Super Scrimpers

sparrer

I agree with everyone who said let's have a real MSE programe and show them how it's done properly. As for the family who waste £20 of food every week :eek:, that's what I spend on me, two cats and a dog, with not a packet meal in sight

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

Ida_Notion wrote: »

'Thrift Factor', in which Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and Louis Whatsisname judge contestants on their winning ways with white vinegar, their ability to stretch a chicken and similar frugal talents... 'BOGOF Brother', in which contestants are given thirty-five quid between them and told to feed the BOGOF Brother Household on nothing but BOGOFs, oopsies and multibuys for a week - and bring back change. Or... Celebrity Mincing On Ice, in which a clutch of B-list has-beens are each challenged to fill a freezer with the most exciting variety of home-made mince dishes they can think of, for the lowest cost...

The future of television suddenly looks *so* much brighter

great idea! you forgot 'who wants to be a millionnaire'!

jetbag

I watched last night and don't see how she helped the family with finances. they were overspending by £1800 a month (£21600 a year), mrs moneypenny's suggested they could save just over £11000 a year and that included renting out a room for about £4000 a year. that is still an overspend of about £10000 a year. How does this really help?

valentina

I watched it, but shan't watch any more episodes. I was practically shouting at the tv when they said that family "only" had 3K a month income and the bloke went to the supermarket something like 17 times in four days! It's not even funny that they threw away so much food :eek:
And that old dear with the trays - how many trays do you need?

toasterman

valentina wrote: »

that old dear with the trays - how many trays do you need?

That's what I thought! She BOUGHT the new tray for £1 (not a good tip to SAVE money), and she had one already, anyway.
She also didn't buy it from the dump (as said in the programme). You can't take stuff from the dump. Scrapyard, maybe (albeit one that had shelves, and old tat tidied and categorised into product type).


I actually thought I was watching last week's show for a few minutes.
Family on considerable-higher-than-average income. Check.
Clueless. Check.
Loads of unquantified bags. Yep.
Make a shopping list.. f**k me. Who are these people? How have they got this far in life?

That said, it annoyed me somewhat that Mrs Moneypenny started complaining about all their electronics and gadgets. Almost all of them would have been purchased when they had a substantially higher income. If you've got an income of over £100k, why not buy a few luxuries. As for the flatscreen tv in the kids' bedroom - it is almost impossible to buy a new tv these days which isn't a flatscreen. And old second-hand CRT screens don't work properly with the latest games consoles (as I found out after buying a PS3, when I couldn't read the in-game text).
What she needed to do was tell them straight - "you've been rich - you've been lucky - but you're not rich any more".

Even the tips from OAPs.. dye your underwear..didn't we have this last week? Decoupage tray? That was last week.
Neither was explained in any detail last week, but they didn't go into any detail this week about how to safely dye your saggy 20-year old pants, or where to get this mythical free dye from, so that piece contributed nothing.

The constant comparison between WWII times (when there was NOTHING), and today (when products are actually available to buy) really started to irritate me by the end of the programme.

Lady Muck avoiding paying £40 on face cream, by making her own, using a load of ingredients that are not in any way free. Where'd she get the beeswax and all the other ingredients from?
There is an easier way. Has she never tried supermarket own-brands? I think she'd be amazed.

They went into credit cards/store cards this week. They asked people in the street about both/either, muddling them continually, then gave a list of interest rates at at the end, without really explaining the difference, or adding up what that difference in interest between the highest and lowest would actually cost you.

I don't really like anybody on the programme.
And I will almost certainly be watching next week, with a fresh bucket of scorn ready to pour over it.

cat_g_83

So they went to the super market about 17 times a week...once for a big shop and 16 little shops ranging from £15 to £40 for each little shop. I would be pretty surprised if they were only throwing away £20 of food a week.

This program does make me feel better about my financial situation though. At least I know how much money I am spending and know how I can cut back in the tight months. X

Trazy

I gave it a second chance last night but will not be watching a third time. It is a waste of half an hour of my time. As already mentioned, most of it was the same as last week and pointless anyway

lostinrates

toasterman wrote: »

She also didn't buy it from the dump (as said in the programme). You can't take stuff from the dump. Scrapyard, maybe (albeit one that had shelves, and old tat tidied and categorised into product type).

Some you can buy from, the two nearest to me where I moved from last year had sales areas. Its a good idea too, one man's junk is another man's treasure.

toasterman

Oh and Vacation Vacation Vacation on before it, is almost as bad.
It seems (episode 2 was last night) that each week they TRY really hard to get a week's holiday for under £500 per person, in the interests of Joe Consumer on a budget.
Both weeks, they've done it really easily (although in the most complicated, awkward way possible - buying it all separately).
First week was Ibiza (see my other post here for my thoughts on that: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/42480676#Comment_42480676) and this week Tuscany.

Either way, it's really easy to get a holiday in Europe for under £500 per person.
Step 1. Phone First Choice/Thomson/Thomas Cook/another travel agent.
Step 2. Tell them your budget.
Step 3. Book holiday.

You see them in the window on any given day for that sort of cost.
£500 per person is hardly a budget holiday, is it?
Maybe it is for Phil and Kirstie.

toasterman

lostinrates wrote: »

Some you can buy from, the two nearest to me where I moved from last year had sales areas. Its a good idea too, one man's junk is another man's treasure.

Really? I've never seen that before.
None of the local ones round here have such a thing (in fact I'm pretty sure there are signs telling you that you can't take anything from there), and some slightly further away are now charging you to take stuff TO the dump.
I know a few people who would be interested in such a shop to buy from, but I won't ask you for further details, as they have enough clutter already