INSPIRATIONAL women come from all walks of life.

And one thing I love to do on this blog, perhaps more than any other, is to share their wisdom and stories with you all.

Why?

Because women never get celebrated enough in my humble opinion and well, I’m doing my bit to try and change that. *winks*

Today, I’m sharing a special interview with the wonderful Ashleigh Swan, a mum to three and ‘money expert’ whose business Ashleigh Money Saver have seen her amass a whopping FB audience of nearly 300,000 people! Impressive huh?!

Ashleigh is fast becoming one of the country’s most respected names in money saving and was even named as one of the top 100 Britons to watch last year by the Telegraph, so I’m pretty damn chuffed to feature her.

Grab yourself a cuppa and get comfy! I have a feeling you’re going to love this one.

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Ashleigh, thanks so much for chatting to Pouting In Heels! Please tell us a little about yourself, your amazing site and how it all began.

I’m Ashleigh, married to Aaron and I have three lovely children, Simon, Jamie & Katie. I set up Ashleigh Money Saver as a bit of a hobby really.

I have always enjoyed money saving and helping friends and family to save a few pounds so that is where the idea of Ashleigh Money Saver came from.

I was working part time in a pharmacy at the time of starting Ashleigh Money Saver but was unfortunately made redundant a few month later as they were making cut backs, so saving money became even more important to me and the family.

What inspired you to start up the money saving site and what response have you had from busy mums?

I was lucky enough to find a full time job a little while after being made redundant but I found it really difficult to work full time, be a mam and continue to build Ashleigh Money Saver.

I was enjoying running Ashleigh Money Saver and would spend as much time on there as possible. That’s when I knew I wanted to do it full time and after a long chat with my husband and parents I decided to take the plunge and just go for it!

I have gotten so many positive comments from people. I often get messages from mams telling me how they have managed to buy the latest toy for their child at a fraction of the cost!

What inspires you to be your best and to achieve?

Because the brand includes my name, my reputation is on the line if I don’t post a real bargain or do something wrong. Everything I do has to have 110% effort.

I know I am not the only person in this line of business but I would like to be known as the best so that is the thought that keeps me going and pushes me to be the best I can be.

Which woman inspires you the most and why?

My mam. She is simply amazing and I couldn’t have done any of this without her.

I have watched her juggle work and family time all of my life and she has done it perfectly. I have only just realised how hard it is to do, so now I finally appreciate how much she has done for me – I even apologised for being such hard work when i was a teenager!

Being a working mum is tough! How do you achieve the impossible work/ life balance? (Or try to!)

It is very tough! I am often asked to whizz off here there and everywhere last minute for a TV interview – Good Morning Britain is a perfect example as I only had 45 minutes from taking the call to catching the  train to pack and get to the train station!

But I am trying to leave work at work when I finish for the day and have quality family time in the evening. It is hard to switch off as its not your typical 9-5 job, as a fantastic deal could pop up at any time.

If you could give only one piece of inspirational advice to other women, what would it be?

If there is something that you want to do, just go for it!

Even if it doesn’t go to plan at least you can say you tried. (It could be the best thing you ever do.)

Finally, if you could only give one piece of money saving advice to us all, what would it be and why?

Before you part with any money at all, think, do I really need this? Is there a cheaper alternative? Will I use it?

I live by those rules now and I have managed to cut my outgoings by at least £400 a month.

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Huge thank you to Ashleigh for chatting to me and sharing her best money saving tip. Wise advice there! How often do we buy stuff that we just don’t need?!

To check out more brilliant money saving tips or keep up to date with all the latest bargains that Ashleigh can find, visit the Ashleigh Money Saver Website or do as I’m about to do right now (!) and head over to her fabulous Facebook page and give it a well deserved like.

With love,

Kate