Super Scrimpers

elfen

I did enjoy the programme, although I was nearly shouting at the screen at the amount of waste they had and the ruining of that silver tray.
However, I have nabbed the No Spend Week - 2nd day now

Ida_Notion

elfen wrote: »

I did enjoy the programme, although I was nearly shouting at the screen at the amount of waste they had and the ruining of that silver tray.
However, I have nabbed the No Spend Week - 2nd day now

I think I'll pinch that from the programme too. Asda is only a ten minute walk from here and it's far too easy to pop up in the evening during the Magical Oopsie Hour, even though we could probably easily live for a week on what we've got in. Mrs Critical-Expert would jump at the chance to bossily wag her finger in protest for seven days every time the urge strikes. Day 1, here I come

brighthair

I think I watched the last one where she said the family could be fed for £100 a week. First thought "£400 a month? Old style could do that better!"

Georgyporgey

No where near as good as the old series Trade Secrets - anyone else remember that? Think it was on BBC2 in short little shows - I have the book and can't recommend it enough! Full of fab old style tips, my go to book for anything and everything.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trade-Secrets-Everything-Will-About/dp/0752825836

Lotus-eater

song_of_calliope wrote: »

Excuse me but could those people criticizing the one lady on this show for being fat please cut that sh$t out? That is not cool at all. She may have a disability, a thyroid problem, or whatever, and I think it's way out of order for us to criticize her appearance and size when this is not a diet program but a program about saving money. I wouldn't be surprised if she's reading this thread (as this is such a well-known moneysaving site) and it's wrong of us to say such hurtful things that are totally off the subject of the show. I thought she looked just fine

If that lady is reading then I'd just like her to know that she's got lovely legs very shapely, must be all the bike riding.

Now, I haven't read the whole thread, but I was looking forward to the programming and still have it on series link on sky, but was a bit disappointed to say the least.
And someone at the production company bin that Lady what'sername "everyone should live like us" , then the narrator comments that she lives on a 36 acre property. And I agree with someone else, they did ruin that tray.

alec_eiffel

Georgyporgey wrote: »

No where near as good as the old series Trade Secrets - anyone else remember that? Think it was on BBC2 in short little shows - I have the book and can't recommend it enough! Full of fab old style tips, my go to book for anything and everything.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trade-Secrets-Everything-Will-About/dp/0752825836

The Trade Secrets book is excellent, I refer to mine all the time. I bought the Christmas one for a couple of quid last year and that was useful too.

Raine_E_Day

Eggshells work! I have been plagued by disgusting smells from bathroom sink for years and have tried plungers, lethal chemicals, bicarb and everything in between - to no avail. Cannot undo u-bend and reluctant to call in help for fear of cost. After a couple of glasses of wine (didn't appeal as sensible idea when stone cold sobre) decided to give eggshells a go, complete with therapeutic crushing of shells whilst reciting "I hate Virgin Media (too complicated to explain) and I can say it definitely works. Almightly satisfying gurgle - from sink, not me, and the water disappeared at a rate not seen since 1999!

curlytop12

Raine_E_Day wrote: »

Eggshells work! I have been plagued by disgusting smells from bathroom sink for years and have tried plungers, lethal chemicals, bicarb and everything in between - to no avail. Cannot undo u-bend and reluctant to call in help for fear of cost. After a couple of glasses of wine (didn't appeal as sensible idea when stone cold sobre) decided to give eggshells a go, complete with therapeutic crushing of shells whilst reciting "I hate Virgin Media (too complicated to explain) and I can say it definitely works. Almightly satisfying gurgle - from sink, not me, and the water disappeared at a rate not seen since 1999!

didnt catch the programme,what did you do with egg shells please?also,earlier someone mentioned a limp lettuce tip too,could you let me in on that one too?ta.
i should just watch it on iplayer really!
G

beakyshark

Hi all,

I have been a long time lurker on these forums, but now I feel I had to post on this topic. This week's programme was based on a close friend/neighbour of ours and I couldn't leave the discussions on here without stating a few facts or the situations that Channel 4 engineered in the production of this programme.

Firstly, the main facts are true, the family did earn that amount, they were overspending but that is about as far as the realistic portrail of the family went. They don't live off ready meals (they have a son with a condition which requires him to have a particular diet but other than that) they eat normal home cooked food like the rest of us.

In fact, most of the limited footage that was shown, and a large majority of what was not shown, was specifically requested by the production company. I don't know, but I assume that the family felt obliged to go along with the process and couldn't really put their foot down to limit the situations they were filmed in. For example, the footage of the fridge indicating that it was very full, was produced by removing all the food from their freezer and putting it into the fridge; the footage of the mounds of bin bags actually contained the family's dirty laundry for the week. And there was more which didn't make it into the show, the father of the family was taken to the most expensive wine shop in Wimbledon and whilst there asked questions about their friends, dinner parties and the friend's tastes in expensive wines, when in reality the family does most of its shopping at Costco. All of this was to create a picture which is very far from the true way that the family lives.

Also worth noting was that they had no input to the production or the way that they were presented, they didn't see the show before it aired on Wednesday; apparently, the only restriction that they placed and this seemed to be adhered to in the final version of the show, would be that they wouldn't directly mention anyone outside the family, so any comments regarding friends or neighbours were removed.

I also agree that most of the advice was superficial, behind the scenes the advice given was much more useful and appropriate. For instance, Ms Moneypenny helped in refinancing their mortgage and gave advice on whether or not to sell their house or declare bankruptcy, but none of this made it onto the screen. There was nothing that was presented in this programme which they couldn't have learned through some common sense or from the advice of others on this forum. For instance, the programme made a big deal of suggesting taking in foreign students to provide some rent, this is something that the family had already been doing for 6 months.

So, in conclusion, I do agree with many of the comments on this forum, 3K still is a large amount to live on compared to others but the family are doing all they can to remedy this situation and aren't anywhere near as naive regarding their finances as this programme made out. Unfortunately, the programme's presentation of their situation didn't really do them any favours and neither generally did the advice they received aid their situation, personally I think that after the filming and the engineered situations perhaps the family regretted the decision that they volunteered to be included in this programme.

SunshineBear

On the evidence above I recommend NOT to get involved in a 'reality' TV program!!