Oldstyle 'witnessing'

moggins

troo wrote:

Mind you, he doesn't laugh at me quite so much now when he sees how much is still in the bank at the end of the month [/color]

No, it's quite strange how the opinions change when they see the money mounting up

Pooky

Most of my friends and family are very good at looking down their noses at this money saving lark...more fool them. I can't remember the last time I had a conversation with anyone that didn't include the words, MSE or that website I found......

Had one friend on the phone this morning - complaining at the amount of dust the builder is producing whilst putting in her new bathroom, (the bathroom he's taken out was still fine, just apparently the wrong colour??) She was harping on about how little time she has as it is let alone to clean the house again because of the dust....times so precious etc etc etc.... in the 18 mins she spent on the phone,(I was on my cordless one) I made 2 bathches of pastry, one for the freezer, one for quiche for lunch, weighed out pizza dough ingredients and stuck the machine going, unloaded the dishwasher and emptied the washing machine....it's amazing that she stood there moaning about precious time, whilst spending god knows what on a telephone call that I could have made for 1p via 18866, whilst I did so much. Some people will never be MSE - they just can't spare the time.

I know I still have a long way to go to be in the ranks of some of you MSE but I'm on my way up -- there's no stopping me now!!

elona

I converted the lady who delivered my slow cooker - it seems her husband reads this site and said "Do you know someone in Tadcaster posts on the board?"

He was very surprised when she said she had just delivered my new slow cooker as old one had packed up!

Hubby is delighted with meals in slow cooker and says he has not had a sniffle this winter while work collegues have been dropping like flies - he credits this to all the veg in soups etc.
Daughters still turn noses up but delighted with Xmas presents this year - thanks to this site I did not spend extra - just got more for my money.:):):)

Mrs_Thrift

I've managed to convert my brother and my parents, but a lot of my friends seem to think it's a nice idea but never get round to taking the plunge into MSE!

Most of my friends know I'm a bit of a bargain hunter, but I did see some ill-disguised looks of shock and almost disgust on Sunday at dinner, hehe! OH and I were invited to a friend's house for dinner and although she knows what I'm like (and says that she does want to try and learn from me, and I have to say she's getting better - it's the same friend I mentioned on the make do and mend thread as thinking of what I call expensive shops as cheap shops!) her sisters didn't really know what I was like with regards to money until we were talking after dinner on Sunday.

We were all talking about furniture and decor as my friend's looking for a new house, and I had to talk her out of buying a chest of drawers for £1,250!!!! Her sisters didn't seem to think it was that much money, but thought she could maybe get drawers cheaper than that, "probably about £800 is right." WHAT???

When we got onto talking about clothes shopping (as us girls do!) the sisters could hardly believe that I try to buy things way cheaper than in New Look, while one sister actually admitted she doesn't even go into New Look as it's too cheap for her!!

But like someone on this thread said, when OH and I can turn round and do something we really want to without going into debt for it, they'll be looking shocked again, but probably more than a wee bit jealous too!

I love my friend and her sisters to bits, but I just WISH I could convince them it's not that shocking to always try to stretch your money - HOW can I do it???

Ticklemouse

I'm also guilty of always refering to 'my website that I live on'. Some friends laugh at me, but still don't bother to look up anything up, then moan about how tight money is. One friend is converting slowly, although she always lets me phone her up for our weekly chat via 18866. (It's amazing how much you can still get done during a 2+ hour (yes, really) phone call) The 'moaning' friends tell me I need a tv show to spread the word. I just say I'd have to have all you lot on it too.

However, whilst I agree in principle about going out and blowing £1250 on drawers if you haven't shopped around first, I'm not against spending that kind of money on furniture if you can 1) afford it and 2) you get value for money. I have recently bought some new bedroom drawers/cabinets and yes, they were expensive. However, I had been using some Stag Minstrel ones my mum inherited from my great-aunt. Probably 40 years old and now in my spare room. I intended to strip them back one day and they'll look great again. I also expect my new furniture to last 'forever'. I had looked at cheaper furniture but didn't like it and some was falling to bits in the shop. I'm not rich, I just save hard for what I want

Mrs_Thrift

Ticklemouse wrote:

However, whilst I agree in principle about going out and blowing £1250 on drawers if you haven't shopped around first, I'm not against spending that kind of money on furniture if you can 1) afford it and 2) you get value for money. I have recently bought some new bedroom drawers/cabinets and yes, they were expensive. However, I had been using some Stag Minstrel ones my mum inherited from my great-aunt. Probably 40 years old and now in my spare room. I intended to strip them back one day and they'll look great again. I also expect my new furniture to last 'forever'. I had looked at cheaper furniture but didn't like it and some was falling to bits in the shop. I'm not rich, I just save hard for what I want

Oh I completely agree that it wouldn't be silly for my friend to spend that much on the drawers if she could easily afford it and if they were worth it........But, she will only have about £2,000 to furnish her whole house!! And I totally don't think the drawers would look good for long as they were completely mirrorred so would show up every tiny smear and scratch, and I think my friend would actually get a bit bored of them, to be honest.

elona

She could attach mirrror tiles to an old piece of furniture for a few pounds! :):)

Sarahsaver

Friends have gone and told their friends/colleagues that they know someone who makes bread, cakes, pickles, grows veg, makes her own detergent... One even passed on a tip about roast spuds! (make a huge amount then freeze the surplus - homemade 'aunt bessies')
I am quite pleased about this:)

Mrs_Thrift

elona wrote:

She could attach mirrror tiles to an old piece of furniture for a few pounds! :):)

Hmmm...she might quite like that idea......She'd probably rather pay someone to do it for her, but at least it would make her think again about the cost! I think we've managed to put her off the whole mirrorred thing altogether, though, when we pointed out it wouldn't look like in the magazine for long - it would be smeared and scratched in no time. She'll find something else she likes as much though, for a lot less money, I'm sure (she will with my guided shopping anyway, lol!)

VickyA_2

With my help, a couple of my friends have been converted into the "Martin way of thinking". They were really chuffed when they haggled the cost of their holiday down and one travel agent told them that they'd got a brilliant deal (not the same agent that they booked with!).

My boyfriend no longer turns his nose up at this site either, especially since we've saved loads on our phone bill. I was in Italy for a month recently and he phoned me every night from landline to landline - total cost £5.70! He doesn't laugh anymore when I put vinegar in as a softener into the washing machine. Another convert!