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Prom dress
Daughter has her prom coming up and now her only focus is getting a dress. We're quite rural (Lincolnshire) but will travel. Any recommended shops? Any that will rent and send out to try on? An expense we can do without, but want to get her something nice. Any help please?
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Money Moral Dilemma: Should I ask my gran for a new birthday cheque?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... My gran very kindly gave me a cheque for £100 for my birthday, but made it out to my nickname, so the bank won't accept it. My gran is in her nineties and doesn't have a lot of money, but is always excited to give her grandchildren what she can as presents. Should I ask her…
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Saving for Grandchildren
We have 4 grandchildren, aged 15, 12, 11 and 8 at present. We have trust accounts for each of them at A J Bell and other funds with Invesco. The present intention is to liquidate those funds in time for their respective 18th birthdays and on present values, each should have a minimum of £2,500 as their birthday presents.…
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Sons present
Put the money into a savings account. Sadly, modern culture is to borrow and spend, but putting money to one side is an excellent way to educate youngsters to think for themselves and acquire wealth in preparation for a time years later when they need it for a home of their own.
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Money Moral Dilemma: Should I let my son buy yet another toy with his birthday money?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... It was my son's sixth birthday last week, and he got loads of new toys from family and friends. He also got £20 in a card from an elderly relative, who said it should be used to buy a toy. Should I let him choose yet another unneeded toy, as the relative asked, or put it into…
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Royal Albert Hall Refund
So, I bought 2 two tickets for a ballet performance at the Royal Albert Hall (RAH) for the Nutcracker. The show was postponed by a year (From December 2021 to December 2022). I asked RAH for a full refund and their answer: "If you are unable to attend the rescheduled date, we can either process a refund back to the…
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Are you planning a community event/street party to celebrate the Queen's platinum jubilee?
During the lockdown in 2020 our street managed a very enjoyable socially distanced street party to celebrate the anniversary of VE Day, by setting up our own picnics on our driveways, and wandering down the middle of the road chatting. Children danced and rode their bikes or roller skated around everyone. We all made…
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A Jolly Holly Christmas - It's the 2022 Christmas Chatter Thread!
Hello and welcome to the Christmas chatter thread 2022!
Don’t be shy, come on in, take the weight off and enjoy a little chat! We are
all Christmas lovers here and Christmas can be talked about at any time of the
year, but there is also general chat from our day to day lives and it doesn’t
always have to be Christmas…
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Christmas Dinner - when to cook things?
Hello Could anyone help me with Christmas lunch timings please? I'm doing lamb rack which says it needs to be cooked at 180 degrees for 30 mins then rest for 10 mins, but the roast pots, parsnips, stuffing etc all need to be cooked at 200 degrees for 35-45 mins. What should I do...cook the lamb earlier and cook other bits…
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Christmas presents you don't need to purchase - share ideas!
Often, some of the best gifts are things money can't buy. For example, someone offering to babysit for you, or getting a homemade gift that costs next to nothing to make but is more personal. Can you think of any other gifts ideas that you don't need to go out and buy? Share them with us here👇
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52 ideas please
So me and my husband seem to be falling into the housemate phase. We have been together 19 years (20 this September) and we don’t really have much in common or so much anymore together. Not helped by the fact I have agoraphobia and anxiety so it makes things hard for me. But I really want us to connect together and spend…
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Returning unwanted Christmas gifts – official MSE guide discussion
Hello there, The original Unwanted Christmas gifts thread is now closed, so I've created a new one here, which is specifically to discuss the following guide:Returning unwanted Christmas gifts Whether you've a question to ask, new tips to offer or a success (or otherwise) to share, please let us know below. Cheers, MSE…
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Money Moral Dilemma: Should I tell my family their Christmas presents are second-hand?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... On a recent trip abroad, I bought Christmas presents second-hand for all my family. They're in amazing condition and I got them for good prices, plus I wanted to prioritise the environment (I didn't fly to my destination). To me, gift giving's about what you choose for a…
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Christmas with teens
When my children were younger they'd open their presents and play with them. I loved helping to build new lego sets, feeding a new doll, pretending to eat playdoh cakes, marble runs etc. But now they are teens their presents are a bit boring, there's not much fun to be had with socks and perfume. We'll have a puzzle on the…
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What's the cheapest real/artificial Christmas tree you've spotted?
The Deals team has written about Ikea's recurring Christmas tree deal: £29 for a real tree and a £20 voucher. Though of course it's only worth it if you know you'll spend the voucher. What's the cheapest deal you've spotted for a real or artificial Christmas tree? I'd love to see pictures too, if you have any. Please be…
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Secret Santa ideas for various spending limits
I'd love to get some ideas for Secret Santa presents going. What would make a good gift for each of these price points? * Free * £1 * £5 * £10 * Other amount
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Premium bonds as gifts
Our grandchildren have 3 sets of grandparents so we buy PB’s for Christmas, Easter and birthdays This is building up a nice little nest egg for later and is added to with winnings I’m sure they will have fun spending them later and who knows one could be a millionaire
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Grandparents
Weekly have 2 Grandchildren and their mother is entitled to UC, if we put too much into NSANDI in the children's names it count against the Mothers gross value and will reduce UC. we tried to take ownership as Grandparents but after 3 months they say it is not possible to do this so beware, no good deed goes unpunished. We…
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The tree of 'waste-free' Christmas gift ideas
MSE James was at a Christmas fair this weekend gone. One of the stalls was asking people to add ideas to a tree of 'waste-free gift ideas'. People had already added ideas like 'wash a car' and 'bake a cake'. We also thought about customising some clothing, composing a song, regifting a good book or making an ornament out…
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Money Moral Dilemma: Should we buy Premium Bonds for the children in our families this Christmas?
This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks... My partner and I don't have kids, but we've always bought small Christmas gifts for the children in our families. Yet we begrudge buying toys for consumerist and environmental reasons, and are considering getting something such as Premium Bonds for them instead. However,…
Planning a wedding, civil partnership or anniversary celebration? This is the place for MoneySaving tips to ensure your big day doesn't break the bank.
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