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

joedenise

@borefest - I've never been asked for ID in Iceland - assume that must mean I just look over 60!

@London_1 - I don't use our Asda at Sittingbourne for the very reason you've found locally.  It always seems very dirty, untidy and in need of a damn good clean.

London_1

joedenise, the Gillingham one is the pits to be honest, we have a brand new Lidl opened right opposite it and its really nice and clean and the staff are lovely and very helpful (and you don't have all the messing around with tapping your number plate into a machine like you do at Sittingbourne thank goodness)

Plus I don't have the five mile trip to Sittingbourne, I can nip in the new one on my way back from dropping DGS Jack off at the Dockside where he works temporarily  win-win 

JackieO 

Its sheeting down here at the moment, and I have to take Jack to work shortly as the transport locally is awful

Spendless

Just popping back on. We were away last weekend for DD's first ever pageant. She did well coming in the final 20 and winning an award for her interview. She has now caught the bug and wishes to enter another but I've said I have very limited funds to help. My job is part time and temporary and her brother gets married next year. If she wants to work out how to fund it herself she can though she does very long days at her drama school 8am-6.10pm Mon -Fri with homework/projects on top which limits available time.

In the time I've been missing a local pub and a restaurant have both closed with little notice. The pub kept on advertising its specials etc then suddenly in the last week or so said it couldn't afford to continue and would be closing at the end of the week. The restaurant, a well known celeb performing at a nearby venue earlier this year praised it, it had stunning views and was on my list to visit. The only reason I hadn't  so far was the type of restaurant it was, the menu wouldn't have suited my DD (who is both vegetarian and faddy). 

I did say there would be more and more casualties with places closing  as people stayed away.  

AnimalTribe

This is a great thread, interesting and informative. I've been reading along but not posting. A fair few pages back people were talking about price rises they'd noticed when comparing current grocery receipts against older receipts. I just wondered if anyone uploads their receipts to advertising data collectors? My DH uses Shoppix and a few others (as you can use the same receipt on different sites). Although the points are a slow build it's been worth it for us. I also use Microsoft Rewards, as unlike surveys you can't get screened out. Although, again it's a slow build of points. I've currently got £30 worth of points on Rewards. I've chosen to turn my points into a Tesco voucher. The only down side with Rewards points is that you have to spend the coupon in store.

Rosa_Damascena

YoungBlueEyes said:

When my phone dies I always go to the 'game' and 'cex' type shops for a new one. The phones are in perfectly good condition and the staff really know their stuff.  It is more money up front to buy another one (sim-free) but it's a lot cheaper overall than getting a brand new one and paying monthly.

I'm always reluctant to go down the route of reconditioned. I like to buy a BN good quality phone outright and use it until it becomes obsolete - the last one lasted over 6 years which boiled down to less than £2.50pw - and then reinvest.

Apple comes with good remote tech support but admittedly it is a schelp if I need to get myself to a Genius Bar.

YorksLass

As posted elsewhere, we had a power cut on Friday (from 10am for 12 hours) and, although we're up and running, it did cause a few other problems.  We're in a Local Authority block of maisonettes and it caused the lighting in hallways and stairs to stop working (obviously no emergency back-up then), also the secure door entry system and - horror of horrors - the communal TV aerial on the roof.  I called the council's emergency repair number yesterday lunchtime and the lighting/door entry system were working again by teatime.  Good service, so thanks to the guys who turned up.  

The aerial, however, is a different matter - not an emergency, just a "general" repair.  Fair enough, it's not life threatening or a safety/security issue, but, as a general repair, it could be up to 6 weeks before it's sorted out.    Nowadays most people have Sky, Virgin etc so it's probably not an issue for them.  We only have Freeview (our choice) so do need a working aerial.  We have the radio on during the day but like to watch some TV in the evenings.  A kind neighbour came to the rescue and has lent us an indoor aerial.  Plug into TV, quick re-tune and we have most FV channels available again.  Thank goodness for kind people.  

Jellytotts

We always buy second hand phones via CEX (they come with a warranty), always a few models behind the latest and trade up each time a new one comes out. Keeps ours fairly current and in the past 10 years the only thing we’ve needed to replace was a battery on one phone. (Which cost less than £8).  

Toonie

I had a little luck last night, I couldn't sleep because of my dodgy knees and so as not to disturb DP I came downstairs and was scrolling through Olio just as my local collector was uploading a load of items. I was able to request three loaves and a mini baguette which will help stretch things as we are running tight this month and DP doesn't get paid until Monday. I was chatting with my local collector and he said that as the weather was so poor yesterday the shop had hardly sold any baked items so he had around 60 loaves and baguettes to distribute! Two loaves are in the freezer and the baguette will form part of my lunch with some homemade soup (swede and carrot). The other loaf will be sandwiches for DP for work and breakfast or lunch for me. We'll probably need a bottle of milk before the end of the week but that should keep us going until payday.

EssexHebridean

TheAble said:

EssexHebridean said:

Which supermarkets have switched to apps as the only way of getting reduced prices? 

For example Sainsbury's do "My Nectar" prices on the app. It's not the only way though mind you, it's just an additional perk.

Got you - I was taking it that the post I replied to was suggesting that prices across the board were higher for those without access to an app, rathe than just the tiny number of offers involved in for example Nectar prices or the Co-Op's "choose two" offers. 

CKhalvashi

Jellytotts said:

We always buy second hand phones via CEX (they come with a warranty), always a few models behind the latest and trade up each time a new one comes out. Keeps ours fairly current and in the past 10 years the only thing we’ve needed to replace was a battery on one phone. (Which cost less than £8).  

I've traditionally had iPhones, but we used a custom app for internal communications and hadn't had an Android version of this made.

We use Telegram now for this (which does exactly the same job), I'd inherited moms old phone (Galaxy S8+) and when the battery on that became too unreliable bought a Samsung A10 which is about 18 months old now. No intentions to change that in the near future.

I personally find Samsung stuff reliable and perfect for what's necessary, but would happily consider used subject to being properly wiped.

I needed the other morning to just power the old phone up with what's now a really unreliable battery. Putting it in an airtight bag in the freezer for an hour worked wonders.