Money, money, money.

Do you collect coins, or stamps?
Perhaps you have a favourite collection of books?

I used to collect stamps, my Dad enjoyed doing this and tried to get me interested ... I don't think it lasted long, although it did enable me to get a stamp collectors badge! LOL!

Many folks collect money, although I guess most don't have it in their pockets that long - because it goes to pay the bills!

If you should like Royal Mint special launches of coins and have grandchildren who adore Beatrix Potter this article today may be of interest.

"Royal Mint about to launch stunning new Tom Kitten 50p coins to mark Beatrix Potter's birth - and you'll need to be FAST to get one

The Royal Mint is set to unveil a new, limited edition 50p piece this summer, as it continues to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the late children's author, Beatrix Potter.

The new coin - which will feature a mischievous Tom Kitten - will go on sale in August, and will follow in the footsteps of Jemima Puddleduck, Squirrel Nutkin and Mrs Tiggywinkle in 2016, and Peter Rabbit and Jeremy Fisher earlier this year .

The coins are part of the Royal Mint's celebratory collection in honour of Beatrix Potter - the literary genius behind children's classics The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Tale Squirrel Nutkin.

Tom Kitten - which is expected in just a matter of weeks - will be available to buy in both colour and silver at the Royal Mint's online store.

It leaves one final edition - Benjamin Bunny - which is expected out in the autumn."

"The coins won't enter circulation, so to get one, you'll have to pay - they usually come in at around £60 each.
If you're a new collector, you can still buy a Jeremy Fisher 50p coin or Peter Rabbit 50p at Royalmint.com - although all colour editions have now sold out."


Read and see more here
http://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/news/royal-mint-about-to-launch-stunning-new-tom-kitten-50p-coins-to-mark-beatrix-potters-birth-and-youll-need-to-be-fast-to-get-one/ar-AApauwV?li=AAmiR2Z&ocid=spartanntp

All the best Jan

Limited Edition money, that just about sums up the current government.

Parents (and Grand Parents) seem to spend a lot of money on their children (grandchildren) and I'm sure it can also be said about beloved Aunt's and Uncle's !

According to this article 'Parents spend nearly £1bn on back to school shopping, study finds' isn't that a large amount!?

Parents spent close to £1 billion on back to school costs last year, making it the UK’s third biggest seasonal shopping event behind Black Friday and Christmas, analysis has found.

Collectively parents spend £915 million on back to school, with £436 million spent on school uniforms and shoes alone, according to calculations from market researchers Mintel.

The next top two spending areas were sportswear, which accounted for £164 million, and a category including computing equipment and lunch boxes, equating to £143 million of the total in 2017.

The findings suggest the average parent can expect to fork out £273 on uniform, shoes, sportswear, bags and stationery.

Supermarkets are the most likely places for parents to search for back to school items, the research suggests, favoured by a third (33%).

One in seven (14%) parents buy from online-only retailers and 13% make purchases from specialist school retailers, while 9% use department stores.

Chana Baram, research analyst at Mintel, said: “Back to school is a major shopping event for the nation’s retailers, beaten only by Black Friday and Christmas.

“Spending on back to school is being driven by rising inflation, the increased cost of children’s wear and stationery, and a boost to the back to school population caused by a previous boom in birth rates and the decision to raise the school leaving age to 18 in 2015.

“There has also been a trend among school students to want more fashionable stationery and school accessories, which adds to costs.

“And parents are willingly buying more branded school items, including bags and coats, perhaps influenced by the various back to school advertising campaigns focused on branded goods.”
Nearly 500 parents of children aged four to 17 were included in the research.

The above taken from article here
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/news/parents-spend-nearly-£1bn-on-back-to-school-shopping-study-finds/ar-BBMG4ge?ocid=spartanntp

All the best Jan

My daughter doesn't have an option when it comes to school blazers the most expensive part of the uniform they have to be purchased from a designated shop the school probably gets a cut of the sales too, also sweaters are the same cannot be bought elsewhere and with three kids the cost mounts up. The eldest left school this summer starts college next week so no uniform to instead a bus pass costing £345 a year will be needed

Yes Blazers are usually so expensive … at the moment we just have one grandchild who is at Senior School and needs a Blazer.
The younger ones all had new shoes ... EEK they are expensive … but then they always have been.

College for your eldest grandchild is another step isn't it - hope it all works out well.
They grow up so quickly.

Some of our grandkids start back to school tomorrow, while the rest go back Tuesday.
This years school summer holidays are at an end ...

All the best Jan

Jan1 wrote:Yes Blazers are usually so expensive … at the moment we just have one grandchild who is at Senior School and needs a Blazer.
The younger ones all had new shoes ... EEK they are expensive … but then they always have been.

College for your eldest grandchild is another step isn't it - hope it all works out well.
They grow up so quickly.

Some of our grandkids start back to school tomorrow, while the rest go back Tuesday.
This years school summer holidays are at an end ...

All the best Jan

Yes shoes are another expensive item especially for my grandson who gets through a few pair every year 

Granddaughter is quite looking forward to college at present she's thinking about going into teaching but that can change, she did well with her GCSE's getting the equivalent of four A's two B's and four C's, the A's were for science, English, maths and French. 

At college she's opted for maths, business studies and psychology, if she manages to get As in those then uni is the next step and of course more expense

Yes it's a great captive market, make the kids buy selected items only from specific shops (my school uniform was like that too) then it all needs replacing regularly as they grow. Of course, make them fat too and they will need to buy replacement clothes even more often. Kerching!