Latest Moan From You and Me 2025

Our car insurance renewal is half as much again as last year. I’ve been getting alternative quotes, and was just going to move it to a new insurer, but maybe I’ll give them a ring and tell them what I’ve been quoted elsewhere. Would save me the hassle of having to go through the palaver of signing up with a new company. I’m always terrified that I’ll miss out on some detail that means they won’t pay out in the event of a problem. We have way over 15 years NCB, so thankfully it hasn’t happened yet.

 

I've always called my insurers and told them what others are quoting, they expect you to.
If they get near the mid range quote I usually stick with them.
Never been a fan of taking the very cheapest quote for some reason I always think they are dodgy.

 

My dad got a message from virgin media saying that they were increasing the prices and that it was going to cost twice the amount. We couldn't understand how it would cost double so contacted them and got stuck with a call centre in India, saying nothing could be done.
They now have a connection to o2, so he went in one of their shops and talked to a nice guy who actually made it 17p cheaper than he was currently paying. Dad used the line "what would you do for new customers" before explaining how loyal he had been for some many years.

The same thing happened with our dogs insurance. They wanted almost double and said they couldn't get near another quote I'd had. I shopped around and got it slightly cheaper than what I already paid and it turned out it was with the same supplier, and exactly the same coverage, just though a broker.

It really infuriates me how they try and raise the prices so much, I'm not really money orientated but I'd have thought it's better to keep customers paying less than to scare them off or get the very few who don't seem to check.

 

I think charities like direct debits because they then know what's coming in per month. I'm also fairly sure that these are run by another company so they don't have to put any resources into these donations and just pay a fee for it.

 

Also cash donations don't supply them with any data about you to sell on!

 

I’m afraid that my response now when approached by chuggers outside shops is to ask them whether they are volunteers or paid. I hate to think that my donations aren’t going wholly to the charity and instead getting spent on what I think they call ‘income generation’. I suppose that’s the way of the world these days, and presumably is actually cost effective, but it does rankle. I used to know someone who ran an advertising agency specialising in working for charities. They were able to move to a mansion and employed a housekeeper, so obviously did very well out of it. All I could think was how much extra money could have been spent directly on the aims of the charity.
I think I’d like to see a maximum salary for everyone! Surely there must be a point at which recipients must struggle to spend what they earn? I’m very happy with my current handbag (max£50) and would be too scared to take a £3000 handbag out of the house, in case it got stolen or dirty!
Does that make me a communist, I wonder?

 

£50 on a handbag!



Handbags tend to last me yrs and yrs. The last one I purchased was about a decade ago. £30.

I agree re having concerns over where the money given to charities actually goes. Of course staff need to be paid, but making donations go as far as possible should be behind every outlay decision.

 

Only shoulder bags and pockets for me - never owned an actual Handbag . That's a thought about the charity collectors on the street @Ergates . For some reason, I'd always assumed they were volunteers for the charity involved. Agree about some of the salaries being "earned" tho I suppose the estate, the yacht and the Jet use up a fair bit
Listening to something on the radio about weddings in different countries and the history behind various ceremonies. A wedding planner was giving some examples of how much weddings can cost. Not unusual for some couples to pay out £30 or £40 K for the day. Insane when they later complain they cannot afford rent/mortgages.
@shiney your Bags for Life will soon be classed as Antiques and worth a small fortune. You could then buy yourself a Handbag

 

The last handbag I bought was for my honeymoon. On the cusp of 50 years and still as presentable as the day I bought it. Largely because I don’t carry a handbag.

 

I’ve recently started using a cross-body bag instead of a shoulder bag when out and about. Years of carrying heavy school books in a shoulder bag left a permanent ridge, bit late to do anything about that now though

 

What's happen to the Man bag, a few years ago they were all the rave, what are they called now? as that will be sexish

 

I bought my OH one of those @Jiffy as I got fed up with carrying all his stuff he couldn't fit in his pockets! He does use it as well, it's big enough for a small umbrella and a newspaper etc.

 

That reminds me I have left some emergency biscuits in my bag.

I have a summer bag and a winter bag. They are both the same design, but different colours. And then there are the in-between bags, the small cross body bag (which can only fit a small 2G phone) and numerous tiny bags that can take a tissue and that's all. A woman can never have enough bags. But I don't have many shoes.

I always though money given to chuggers all went in commission. That's why I only give to the local small charity shop.

 

I suppose technically, I haven’t owned a handbag for years, all mine have had shoulder straps and worn cross body. The bags for life don’t work, as I like to have both hands free! OH carries a lightweight rug sack, mainly with his iPad and sometimes a book on electronics if he has a hobby project on the go. He often carries my iPad for me too, but my most recent shoulder bag was carefully selected to have room for mine, should I want to carry it myself.
I bought some wonderful summer trousers (in M and S) last summer, and got them in several colours, their biggest advantage is that they have really deep pockets, so I can carry my (little) mobile phone, a pack of tissues, credit card and even a bottle of hand sanitizer. I still find I need the handbag for reading glasses, pens, notebook, lipstick, hand cream, mini hairbrush, safety pins teabags, crossword pulled out of the newspaper, plus a selection of emergency medications, etc etc! I do remember as a student having my bag searched on the way into a museum, and causing some raised eyebrows at the plaster cast of some teeth I was taking home to study!