a BIG THANKS to all

firework

This website has made a HUGE difference to my life. Since I started using this site I have been horrified at the money I have wasted and debt I have accrued in the past. In April this year we were burgled, our house ransacked and many of our posessions stolen or damaged. While the insurance covered us for replacements, we felt we could no longer settle in our home and decided to move. We wanted a fresh start, but were still on a budget. But, with the help of this site we have managed to save hundreds and hundreds of pounds on everything from carpets (just by reading some helpful posts and having the bottle to ask for discount - got £200 knocked off in 1 minute !), to fridge freezer and tv - thanks for all the currys codes everyone, save a whopping £360 on the telly and £200 on the freezer. I also managed to save my parents £300 on their holiday, £30 on a coffee machine, £60 on sky, an estimated £160 on my gas / electric, and many more besides. For the first time in 15 years I am paying off my credit card debt - I only use cash now, and I have even found the strength to TELL people I can't afford to buy huge Christmas presents (in fact the whole family looked pretty relieved when I suggest we just buy for the kids and halve the usual agreed spending limit!). That move alone reduced my Christmas bill from an excruciating £1000 + (always put on plastic) to a sensible £300.

And so far I have got about 90% of my presents through top tips on the grabbit boards, glitches (thanks mothercare!), introductory offer deals (lovefilm and littlewoods) and free vouchers (cd wow!). Special thanks to Martin for many of these in the weekly email. The cost of my Christmas so far is nil !!!!. For the first time in many a year I am actually looking forward to it, instead of dreading it.

So THANKYOU to everyone who has posted on this site - and not just for the excellent financial tips, but including the mad / funny / irritating / annoying posts too. Sometimes they were what kept me reading, and coming back for more so there's also thanks to the moderators for not being too heavy handed with censorship.

Hope you all have an excellent festive season, and look forward to sharing more ... hmmm, was going to put tips there but how about just "sharing more" with you all next year.

Cheers :beer:

firework