Spill the beans ... what's the most embarrassing MoneySaving thing you do?

claireyrosey

Justamum wrote: »

A pack weighing only 190g is nearly 25% short of the weight - that's not 'roughly' 250g, it's way off! Surely there's some legal maximum variation (say 5% either way).

Yeah, there is a legal variation allowed, I think its only 9grams on a 250g product. In my experience the weights do vary alot.

Also I avoid a certain supermarket petrol station which I have had experiences of giving out short measure of petrol. We tested this by filling up a plastic petrol can (the kind you buy in the petrol station) It was a 5 litre can, but the pump said that I had put 6 litres in (it was filled to the fill line) I compained to the supermarket - who refunded me. I also called trading standards, who came out (weeks later) and checked all the equipment. (which had already been corrected by the supermarket by then)
We run a business, using a transit van and we spend alot on fuel - so we double check our local regular petrol station with the "petrol can test" to ensure that we are getting what we are paying for. I don't trust petrol stations either.

Justamum

claireyrosey wrote: »

Also I avoid a certain supermarket petrol station which I have had experiences of giving out short measure of petrol.

My dad refused to use a supermarket petrol station (can't remember which one it was) because he reckoned it gave short measure. My mum scoffed at him. It seems he could be right! (I think the supermarket began with a T :cool:)

knitter_nan

Many years ago I had an elderly neighbour who became a good friend. I used to keep an eye on her and run errands do odd jobs etc. Her son and dil lived about 50 miles away and visited every 3 to 4 weeks. The dil worked in a shoe shop so when my son needed new shoes I used to go to town get his feet measured and fitted. When I came to pay I realised I had "forgotten" my bank card and would have to leave without them. My neighbours dil would then buy them for me using her staff discount. Luckily there were 3 different shops that sold that brand so I didn't keep going into the same one. I don't think I paid full price for his shoes for years. She had been through hard times herself and was glad to be able to help in this way.:o

FriedFish

Presume all readers are signed up to PetrolPrices.com and receive their once or twice a week emails telling you where the cheapest petrol is to be had in your locality?

If not, sign up. It's free, and could save you quite a bit!!!

oldtractor

what annoys me in supermarkets is the way they sell grapes. they have them at £xx a kilo and have them in little plastic bags. i always empty the bag,there are often 3 bunches. i leave the oldest one which is usually at the bottom,all the loose grapes and just put one nice fresh bunch in a bag and take that to the check out. I'm sure lots of people buy these big portions of grapes and throw half away. its like the way they sell pork chops. buy 4 in tray and 3 will be proper pork chops and one not quite,a cheaper cut but it brings the over all cost down. i always buy meat from my local butcher now,so much nicer.

Beetlemama

It's worth having a weigh of all the packs of £1.00 bacon in Iceland too, sometimes they are double the weight they should be.

I made Katies Drier-lighters today too

Flat_Eric

GreyQueen wrote: »

About 15 years ago, I was standing beside the ticket machine on a carpark sorting thru my change when another motorist who was driving out wound down his window and handed me his ticket.

Being pretty hard-up, I accepted gratefully and lived to regret it; when I came back to my car a couple of hours later I'd been stung with with a £25 fine. The car park attendant had seen the exchange. Wish I'd not accepted that particular freebie.

Oh thats mean. He saw you were intending to pay.... couldn't he/she have let you off?

I recall back in the summer we popped to the local supermarket prior to our drive down to North Cornwall. my OH commented it was so early in the morning, we didn't need to buy a ticket. I am terrible for not abiding by the rules and so ignored him and proceeded to feed the meter with the required 20p. As I returned to the car after visiting the supermarket, we sat for a shortwhile, munching our danish pastries when I spotted what I think was the traffic warden in his van at the bottom of the car park. It appeared he was watching who entered the car park and when they parked up, taking note whether they visited the parking meter before entering the supermarket. I suspect we would have ended up with a ticket if i hadn't made that trip to the parking machine!

bonsibabe

well mine doesn't seem so bad lol. when we take the kids to ***donalds or k*c for a fast food treat, they always give us loads of salts, peppers and sauces, more than we use, so i put them in my handbag and take them home. i have a box i keep them in and when we are having home made fast food the kids have their own sauces to use! although ketchups and salts generally get decanted into their relevant containers at home! i only take the ones we have been given so we have paid for them.

babyshoes

Just recently we have been picking apples to make juice, cider, crumbles for the freezer etc. We have found some amazing ones on the side of the road - always seems a bit odd to be picking fruit so close to the road, but they are very nice apples, and free! We just have to be a bit careful about where we park and walk - some trees are unfortunately inaccesible, but some have more space around them than you might think when whizzing past in the car!

Apparently, the old advice to not pick fruit from the roadside came from when petrol had lead in it, which then came out in the exhaust fumes and ended up on/in the fruit. These days, it is apparently much safer as there is no lead in petrol, so we take the risk and just wash fruit well before use. Not sure where I read/heard that, so if anyone has a link I would be grateful!

Beetlemama

Yes, I also believe it was lead in petrol that made people tell you not to pick road side fruit, and my mum always said never pick anything that grows below your knee because a dog might have cocked his leg up it :rotfl: