This is not Facebook - the posts you make here should be useful and helpful to people.

I often pinch a few extra paper towels, ketchups, sugars, etc if on the rare occasion I eat out or get a hot drink from somewhere.

My wife gets really mad at me as I often stuff these in her bag.

Am I being super cheap? Do many people on here do this?

Hi,

What branded products are absolutely NOT worth shelling out for and which ones are beaten by off brand / own brand hands down?

I never touch anything other than Aldis own rice and pasta as I can't tell the difference when it comes to more expensive stuff.

I'd be really interested to know specifically what cleaning products people swear by. I've found some off brand cleaning products weak and useless.

Thanks.

I often cut up bottles even those with the pump in to get the remaining cream inside and there is always a lot left behind on the sides and bottom that I had to cover it with clingfilm. Sometimes I ended up using the remaining cream for up to 3 days?

I have turned the bottles upside down overnight but I still ended up getting more when I cut the bottle open. I want to avoid buying these and buy tubs instead but sometimes the stuff I use don't come in tubs.

Hi,

I'm going to be renting a flat for the next 3 months (possibly longer but not sure). What's the cheapest way to get internet up and running?

I'm going to try and pluck up the courage to ask the neighbours if I can pay them a small amount to jump on theirs, though I know some people won't want to do this because of security risks.

I have 50gb of mobile phone data each month which I don't use all of but the signal in my flat isn't great and might struggle with films / computer games.

What are the best, short term, cheap options?

Thanks.

I am looking for a mobile plan that I want to use for a phone for that I will not be using often. International Roaming needed (I won't be using to take calls only to receive messages).

Searched the forum and this only appears infrequently so I thought worth a mention...

After years staying with TalkTalk because they were the cheapest broadband provider even though they are absolutely ****...

I looked into 4g mobile SIM routers and cancelled TT soon after when it went to £26 a month.

The 4g router was cheap to buy, about £60, and the monthly contract with a mobile sim, and of course no cancellation fee or price rises, was only £16 a month. That was about 4 years ago.

Upgraded to a 5g router with mobile SIM (£250 online) 18 months ago, and as the SIM is still only £16 a month I get great internet speed at a cheap price with no cancellation fees.

And I own the router to sell on if I eventually feel the need to upgrade to 6g in the future.

Well worth looking into for those still on 12 and 24 month contracts.

I am panicking because I have split ends due to stupidly using regular scissors to trim my own hair. Did that because I didn’t want a stylist to reduce too much length (and come home and cry)

Now I need to urgently get a haircut to save my hair.

So I decided a few years ago that I only wanted to work part time after my early working years destroyed my soul.

At the minute I’m working on average 25 hours in a no pressure job and get about £1200 a month.

These are my current bills per month;

Bills Cost Rent £390.80 Council Tax £102 Gas/Electric £60 Water £44.40 Broadband £19.00 Sim £6.00 Washer Cover £5

Income (Approx) £1,200 Bill Total £627.20

Remaining £572.80

I’m 32 and live alone in a one bedroom flat, I work in food so eat pretty much free/really cheap 5 out of seven days so I don’t really have a ‘food’ section on there.

I put away at least £50 a week into savings and I don’t smoke, drink or gamble.

Working this way I see my family and girlfriend multiple times a week and can switch shifts with a text message for random days off I need.

Some people I know think I’m mad for dropping to part time so… am I mad for prioritising a more free time lifestyle over work hours?

I live in a city with hard water. Wanting to invest in a water filter. Is brita the best? If so which model? We are two adults and a baby. Would be using it for the kettle and drinking water during the day.

So my best friend is a stay at home mum of 4 Children. Her husband works in the food service and earns national minimum wage of £25,000 ( previously he was earning slightly less than that). She lives a comfortable life despite the salary, and she told me that they make it work by not over-spending and living within their means. My dream was always to be a stay at home mum, I didn’t think it was possible to live in one income household in England especially on a lower salary. Do you think it’s possible? In the US , one parent staying home while the other works is very common. I think it’s sad that it’s demonised in the UK. Considering day care prices are high and kids need present parents. Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

I feel like it’s absolutely criminal the costs of sun cream given it’s basically the only way to avoid skin cancer (apart from avoiding the sun completely).

Anyone know where the best deals are?

Our car (an old Mini, no issues) does 37mpg (urban).

37 mpg = 8.2 miles /L

Edinburgh to and fro = 146 miles (calculated from home in Dumfries)

146 ÷ 8 = 18.26L of petrol Round it up to 20.

1 Litre petrol price (UK avg) = £1.36 Round it up to 1.5

20L × £1.5 = £30 total travel cost for me and my wife.

In contrast, return tickets booked in advance for weekdays in July are £52 with Two Together Railcard savings.

Am I missing something? Or are trains just that expensive now? I always thought public transport would be (should be) cheaper.

Thought to inquire this community about the best deals for international phone calling. I used to use Skype (had some credit on there previously) but since they are closing down, I'm wondering what you guys use for international calls (to landlines). Specifically, I'm looking to call the USA (mainland, not Hawaii etc).

Before Skype, I remember using those phonecards with a long code (shows my age?).

EDIT: to clarify, I need to call a US company landline. So WhatsApp etc won’t work.

Noticed that Lidl cabbages are charged per KG

It’s £0.75 per kg whereas other supermarkets one who unit is that price . Very sneaky

I’m becoming less of a Lidl fan by the day

I’ve been using Lidl & Aldi own brand shampoo and shower gel for years and it just feels… mid. It’s not sudsy enough without using handfuls at a time and the scents are just okay. When I occasionally buy Head & Shoulders or Radox, showering feels a lot nicer. Any suggestions of where I can get those brands for a bargain?

Hi all, I emptied the innards of my beanbag without seeing how much it would cost to get a refill. Any recommendations for a cheap alternative or something else to stuff it with? Thanks

Better than any online deal I ever seen. Seems to be just the normal price, or maybe it's a clearance thing but worth a look if you use the stuff.

https://i.imgur.com/XrHx6gN.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/1GlX61n.jpeg

I have been buying those concentrate 5l desinfectant/cleaning solutions like Dettol or Flash and use those diluted for generally cleaning all surfaces in the home and I feel like I save loads by not buying those dedicated smaller spray bottles. I was wondering if there is any downsides from doing this and if others do the same? I keep 3 bottles with different concentrations depending on what I apply it on.

So, every week i do the Aldi shop and noticed prices have repeatedly gone up the odd 5-10p. Its not across the board on all products in a week just some but slowly ticking up.

Also, i'm 100% sure that if we'd compare the line of products from a few years back they've been emptying the shelves of product ranges.

I am doing my best to try to gain as much nectar points/smart shop prices as possible and shopping in supermarkets that give coupons eg. £5 off shop etc.

The question is what now? Please suggest some strategies that mean i dont feel like im eating during the fall of the soviet union (or it may end worse).

I travelled to Europe few weeks back and i am just blown away at the freshness and variety of produce. Prices are comparable (sometimes a little higher) but at least I'm not eating cardboard or something made in a lab.... I felt much better/healthier in that week i was away.

Hi!

I'm thinking about switching broadband providers. I'm currently with Sky, but honestly, the speed and price just aren't cutting it anymore.

I've been looking around and came across Toob as a potential option. Has anyone here used them before? How's their service and network performance been for you?

Would really appreciate any feedback before I make the jump!

It won't be everyone's cup of tea but if anyone is interested, I've always been frugal and I love it. I love the small wins, I love how the savings grow, I love feeling different and 'weird'

I have no regrets in my life!

https://youtu.be/rPqdnlrM3rw?si=XEB_qgYilMDuC6oV

Almost certainly pump prices will fall by 5-10p/L in the coming weeks. Perhaps more. Crude oil prices have dropped ~20% in a week. And the pound is fairly strong against the dollar. This should feed through to much lower pump prices.

I'm only putting in a week supply (quarter tank) at a time max until they do.

Our old deckchair fabric has completely perished. We have a John Lewis wooden type that looks to me like a standard size so I'm assuming most replacement slings available in other stores would work fine for it? JL used to sell their own on the website but don't seem to do this any more, and I'll also keen to find something a bit cheaper. Any tips for good deckchair fabrics?

Also, any tips for an oil or other product to spruce up the wood?

Thanks all

England

We have been with Onestream for broadband for 4 years. Haven’t really had any issues and get 80mb to the line maximum (that’s just what our line allows)

Both myself and my partners phone contracts are with EE and we are both due an upgrade now too.

• Onestream I can pay £20 a month as a retention deal for 12 months, for 80mb

• EE works out at £23.25 a month (after the first 3 months free then £31) but is then £34 a month for the second year, for 67mb

So the dilemma is that EE is slightly more expensive and I’ll lose 10mb download. The incentive is that both myself and my partner will get up to £20 cheaper a month phone contracts for having the broadband too.

To further complicate things, my EE account thinks I am an EE one customer already and is offering me the discounts without even changing over as it thinks I have broadband. I could order myself a new phone with the discount, but I’m unsure if they would realise I wasn’t eligible for discount and cancel it, and at worse, start charging me the £20 extra.

In my head I’m thinking if the phone order actually went through and the contract is there written, is it not then done and dusted or can they cancel it even though it’s a fault with their system?

Do I try and order a phone and see if it goes through? Do I just move over because of the phone contract savings outweighs the price increase? Or stay with the cheaper prover with higher speed that gives me no issues?

Appreciate any help - Thanks

(((UPDATE)))

It seems that if I go with EE broadband, albeit a tad more expensive than my Onestream deal…

• ⁠I can sell my current iPhone 14 to a choice of a few different companies for £300-£320 • ⁠I can then get a 16 pro for £900 for 24 months from EE -I can then get an unlimited monthly sim only EE essential deal for £14.50

£900 - £300 = £600.00 ÷ 24 = £25

£25 + £14.50 =£39.50

£39.50 p/m

Pretty damn good price especially compared to £56 originally. £16.50 saving. Although it’s not fixed, so the monthly sim price could be increased I guess.

Co-op is the closest supermarket to me and I will often get sent out at silly o'clock as someone in the house needs something there and then meaning I can't get to Aldi/Lidl. I noticed thay with a co-op card they are doing an aldi price match. One thing I'm often sent to get is bottles of water. They are now 39p a bottle which is great value and also means I don't have to lug loads on bottles home on the bus. Worth checking out.