July has been a stressful month for me.

My car is due for its MOT in July, and yet for the first 20 days of the month I did absolutely nothing about it. That’s a lie. About nine times a day I thought to myself ‘I really must check when the car is due for its MOT.’

Turns out you can just look it up on the DVLA website, but in my mind it was a gargantuan task that would involve sorting through masses of paperwork and trying to find last year’s certificate. Or, horror of horror, actually having to use the phone to call the garage and speak to a human being.

(I don’t like using the phone.)

Fortunately for me, on July 2oth I went to an event with Compare the Market, that involved me finding out when my car was due for its MOT!

I know right?! What are the chances? It’s true though. I was testing out a brand new product from Compare the Market, called Simples. It’s currently in beta, but I’m going to tell you a bit about it, and how you can sign up now and be one of the first to try it while it’s still in its testing stage. It’s genuinely a fantastic tool, so do read on. Plus, later in the post I’ll reveal whether or not my MOT turned out to be overdue.

DUM DUM DUM DUM!! View Post

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The big day is here! Get your best frock on, mix yourself a mojito – it’s party time! I’m joining Gocompare.com tonight at 8pm for an hour of chat about travelling with children.

We’ve all been there; you’re ten minutes into a journey and everyone is complaining that they are bored, you’ve made one toilet stop already and somehow the car is covered in a thin layer of Wotsits. An hour in and you realise you’ve forgotten the phone charger, spare pants and your credit card.

This bit might not be fun, but it’s worth it for that moment when everyone finally relaxes. The sun is shining, the wine is chilling in the fridge and the children are exploring, leaving you in peace, even if just for a blissful few moments. That’s what holidays are all about.

Get into the holiday spirit by joining the Twitter chat tonight and talking all things travel.

Gocompare Twitter party

So here’s how to join the party fun. Simply follow me – @mummyblogger – and @Gocompare, and join us at 8pm tonight, using the hashtag #gocomoneytalks. We’ll be giving away two £50 Boots vouchers during the chat, so come and get involved for your chance to win.

See you tonight!

For full T&Cs please see here. This is a sponsored post.

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As you may have noticed in my post last week, on June 18th I will be co-hosting a Twitter party with Gocompare.com all about travelling with kids. Gocompare.com will be providing the expert knowledge, hints and tips and I’ll be on hand to share my own hilarious anecdotes and to chuckle knowingly at tales of travel disasters with small children on long car journeys. There are prizes too. It’s all good.

To get you in the mood and inspire your questions, (submit them in advance for a chance to win £20 to spend at Boots), I thought I’d share six quick conversation starters; essentials to think about when travelling with kids.

Who?

First up, who is going on your holiday? There is a lot to be said for keeping it simple, but actually when your family is young it can be nice to share the burden and have other friends and family around. There are plenty of options for large groups, such as camping or splitting the cost of a large holiday property.

Where?

Bit of a key one this. From my experience, I’d say that with toddlers it’s always best to keep travel to a minimum if you can, so don’t rule out holidaying in the UK. We live in an amazingly diverse country and there is plenty to see. Ask friends with kids for recommendations for family friendly destinations and accommodation.

How?

Car? Boat? Plane? How to get there is just as important as where you go when it comes to travelling with kids. Think in advance about the journey, make plenty of allowances for stoppage time and make sure you pack lots of snacks. (And possibly a small hip flask.) View Post

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Rifle through my drawers (if you pardon the expression) and I’m pretty sure you will not find a single extended warranty. I have no critical illness cover, the most basic level of contents insurance possible, and only got round to sorting out some cheap life insurance last year after much nagging from Boyfriend.

I just don’t see the point.

I read once that the secret to insurance is to only insure for events that you couldn’t afford to cover yourself if they happened. Life insurance then makes sense – I couldn’t afford to leave enough money to take care of my children if I died, so I insure against it.

A toaster though? I’m pretty sure I could stretch to one of those if the worst happens. If I dropped my laptop and smashed it into a million pieces it would be terrible, but I could afford to buy another one, so I don’t need any fancy personal appliance protection. View Post

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I was recently invited by my bank to go into the local branch for a ‘free financial review’. Of course what they actually mean is ‘please come in so we can try and sell you things’, but it was a slow week, and working at home makes you a little desperate for adult company, so I thought I’d give it a go. Needless to say I left the review with even fewer products than I started with.

Generally I’m one of life’s risk takers. It almost seems to be a self-destructive thing sometimes – I will deliberately be late back for the car park, always have that extra shot of sambuca, and occasionally I even leave my front door wide open when I go out, just to see what happens. Don’t tell anyone that though – I don’t want burglars.

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