Will Our Family Finances Change When We Get Married?

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In just five months time I will be getting married and become a Mrs, so excited! At the moment I have been all caught up with wedding planning, the usual stuff such as who to invite, what food to serve, what kind of flowers to have. However, now the wedding is getting closer I have started to think about the more practical things such as should we open joint bank accounts when we get married, should I look into getting a pension and life insurance - proper grown-up stuff that I still haven't sorted even though I am in my 30s. Of course, with a pension, the value could go up or down and I could get less back than I have paid in.

As silly as it sounds I never really give much thought to this kind of thing before, which I really should have since I have three children. Thinking about it the way that myself and my partner deal with money, we probably should make some changes when we get married. We both have separate bank and saving accounts, I am a work-at-home mam who earns a part-time income from this blog and my partner is the main earner on a good salary. His wages pay all the bills each month and then whatever is left is his, I refuse to touch his money or spend it as I don't like the idea of spending someone else's money. I am so independent as I was a full-time working mam for so long and I am used to having my own money and only ever spend what I earn myself, I even paid for my wedding dress from blog earnings. 

Safer Internet Day With Project MC2

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Today, Tuesday the 5th of February is Safer Internet Day and in today's digital world it is something that all of us parents need to be aware of. When I was growing up there was no WI-FI - just super slow dial-up, so children never really went online very much. Nowaday's children, like my own, are growing up from a young age being able to work tablets and smartphones and watch YouTube videos of children opening surprise toys and making slime. It is all new and us parents need to ensure that we keep our children safe online, as a parent to a 4,5 and 16-year-old myself keeping my children safe online is something that I do worry about and try and be aware of especially as my teen uses social media herself. 

With this in mind Project MC2, who you may be familiar with from the Netflix show or from the great range of S.T.E.A.M toys have produced some top tips for keeping children safe online. Something I think all of us parents should read and familiarise ourselves with. 

January 2019

Can you believe it is February already? In some weird way it feels like January lasted forever but in another way, it feels like it passed in the blink of an eye. Time really does fly by when you're having fun, not that I had much fun in January mind it was just an ok month I guess. January is always a bit boring as it is so long between paydays and the weather is always freezing cold, I am really not a fan of the cold. It wasn't bad though, we had a few days out, done some wedding planning, binge-watched Luther, kept the kids entertained, usual family life. 

5 Months Until I Say I Do

We are now just 5 months away from our wedding date and things are now all full-steam ahead. We have had a busy month, buying and planning stuff for the big day, all our spare income is now going on the wedding and we have had a few problems crop up this month too. I can't believe how fast it is coming around and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all, I have been tempted to cancel the whole thing and run away and elope to Gretna Green (is that even still a thing?) on more than one occasion the past few weeks. I have also started writing a monthly wedding planning article each month for Your North East Wedding magazine and my wedding will feature in it later in the year, which is a bit exciting but nerve-wracking! The pressure is on to make it Pinterest perfect which will never happen as everyone who knows me knows I am more of a Pinterest fail kind of girl, haha. 

10 Netflix Shows I Have Enjoyed Watching

As a thirty-something mam of three at the end of the day when the kids are tucked up nice and cosy in bed, I love nothing more than plonking myself in front of the telly and spending a few hours binge-watching Netflix box-sets. I'm a mam and I'm knackered at the end of the day and don't get out much so Netflix keeps me occupied. I don't normally watch a lot of TV as I always forget when shows I like the look of are on and I have never really been into films, but boxsets I really like as I can dip in and out of them when I fancy, or more often than not binge-watch them over a few days or weeks - depending on the show. 

I am always looking for recommendations of shows to watch and have a pretty eclectic mix of programmes I watch, although detective/ crime type shows worrying seems to feature quite a bit. So if you are looking for some shows to watch, here are ten that I have watched on Netflix over the past year and enjoyed. 

Things I Loved January 2019

January is a funny old month, everyone is a bit skint after Christmas and the huge gap between paydays, the weather is dreadful and everyone is breaking resolutions and feeling a bit rubbish. However I kind of like January, yeah it is freezing cold, my diet lasted a day and my bank balance is looking a bit bleak, but January is also the start of a new year filled with lots of memories to make. I also really like the cosy days at home with the heating on whilst we try and stay warm, the hearty home cooked meals, lazy weekends at home with the children and seeing them enjoy the new toys Santa got them. As cheesy as it sounds, I also feel a bit thankful that we are all safe and happy and healthy and have a year of memory making ahead of us.

So let's have a look at some of the things that I have loved this month. 

Behind The Seams Costume Exhibit At Preston Park Museum Teeside

On Sunday we were invited along to Preston Park Museum in Stockton-On-Tees, to explore the new Behind The Seams exhibition. The exhibition provides a glimpse into the world of costume design and explores the story behind Angels Costumes, the worlds greatest costume houses who have been dressing the stars of stage, screen and TV for over 175 years. As I had never visited Preston Park before I had no idea what to expect, so read on to see what I thought.