Make a Mascot with Cavendish Online

Having recently moved house, Life Insurance is high on our list of things to sort out, we already have it and pay for it monthly but a bigger house and mortgage means we need to increase and extend our cover.

Cavendish Online are an online insurance broker with a difference, they strive to offer the lowest prices and therefore the best value insurance. They have challenged us to make a mascot for them, so we gathered our glue and brainstormed some ideas of what to create.

The children decided they wanted to decorate some foil dishes, quite apt I thought, so we got to it with some tissue paper and feathers for eyelashes.

We added arms and legs and lots of colour...

And here he/she is, we haven't quite decided what it is or what to name it but we floated some ideas, including Ellie after yours truly!

My daughter is pretty smitten by our mascot and to be honest I think I am too, it's rather lovely.

It just proves it doesn't take much to make a cheeky mascot and instead of spending lots of money on one, you can instead offer savings, which is what Cavendish Online do. It's probably why they are recommended by Which? and have been Money Saving Experts top pick for over 8 years.

Here are the savings from a like for like quote, with Cavendish Online and another popular comparison website. With a saving of £24.92 a month or £299.04 a year I think this is great, this could be a weekend away or some money for a rainy day. 

Life insurance is so important, after all no one wants to leave loved ones behind without the security of your home being paid for. So what do you think, are you up for making some savings on a super important insurance? 

You can find Cavendish Online over on twitter and follow the #MakeAMascot hashtag to see what other great mascots bloggers have come up with.

NB: I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network, a unique community of parent bloggers from around the UK who have been handpicked by the Netmums team to review products and brands on their behalf. I may have been paid expenses, and have been supplied with a product sample for this review, but retain all editorial control. All my Netmums Reviews will display the Netmums logo within the post

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Getting the Best from Your Mortgage

These days everyone is trying to find ways of saving money, some by switching to a different supermarket for your weekly shop, or more drastically, downsizing to a smaller car.

For many people who own a home, the mortgage is their biggest outgoing but it is often one that is overlooked when trying to save money.

At the end of last year, we spoke to a mortgage advisor, we discussed our situation and that we were concerned about the possibility of the interest rates rising and we wanted to fix our payments for a few years.

It was a simple process and one that took an hour out of our life but in the end saved us £85 a month on our mortgage for the next 2 years. We didn’t need to extend the term or borrow any more money so it was a straightforward fix.

So what can you do? You can check you are getting the best mortgage deal, Santander have a great selection of mortgage calculators and tools to help you out.

If you don’t have a mortgage, then this is a great way to see how much you could borrow to buy a home, they also have a budget planner to help you work out what you spend each month.

So why not have a look and see what you can save.

NB: This is a collaborative post, all words are my own.

Back to work...sad face!

So this week I have to go back to work, this is not a choice but a necessity.

After suffering with PND when my son was born I think I needed work, but with two children and knowing this is my second and last one I can't face leaving my daughter!

I haven't stopped smiling at my her since the day she was born, she is such a sweetie and the thought of not being with her every day is seriously breaking my heart!

I am so angry at me and my husband for getting ourselves into debt because if we didn't have it I could be a stay at home mum.

But these are debts we've had hanging over our heads for years and one led to another that lead to another and now I think it has hit home!

I don't know where I'm going with this but just had to put my feelings down :(

I just know I feel awful, sick, stupid and so so angry!

But I have to face facts, there is nothing I can do. I know she's in safe hands at nursery with the people who have looked after and have helped shape my truly wonderful little boy.

Hopefully now we have a plan this might only be a temporary situation.

After all if my son can't get into a school with before/after school club working in the day might not be an option! But that's another story!