MSE Christmas Quiz discussion

marionquine

I wouldn't like to say what my score was :-(( and I thought I was quite savvy re money but I don't agree with the choc box one. Based on the old adage 'that nothing is a bargain if you don't need it' I assumed we were buying just 2 boxes of chocolates!!!!!

JDPower

DtB wrote: »

Did really well here with a mere 4/10...............:rolleyes2 Mind you I:
1) Live abroad
2) Don't have any UK loyalty cards
and
3) am apparently, thick as a brick.....................

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

skipraider

Got 5/10 - could have done better but one I'd never have got right was the repayment period of a £3,000 credit card balance.

Everyone (I hope) knows paying the minimum is a bad deal but loads still do it and wonder why they end up bankrupt. If we were all given the facts the credit crunch might never have happened.

Cigarette packets have a government health warning - so should credit cards.....

"REPAYING CARD DEBTS CAN TAKE HALF A LIFETIME AND WILL SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR FINANCIAL HEALTH"

pedrosailor

I didn't do that well either, 5 out of 10. While I got the Railcard answer right, I just wanted to say that in our area, Suffolk, our local district council offers Senior Railcards to residents at a discounted rate. I think at the last renewal it was £18 either in person or by post. I imagine they can't be the only council in the country to do so, so it may be worth asking.

Paul_Varjak

I doubt anyone would know all the answers without research and one (supermarket downbranding) is open to debate.

The quiz talks about a 16-24 young person railcard - it is actually 18-25! I think the disabled person railcard is cheaper at £18 so £54 would be the break-even point for disabled passengers.

In North Lincolnshire, the Council run (& government-backed) free bus pass scheme also provides half-price travel on local trains and on certain other trains - so it may not be necessary for a disabled person to buy a railcard at all. Other Councils have other schemes so check with your local Council to see if you can get a disabled bus pass (or over 60 bus pass) to cover trains as well.

MrGumby

That's a bit of a daft answer to the "drop a brand level question". For a start, with many things it isn't possible to drop a brand level. And often it's cheaper to buy a special offer than drop a brand level.

In any case, there's more to food shopping than price. Often, you’d be better off going without something altogether than buying a cheap version. The fact that "most people can only tell the difference on around 50% of things" is only partly relevant. One of the products could contain umpteen additives, hydrogenated fat, etc, that might not make it taste different but could well make it a lot worse for you. In fact, the one that tastes “better” might be the cheaper one and contain lots more sugar, salt and fat. Cheap meat could be intensively reared, have been treated with antibiotics and other drugs, and so on.

That is not to say that all cheap brands are bad. Many are excellent, and I buy lots of them. But I always check things like ingredients lists and sources first.

I could continue at length but will get off my hobby horse.

PS Sorry this is in bold - I can't seem to revert to normal text.

A_fiend_for_life

oops got 9 / 10 don't know how as i guessed teacher would be safest or most responsible driver.

i flunked on the store cards question.

the question on consumer rights is a worrying one though. do stores actually say they don't give refunds on receipts etc? sounds like they should be forced to display a standardised interpretation of statutory rights in plain english for all to see.

Martinslovechild

skipraider wrote: »

Cigarette packets have a government health warning - so should credit cards.....

"REPAYING CARD DEBTS CAN TAKE HALF A LIFETIME AND WILL SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR FINANCIAL HEALTH"

I've wondered many times how much money the U.K. Government receives in [strike]bribes[/strike] political donations from the big credit card companies.

Anybody who's watched the American movie 'Maxed Out' which describes how these big credit card companies operate will be highly sceptical about them. How ethical is it, for example, that Capital One can turn up at a University campus to sign students up for their cards? Students who don't even have any income!!

This situation is only likely to change in the short term if there is a massive increase in bankruptcies & IVAs over the next couple of years. I'm not wholly convinced that these companies will ever change however.

P.S. Nice quiz Martin. I only scored 6/10 though!!

Smiley_Mum

I got 6 out 10, think I did quite well. I don't know anything about car insurance etc, I put down piano teacher, I didn't get the railcard one, isa one or the drop a brand.

Roger_Rampant

Procedure has been spelt incorrectly in the answer to question 4.