep working hard, then I have to go back to a full time job and the bills of course! You must find something to keep you motivated or else it’s not going to work. I find I can work well alone.

   

   Do you have a favourite quote to keep you inspired?

   It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light - Aristotle

   What words of wisdom can you share with mums looking to make their own income from home?

   It’s not going to be easy and it will take a while for you to see some income, so keep hold of the job first until you are secure enough to work from home fully.

    

   Thank you so much for taking part in my interview series!

    

   Would you like to take part? 

   Find a contact form in my top menu or email [email protected] if you’d like to propose a suitable guest post.

   If you want to answer the interview, find the form by clicking here.

   Not a mum?  No worries!  This guest series is all about inspiring parents to earn their own income and realising they have more than two choices of going out to an employed job or being a stay at home parent. 

   Of course if you choose to do either of those options that's absolutely fine, no judgement here, but lots of mums, like me, didn't realise there was another way to make money by the many self-employed options available nowadays.  If you earn from home, parent or not, and it's suitable for parents then you can take part.

   Check out the rest of the series here: Money Making Mums

   Find a directory of all the interviews and guest posts here: https://www.lyliarose.com/money-making-mums-series.html

   

4. Sell your unwanted Books, CDs, DVDs and Games for cash at We Buy Books

   Posted on 2:05pm Thursday 26th Apr 2018

   I’m always excited to find more ways to make cash easily from home and I’m always excited to declutter!  Ben has a stack of books in the attic that he’s kept from his uni days that I’ve finally managed to get him to part with.  After all, they’ve been in the attic the whole seven years we’ve been together and who knows how long before this.  I’m obsessed with living a clutter free life and can’t stand to have things lying around or in storage that aren’t being used.  I’d much rather things be of use and being used by someone than sat around doing nothing.  In this blog post I’m going to share how you can easily make cash from some of your unwanted belongings with very little effort on your part.

   

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   I’d rather not throw things in the bin.  I can’t believe people do throw perfectly reusable items out into landfill, but I know they do, I’ve seen it!  There’s a skip down the road which is full of normal household items and toys that can easily be sold second hand on eBay or at a car boot to make extra cash, or given to charity.  It’s so upsetting that people nowadays think it’s acceptable to throw perfectly usable items into the bin and buried into our precious environment.  What a waste.  It’s also so inconsiderate.  There are plenty of ways to let your unwanted items be reused and I have just discovered a new way.

   I’ve just learned about We Buy Books who turn unwanted books, CDs, DVDs and games into cash. 

   

   Here are the reasons you should sign up and sell with We Buy Books today:

   Fast cash to your bank account

   No cheques or long waits for your money.  The payment is made the next day and straight into your bank account.  Plus, they check the going rates on other competitors websites to ensure they have the highest pay-outs on the web.

   Free postage or collection

   To make it even easier, you can print off the postage label and send your unwanted items back for free.  They may even collect them from your home.

   Instant quotes

   Simply go to the website and enter the barcodes of the items you don’t want, or download the app and scan them, for an instant quote for each item.  You can then choose to accept or decline the offer.

   Easier than eBay?

   With instant quotes and free postage it has many more benefits than eBay for selling books with their high fees, potential long waits for sales and PayPal fees on top.  Don’t get me wrong, I love selling on eBay, but I always struggle to sell textbooks and the like without long waits or minimal prices.  If you can’t be bothered with the hassle then We Buy Books is the clear winner.

   Click here to make some extra cash at We Buy Books today!

    

   Related blog posts:
   The top 3 ways I made money from home in 2017
   How to get a discount on almost all your online and in store purchases
   4 ways to make money from your blog without Google ads

   

5. Try two of these kids craft subscription boxes for free

   Posted on 1:10pm Thursday 26th Apr 2018

   While some of the latest craze of subscription craft boxes may seem a bit useless unless you are a hoarder of things, some boxes are actually a really great idea.  Two of my favourite useful subscription boxes are healthy food snack boxes and children's craft boxes.  Children's craft subscriptions are a great way to encourage your child to be creative, use their imagination and have a lot of fun in the process!  Here are some fantastic craft boxes for young children (two which you can try absolutely free).

   

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   Keep your kids entertained with creative subscription craft boxes

   Toucan Box

   I was a big fan of the Toucan Box with Bella and will definitely look to do another kids craft box with Reuben once he’s a little older. We had this box for 1-2 years with Bella until we’d done the whole lot!  Bella always got so excited when her box arrived and immediately wanted to open it up and get cracking!  Read my full review by clicking here.

   One of the best things about these subscriptions is there is no commitment, you can cancel your subscription at any time, but I’m pretty sure your child will love the boxes!  We did and we did the entire set of boxes.

   Click below to get a free Toucan Box:

   

    

   Mister Maker

   This looks awesome!  I'm going to get this box for Reuben now he's three and I bet Bella will love to help him do the crafts.  Both of my children love CBeebies and Mister Maker.  They send a box every two weeks with an art project inside.  They also include everything you need, even glue! 

   The rocket and clown mask on their website look awesome. I can't wait for Reuven to be a little older to enjoy crafts like this.  He's not as early into crafts as Bella was, but soon I'm sure.

   Click below to get a free Mister Maker box:

   

   Sassy Kids Box & Sassy Bloom

   We had great fun trying a couple of Sassy Boxes for review on my blog.  Bella loved them and still mentions them now, months after, as she remembers them.   The Sassy Kids Box is for children over 3 and contains a craft with some bonus activities too!  We had super fun playing the popcorn games together.

   If you have a child under 3 the same company have a Sassy Bloom box.  It’s filled with fun activities for your child based on their age and development, as well as treats for mum and personalised goodies.  The little ones don’t have to miss out on the subscription fun either!

   I’ve penned a couple of reviews of these boxes before.  Read one by clicking here.

   

   Related blog posts:

   A list of 50 free and cheap things to do in the summer holidays with kids
   9 Free Things to do in Gloucestershire (with kids)
   Peppa Pig World Review 2017 (and where to stay for under £100 for 2 nights)
   My Very Honest CBeebies Land Hotel Review
   We The Curious | Bristol Science Museum Review

   

    

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