CASH FOR KIDS

❚ Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes splashed out £3200 on a private ice skating session at New York’s Rockefeller Center for their daughter Suri – paying for an entire area of the rink to be blocked off.

❚ For Harper Seven’s first Christmas, Victoria and David Beckham spent £35,000 on six trees and glitzy baubles.

❚ Brad and Angelina spend a huge £6.5m a year on their six kids, which goes on nannies, tutors, chefs, private transportation, food and clothing. That’s more than £1m per child.

❚ But Gwen Stefani spent a comparatively modest £50 on a pair of tiny little green and brown cowboy boots for her son Zuma. Now, after three: awwww…

CASH-SAVING TIPS

DISCREET DINING DEALS
Take someone out for a slap-up meal this Valentine’s Day, with 20-30 per cent at big-name restaurants including St John Hotel, Galoupet, and Maze. The discount will be subtly added to the bill, without needing a voucher, so your date will be none the wiser. Book online at table7.com

SAVE MORE THAN £150
Feeling the pinch thanks to last year’s energy price hike? Navetas Energy has some tips to help: shower for one minute less every day to save £36 a year; stop using a dishwasher to save £77; halve oven use and eat more salads to save £52. That’ll pay for a few nights out.

SAVE ON BEAUTY BUYS
Skincare addicts can now get £20 of beauty products a month sent to their door for £10. Not only will you get the newest products from brands such as Ren, Neal’s Yard and Inika but you’ll be making a fat saving, and you won’t even have to leave the house. amarya.co.uk

HOW YOU SPEND IT!

Jen Harvey: 24
Job: Graduate planner/buyer
From: Reading
Lives: South Kensington

How do you budget?
I’m terrible at sitting down and ‘budgeting’ but I try to pay off everything the week I get paid – rent, bills etc – and limit myself to the essentials, so if I do drink and shop I don’t feel so bad.

Any money-saving tips?
Always take lunch into work, make big vats of soup, walk or cycle to work whenever I can, clothes-swap with friends and make the most of free London exhibitions, shows and museums.

Last big blow-out?
An SLR camera and a winter coat – because every year I always get caught out by the cold and swear to myself that next year I’ll buy a practical mum-would-approve jacket.

What non-essential items do you spend money on?
Drinking and going out… but I still see these as partly essential.