Posted inReal mums

Real mum profile: Anna Wreford, Big Bird Boutique

?Running a hobby/craft-based business sounds like fun, the cost of supplies or ingredients leaves you laughing all the way to the bank…right?

Anna Wreford
But is it really that easy – married mum Anna Wreford, 33, talks about running Big Bird Boutique and and how she makes sure she doesn’t get left out of pocket – even when doing favours for her friends.

What work did you do before you set up your company?
I was the design director at a furniture consultancy company that specialised in the education sector.

?How did you fund the business?
I’m funding the business with my personal savings, and using my hoard of fabrics I have been collecting for years.

5 ways teenagers can make money this summer
Posted inFamily life Money - how to keep it and how to make it

5 ways teenagers can make money this summer

Next week sees the last half term of the school year, and with it a closer step towards the school Summer holidays…which means spending more money for childcare, and coping with bored teenagers.

Lazy teen: time to earn their keep!

While we might not be able to do much about childcare costs, we can do something about the bored teenagers, and they’ll love the extra money their time spent with a summer job will do, too! So, if you child would have finished their GCSEs at the end of the school year, here are some ideas for summer jobs they’ll likely enjoy:

Posted inWork from home how-tos

Online storage solutions: to use or not to use?

Are you making good use of online storage options? If you’re not, you could be missing a trick…and most of them are free.

online storage has many benefitsThe likes of Google Docs (soon to be Google Drive), Egnyte, Dopbox, Microsoft’s Live Mesh and many others give you the opportunity to free up space on your laptop, PC or tablet and access your documents wherever you are (as long as you have Internet connection, that is).

These days, you can access your important documents from your mobile smartphone across these online storage platforms, so you’ll always have access to them when you need them.

Here are some things to consider before you take the plunge: