http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/ UK Consumer Forum | Money Saving | Consumer Complaints en Fri, 30 Jul 2010 05:40:15 GMT vBulletin 60 http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/images/misc/rss.jpg http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/ http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/61-chutney.html Sat, 18 Jul 2009 11:44:15 GMT It is feeling so autumnal here, cold, grey and blowy - I can't get chutney off my mind. there are certain tasks, I associate with the seasons - Marmalade is Winter, Knitting and Chutney are Autumn, Strawberry jam and Elderflower Cordial are summer, seed sowing is Spring.
So as I am too early for the green tomato glut, I am going to make some Rhubarb and Ginger chutney. I already have industrial quantities of vinegar that I use for cleaning, and a store of empty jars, and I bought a mega-bag of Savers onions for 50p.
Off I go into the spicy acid steam!! ]]> Georginazn http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/61-chutney.html http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/60-radio-reception-rubbish.html Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:10:57 GMT This is the 21st century after all! Man has been to the moon, animals have been cloned, babies born from a test tube conception, and you can use a... This is the 21st century after all! Man has been to the moon, animals have been cloned, babies born from a test tube conception, and you can use a mobile up Kilimanjaro - but can I do Popmaster between Gloucester and Swindon? No I cannot. Can I hear the play on Radio 4 between Knighton and Newtown? No I cannot.
The digital switchover is, by all accounts a bit of a lame duck, and FM can be brilliant - so come on radio stations - get boosting!!! ]]> Georginazn http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/60-radio-reception-rubbish.html http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/57-roses-flowers-cutting.html Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:54:32 GMT I love this time of year because roses are my favourite flower. I go round the garden taking one flower from each shrub to create multicoloured (but... I love this time of year because roses are my favourite flower. I go round the garden taking one flower from each shrub to create multicoloured (but Oh! So subtle) posies. I wouldn't be without the ancient (lineage wise)and healthy red rose of Lancaster (actually deep pink) Rosa Gallica Officianalis. If you only have space for one - I recommend it. This year I have been slowly constructing raised beds from old sleepers, that I intend to use for cut flowers a la Sarah Raven (on a small scale) I will plant some roses and peonies in the borders nearby, and then fill the beds with things like sweet williams, iris, and of course tons of tulips and daffs. Money saving in a dilettante sort of way as cut flowers are not essential, and eco friendly in the same way as cut flowers in stores do travel a long way! ]]> Georginazn http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/57-roses-flowers-cutting.html http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/56-living-honour.html Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:00:29 GMT I'm a bit disheartened by the response to a post about getting paid more by a company than you should have been, and whether to refund. I seem to be a lone voice in thinking it right and fair to be honest.
When I first left my sleepy hometown, to live in the Big Smoke, I found a little slip of paper in my luggage when I unpacked. On it was a poem my father had written and I wish I still had that slip of paper. It may be tucked away somewhere, mislaid in one of the twenty odd moves since. One line from it sticks in my mind and it is what I live by.
She noblest lives who makes and keeps her self-made rules ]]> Georginazn http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/56-living-honour.html http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/54-oops.html Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:33:32 GMT Failed in my attempt to keep it tight in the first half of the month. Here we are half way through and I am strapped! See, I succumbed to the... Failed in my attempt to keep it tight in the first half of the month. Here we are half way through and I am strapped! See, I succumbed to the Parmesan - but it goes so well with Asparagus!
I did have to buy Tesco's entire stock of Spelt Puff Pastry. Puff pastry is, to me, the Holy Grail of wheat intolerant living, and DH can cope with spelt. When I say entire stock - three packs - two in the freezer and one baked under a layer of farm shop Asparagus - so of course I had to have Parmesan....... didn't I???? ]]> Georginazn http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/54-oops.html http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/52-one-day-more.html Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:03:33 GMT I am getting really good at putting off food shopping for one day more. My larder is full of packets and 'good ideas' that languish until the use by date lapses. By using the old AA tactic of one day at a time I am forcing myself to use these things. It is a bit tricky with pulses, which I tend to buy when I am in Gillian McKeith mode, then always forget to soak, but a my little slow cooker comes in handy and if I cover the beans with boiling water at least by lunchtime, for an hour, then swith it on, I get a dinner at a reasonable time! It is usually pulses that languish and they are very very good for you! The other thing that gets used in this way is bottom of the fridge veg! ]]> Georginazn http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/52-one-day-more.html http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/50-magazine-aholic.html Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:10:18 GMT I have found a couple of ways to satisfy my addiction to magazines. Like all addicts I am aware that the object of desire is not necessary and is... I have found a couple of ways to satisfy my addiction to magazines. Like all addicts I am aware that the object of desire is not necessary and is more often than not unsatisfying! However......
I bought a subscription to a magazine using Tesco Clubcard points, so it was half price. Ever after, I get regular calls from the publisher offering me three copies of various mags for £1 a copy. I am very disciplined about cancelling before an automatic year's sub is placed on my direct debit.
The other thing I achieved was a place on the GH panel, so I get it free for the price of completing a survey each month on the mag contents. Lovely!! ]]> Georginazn http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/50-magazine-aholic.html http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/49-new-month-old-habits.html Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:30:36 GMT Just about scraped by to the end of the month again. I would love to be someone who can put by the fabled three months earnings as a safe guard, but... Just about scraped by to the end of the month again. I would love to be someone who can put by the fabled three months earnings as a safe guard, but just getting to pay day without being overdrawn would be nice.
This month, instead of seeing payday as a chance to breath out and splurge a little, I am going to try and hold back until the end of the month and then if there is a breathing space I will buy the parmesan then!!! ]]> Georginazn http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/49-new-month-old-habits.html http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/44-when-will-ever-stop-raining.html Wed, 20 May 2009 09:36:47 GMT One thing that as a consumer, the rain does for me, is keep me indoors. However, where the high street loses. the interwebnet gains! But I have... One thing that as a consumer, the rain does for me, is keep me indoors. However, where the high street loses. the interwebnet gains! But I have been very good this week.
I love my sewing machine, but it is 15 years old and has limitations - I have dreamt for years of the one-step buttonhole! This week, the shank that holds snap-on presser feet snapped and for a good 24 hours I went off into the spending dreams stratosphere, surfing for Britain to look at sewing machines with turbo charged capacities.
Then I came to my senses. I spent £5.53 on a new shank! Applause please! ]]> Georginazn http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/44-when-will-ever-stop-raining.html http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/41-petrol.html Wed, 13 May 2009 09:04:44 GMT Just about to do a regular drive from Wales to Hampshire and I am dreading filling the tank. How come last time petrol tipped the £1 a litre mark,... Just about to do a regular drive from Wales to Hampshire and I am dreading filling the tank. How come last time petrol tipped the £1 a litre mark, there was rioting in the streets, and now we are silent on the matter? Is it that we have other things to think about (like having a job), or is it the wearing away of stone by the drip drip drip of water? I thought wholesale oil prices had dropped? I get worn down just like the rocks, by not knowing the full story, not knowing whether we are just being used and abused, or whether there is a legitimate worldwide situation that justifies the price. I guess I just get worn down by the weight of so much that we do not know in our lives, that affects our lives generally! ]]> Georginazn http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/41-petrol.html http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/37-builders.html Tue, 05 May 2009 07:10:33 GMT Reading some of the posts about builders brought back chilling memories. We had a small single story extension built several years ago. A friend... Reading some of the posts about builders brought back chilling memories.
We had a small single story extension built several years ago. A friend had a builder in and I got to know him as he needed a dog sitter for a whole summer. I adore dogs and was without one, so we took them on, and over the next couple of years we had his two lovely dogs regularly. He seemed the natural choice to do our work, and in that relaxed atmosphere we accepted a back of an envelope quote. It could be said that that quote was likely to be loose and I accept that - but we were definitely screwed.
You get swept away when your house is in turmoil and I would advise anyone now to keep detailed and accurate records of the daily activity on their build. You might have noticed my obsession with such!!
If I had, I would have been able to throw back at him the fact that the first £3000 he asked for was for the plumbers, then six miserable months down the road, we received a bill from the plumbers for all the work they had done - and they actually are a respectable outfit!!
They also started after a short while to do the classic disappearing acts, or only one of the three would be on site so it dragged on and on.
Absolutely 100% Never Again! My house will stay as it is, or we will DIY. I am sure that out there somewhere are decent and honest traders, but I have yet to hear of any. ]]> Georginazn http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/37-builders.html http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/35-veg-growing.html Fri, 01 May 2009 11:54:22 GMT My runner beans are sprouting in their pots. I live at 1000ft, and it gets quite windy, so I won't be planting out until the end of May at the earliest. Other veg already in are potatoes, onions, and carrots which are my staple crops, broad beans which are incomparably delicious when fresh as fresh can be, cabbage, kale, and sprouts which I have planted for years but have yet to crop as they always succumb to attack from either slugs, rabbits, goats, or sheep, salad veg - lettuce, spinach, rocket, lamb's lettuce, and beet leaves.
I am not sure whether growing your own is cost effective. If you live near sheep, and have Houdini goats, I guess not. If you worked out exactly what your family needs and managed it, probably is.
It's a great hobby - healthy both muscle-wise and fresh air wise, plus there are vitamin and fresh air benefits too.
Has anyone ever costed out seeds, compost, pots, tools, accessories like gloves, fleece, feed etc.? Take of fthe cost of gym membership and you might just about be in the black! ]]> Georginazn http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/35-veg-growing.html http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/34-daring-not-take-up-offer.html Thu, 30 Apr 2009 12:24:25 GMT Blimey! I didn't realise it would take courage NOT to take up a special offer!!! I was in my local Somerfield and they had a deal on some new Cadbury's chocolate peanuts - £1.65 a pack, or two for £2.50. The DH was due for his Saturday fix of chocolate, so I picked up one pack, figuring that if I bought two, there was a considerably high chance I would eat a fair few and also i would be sending 80p more than I wanted to.
At the checkout the MoStaff quite fairly poointed out the offer, but her face when I declined!!! A picture of shock-horror - couldn't have been worse if I had my dress tucked into my knickers on purpose! Looking behind the two people in the queue also looked so bemused I felt I had to stutter out an explanation!
Am I so weird??? I didn't want two and it wasn't a Bogof. If it had been I might have fallen for it - but as it is a little red-cheekedness was worth it for 80p!!! ]]> Georginazn http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/34-daring-not-take-up-offer.html http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/32-grrrrrrrrrr.html Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:38:34 GMT I have to say - Tesco Credit Card is bloomin' fantastic at picking up fraudulent activity. I have had calls from them in the past, checking out Etsy transactions. Etsy is an online arty crafty site and with an unfamiliar name and small amounts involved I guess it could seem dodgy. I am glad they check. Not so glad the time I spent a wadge and they called DH as the primary card holder, to ask whether the large payment was okay!!!!
Just had a call asking about a transaction that is fraudulent, but for a reasonable amount and, funnily enough, for a product I might well buy. I don't know how they picked it up as fraudulent but I am glad they did. This seems to be happening too frequently lately. Last month my Visa Debit card was used fraudulently too. Neither card has been stolen, so its either internet hacking, or physically copying. I have up to date protection software - so what to do????? All a bit worrying, leaving me feeling hacked off (see what I did there) and vulnerable at the same time. ]]> Georginazn http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/32-grrrrrrrrrr.html http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/30-making-my-life-work-me.html Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:16:20 GMT Just registered here as part of my - sort your life out - campaign. The last few years have been 'tricky' with lots of emotionally challenging events - children leaving home, job changes, bereavements. All those things that you say 'when life gets back to normal' to and then realise that they are all part of life being normal! Anyway - I seem to have a welcome gap at the moment in those events that register high on the stress scale and I realise that I need to get several mundane parts of my life to work better so when the stressful times come, most of life can tick over easily. Money has always been a trial in my life. Never penniless, but never quite 'comfortable', no savings, some debt. I realised there are similarities between my money and my weight - always an issue, never huge but never 'ideal' - I wonder if there is a link!!
Anyway, hopefully sites like this will help - I'll let you know if sorting out my finances is a good diet!!! ]]> Georginazn http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/blogs/georginazn/30-making-my-life-work-me.html