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

tooldle

Spendless said:

I've just been to get DD some hair conditioner and could have quite easily cried at the prices. I went to get Aussie, £4.50 in Tesco or 3 for a tenner. I decided I didn't want to spend £10 as she moves away on Saturday and I don't know how much/which hair products she already has in, so though nip to Home Bargains instead which is a few mins car ride away. There the conditioner was £5.89. Never seen it as expensive as that before in there. I got her a hair mask instead at a more reasonable £2.99.

I'm glad I've already got her some toiletries to go away with and we're not having to buy every item. 

Lidl have a copy of the Aussie product, and it is considerably cheaper. I couldn't tell the difference.

CKhalvashi

Spendless said:

I've just been to get DD some hair conditioner and could have quite easily cried at the prices. I went to get Aussie, £4.50 in Tesco or 3 for a tenner. I decided I didn't want to spend £10 as she moves away on Saturday and I don't know how much/which hair products she already has in, so though nip to Home Bargains instead which is a few mins car ride away. There the conditioner was £5.89. Never seen it as expensive as that before in there. I got her a hair mask instead at a more reasonable £2.99.

I'm glad I've already got her some toiletries to go away with and we're not having to buy every item. 

Just to point out here, the Tesco own brand shampoos/conditioners are perfectly fine (the ones on the side of the bath are branded Extracts). They smell quite nice too.

They were also about 60p for 500ml last time we bought them.

Florenceem

Mr F has gone for an audio appointment - a 3 bus journey to get there as they stopped clinics at our local hospital. Had the heating on for a while last night.
I am having a semi lazy day as not had a day at home for 18 days - I do need to pop out this evening but it is just round the corner.

EssexHebridean

I like Tresemme for shampoo and conditioner - decent sized bottles so I need to buy less often, always on offer somewhere or another, and the shampoo is available in silicone free which is far better for my hair. Not quite as good value as supermarket own brands I'm sure, but they certainly suit me and my pocket well enough.  something to bear in mind with hair products is that almost everyone uses too much - I was told years ago that on  my mid length hair a blob of shampoo the size of a 50p piece for the first wash - worked well into the roots for a few minutes, then rinse. for the second wash a blob about half the size, rub onto the palms and stroke through the lengths, lather and rinse. Conditioner - use about half the amount you think you'll need and work through the lengths ONLY - remember you can always add a spot more if needed. Leave for a few minutes before rinsing thoroughly for twice as long as you think you need to. This method gets me a good thorough wash, makes products last longer, and not getting the conditioner anyway near the roots means I go longer between hairwashes too. It was the hairdresser who told me that who also told me the value of using straightforward products - so a clarifying silicone free shampoo, for example. 

In terms of other toiletries I'm currently saving a fortune on shower gel as I work my way through what turned out to be a fairly hefty stockpile that  my Dad had. Mum doesn't use them so they got passed to us - that's a purchase I won't need to be making for at least another 6 months I reckon! 

CKhalvashi

Just been to grandparents old house (they died in 2020, if you PM me I'll send the link to anyone that wants to nose) as it's gone on the market to do some final cleaning.

Popped into Aldi on the way back as it's convenient, I'm going away on business on 10 October (postponed from September due to Blue Air's cessation of operations) and spend jointly with mom about £100 on shopping to last until we go away (with OH as its her contact I'm meeting).

Quite a few ready meals over the next few weeks, but there was a fair amount of fresh meat included in that also, so overall quite good value IMO. This is for 2 households of effectively 3 people, so £20/week including a bottle of whiskey that is IMO nicer than Bells.

YorksLass

Our shampoo is the SM's own brand, I also use their conditioner and find both good value for money and do the job well.  Yesterday I gave DH his monthly haircut, something I've been doing for years - I wonder how much that has saved?  The last time he went to the barber's I think it cost £8. so I would imagine it's more than that now.  He keeps offering to trim mine for me but that's a definite no-no.  

Our energy supplier has deducted the first instalment of the £400 from our October DD (not due until the 28th) but I'm still waiting to find out how much the unit rates/daily standing charges will be under the EPG from the 1st Oct.  We're on a fixed rate that's over the new £2500 "average" so there should be some adjustment.  Once I have that information I can decide whether to stay on the fixed rate (no exit fees) or change back to the SVT.

I did the last small top-up shop of the month today and spent just under £6.  It would have been more than that had I not noticed I'd been overcharged on one item, should have been £1.25 (promotion) and was scanned at the full price of £2.40.  Refund given without any fuss but it just goes to show you need to check receipts before leaving the store.  They're not always good at giving receipts either and I often have to ask for one.  Perhaps they're trying to save on paper?    

I'm compiling a shopping list for next week's delivery and I've noticed more price increases.     Milk (again), eggs, cheese, basic baked beans, own brand chocolate wafer biscuits, to name but a few.  A fair few out of stocks too.  It seems the budget will have to be stretched even further.

EssexHebridean

CKhalvashi said:

 including a bottle of whiskey that is IMO nicer than Bells.

That a pretty low bar IMO!  

newlywed

Have been given a large tub of lurpack by someone changing their eating habits. It’s dated tomorrow, but presumably will survive longer…

Will it freeze the same as butter does? Definitely won’t waste it, but short on freezer space so can’t bake too much to use it up.

sammyjammy

newlywed said:

Have been given a large tub of lurpack by someone changing their eating habits. It’s dated tomorrow, but presumably will survive longer…

Will it freeze the same as butter does? Definitely won’t waste it, but short on freezer space so can’t bake too much to use it up.

It'll be absolutely fine, just use as you normally would, no need to freeze

Auntycaz

I freeze lurpak regularly. I buy it when it's on offer and  I've had some in the freezer for 12 months and its been fine.