Not-so-moneysaving anti-tips?

Brambleberry

Hi all,

Inspired by Firefox's brilliant explanation of the banana/honey hair conditioner in the shop well for less thread, I got to thinking, how many of these money saving "tips" are actually quite wasteful of money/resources or both?

My personal pet peeve is the suggestion of families buying paper plates regularly to save doing the dishes :eek:

There must be others, let's share them and bust some myths in the process...

DWhite

For me, quite contraviertionally, it’s ‘stocking up’ as in, buying something that’s on offer and bulk buying. Partly that comes from my work background as we see value of stock on hand in terms of cash as that’s effectively what it is. In my restaurant we have an average of 10 days stock on hand. I’d be willing to bet there’s quite a few people have a lot more than that in their homes!

ScarletRibbons

DWhite, I would agree with you.

As you say, look at stocks in your cupboards in terms of cash. If your shelves are groaning with out of date stuff ir's a waste of money.
There's a world of difference between buying "just in case" and buying "just in time".

Having said that, I've got a bit too much in my cupboards though I am working to reduce the amount.

Pollycat

I disagree with DWhite.
I buy stuff - tinned tomatoes/beans/tuna etc, coffee, washpowder, toilet rolls - when it's on offer.
That way, I never pay full price for anything.
Even MSE say it can be a good thing:

Know when to BOGOF

Bogof! No, not you! BOGOF stands for 'buy one, get one free'. Often there to 'exploit' our impulses, these can be a menace or an angel. The time to grab 'em is when the BOGOF (or three-for-two or half-price deal) is on something that won't go off that you'd buy anyway. Classic examples include toothpaste, bog roll and batteries.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/cheap-supermarket-shopping/

My shelves are not groaning with out-of-date stuff.
I rotate my stock.
It works for me.

Wraithlady

Not sure if it counts but 'Shop Well for Less' annoys me with tips like 'Those expensive knives/curtains/white goods you bought three years ago? Get rid of them and buy some cheaper ones!' So you're spending more money on buying cheaper versions of perfectly functional items you've already got? Can't see how that saves you money.

(Yes, ok, if you're needing to replace them then looking for cheaper options may be money saving but that's not the case with the families being shown!)

Wraithlady

ScarletRibbons wrote: »

DWhite, I would agree with you.

As you say, look at stocks in your cupboards in terms of cash. If your shelves are groaning with out of date stuff ir's a waste of money.

The obvious answer there is to ensure - if you do stock up - that you don't have shelves 'groaning with out of date stuff':D

Pollycat

Wraithlady wrote: »

Not sure if it counts but 'Shop Well for Less' annoys me with tips like 'Those expensive knives/curtains/white goods you bought three years ago? Get rid of them and buy some cheaper ones!' So you're spending more money on buying cheaper versions of perfectly functional items you've already got? Can't see how that saves you money.

(Yes, ok, if you're needing to replace them then looking for cheaper options may be money saving but that's not the case with the families being shown!)

Me too.
I think it must be aimed at people who may be thinking of buying something like Le Creuset who could get something from Sainsburys at a much cheaper price.

It's certainly a non-starter for the families they feature.

Wraithlady

Yes, but surely those sort of people will either be:
Brand driven - and wouldn't buy from a supermarket because 'it's not the real deal'
or
Bright enough to work this out for themselves.

Personally, I have 1 Le Creuset pan for white sauces and the rest is cookware that I can actually lift when full of food! Doesn't help that I have a dodgy wrist, so would rather not dump my very hot dinner all over my legs and the kitchen floor.

ScarletRibbons

I stock up on coffee, toilet rolls and tinned tomatoes as well, but I do actually know someone whose shelves are "groaning" with out of date stuff and still buys more.

I do have a bit of an overstock on a couple of items but in the main manage to have enough without the stuff going out of date.

Pollycat

Wraithlady wrote: »

Yes, but surely those sort of people will either be:
Brand driven - and wouldn't buy from a supermarket because 'it's not the real deal'
or
Bright enough to work this out for themselves.

Personally, I have 1 Le Creuset pan for white sauces and the rest is cookware that I can actually lift when full of food! Doesn't help that I have a dodgy wrist, so would rather not dump my very hot dinner all over my legs and the kitchen floor.

I often think the people who go on this type of programme just want their 15 minutes of fame. :cool:

Pollycat

ScarletRibbons wrote: »

I stock up on coffee, toilet rolls and tinned tomatoes as well, but I do actually know someone whose shelves are "groaning" with out of date stuff and still buys more.

That's why you have to do it sensibly and make it work for you and not the supermarkets.