Preparedness for when

thriftwizard

So there certainly are some "get what you pay for" products.

For me, part of the fun element of being frugal is to track down or learn to make the things that cost less but are just as good as, sometimes better than, the upmarket brands. I took my mother some home-made pumpkin & tomato soup last week, accompanied by some L!DL's goat's cheese & pesto focaccia and followed by some of their rather nice Italian lemon ice-cream. We had their cranberry & raspberry (currently 59p) half-and-half with carbonated water (17p) to drink. Basically her response was, "Darling! It's wonderful! But you shouldn't spend so much just to treat little old me!"

OK, it was more than I'd have spent at home - it'd just have been soup, home-made rolls & water - but a whole lot less than taking her out for a meal, which she can't do anyway at the moment. She clearly thought I'd spent a lot & I couldn't resist a cheeky grin when I confessed all. She's under the impression that she "wouldn't like" L!DLs; like most of my family, she's never been, which makes me laugh... All the more for me!

mumps

I used to use Protect and Perfect from Boots, not the dearest skincare but still about £70 if you want the serum, day cream, night cream and eye cream. I now use Lacura from Aldi, the one for older skin. It is brilliant and I wouldn't change back and for the 4 products I saved about £60.

ivyleaf

thriftwizard I haven't noticed the Lidl lemon ice cream. Is it actual ice cream or sorbet?

Their dairy ice cream is excellent, isn't it - I love the nut one they do sometimes, and the chocolate one, and the vanilla one Oh and the Straciatella!

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Flipping heck, when I was younger I bought expensive skin products, and I thought it made me look/ feel better. But there was nothing wrong with my skin..

Is all about what we drink and eat ( and our DNA from our parents) to what our skin is going to be like..

Nowadays if I feel it needs anything I just slap a bit of sudacreme on my face when I am in the bath, OK I might look a bit white lol, but it does the trick..

Sudacreme is for me a product ( or a supermarket one) that would be a good prepper item, as a little goes a very long way, and its good for loads of skin related stuff

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Ooo yes the lidl strawberry and their vanilla one in the blue tubs.. Are fab!!!!

mumps

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

Flipping heck, when I was younger I bought expensive skin products, and I thought it made me look/ feel better. But there was nothing wrong with my skin..

Is all about what we drink and eat ( and our DNA from our parents) to what our skin is going to be like..

Nowadays if I feel it needs anything I just slap a bit of sudacreme on my face when I am in the bath, OK I might look a bit white lol, but it does the trick..

Sudacreme is for me a product ( or a supermarket one) that would be a good prepper item, as a little goes a very long way, and its good for loads of skin related stuff

I never bought much in the way of skincare when I was younger, I was blessed with good skin. I think my skin looks good for an over 60 but it is dry and feels much better if I use a serum and cream. The Aldi one is great, £10 has lasted me over 2 months so I reckon it is costing me about 10p a day which is worth it if you have dry skin. I love the smell of sudacreme and always have a tub in but it doesn't do the trick with my dry skin.

thriftwizard

ivyleaf wrote: »

thriftwizard I haven't noticed the Lidl lemon ice cream. Is it actual ice cream or sorbet?

Their dairy ice cream is excellent, isn't it - I love the nut one they do sometimes, and the chocolate one, and the vanilla one Oh and the Straciatella!

It is actual ice-cream, and it's lovely - quite light & very lemony. It came in a two-helping pot, so not much use for big families like ours, but perfect for Mum.

I can't help a secret smile at all my "aspirational" relatives who'd never be caught dead in L!DL - they don't know what they're missing! As if a German grocer would sell absolute rubbish... well, no more than any other chain supermarket!

[Deleted User]

I use soap and water and tea tree shampoo, the cheapest I can find. If I feel a little dry skinned I use Johnsons Baby Lotion which I can get from the 99p shop!!! The hair is mostly grey and I've got wrinkles but at 67 (nearly 68) I expect to have them and nothing's fallen off yet, my choice and wouldn't suit everyone. As long as the old corpus Christie is clean and relatively neat that'll do for me!

RAS

Doveling wrote: »

Stunning photographs of dismal times not that long ago
http://www.shelterscotland.org/lifeworthliving

Wish I could see the exhibition

I think he was the photographer who also took a couple of classic shots; of this sparky wee kid bouncing with energy in dire surrounding (damp room, filthy bed linen, grubby clothes) and another shot of the same small child immaculately dressed sitting on a clean bed with her hands clasped and her head down despairing after being removed to a children's home.

If I recall rightly it inspired people to help get her back to her family, not necessarily in the same surroundings.

RAS

Frugalsod wrote: »

The pound land chains are such big buyers of branded food that they are as competitive as any supermarket.

Own brand has improved so much that for many things even value versions are perfectly acceptable, and the price savings add up significantly.

I do wish sometimes that people would be more careful shopping. Some the the pound stores can be more expensive (branded goods) than the own brand versions in major supermarkets or B&M and even Lidl can cost more than the value ranges.

I like Lidl for some things and I use the pound shops but they seem to create this trance-like state that encourages people to think they can afford each item, so it is OK to spend. In fact a little careful shopping would yield much the same at less cost and they would have money left over for the electric.

I try and put something into the food bank each week and I find Sainsbo's basic range and some Tosspots yield more stuff for the bucks as a rule; topped off by some stuff from the discounters, pound shops and chazzers. Got 2 duvet covers and matching pillow cases for £2.96 the other week (in total).