Living in Austerity

Irish_Mom

Hi Mags,

Have just subscribed to your thread. Funnily enough as my name suggests , I am also existing (I find it hard to call it living)based in Ireland.

Believe me I feel your fustration about everything thats going on here. I'm not sure whre you are based but have you checked out the charity shops in your area? There are serious bargains around especially the St Vincent de Paul shops who are doing a "2 items for a Eur 1" rail. I went into my local branch before Xmas and picked up a beautiful cardigan and a lovely suit jacket that I would have no problem wearing to work. I dont buy the Pennys tat but I will always go for the Debenhams/M&S/Gery Weber as they are good quality. I have my mother hooked now as well and she has several wool coats picked up for a few euros.:j

Also if you have stuff to get rid of why not try selling it on adverts.ie - My daughter is selling everything not nailed down at the moment as she is bailing out to Oz next month and she has made nearly EUR 500 so far- EUR 155 alone last week

Can you let me know about the mystery shopping - I always thought it only went on in the UK and was so envious - getting paid to shop!!:rotfl:

I found out 2weeks before Xmas my job will be gone around March so will be even more in the horrors:eek:

Take care of yourself

IM

Mags30

:wave: Welcome and thanks for joining in

Well done on the clothes bargains! It was SVP I was volunteering for before Christmas! It wasn't in the charity shops but last time I paid one a visit I got charged €7 for a "Florence+Fred" dress, wasn't impressed because that's the Tesco brand. But I liked it and you can't really complain about prices in a charity shop.

I'll do a post about mystery shopping next week when I'm on the computer instead of the phone so I can post links for you. There are a few companies who have clients in Ireland. It sounds fun but actually it's boring but it is 100% genuine.

Mags30

As promised a quick starter guide to mystery shopping for @IrishMom and maybe @Helga (there are definitely a few jobs in Kerry you could do)

Here's the link to the MSE thread which explains everything in detail https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4177927

The 2nd post in that thread has the list of mystery shopping companies that you will need. For most of the companies on that list I don't even know if they have Irish clients so I'll start by listing the ones that definitely do

1)Bare International
2)Catalyst
3)GFK
4)Gapbuster
5)Retail Active
6)Grassroots

The 3 in bold print are the ones I'd recommend for you to get started with. There are really strict mystery shopping rules about not naming clients or discussing fees on MSE so I'll send you a PM after I've posted this.

It can be much more time consuming than it sounds especially because most jobs require you to visit at specific times. Not as specific as 1pm Wednesday, more like 10-1 on Wednesday or 2-6 on Friday.

Then you have to remember loads of things and fill in quite detailed reports so you do have to work for the modest fees earned. But definitely try it and let me know how you get on and if you find any jobs that I should be doing please let me know!!

Mags30

I'm going to post the links for the 2 mail panels I'm registered with, again specifically for my Irish pals but this operates across Europe so anybody reading can sign up.

Basically they send you letters in the post. You open the letters, enter some information from the letters on the website and then post something back. This costs you nothing as stamped envelopes are provided. You won't get loads of letters either, maybe 2-3 a week in boring white envelopes, nothing that will cause the postman to take any notice of you!!

I really like http://www.world-mail-panel.com/portal I've had lots of Amazon vouchers from them over a few years and they have a Paypal option as well.

I also registered for http://www.ipsos-unex.de/register.asp recently. I now have 120 points in my account and you need something like 300 points for a free CD so it's not great but it is genuine. You can collect higher amounts of points for things like kettles and toasters!! Bit old fashioned but I'll gratefully accept a free CD when I have enough points. Every little helps!!

Mags30

Last one! I'm signed up for this too and again I get Amazon vouchers for it. There are loads of other options like Debenhams or Boots vouchers.

This one is a bit of work and kind of annoying sometimes. They send you a barcode scanner. It looks like a phone and it has to be left plugged in all the time. You have to scan the barcode on things you buy and also enter the price you paid, the name of the shop, etc. You have to enter fruit/veg/bakery/meat/non-barcode items by scanning codes/barcodes in a book that comes with the scanner. I admit to not doing this sometimes and just doing the barcoded items because it's quite time consuming (I've always received my points anyway)

This mightn't be suitable for everybody. I live alone so I don't have loads of groceries to scan which makes it manageable. I really appreciate the Amazon vouchers but I couldn't imagine doing it if I had a big family shop to scan with loads of kiddies running around! But if you're interested here's the link

https://www.shopandscan.ie/Login/Login.cfm?x=1

Mags30

I have no enthusiasm/motivation for getting back into surveys/mystery shopping/ebaying/other MSE activities. I need the extra income these things generate but here's the reason I don't want to do it---I don't want to be spending hours in front of the computer filling in surveys and reports I'd rather spend my evenings watching television/going for walks/painting my nails....yes I know Option2 isn't particularly interesting either but it is more relaxing.

Didn't survive one week without buying clothes either I was bringing a bag to the charity shop :A and when I was there I had to have a quick look. Found a vintage dress I liked, it's black + sleeveless with a gold sparkly pinstripe and small shoulder pads, fits perfectly and was only €3. Would easily cost €40 in a vintage shop. Still have a clothes budget of €497 to work with so should be ok for another while:A

Buffythedebtslayer

I know exactly what you mean about not wanting to "MSE" am ignoring surveys and not reallllllllllllllly thinking too much about money, well I am thinking about my money just not making any more.

sort of coasting to be honest!
xx

Mags30

Buffythedebtslayer wrote: »

I know exactly what you mean about not wanting to "MSE" am ignoring surveys and not reallllllllllllllly thinking too much about money, well I am thinking about my money just not making any more.

sort of coasting to be honest!
xx

I know I used to post a monthly review of earnings from surveys/mystery shopping/MSE activities and people would reply with "wow, that's brilliant, how do I do that?" etc. It is possible but it really does eat up hours of your life sitting behind a computer screen

My debt isn't massive so if it was just for debt clearing I mightn't bother but with the mortgage and household bills I'm barely surviving so I need the extra income to stay afloat. €100 and a few vouchers really does make a difference to me. It gives me disposable income which makes life a bit more bearable when everything I earn is being swallowed up by bills.

I don't do "old-style" MSE living, it's not me, it doesn't suit my personality so my only option is to earn that extra money.

Helgathehairy_2

Thanks so much for all that information Mags
I quite like the sound of the one where you scan your shopping (used to love playing "shop" as a child). I have plenty of time.

turfy6

Hi Mags and welcome back, think I may have posted with you before. Im also in Ireland and know how tough things are right now. My DH is self employed and Im a SAHM who helps out DH too. Its really tough and just having come through christmas am certainly glad its all over. We had a really nice family xmas although two of mine were sick with this horrible chesty cough that seems to have been going around. Weve managed another christmas without adding to our debt which Im really pleased about. We tend to only buy the kids 2 main pressies each and then lots of little surprises, they get mainly money from my parents and inlaws from the UK so that can get spent in the sales. Im going to give some more surveys a go and hope to get some vouchers which will help toward next xmas, I think if I were a better "planner" it would help loads. Good luck and nice to have you on board.