Things cheap people do
Discussion
Luncheon Vouchers were a tax efficient bonus companies could give their staff. 25p a day towards your lunch in the 1970s was helpful but for some the vouchers would just gather in their desk drawer. Some folk allowed them to collect and could buy a minor feast every so often. Others just let them mount up. I met a Luncheon Voucher gatherer when I was working evenings and weekends in a hotel restaurant. He was among a group from the local Ramblers Association who had arranged to have Sunday tea with us. There were hordes of them. This chap had drawn my attention when he came in. There was something furtive about his behaviour. As tea progressed he became more and more agitated. When the first person stood up to pay he raced them to the till.
"I'm going to pay with Luncheon Vouchers. You have to accept them."
"Yes, we accept Luncheon Vouchers."
"You have to accept them."
I wasn't quite sure what he was driving at but he paid with vouchers and then waited for the next person. As they approached the till he asked them to buy his vouchers and pay with those so he could keep the cash.
"Ah," I said. "I'm not sure that's acceptable."
"You have to accept them. You said you accept them."
I was only a kid, I didn't want a scene. I didn't want agro with him, with the hotel or with the Ramblers Association.
"I'll ask."
"You have to accept them."
He was even more agitated. I asked. When I got back from asking they were all queuing.
"My boss says it's okay."
"Of course it's okay! You have to accept them."
What the f
k was up with him? I'd checked and it was all okay.
It wasn't okay. He had enough vouchers to trade with his rambling acquaintances to pay for the whole lot and pocket the cash. It took forever. Change wasn't given for the vouchers so with each person or couple he had to perform a scene from the Fast Show. 'If I give you ten and you give me one...' It was a nightmare. And all the time he was getting more and more animated.
"You have to accept them."
His fellow ramblers seemed perfectly accepting of this ludicrous behaviour. It seemed really odd to me but they all went along with it.
Towards the end he was foaming at the mouth slightly.
"I'm going to pay with Luncheon Vouchers. You have to accept them."
"Yes, we accept Luncheon Vouchers."
"You have to accept them."
I wasn't quite sure what he was driving at but he paid with vouchers and then waited for the next person. As they approached the till he asked them to buy his vouchers and pay with those so he could keep the cash.
"Ah," I said. "I'm not sure that's acceptable."
"You have to accept them. You said you accept them."
I was only a kid, I didn't want a scene. I didn't want agro with him, with the hotel or with the Ramblers Association.
"I'll ask."
"You have to accept them."
He was even more agitated. I asked. When I got back from asking they were all queuing.
"My boss says it's okay."
"Of course it's okay! You have to accept them."
What the f
k was up with him? I'd checked and it was all okay. It wasn't okay. He had enough vouchers to trade with his rambling acquaintances to pay for the whole lot and pocket the cash. It took forever. Change wasn't given for the vouchers so with each person or couple he had to perform a scene from the Fast Show. 'If I give you ten and you give me one...' It was a nightmare. And all the time he was getting more and more animated.
"You have to accept them."
His fellow ramblers seemed perfectly accepting of this ludicrous behaviour. It seemed really odd to me but they all went along with it.
Towards the end he was foaming at the mouth slightly.
Hoofy said:
227bhp said:
Hoofy said:
Why the fk did he buy a fking panini when he could have bought a whole loaf of bread for 36p which would have lasted a week. Either he's stupid or I'm missing something.
£7 to cover a week's food if you're tight and not bothered about the quality which he can't be if he's eating fried eggs in a panini.
36p for a loaf of bread
£1.19 for 15 eggs (boil them)
2 bags of salad at 62p each.
£1 for ham...
And screw it, a jar of caviar for £2.75 just to use up the £7.
What do you weigh, about 3 stone? There is two to three days food there.k did he buy a fking panini when he could have bought a whole loaf of bread for 36p which would have lasted a week. Either he's stupid or I'm missing something.£7 to cover a week's food if you're tight and not bothered about the quality which he can't be if he's eating fried eggs in a panini.
36p for a loaf of bread
£1.19 for 15 eggs (boil them)
2 bags of salad at 62p each.
£1 for ham...
And screw it, a jar of caviar for £2.75 just to use up the £7.
He's right though, that's not enough calories to maintain you. This is quite a fun challenge to make something that is reasonably nutritious and won't be too bland.
I just did some calculations. You could make a reasonably balanced meal from 2 eggs, half a can of value tinned tomatoes and 100g of dried pasta. This would give you 546 calories and cost 36p using products from Lidl.
When the pasta's done, you could use the hot pasta water to boil the eggs in and save a bit of gas. Or boil a few days worth of eggs in one go.
This doesn't quite meet the challenge as multiplied by three, it would still not be quite enough calories if you were active, and it would cost £1.08 for the day.
You could do it if you doubled the amount of pasta per meal as that is by far the cheapest calories on the plate.
Edited by AlexC1981 on Saturday 15th December 09:18
DickyC said:
Ramblers
.
Most Ramblers are a law unto themselves. And most are tight as a ducks arse..
The number who enter cafes hoarding seats by the fire blindly talking in ignorant monotones then don't order a brew and then take out their home made sandwiches and eat them.
Always wondered whether 'rambling' refers to their mode of speech. Mind you, as most appear addicted to the Daily Fail, outrage and rambling go hand in hand.
Cluttering up the countryside in their 50s bobble hats walking 4 abreast causing excessive erosion to our pathways. Disgraceful.
Clueless tightarsed cretins the lot of 'em.
Without being stereotypical of course.
AlexC1981 said:
Hoofy said:
227bhp said:
Hoofy said:
Why the fk did he buy a fking panini when he could have bought a whole loaf of bread for 36p which would have lasted a week. Either he's stupid or I'm missing something.
£7 to cover a week's food if you're tight and not bothered about the quality which he can't be if he's eating fried eggs in a panini.
36p for a loaf of bread
£1.19 for 15 eggs (boil them)
2 bags of salad at 62p each.
£1 for ham...
And screw it, a jar of caviar for £2.75 just to use up the £7.
What do you weigh, about 3 stone? There is two to three days food there.k did he buy a fking panini when he could have bought a whole loaf of bread for 36p which would have lasted a week. Either he's stupid or I'm missing something.£7 to cover a week's food if you're tight and not bothered about the quality which he can't be if he's eating fried eggs in a panini.
36p for a loaf of bread
£1.19 for 15 eggs (boil them)
2 bags of salad at 62p each.
£1 for ham...
And screw it, a jar of caviar for £2.75 just to use up the £7.
He's right though, that's not enough calories to maintain you. This is quite a fun challenge to make something that is reasonably nutritious and won't be too bland.
I just did some calculations. You could make a reasonably balanced meal from 2 eggs, half a can of value tinned tomatoes and 100g of dried pasta. This would give you 546 calories and cost 36p using products from Lidl.
When the pasta's done, you could use the hot pasta water to boil the eggs in and save a bit of gas. Or boil a few days worth of eggs in one go.
This doesn't quite meet the challenge as multiplied by three, it would still not be quite enough calories if you were active, and it would cost £1.08 for the day.
You could do it if you doubled the amount of pasta per meal as that is by far the cheapest calories on the plate.
Edited by AlexC1981 on Saturday 15th December 09:18
Anyway, my point is that his choices for his budget didn't make sense. With a bit of thought, like you and I, he could have a whole week sorted easily.
Hoofy said:
What is wrong with it is the price. He could have got a loaf of bread in the same store for a few pence more that would have lasted a lot longer.
Anyway, my point is that his choices for his budget didn't make sense. With a bit of thought, like you and I, he could have a whole week sorted easily.
You may well have a point there, I guess he chose what he did so that he could make a 5 day episodes and add some variance rather than buying the whole loaf on day 1, if that makes sense.Anyway, my point is that his choices for his budget didn't make sense. With a bit of thought, like you and I, he could have a whole week sorted easily.
Anyway, moving to the theme of restaurants here he is again (London Hacks), going into various establishments, ordering food and then telling them "he left his wallet at home"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcpxWMS9DqY
As suggested in the comments, I hope he went back to the first restaurant and paid lol.
The last restaurant is interesting too.
People featured in this article seem uber cheap (and perhaps slightly mentally ill) pretending to buy stuff, must be a shops worst nightmare.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-46537582
Guess the male equivalent are tyre kickers who go through all the motions (not just the test drive) to buy a new car then cancel wasting a lot of the dealerships time.
I have an acquaintance like this who spent months looking for a new car spending each weekend in dealerships getting extended test drives on high end cars then trying to get the finance (guy has no credit score and is perpetually borrowing off people) he finally settled on a ten year old S-Type jag which probably cost under a grand.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-46537582
Guess the male equivalent are tyre kickers who go through all the motions (not just the test drive) to buy a new car then cancel wasting a lot of the dealerships time.
I have an acquaintance like this who spent months looking for a new car spending each weekend in dealerships getting extended test drives on high end cars then trying to get the finance (guy has no credit score and is perpetually borrowing off people) he finally settled on a ten year old S-Type jag which probably cost under a grand.
gangzoom said:
The line of people that builds up at Tesco and ASDA waiting for the yellow stickers is not worth the effort. Discounts aren't that great and you have to be ready for a scrum.
As I've mentioned M&S and Waitrose is the place to go for yellow stickers. Last week I picked up a £10 roast chicken meal for £2, and £3 soup for 10p.
The odd things about M&S is even when there are some amazing yellow sticker items around 95% of the shoppers there ignore them and I've seen people pick up the equivalent full price item when the same item but yellow stickered is literally adjacent??!!
But timing is a bit pot luck, and you have to be prepared to leave empty handed as I sometimes do. Luckily there is a ASDA 100 meters down the road, so my usual route is M&S for a quick bargin hunt, if nothing worthwhile pop to ASDA. Shame we don't have an Aldi/Lidial in the same area, as interms of absolute food to £ ratio ASDA is still more expensive than those two.
Depends on the store I suppose. I've worked in a Waitrose, and an ASDA. In my experience the latter has a far more hands off management approach, couple that with the general propensity for supermarket workers to hate life, their jobs, their companies, etc etc. In my ASDA you are far more likely to see staff reducing stuff down to essentially free (£0.02-0.20) as if it shifts off the reduction shelf it gives them one less job to do at the end of the night. As I've mentioned M&S and Waitrose is the place to go for yellow stickers. Last week I picked up a £10 roast chicken meal for £2, and £3 soup for 10p.
The odd things about M&S is even when there are some amazing yellow sticker items around 95% of the shoppers there ignore them and I've seen people pick up the equivalent full price item when the same item but yellow stickered is literally adjacent??!!
But timing is a bit pot luck, and you have to be prepared to leave empty handed as I sometimes do. Luckily there is a ASDA 100 meters down the road, so my usual route is M&S for a quick bargin hunt, if nothing worthwhile pop to ASDA. Shame we don't have an Aldi/Lidial in the same area, as interms of absolute food to £ ratio ASDA is still more expensive than those two.
Edited by gangzoom on Saturday 15th December 06:49
I remember Waitrose having pretty strict criteria for reductions, Asda leave it more down to the staff members discretion. That being said, another attribute to the more hands off management is that your warehouse staff tends to get first dibs on any reductions going in the ASDA & pop them in their lockers until the end of their shifts.
JaredVannett said:
Hoofy said:
What is wrong with it is the price. He could have got a loaf of bread in the same store for a few pence more that would have lasted a lot longer.
Anyway, my point is that his choices for his budget didn't make sense. With a bit of thought, like you and I, he could have a whole week sorted easily.
You may well have a point there, I guess he chose what he did so that he could make a 5 day episodes and add some variance rather than buying the whole loaf on day 1, if that makes sense.Anyway, my point is that his choices for his budget didn't make sense. With a bit of thought, like you and I, he could have a whole week sorted easily.
Anyway, moving to the theme of restaurants here he is again (London Hacks), going into various establishments, ordering food and then telling them "he left his wallet at home"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcpxWMS9DqY
As suggested in the comments, I hope he went back to the first restaurant and paid lol.
The last restaurant is interesting too.
I've found best time to consistently get stuff that has been marked down at waitrose is first thing Sunday morning. The staff fill the shelves and will mark down things. The first reduction is usually small but quite often they will have missed something the day before and it'll be properly cheap by Sunday morning. Obviously things get snapped up quickly.
End of the day is good for fish. Say they have 1.5kg of fish remaining that has been marked down. You say I'll have 1kg please. They say I'll give you the whole lot and they'll further reduce it. Essentially buying you 1.5kg for the price you'd have paid for 1kg.
End of the day is good for fish. Say they have 1.5kg of fish remaining that has been marked down. You say I'll have 1kg please. They say I'll give you the whole lot and they'll further reduce it. Essentially buying you 1.5kg for the price you'd have paid for 1kg.
DickyC said:
Luncheon Vouchers stuff
Which reminds me of a guy on Youtube, think he calls himself a wombler or something.Asda have a price match thing where you can scan your receipt on their app and it works out if your shop was cheaper than other supermarkets. If it's not it credits your Asda account with the difference (or twice the difference maybe). On a big shop this can be a few quid, sometimes pennies and sometimes nothing.
So this guy's hobby is trawling Asda car parks picking up used receipts to check against the app. And hoovering up any price match credits other people haven't bothered to check.
It's safe to say he's well known in his local Asdas and isn't the most popular guy.
louiebaby said:
You should have seen the uproar when I suggested snapping off the broccoli stems when at the super-market.
The Leaper said:
louiebaby,
There's a woman I see quite often in my local Sainsbury's who buys broccoli loose and she snips the stems off with a knife she brings before weighing! Actually, I reckon this saves a fair bit of weight therefore money. My wife will not let me do this as she thinks the best of the broccoli is the stem eaten raw!
R.
Just got back from my weekly shop and noticed this There's a woman I see quite often in my local Sainsbury's who buys broccoli loose and she snips the stems off with a knife she brings before weighing! Actually, I reckon this saves a fair bit of weight therefore money. My wife will not let me do this as she thinks the best of the broccoli is the stem eaten raw!
R.
There will come a time when society is aghast at us not recycling fresh water but letting it just run away.
My wife and I allowed ourselves to be persuaded to have the new boiler on the other side of the house. The amount of water we waste waiting for it to run hot is awful. I do wonder about collecting and recycling it but, I'm ashamed to say, have yet to do anything about it.
My wife and I allowed ourselves to be persuaded to have the new boiler on the other side of the house. The amount of water we waste waiting for it to run hot is awful. I do wonder about collecting and recycling it but, I'm ashamed to say, have yet to do anything about it.
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