In the last year I've gone from paying off debts, to road-testing hair cuts to... getting pregnant. But rest assured now I'm a mum to be I'm more conscious of family budgeting than ever.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I got really excited about the possibility of buying new clothes. After all every mum-to-be wants her bump to be well dressed. Thankfully now so more than ever, being pregnant doesn't mean you don't have to sacrifice style or fork out hundreds of pounds, nearly all the high-street stores have really good maternity clothing ranges.

This week I'm starting from the top and road-testing maternity vests and t-shirts. All the tops I've featured are relatively inexpensive (under £30) and aside from the two Marks & Spencer vests (which had to be sent to me as my local store doesn't stock maternity wear) were bought by me, and worn ('out' in some cases) by me.

The 'fashionable' one: Next Maternity star print maternity top (£22)
Wearability; The star pattern makes it almost 'on-trend'. The cotton makes it really cool and the styling means it can be worn to work (although a cardie is a good idea - see 'cons') as well as to the pub with jeans. It washed well without fading, although to be on the safe side I stuck to the recommended wool cycle.

Pros: The top is very fine and the see through nature of the cotton means you need to wear some good underwear to avoid embarrassment. It also gapes at the neckline, hence wearing a cardie, or even a vest underneath is essential for more formal wear.
Although the label says the top can be adjusted to see a mum-to-be through her nine months I wasn't so sure, it's already a bit tight and my bump isn't that big.

Where to buy it: My only bugbear with Next is that its maternity line is only available in all but the biggest stores, so if you don't live in a city you have to order online. I don't have an account with Next so I had to ring up and pay in advance on my Visa debit card which wasn't ideal, if I hadn't liked it it would have been a faff to get the refund.

The pretty one: Top Shop rose ruffle neck vest top (£28)

Wearability: One of the reasons i like this top is because I get so many appreciative comments when I wear it, men and women by the way. It's really pretty and I've worn it with a black skirt, skinny blue jeans, black trousers and my white jeans.

Pros: After a few washes it did go a bit bobbly, and it really does emphasize my bump, it's so fine you can see the outline of my belly button, and I one of those pregnant women who isn't keen on showing her belly too much.
Where to buy: As with Next, Top Shop only stocks the maternity range in its larger stores. I bought this from the large branch at Thurrock Lakeside. As with the Next top i'm not quite sure how much longer it will manage to contain my bump.

Practical ones:
An M&S Limited grey top (£12) from the Limited Collection and the New Look's gunmetal blue vest (£8 from summer collection) were the best wear-anywhere vests. The New Look top was the first maternity vest I bought and it's washed well, no bobbles and the material is thick enough not to cling too much. However I have a feeling I have only a few more weeks wear out of it, as my bump is starting to strain it a bit.
The M&S top is probably better for later stages of pregnancy, it's a smock style but not too mumsy and it can be worn under a jacket as part of suit. The quality of the material is superior to the other tops, so I've got a feeling I'll be wearing this when the baby is due.

Others I tried
Marks & Spencer limited collection. This had an unsual beading pattern on the front, it looked great and I can see I'll get more wear out of this. It does feel a bit too revealing on the boob front though.
Dorothy Perkins - white butterfly detail t-shirt with leg-o-mutton sleeves (£10 in sale) This was a hit among the younger members of my family who loved the pretty beading, only problem is that after a couple of washes (on a hand wash cycle) the beading started to come off. I'm still wearing it though, again I feel it might be too small soon.
Isabella Oliver - bought on ebay for £25. This turtle neck top normally retails at £55. As it was made from nylon and wasn't really that detailed I couldn't see the point of spending so much on a top I'd only wear a few months. I've had a look at some of the other Isabella Oliver stuff on ebay and notice people are often paying more for things there than they can on the IO site itself - madness!!

Tips for maternity clothes buying

* On the whole stick to your pre-pregnancy size, unless you've been seriously watching what you eat before you got pregnant, most of the weight you put on during your first few months of pregnancy will be round your belly. Some women put a lot of weight on their boobs, I'm normal 8/10 on top and have found some of the size 10s a bit too big (even at five months).

* Don't go mad. I nearly blew money on an Isabella oliver top but found a much cheaper version of the same on eBay.

* If you're really brassic try websites like budget-bumps.co.uk which has good as new and discounted brand names.

There's one thing money can't buy and that's health, gyms might want us to think otherwise of course. Fitness is big business, some people will fork out over £2k for a piece of equipment that promises them a body like Madonna.
But the truth is you don't really need to spend anything to get fit, aside from a pair of trainers (that you probably have anyway), a tennis racket (again you've probably got one gathering dust in the cupboard under the stairs) or even some weights (probably next to the rackets or being used as a door stop in the spare room).
There is no short cut though, no machine - however fantastic - can do exercise for you. Here are some ways you, not your wallet, can sweat it out.
But before you start any regime check with your doctor first and remember as Octavia, a personal trainer at Cannons also points out to me, "any exercise regime has to be combined with a healthy eating programme. It's a case of 70% diet and 30% exercise".

Gym - downgrade your membership.
If you only use your gym at certain times but you do use your membership consider swapping to an off-peak rate.  When I started working from home I changed my £78 a month peak membership to a £35 a month one.
Pros: I saved over £35 a month and the gym was pleasingly quiet enough, i.e. no queues for machines. There are lots of different types of machines to choose from and you can get a personalised work out programme for free, which helps with motivation.
Cons: The only snag was that i had to use the gym between 1-5pm during the week, although I got to use it all weekend I did miss out on the vibe that some of the evening classes have.
Try: Your local sports centre via www.yell.co.uk or check out joining offers at Cannons www.cannons.co.uk, Virgin Active (was Holmes Place) www.virginactive.co.uk  LA Fitness www.lafitness.co.uk or  Fitness First www.fitnessfirst.co.uk Some gyms will throw in a free month or free day passes.

Roping in a friend, or four
Amy sends me a message via Facebook. "Hey there Sam, I'm really needing to get down a dress size and am having major problems motivating myself. Can I train with you?"
Not one to turn a friend in need I suggest we commit to a 30 minute run twice a week. I also rope in Sara, who's a really experienced runner, and another friend Ruth, who has run a couple of marathons, but whose training is also slipping.
Result: the warm weather has certainly helped. I'm still going to classes in the gym but could see myself giving up my membership. It's also extremely sociable, because one test of running is that you should be able to keep up a conversation! So I end up catching up on all sorts of gossip.

Pros: It's free and you get to spend time with friends.  I drag in my boyfriend as a 'pacer' he gets the easy part - riding round on a cycle while I follow him. It's quite a good way of getting rid of that afternoon slump and is good way of getting my partner involved in my fitness regime.
Cons: If you are both feeling de-motivated it's easy to skip a week, or two. It's probably a good idea to join a running club just in case, check your local phone book or library to find your nearest one. www.runnersworld.co.uk also has tips and hints for would-be runners.

Sharing a personal trainer
This is not quite free, but for £20 a week (the trainer charges £40 an hour) I share a trainer with my friend Amy. The great thing about having a personal trainer is that they push you in a way you'd only get if you were hanging out with Paula Radcliffe. According to my heart rate monitor I've managed to burn a whopping 700 calories in a session.
Pros: Is really great if you haven't a clue about exercise and need to get motivated after an exercise break (like having a baby).
Cons: The cost and having to set aside time, especially if you need to co-ordinate with a friend. Plus you need to make sure you supplement your training with a couple more sessions of exercise a week, unless you've got £100 plus spare a week to spend on a trainer.
The best way to find a good personal trainer is through word of mouth, or check out your phone book. The National Register of Personal Trainers has a list of qualified and insured personal trainers on its website www.nrpt.co.uk


D.I.Y
Using a fitness supplement I find in Glamour magazine (which I occasionally write for) and some from Zest and Men's Health I sit down and work out a three different work out sessions - a fat burning one, an anaerobic one and a stretch/relax session. Because I've been using a gym and working out I feel fairly comfortable devising my own regime, but I do ask Octavia to give me some extra exercises in case I get bored.
I also go online and download some Nike music from iTunes (cost from £7.99) and search out some other free online personal training tools such as www.lucozadesport.com/running/training-and-race-tools/running_coach.asp
Pros: If you know what you are doing and you are prepared to go to the trouble of reading and researching this is a good way to up the ante on your exercise regime
Cons: Not so good if you are a couch potato needing motivation! But it's free.

Anyone for tennis?
We dust off our tennis rackets and head to the local park where there are some free courts. an hour later, we are pretty exhausted but was fun.
Pros: Very sociable and we had fun, which is more than can be said for the treadmill in the gym.
Cons: We have to wait a while for the court to become free and we can't book in advance, which means scheduling in a regular session is very difficult.

Other get-fit tips
* Do weights - any good regime should have an element of resistance training. If you build muscle, which resistance training does, you burn more calories too. But if this brings scary images of body builders to mind, don't worry, while it can mean lifting weights, resistance work means using props such as resistance bands or even your own body weight. In fact if you are a woman worried about building too much muscle don't - using your own body gives nice long toned muscles as opposed to bulky ones. These types of exercise include press ups, lunges and even some yoga moves.

* Do the stretch.  I used to go to yoga classes three days a week when I lived in London and it supplemented my work outs brilliantly. Now I'm no longer near I yoga centre I use DVDs to inspire me. One really good one is Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss by Gaiam.

* Get inspired - I use fitness magazines like Zest to pick me up when I'm feeling lazy, Glamour also does a good regular fitness features too.

* Drink water - when I feel tired it's normally because I've forgotten to have my pre-exercise bottle of water.

Next week - underwear.

Samantha Downes is a freelance journalist  who writes for national newspapers and  magazines. Examples of her work can be seen at www.samanthadownes.com

Pictures on this page are produced by kind permission of Andrew Soames at www.geekarama.co.uk and www.andrewsoames.com/photography

P.S reply to comments below - for the purposes of this blog I've avoided mentioning any kind of membership with a long-term tie in (including medical insurance, which I'm not a fan of by the way).

If there's one thing you can't scrimp on it's a haircut.

Now I'm pretty anal when it comes to hair. Finding a good hairdresser who doesn't charge a fortune has been a holy grail of mine. I've got really fine mousy hair with a bit a wave, and it can be a bit a nightmare to style, so as much as I'd love a short sharp haircut, I tend keep it long. I'm pretty fussy, too much cut off or too many layers can put me into a bad mood for weeks (I'm not joking as my boyfriend and sister will tell you).

Anyway, women spend an average of £27,000 and men £13,000 on their hair over a lifetime. That's a lot of dosh and I've not always been entirely convinced it's worth it. So the last 12 months - and in the interests of the hair-obsessed everywhere - I've been road -testing hairdressers to see whether spending more = better haircut.

NUMBER ONE - The designer hair cut - that costs £22.50

I had to go all the way to New York (it was a work trip) for this one. But this was the best of the bunch. Amanda at the Aveda Lifestyle Salon in New York's SoHo area gave me a fantastic easy maintenance hairstyle for $45 (at $2 a £1 this was a bargain). The reason it was so cheap was because I happened to ring when they were looking for models, a cut is normally twice that - but compared to the Aveda salon's I've checked out in London it's a total bargain. Not only was Amanda one of the friendlies hairdressers ever, she also gave me lingo to use on all future hairdressers. Because my hair is fine it should never be texturised or point cut, which will make fine hair like mine look scraggy. I don't quite know what those words mean, but she's given me a great haircut. Shame I can't come back here any time soon.
There are modelling evenings in the UK, for those of you who can't get to New York anytime soon!
Aveda Lifestyle Salon New York - 456 West Broadway, 001(from the UK)  212-472-0280
www.aveda.com

NUMBER TWO - Very cheap - but for the brave - under £10

When I tell my friends I'm getting my hair cut for free I see their faces pale. After some careful research I choose Vidal Sasson's advanced academy in London's West End. You have to book a few weeks in advance but I'm told that hairdressers come from all over the world to hone their skills, so not only do you get a trained hairdresser, you get one who's more creative too. (BTW- there is a training school which is less experimental) My hairdresser has been snipping tresses in Tokyo for the last ten years and I have to say the cut he gives me is amazing. Even after a few weeks my hair just seems style itself. It's a bit way out - a bob or 'pob' but looks great. My only problem is getting the time to go back there, because a supervisor has to check things over the cut takes a few hours. There are hair academies/modelling evenings all over the country, so you don't have to head to the big smoke.

I went to Vidal Sasson's Advanced Academy 20 Grosvenor Street, W1 tel: 020 7491 0030. But you can source local hair academies from www.yell.com

Rating: *****

NUMBER THREE- Cheap and Chic -  £20 haircut.

Admittedly this was a special offer, for a salon that's just opened in Bishop's Stortford. The full price is normally £30. I got a free cup of coffee and a glass of water, plus a lovely head massage when the assistant shampooed my hair.

The cut was great, I didn't need another cut for 12 weeks. It wasn't quite as 'on trend' as the Vidal Sasson cut, but does me well while I'm growing out my hair.

I went to the Women's Salon in Bishop's Stortford - 01279 755444 but if you can find a cheap salon near you by checking www.yell.com

Rating: ***

NUMBER FOUR- The £55 haircut.

For my 'expensive' haircut I choose Toni & Guy at Liverpool Street Station. They tend to charge a bit more for their haircuts in London, but expect to pay at least £40 for a stylist where ever you are.. This is a really busy salon and because it's a Friday night they pour me a glass of wine. My stylist, who's from Russia, seems to know exactly what I want, she has exactly the same hair type as me which helps. I was a bit wary of using T&G, but this was a really good cut and it styles really well. She spends a good hour on my hair and I come away feeling a little bit special.

www.toniandguy,.com to find your nearest salon

Rating: *****

VERDICT - cheap haircuts rock, but I've been lucky. Let me know if you've had any bad/good experiences of hairdressers!

Cheap hair tips:

* Good conditioners and shampoos may seem expensive, but they often contain less detergents than supermarket brands, so they can last longer. I've always found L'Oreal's Kerastase and Redken to be good, one bottle of Redken can last two months or so. The best I've found is Aveda because it's organic, I stocked up on Aveda in New York as it's virtually half price but it's v. expensive in the UK.

* But no amount of shampoo can make up for a bad diet - if you are really worried about your hair, eat well. I started taking B vitamin supplements and iron tablets and noticed a real difference. Since I stopped coffee every day I've also noticed my hair is shinier. Before you do anything see your doctor first, as vitamin supplements are not appropriate for everyone.

* If you aren't doing anything fancy, avoid blow drying your hair.

* Extensions are the worst thing, apart from bleaching or perming your hair. I wore mine for a year and came away with a bald patch-  they really are vanity and not worth it.

* Eat lots of protein, dairy products, eggs, fish - they are all great for hair.