From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Greying_Pilgrim · 13 April at 10:36AM

Thank you for taking the time to help me think this thru tmv. Perhaps it's me being a luddite, but I think the way I shop/what I need to buy, I am actually going to be able to get "more" with a reduced balance, but on a physical card, than I would shopping online. I could apply the same process to MrT or MrS if I still wanted to include clothes, or indeed, as you point out, get YS'd stuff or offers. I can't remember if MrL accept credit cards now - although this functions more like a debit card, doesn't it? But I suspect £45 in MrL would be more beneficial to Fam. Greying than £50 'online'.

I haven't got to decide right at this moment, but I'm edging towards getting a physical card, and using it instore. m&$ is in the frame, but now I know it's not limited m&$, I could spend time working out "strategic" purchasing. A "free" £45 is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, but do you ever wish the original company/service provider would just take the ££'s off your bill…….

Again, thank you for your help and thoughts, I'm so very grateful we can have these 'sounding board' convos.

Greying X

in_need_of_direction · 13 April at 10:56AM

not sure about the voucher but i'm with you re online grocery shopping. i still remember the tale of someone who had pine nuts replaced with pine disinfectant!

in_need_of_direction · 13 April at 10:59AM

herr L does accept credit cards

scottishlass · 13 April at 11:00AM

Coming out of lurking to say if its a prepaid credit card can you use it to purchase a gift card on line for M&S and then use that in store? (I assume its added in the Debit Card section rather than Gift card ) Would still have a delivery cost which is £3.99 but then you'd be able to use the card as and when and would last probably longer than the prepaid gift card does.

Although if you went Tescos you then get the full amount…and might be able to get another giftcard for a store that is more useful- the T&Cs may stop this though.

Greying_Pilgrim · 13 April at 11:09AM

inod - you're not selling online shopping to me……. 🤣🤣🤣 😉

scottishlass - thank you - that could be another option, and I'd keep £1.01 'more', plus I think you can use vouchers for part payment can't you? So say I had £5.99 left on the voucher, and the item was £9.99, as long as I added £4, I could use it, couldn't I?

Mmmm, mucho food for thought - thank you.

Greying X

rtandon27 · 13 April at 12:36PM

@Greying_Pilgrim - the Big River site sells both e-gift cards & physical gift cards for emm&ess and 1forall cards that are valid in several stores and they send via next day post. If you have not already done so, you can get a trial of Pr!me which would mean free delivery.

Baileys_Babe · 13 April at 12:56PM

How do I use my M&S gift card in-store?

When the recipient’s ready to buy their present in an M&S shop, the gift card will be scanned at the checkout and used as payment. If you have money left over on your gift card, you can find out the latest balance and choose something else to buy, or if the gift card doesn’t cover the purchase, you can pay the remainder with another method.

From https://www.marksandspencer.com/l/gifts/gift-cards I had to click on more+

I hope this helps answer some of your questions.

Greying_Pilgrim · 13 April at 1:03PM

Mmmmm, OK, I hear you rt - that's certainly another consideration, thank you. I'm really grateful for all the comments folks are chipping in with, because you are really causing me to think this through. Can I lay out another thought - and feel free to pull it apart, because it might be riddled with flaws.

I get that there are ways to purchase gift cards that would enable me to keep 'more' of the original offer. But, I'm thinking maybe the m'ster card may be a better option to keep in it's original format (physical or digital), as in theory, I could spent it in several stores? If I get a voucher doesn't that mean I only have one choice. I know I've talked about m&$, and there are things that I could legitimately buy from there. But if there was any money 'left over', I could use the m'ster card in MrL or MrS, perhaps for groceries?

I'm not settled on what to do yet - and I'm finding all this chat very good at making me think, because to me £45/£50 is a heck of a chunk of money, and I want to use it as wisely as I can. I get that it's 'free' money that I didn't anticipate, but that doesn't mean I want to just spend it. My comments about m&$ are linked to possibly getting a meal deal (which we've talked about on this thread before), and some clothes for DH. In some ways, these are 'luxury' items - ie we can do without a 'fakeaway' and other places sell clothes…….. SO whilst I'm not wedded to spending this windfall in m&$, my thinking is that I could use it to purchase quality (hopefully) items that could be enjoyed by us all. If there is any leftover 'cash' it could go to work for us eg in keeping down next month's grocery bill.

Again, feel free to call me out, as you've already come up with suggestions to hold onto 'more' of the windfall than I would have received otherwise, so thank you so much for engaging in conversation with me, and making me think how best to proceed.

Edit: the one4all card covers far more retailers than I anticipated - thank you rt - that requires further investigation.

I love this forum, and MSE'rs. Thank you.

Greying X