It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

elsien

Not a great fan of Karrimor since they were taken over by Sports direct. The shoes are certainly poorer quality now they're back in the budget end of the scale. 

CKhalvashi

elsien said:

Not a great fan of Karrimor since they were taken over by Sports direct. The shoes are certainly poorer quality now they're back in the budget end of the scale. 

The above with a proviso that ours are about 3 years old in this case.

ellenvan

Still worth a look in charity shops for winter wear which is less popular at this time of year.

JinJinBlue

Floss said:

@JinJinBlue I would suggest you think about acquiring some rugs or runners for your floors - I found having a thick s/h rug under my feet/ sofa/ coffee table has made a big difference to my laminate floors.

Thanks for the suggestion Floss. I have a couple of rugs and will look out for some more. 

JinJinBlue

The lnde newspaper has a picture of cheese blocks with security tags on, following on from euroorris's post about butter. It was taken in Al dees. It looks like shoplifting might be on the rise because of the cost of living crisis. I wasn't sure how to share the picture. I never thought that I would see the like. 

CKhalvashi

JinJinBlue said:

The lnde newspaper has a picture of cheese blocks with security tags on, following on from euroorris's post about butter. It was taken in Al dees. It looks like shoplifting might be on the rise because of the cost of living crisis. I wasn't sure how to share the picture. I never thought that I would see the like. 

Sadly yes.

Saw a lady ask the checkout worker to stop at £40 the other week. I insisted on paying for the other £12 of shopping for her, she had a young child with her.

The checkout worker said this is not uncommon scenario now

elsien

If people are that skint (been there) then it always baffles me why they don’t work it out as they go round the shop, and get the essentials first, rather than waiting for the cashier to hit £40 and potentially be buying some of the slightly less essential things first. That’s not really a system, more a random game of chance. 

For those who struggle with mental arithmetic there’s either shop and scan, the calculator on your phone, or the old fashioned sort of calculator. 

Bag of lentils or bag of crisps - I know what I’d be making very sure was in my £40 worth. 

-taff

I'd assume they'd put them on the belt in order of essentialness [ not a word but ..]

Kudos to you @CKhalvashi

elsien

Last time I saw someone ask the cashier to stop at a certain amount, the booze went through before the food and the rest didn’t seem to be in any particular order. I guess it depends on the person’s definition of essential. 

euronorris

Some people feel very overwhelmed at the thought of any type of math, even with a calculator. And similar for setting up access to the shop and scan option at various supermarkets. I think sometimes they are convinced they can't do it, so they don't try. Which is a real shame, as I agree it's a better way to do things on a very restricted budget.

Well done for helping @CKhalvashi

Local sainsburys seem to apply their main reductions after 4pm during the week, I discovered yesterday.