Looking After Your Pennies is an eco-friendly personal finance blog written and managed by Charlotte Jessop.
I write on a variety of topics including frugal lifestyle, eco-friendly living, money-making ideas and generally how to make your money go further.
My aim is to help you create your money success story whether you need to embrace a frugal lifestyle or start your own business.
But we do this with one eye on the environment. I will guide your to make strong financial decisions, but without further consequence to planet.
Whatever stage you are at, Looking After Your Pennies is here to help.
Freebies
Saving Money
- How to get your budget summer ready
As we transition from the cold dark winter months we can feel the urge to make changes in our life. Whether this is realigning with our (forgotten) New Year’s Resolutions and making promises to ourselves to do great things in the months ahead. One area that always needs some attention this time of year is … - How to cut back your grocery spend
This is a guest post from the lovely Ruth at moneysavvymumuk.com. She runs a fabulous Instagram account too, so make sure that you follow her there too. For most of us, the monthly grocery bill is one of our biggest expenses. It is an area in which we can go over budget very quickly and … - Understanding personal loans #AD
Ad – in collaboration with HSBC Although the idea of taking on more debt is one that most of use want to avoid, there are some circumstances where it may make sense. It is important, therefore, to know what you are getting yourself into and to check if it is the right thing for you. … - What can you claim under Section 75? #AD
Ad – in collaboration with HSBC Under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, credit card purchases between £100 and £30,000 could receive some protection. This means that if you’ve made a payment with your credit card and the supplier goes out of business or the items are not as described, you could get your … - Pensions for sole traders: what do you need to know
Ad- In collaboration with Raindrop It is time to talk about pensions for sole traders. The self-employed are far less likely to have a pension than those in employment, and for sole traders, it can feel like another level of confusion. But they don’t need to be this way. They can be easy and hopefully, …Pensions for sole traders: what do you need to know Read More »
- Extreme Frugal Living in 2021? Would you go THIS far?
Everyone is talking about extreme frugal living in 2021. Luckily, it seems to be a bit of a natural state for me. When left alone I will gravitate towards frugal living. I love anything that saves me money and double points if it is environmentally-friendly too. Over the last few years I (not so much …Extreme Frugal Living in 2021? Would you go THIS far? Read More »
Making Money
- Free Postcode Lottery? | Is Pick My Postcode legit?
Pick My Postcode (formerly known as Free Postcode Lottery) is exact that. It is a lottery that costs you nothing to enter and you can win real cah prizes. But I get that it sounds too good to be true. You’re sceptical. Hopefully I can convince you that this might be worth looking into. What …Free Postcode Lottery? | Is Pick My Postcode legit? Read More »
- Vanguard Stocks & Shares ISA | A review
I first heard about the Vanguard Stocks & Shares ISA in a book called “I Will Teach You To Be Rich” by Ramit Sethi. It is a fabulous book for anyone that it feeling rather clueless about money, but wants to create systems that grow wealth. In this book, he talks about tax-efficient lazy investing. … - 10 Financial challenges women face in 2021 | International Women’s Day
I always think that International Women’s Day should be a day where we celebrate women. It should be a time to share all the amazing things that we do with the world. However, I’ve grown to resent it a bit. Every post, video, Tweet, TikTok, or mere muttering of IWD is met with an army …10 Financial challenges women face in 2021 | International Women’s Day Read More »
- Generational Wealth: what is it and how to build it
Generational wealth isn’t a new concept. The rich have known about it for years and have benefitted from this knowledge and power. It is only more recently that we are seeing an increase in interest around generational wealth from those demographics that have been previously excluded. As people look to build their own wealth, it …Generational Wealth: what is it and how to build it Read More »
- Ethical investing for kids: the hows and whys
AD – in collaboration with Wealthify For years I dithered about not really knowing how to save money for my children. When they were born, I thought I would have plenty of time to figure it out, but now I realise that kids grow up fast. With my eldest now nearly six years old, I … - 25 Passive income ideas for those in the UK
Earning passive income in the UK is becoming increasingly popular. People want to escape the 9-5 and earn money whilst sipping cocktails on the beach or basically doing anything else rather than earning money. There are lots of ways that you can do this, but before I jump in with my suggestions, let’s just breakdown …
Eco-friendly Living
- Kitchen Organisation For The Eco-Friendly Home
Who doesn’t love an organised kitchen eh? Knowing where everything is and being able to lay your hands on it quickly. You can do this with an eco-friendly kitchen too. There are lots of ways you can organise your kitchen to be efficient whilst using eco-friendly products and solution. I’ve used a lot … - Grow New Food From The Food In Your Fridge
Recently, I found myself wanting to fill my home with house plants. I think that a large part of this was social media and I was being severely influenced. Anyway in my pursuit of cheap house plant solutions, if found that there are a whole load of foods that you can grow from the … - A Complete Guide To Cloth Nappies
If you are an eco-friendly type with a baby on the way, or maybe even a parent with a newfound love of the environment, then you might want to think about cloth nappies. There are lots of eco-friendly baby products on the market. But cloth nappies or reusable nappies, are one of my favourites. … - 8 Great Eco-friendly Products You Can Buy On Etsy To Support Small Businesses [AD]
[AD] In these hard financial times, many small business and self-employed sellers are struggling. Etsy is a hub of creativity and made almost entirely of independent sellers. That’s why Etsy recently launched its #StandWithSmall to encourage buyers (or at least those of us still able to earn money) to buy from the little guys. …8 Great Eco-friendly Products You Can Buy On Etsy To Support Small Businesses [AD] Read More »
- 4 Eco-friendly Products To Survive The Lockdown
When I was walking around Tesco last week, it was clear that there was a shortage of some products. Food was a bit low, but many personal household items were non-existent. The internet is full of jokes about how it is hard to get hold of toilet roll, but there are also other issues … - Why I Stopped Using Shampoo
No, I’m not dirty. Yes, I do like saving money. No, this wasn’t me taking things too far. And yes, I would recommend it. Does that answer your questions? Two years ago, I made the decision to stop using traditional shampoos and conditioners. I found a big movement online called “no-poo”, where people choose …
