Only freedom will do

PositiveBalance

edinburgher wrote: »

Toiletries is actually one area where I'm relatively spendy because I try and use sparing amounts of things like shampoo and shower gel (no giant handfuls of shampoo required with short hair). I quite like Lu5h and the B0dy Shop for soap and shampoo and shower gel, respectively. Their focus on Fair Trade/community trade appeals to me (and they make some great products).

Goldiegirl wrote: »

I use the Lush shampoo bars, they last for ages. I'm also fond of the Body Shop Shea body butter, when I'm getting low I'm always on the look out for offers, and I often get cashback offers from the .halifax..

Do you have a Body Shop outlet anywhere near you? I have one near me and they have year round discounts: buy 2 items = -20%; buy 3 items = -30%; buy 4 items = -40%. I buy my face cream from there and always buy 4 at a time so I get a hefty discount on a roughly annual supply, plus it works on Christmas gift sets as well. :beer: (Not sure if Lush have outlets, though.)

P.S. Stick all your liquids in pumps. You literally would not believe how much product and therefore money you will save! (This works for washing up liquid as well.)

edinburgher

Multiquote is fabulous!

Ps. I change retailer names because I like this diary to feature decent conversations that might be helpful to contributors, but I don't write to make G0ogle's life easier! I enjoy the relative anonymity of not appearing in search results :T

Goldiegirl wrote: »

I often get cashback offers from the .halifax.

I had a letter from Tesco, saying they are doing away with the fee that's applicable if less than £750 is paid in each month. Tesco might be worth considering for £3000.

Goldie, have you ever tried combining H@lifax cashback offers with cashback sites like £co or TCB? I have a H@lifax account that I used to use for matched betting and like you, I have often noticed the B0dy Shop pop up in the list of available offers

Thank you for the comment re. Te5co, but to channel my inner supermodel, I no longer get out of bed for 3% unless I can easily stash a large amount (a la S123). Our plan once we move into the new house is to save £50k in 5 years, so I need somewhere to keep that. At the moment, I'd rather use something like rolling R@tesetter loans with a 1 month term, as I can usually get 3.3% on those with the relative security of the Provision Fund.

PositiveBalance wrote: »

I think it will, too. Interestingly, you aren't the fjrst person to say that recently. Daft as this may sound, I have had a few people psychologically discombobulate me in the past week or so. This has got me wondering what I appear like to others. What is it that makes you think that?

I'm not going for a deep analysis here, but like all INFJs, I listen and assess

All observations are subjective and probably wrong, just a brief insight into my thought processes!

Like a lot of people who have had debts for a while, you have seemed to have quite a lot of 'drama' in the past and periods where you leap from one idea to the next. To be honest, a lot of MFWs (myself included) are like that. Ultimately the stark realisation arises that the only way to do anything (financially) hard is to buckle down and push through the painful (and boring) process of stinting ourselves in the short term to lay the foundation for our futures.

I think a home of your own would be good for you because it would allow you to drop into the slightly lower gear groove required to patiently work through your debts while seeing tangible benefits for doing so :beer:

I think your plan sounds good.

PositiveBalance wrote: »

Do you have a Body Shop outlet anywhere near you?

P.S. Stick all your liquids in pumps. You literally would not believe how much product and therefore money

The nearest one is in Edinburgh, but I like the idea of stackable discounts. Are the products actually cheaper though? I ask because we're quite seasoned at sniffing out B0dy Shop discounts and 40% + cashback is the minimum saving at which we will spend our hard earned with them. This tends to lead to 1-2 rather large orders a year.

edinburgher

Inspired by jamesd, I have been looking at some additional P2P options, but have been a little frustrated to discover that there are very few available loans at the higher 'headline' rates that he mentions from time to time.

I have dipped my toe into the water with a £100 bid against one loan and have set up some updates so that I will be notified of additional loans as and when they come onto the market. The £100 lower limit for the higher rates makes me a tiny bit anxious as it's more expensive to become thoroughly diversified (with £10 limits, £1,000 buys diversification, with £100, it's £10,000).

That said, loan durations also tend to be shorter (as the loans tend to be financing cashflow or restructuring requirements, rather than long term finance). This will be quite helpful when saving our deposit for house extension/the forever home, as our capital will return sooner.

Also in decidedly not MSE news, I have decided to start playing the lottery

Figured I could spare £100 a year from my fun money.

Karmacat

What an interesting conversation!

I used to love L0sh - I had a ball there one time, but the heavy use of perfumes, or additives or something, made my skin terrible - it lasted for about two years, so now I only use the plainest of the plain no Lush at all

This:

At the moment, I'd rather use something like rolling R@tesetter loans with a 1 month term, as I can usually get 3.3% on those with the relative security of the Provision Fund.

from your post above, Ed, is jolly interesting! Must research that.

Plus, a question, almost completely unrelated to money have you seen season 4 and onwards of Falling Skies? I've read very mixed reviews ... what do you think, if you've bothered?

edinburgher

from your post above, Ed, is jolly interesting! Must research that.

Please note KC, these would not be covered by the FSCS, so think seriously as to whether you are ok with the level of risk. R@tesetter point out that no lender has lost capital or interest thanks to the Provision Fund, but this could theoretically change during a serious depression. By treating them as rolling loans (i.e. smaller amounts invested each month, as opposed to big sums all at once), this would introduce a level of diversifaction that would add further protection from catastrophic loss.

We watched Falling Sk1es up to Series 4, which we found to be pretty turgid. Up to this point, the formulaic nature of the show had been one of its charms, but we lost patience and won't be watching the new series. Currently very little TV being watched in our house (with the exception of the W@lking Dead, which seems to have gone good again).

skint_spice

I was just coming on to offer the helpful shopping advice that there is a Body Shop at Glasgow Fort but googled and there's still a few in the city centre I must walk around with my eyes closed...

edinburgher

I know there are 'regular' ones in Glasgow, but PB was talking about Outlet stores? I've not seen one of these on my travels around the city.

Karmacat

edinburgher wrote: »

Please note KC, these would not be covered by the FSCS, so think seriously as to whether you are ok with the level of risk. R@tesetter point out that no lender has lost capital or interest thanks to the Provision Fund, but this could theoretically change during a serious depression. By treating them as rolling loans (i.e. smaller amounts invested each month, as opposed to big sums all at once), this would introduce a level of diversifaction that would add further protection from catastrophic loss.

Thanks Ed - noted, as to the lack of protection. I think with the small sums involved (and the short time frame, though I don't know if thats notice or the length of the loan) that still sounds interesting. Own due diligence necessary, of course.

We watched Falling Sk1es up to Series 4, which we found to be pretty turgid. Up to this point, the formulaic nature of the show had been one of its charms, but we lost patience and won't be watching the new series. Currently very little TV being watched in our house (with the exception of the W@lking Dead, which seems to have gone good again).

Yep, S4 seems to have gone a bit potty ... I've never, ever watched Walking Dead even when my American cousin couldn't recommend it too highly ... our chazzers round here often have sales, when DVDs are reduced to 50p - £1, so if I see it then, I'll get it

Thanks!

edinburgher

Bargain! We're currently watching on N0w TV, which we manage to keep at around £4/mth through a combination of vouchers, offers and retention deals. Not too bad when split between a couple of people

skint_spice

edinburgher wrote: »

I know there are 'regular' ones in Glasgow, but PB was talking about Outlet stores? I've not seen one of these on my travels around the city.

Ahh got you now, no not that I've seen but I do stubble around between uni and train station noticing nothing a lot of the time:o