Do you ever find that, as a parent, you put yourself at the bottom of the list? I do. Constantly. Whether it’s drinking a cup of tea while it’s still hot or giving myself the luxury of more than two minutes in the shower, I’m not very good at being kind to myself. To be honest, I always think “be kind to yourself” sounds a bit sappy. I’m more of the “buckle down and get on with it” school of thought. I blame it on my northern husband.
I was recently given the opportunity to test out the site Topcashback. As the name suggests, you earn cash back on your purchases through the site. Lots of retailers are signed up – from fashion brands to utilities companies. Each retailer offers different amounts of money back, from the odd percent right up to as much as 20 percent. The money comes from the commission they pay Topcashback for your custom (you click a link to their site through Topcashback), some of which is then paid back into your own account. Anyway, I had planned to buy something for Christmas – maybe a present for my three year old or something to decorate the house with. But I didn’t.
Instead, I spent the money on something rather frivolous. A little bit of luxury that I’ve been hankering after for a while.
These towels are like a glimmering symbol of change.
OK, that may be a bit dramatic, but they are a big deal. Let me tell you why: I am rubbish at treating myself. Whenever I spend money on something that we don’t really need then I get a pang of guilt. It’s ridiculous, but true.
So the £80.50 I spent on 3 bath towels, 2 hand towels and a swanky bath mat is a momentous occasion. And for that £80.50, I received £3.51 cash back. That’s £3.51 I wouldn’t have had if I had bought directly from the retailer. I am stemming the flow of guilt further by the fact I made a saving of £12.50 on the towels, as the original price would have come to £93. So, I am £16.01 better off than I would have been. I’m calling it an early Christmas present to myself.
Regardless of the savings, sometimes you do need to be kind to yourself. I’ve learned that the hard way this week. Five nights in a row of four hours’ sleep, in two hour increments, has taken its toll. Frog has been poorly, stuck at home with me and reverting to newborn sleeping patterns. When my mum rang this morning to ask how things were I just snapped. I don’t know what it is about hearing my mum’s voice but, if I’m on the edge of an emotional meltdown, it always sends me into floods of tears!
As I write this, I’m sitting in my parents’ kitchen, with my daughter sleeping soundly upstairs. I had to come here to get some work done and catch up on some sleep, with my parents giving me a hand to keep my poorly-but-not-really-poorly three year old occupied. Buying these towels has given me a much-needed boost. Never underestimate the power of a little treat.
“Egyptian cotton”, “luxurious” and “everyday indulgence” are the words used to describe these towels of joy. If they could sing, I imagine they would crack out a sweet angelic melody that would soothe you off into a blissful sleep. I may be placing high expectations on these beauties, but I don’t care. Sometimes you have to splurge a bit.
If they’re lucky, I may even let the daughter and husband use them too.
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Disclosure: Thanks to Topcashback for giving me the chance to be a bit frivolous. In order to write this post, I was given money towards my purchase through Topcashback. All opinions remain my own.
I think you should treat me, just because x
Ooh, we’re going to treat ourselves to some new towels in the January sales this year as all of ours are looking pretty worn these days, so I might see what The White Company has after Christmas.
Do it! They have good reductions now though – so luxurious!
What is it about us parents that encourages us to feel so guilty at the smallest of little luxuries? I am exactly the same. I actually found myself saying to my other half today, “No, no please DONT buy me an iPad for Christmas, I don’t really need one and it’s so expensive.” What the hell is wrong with me?
Perhaps I should ask for towels instead. 🙂
Towels that only YOU can use…
Ooh nothing quite like fresh white towels! I have towel envy right now!
Oh Molly, pour a bath, a wine and add lots of bubbles you have earnt it! Well done for treating yourself, we need to! Wrote a post about this very topic myself this week!
ooooh, I do like a nice towel, and The White Company. *Jealous face*
Sounds like you need a hot bath, some candles… and those lovely towels ALL to yourself… hope you get to enjoy them soon, don’t share them 🙂 x
I could so with some decent towels! I was amazed how easy topcashback was to use, will definitely be using it regularly from now on. Hope you got some sleep eventually! x
Oh dear my towel cupboard is in dire need of a complete overhaul. I know what you mean about the treats and the guilt that follows, maybe using Topcash would help me too. I’ll have to have a nosey around won’t I?
I have the same inability to spend money on myself. Everything goes on the littl’un. But look at it this way, you have earned cash back and you will use them every day so actually on a price per use basis they were a steal!
ohhh you are sooooo right i would LOVE to treat myself to some new luxurious towells but no point while the boys are young as they wouldnt stay luxurious for long lol
well done you for treating yourself x
Oh I totally get your thinking! My MIL bought us some lovely towels for Christmas a few years ago and the difference was amazing! I will have to check out Topcashback as I do so much of my shopping online .
Ahhh soft fluffy towels! I quite fancy a set that the kids aren’t allowed – they are never the same once they start wiping their tomato saucey mouth in them are they?
I have put new towels on my Christmas list this year! There is no better feeling on a cold winter’s day than getting out of a nice hot bath and wrapping a new fluffy towel around you. If my 20-something self could see me now, she would hide her face and cringe!
Great that you actually made some money out of it too, everyone’s a winner!