Mortgage Reduction Beginner to Novice - The Show Begins

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice

Hi US,

Yep I've got my TCB primed, code for £10 off my first £50 spend and a shopping list. Wish me luck! I don't know why I'm so nervous about this - I'm pretty good at computing otherwise!

unhappy_shopper

MRN, I guess you are planning to use MrT, right? If so, why not try whether this code works for you.

Groceries £15 off wys £50 XXJRTH expires 30/09/2012
and this

ajmoney

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice wrote: »

I'm seriously contemplating an online grocery shop... I've never done this before, will it hurt? Any tips appreciated! I have Friday off work but I need to be in most of the day, I can't fit a food shop in so I'm thinking if I sit down tonight and work out how to shop virtually I could have my delivery on Friday, save £10 on a £50 spend and save time. I'm nervous!

Let me know how it goes. I keep thinking about it, it would be a lot easier and would stop us buying extra things. Not sure we would buy fruit and veg that way as I would rather check it and DH would take less persuading!

chirpchirp

Online grocery shopping can be great. We used to do it when the kids where small as it was a lot easier than trying to get round Mr T's and stopped them from being able to ask for things. Stopped on principle when a 9pm delivery included things which had to be eaten that day.

Now I'm out in the country, I occasionally do an online shop as it works out cheaper than driving to the nearest Tesco or Asda. If I know Asda have lots of special offers on their non-perishables such as washing powder then I'll place an order. I try to fit grocery shopping in with doing other things now so as to save on the fuel and attempt to shop at Aldi or Lidl which of course don't do home deliveries.

Online shopping is great for building up your stock cupboard - especially as someone else carries it into your house:rotfl:
I never feel too comfortable with ordering meat and vegetables as it depends on who is picking for you as to whether you get the best dates. I always feel the store will want to offload their stock which is close to its BB date, so I avoid meat and veg but somehow this doesn't deter me from buying dairy etc.

The great bonus with online shopping is you can just look through all the special offers in one place and pick them up. The downside is you can be on the site for ages the first time. Although future shops should get quicker as it will normally save your orders to show your favourites. Don't forget to use the moneysupermarket price comparison site (lol - I have never used it but I've read about it on here and not sure if it is even called that), will help you to decide where the cheapest things are that you need.

ammonite

With Mr T's if there is ever a problem (had grey looking bacon once, bashed in tins etc.) you just ring 'em up and they refund you.

I do love it for stocking the cupboards with heavy goods - saves me carrying them! I have had fresh stuff from Mr T's and the meat dates have been fine but things like veg and fruit never look so great so I've stopped ordering those.

I always go for late night delivery and only tend to shop if I have code so if delivery is £3 and I have a £10 voucher I feel its worth it for the £7 off.

Good luck MRN!

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice

Thanks for all your online grocery shopping tips, advice and support!

I buy my meat (amongst other stuff) from Costco and my fruit and veg from a local market so I'm less worried about dates (only the guaccamole is concerning me but if I have to switch Saturday dinner for a mid-week dinner so be it.)

It took me a while to get the hang of it but found it ok in the end... we'll have the final result after delivery on Friday. I think this'll be a rare activity though. I can't justify the delivery cost when I drive past 4 supermarkets on my way home from work!

In other news:

I'll update final grocery spending for September after Costco shop tonight and F&V tomorrow morning.

Another £20 mystery shopping money in my bank account this morning.

I did another gym class yesterday making almost £100 PAYG in just one month... now I know annual membership was worth it!

Broccoli, bacon and cream cheese pasta cleared the fridge out. It tasted a little fishy and I only worked out half way through eating it that MrMRN must have double dunked with the knife when making smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels last week!

Fortune_Smiles

I would highly recommend Waitrose. If they cannot give you at least 2 days shelf life, you get the products free. No delivery charge on orders over £50 and if they give you a substitute you pay for the lower priced product. Also customer service is fabulous and I haven't found it any more expensive than the other Supermarkets. Delivery is from your local store so the only down side is that there may not be as big a choice and you might get more substitutions.

I love on-line food shopping - wouldn't do it any other way now :rotfl:

Fortune x

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice

A productive morning so far:

The grocery shopping arrived, only one substitution but I'm happy with it.
A very quick mystery shop but paid a pittance.
A couple of online surveys completed.
Bed made for relative arriving tomorrow.
House tidied, vacuumed and dusted top to bottom (just bathroom and kitchen to do).
Dining room furniture rearranged - feels more spacious now.
Checked bank balance - been paid!
Also had two emails from mystery shopping companies saying they are paying me but nothing appeared in my account yet.
Wrapped MrMRN's birthday presents so far and my first three Christmas presents.

A few questions for you knowledgeable lot:

I had a towel radiator replaced (free of charge) because it went rusty on the outside only 6 months after being installed. Any ideas how I go about selling the rusty one as scrap metal and whether it's worth it?

The marrows are growing slower and in funny shapes... how long can I let them go on for or is it best to harvest and preserve soon? I fancy this and this but would prefer to keep them for stuffed marrow meals if possible.

Secret_Saving_Squirrel

Sorry, can't help with either of those questions. But if you want to know anything about David Cassidy, Marc Bolan or Shakespeare, come back to me! Just wish I knew more about useful things......

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

I had a huge picture of David Cassidy on my bedroom, which I thnk came from the Jackie comic

Walks away in embarrassment sighing about the old days .....