We will get this debt down & the savings up

Makingabobor2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82124535#Comment_82124535

Yes, our local town, about 3 miles away, is the same. The market has gone really down hill, and like the city, so many nail bars and cafes etc. I love a town with independent shops, but we just don't have many good ones. In our village, we have 5 cafes, and about the same number of nail bars, 2 Turkish barbers, 2 normal barbers and around 4 or 5 hair dressers. How many does one village really need? Yet the local green grocer closed down, as did the news agents, and bakery. Luckily we do have a good butchers, who now sells some veg, depending on what he can get hold of and we do have a new deli at the top of the village, with some great bread and veg, although very expensive. I'd rather see a good charity shop open when shops close, rather than a nail bar or cafe that I will never use.

foxgloves

Charity shops are closing down too in our local town - I can think of 4 which have gone. There are still several left but all the usual FB moaners are chuntering about the goods being too expensive because they think they are 'the charity' rather than the organisation running the shop. There are always overpriced items but they do usually seem to reduce the price if they don't sell. I think a big part of the problem is cheap throwaway 'fast fashion' garments which are often too poor in quality to stand up to a 2nd hand life. And of course lots of people sell their best 'old' stuff online - I've done it myself.

Makingabobor2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82124606#Comment_82124606

@foxgloves , yes I agree. I hate fast fashion. But would pay for decent 2nd hand stuff. We only have 1 Cs in the village, but in the town 3 miles away, there are several. But the quality of stuff is not great. However if I were to go to a town around 19 miles away, there are some lovely CSs there as well as some great independent shops. I think we just live in the wrong area….LOL. When we went away to Yorkshire earlier in the year, we found some great stuff in CSs there.

Blackcats

Sounds like you found a great coat at exactly the right price.

Our village high street which is imaginatively called The Street doesn't have any empty shops at the moment. When an emm n ss food hall opened a few years ago we worried that it would kill off our little indie shops but actually its revitalised the high street. We still have a greengrocers, bakers, butchers and a glorious deli. I was v impressed a couple of weeks ago when I bumped into our local MP who was visiting the indie shops and asking how she could help support their business. The MP is not from my usual political party but this is the 3rd time I've seen them at small local village events so they can have my vote next time around.

Makingabobor2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82124681#Comment_82124681

Wow....I should move to your town. Obviously you are in a totally different part of the country to us

Blackcats

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82124721#Comment_82124721

we are "down south" but not right down south 🙃