Put away your purse & become debt-averse

Cheery_Daff

If it's the same pink goo that made my oven door sparkling clean (and it sounds like it is), it's Stardrops Pink Stuff paste - it's very effective!

2Scratters

@Baileys_Babe all I can say is be aware of the 23 days. I had run mine about a week earlier as I couldn't remember the actual date. When checking on line at the correct time it had actually gone up!!. Also be very aware that the "cost effective" prices are not true to what you have specified. E.G the protective no claims comes as an additional cost on some, so why would that be quoted when you have specified your needs I was not impressed, so for this year again I will be staying with my current provider.

2 Scratters xx

Baileys_Babe

2Scratters said:

@Baileys_Babe all I can say is be aware of the 23 days. I had run mine about a week earlier as I couldn't remember the actual date. When checking on line at the correct time it had actually gone up!!. Also be very aware that the "cost effective" prices are not true to what you have specified. E.G the protective no claims comes as an additional cost on some, so why would that be quoted when you have specified your needs I was not impressed, so for this year again I will be staying with my current provider.

2 Scratters xx

Thanks for the heads up @2Scratters I run all the details through the various comparison sites plus a couple not on comparison sites, I also look at both multi-car policies and single car policies, sometimes I then call a couple of likely players to knock it down some more. I have never paid more than the best price (I include many extras like NCB protection, legal, courtesy car...)  and often significantly less. I feel this is worth spending 1 to 2 hours on annually to make the best use of our pennies.
I might spend a couple of minutes tomorrow running a couple of comparisons as a guide and see how I get on.

foxgloves

@peb - Yes, it's exactly the stuff that Cheery_Daff mentioned. Oven looks sparkling. Feel really motivated to get the rest of my kitchen deep clean done now.
F

peb

Thanks Foxgloves and Cherry.  When my covid goes I'll see if B&M stock it.  😁

Sun_Addict

I love Elbow Grease too it’s brilliant stuff. 

foxgloves

Hello Diary Friends,
A city centre trip for us this morning. I got everything on my list, which was mainly presents.....good to find 2 of the things I intended to buy for the presents stash half price.
Managed to swerve an unplanned spend in one of my favourite clothes shops. Popped in to browse the sale (what have I said about sale rails??) & found a skirt I liked. Only two sizes left - one was to fit a small twig, the other was a size bigger than I would normally expect to buy. Decided to queue for the fitting rooms.
Verdict: Loved the print & colour. Fabric suitable for wearing in summer but also with a sloppy jumper & DMs in winter. It was reduced by £18 so a decent wodge knocked off. BUT it felt like there was a bit too much fabric around the waist & it was too long. I like a maxi-skirt but this was on the floor. I could see I'd be able to put a tuck in the waist but it wasn't suitable for turning up the hem as it would have spoiled the shape at the bottom which was a slight frill. I was just experimenting with turning over the waistband to take away some of the excess length that way, when I found myself thinking "Hmmm, that would probably be ok". Well, how many sale rail fails did I buy back in the Spendy Era which were only 'OK'? I shudder to think! I don't know why I used to think that stuff that was 'Ok' in the fitting room would suddenly morph into a great buy on the bus home! So I put the skirt back on its hanger & left it in the shop. 
I think the biggest difference today compared with how I used to be, is that back in the day, I'd have been really downcast at going home with nothing. One major LBM & several years of budgeting later, of course I didn't come home 'with nothing'. I came home with that £37 still safely tucked away in the Clothing Pot!
It did take me back for a minute though, standing in front of the fitting room.mirror seriously contemplating buying something that didn't fit!!
Hoped to sit outside & read this afternoon but it keeps raining so I'm in the conservatory knitting a sleeve instead. 
F x

Sun_Addict

I only buy clothes that I love immediately when trying on. Any just ok things go straight back on the rail. Like you I wasted far too much money in the past buying just ok stuff. 

foxgloves

You know what, @Sun_Addict? I think the fact that we have both stopped buying 'just ok' stuff shows that we have finally learned the value of money. Much better to return home with our cash intact than waste it on average stuff we don't love. That £37 which didn't get spent on a rather poorly fitting skirt (albeit a very pretty one!) today is still in the Clothes Pot. If it gets spent on another skirt I'm fine with that, but it must fit well instead of 'ok' & I must love it. 
If I find myself wavering, I just have to think about the 4 or 5 bin bags I donated to a city Salvation Army clothing appeal back in the Spendy Era when I lived over that way. ...all of them absolutely chock full of sale rail fails which I'd either barely worn, or worn but never felt good in. 
F x

Blackcats

I've also bought lots of clothes that I deemed to be "kind of ok" but they really weren't and were a waste of money.  My worst way of doing this was the Ne*t Directory.  I would browse through it, write a huge long list of what I wanted and then phone the order line.  I worked on the basis that not everything would be in stock so best to order lots of extra items.  By the time the parcel arrived I was happy to accept everything whether I liked it or whether it fitted or not.  I was also too lazy to parcel any rejects back up to return them.  

I spent an absolute fortune in that catalogue!