Shopping «Mutterings for the Minority

1Jan/090

Out with the old, in with the new

Happy New year to you! So here we are on the very first day of 2009 with lots of people probably nursing hangovers, others laden with new year resolutions and some like me just looking forward to what should hopefully be a healthy and happy year ahead.

The Mrs and I welcomed in the new year browsing and shopping online (sad but true!) in-between watching the BBC's iPlayer coverage of the new year being welcomed in by fireworks around the London Eye.

In keeping with the theme of the day I decided to invest some time rummaging through my wardrobes in an attempt to sort out what now fits me and what doesn't - not to mention what can be considered fashionable or not as the case may be! I'm an official hoarder you see

Now don't get me wrong the fact that I'm now hovering just below the 16 stone mark is very pleasing, but the sheer number of clothes I'm having to get rid of is scary! Take my work trousers for example, I'm passing 13 of them onto charity, leaving me with only 4 left. Now that tells me a lot....I've got too many work trousers and God only knows how many other clothes will be finding themselves a new home.

Oh well my loss is someone elses gain and for me that's a positive start to the new year.

Filed under: Life, Shopping, Weight No Comments

24Dec/080

How to grab a bargain at the Marks and Spencers sale

The Marks and Spencer Sale kicks off on Christmas Day, but this post from the Money Off Shop can help you bag the bargains before the sale has even begun!

I've been a regular Marks and Spencer Christmas Day Sale shopper over the last 4 years, so here's my guide on how to get the best bargains and save yourself some time in the process!

1. Make list of the items you want (using the Marks and Spencer Sale Preview links below) before you visit the Marks and Spencer website to BUY (taking note of the product codes - the Txxx xxx numbers).

2. The Marks and Spencer online sale starts just after midnight on Christmas Day - BUT you can usually buy the stuff before then, at the SALE price (as all of the offers are already on the site but not available to the public.

3. Use the FREE Delivery code available to you:

FREENDAY is free nominated delivery day when you spend over £150 on the M&S website. NOTE: You MUST have selected nominated day delivery for this code to work.

Ok, last but certainly not least… the following links will take you to the Marks and Spencer Sale pages, which are NOT SHOWN on the main Marks and Spencer website YET.

All of these items will be in the M&S sale and the sale prices for each of them will ONLY be displayed when the sale starts (or maybe an hour or so before) - but at least you will know WHAT is going to be on sale.

You never know M&S might put the sales prices on before the sale goes live (it’s happened in the past) - so you’ll be able to beat the rush!

Good luck - I hope you have as much success as I usually do at the M&S Sale

Filed under: Sales, Shopping No Comments

17Jun/080

Shopping again

I seem forever to be shopping at the moment, if not for food then for nappies!

Mind you, it's also made me realise at first hand how much the price of food and fuel have gone up - something which had previously passed me by as Mrs DDWT has been doing the shopping. I can now fully understand why everyone keeps saying about the credit crunch

Baby DDWT continues to be quite a good sleeper, which is a Godsend considering how bad DDWT Junior used to be. The sheer thought of all that sleep deprivation again had filled us both with trepidation.

The other noticeable difference between the two is that she is far more placid and content than he was at the same stage. It's looking increasingly like the daughter is following the mother in this case!

The deluge of gifts from family and friends continues unabated and we are extremely grateful to everyone.

Filed under: Family, Shopping No Comments

17May/080

Shoe shopping

Oh what a day. I've never liked shoe shopping, not even for myself and I simply can't understand why so many women (in particular) do. Anyway, where am I going with this?

Well it quickly became very apparent today that DDWT Junior is certainly following in his dad's footsteps (no pun intended) with his immense dislike for shoe shopping as well! Trouble was, it was for him we were doing the shopping.

To make matters worse, we needed shoes and trainers for him - so we were going to have our work cut out. I won't bore you with the details of a marathon 4 hour shoe shopping session - where tempers flared on several occasions, but we got there in the end.

My pockets are nigh on £55 lighter (for size 11 children's shoes!) but at least we got the job done and the little fella is happy with his new "shoosies".

I'll also give a mention to the Landore park and ride service, which we used for the first time today. For £1.50 (per car) it's great value and we were very impressed by the service and shall be sure to use it again - rather than get gridlocked in Swansea and then pay through the nose for parking.

It was also nice to have a rest day from the training as well. Having done 4 runs this week, I was in need of a rest as I felt leg weary to say the least. I still missed not doing any training though!

Filed under: Family, Shopping, Travel No Comments

5Apr/080

Marks and Spencers Discount Code

No here's a cracking little discount code for you - 15% off at Marks and Spencers with no minimum spend!

Use the code WEBSS6NC at the checkout to claim your 15% Marks and Spencers Discount, but be quick though as this voucher expires on April 8th.

Filed under: Shopping, Vouchers No Comments

2Apr/080

Woolworths Free Delivery Discount Code

My voucher code posts are like buses today, you don't seen any for ages then they all come at once!

Anyway, Woolworths are giving shoppers the chance to make big savings on delivery until April 7th with the discount code for FREE delivery.

Use the code freea08 at the checkout to claim your FREE delivery from Woolworths.

Go to the Woolworths web site now

Filed under: Shopping, Vouchers No Comments

2Apr/080

Early Learning Centre Discount Code

It's been quite some time since I last posted a discount code, so here comes one!

The Early Learning Centre are offering a 10% discount until the end of April.

Use the code AFF08 at the checkout to get your 10% off.

Remember this can be used in addition to the various 20% spring offers on the Early Learning Centre web site as well!

Go to the Early Learning Centre web site now

Filed under: Shopping, Vouchers No Comments

9Jan/081

Cheap flights and cheap holidays

Are you feeling deflated after the festive season and in need of a tonic to get you out of the new year blues? Well Expedia are offering discounts of 30% on flights, hotels and package holidays on their Blue Sky Specials, so what better way to cheer yourself than with a holiday.

So if you're are after a cheap long haul flight to Australia or even New York - why not take a look at Expedia, you might just be surprised at how good a deal you get.

Filed under: Shopping, Travel 1 Comment

9Jan/081

Marks and Spencers

After reading the BBC's article online about "retailers suffer after M&S slump", I couldn't help but chuckle given the recent experience I had at the hands of the Marks and Spencers sale.

Here we were on Christmas Day (yes sad I know) shelling out almost £300 in the M&S sale only to find days later an email arrive from M&S stating ...

Dear Customer,

Thanks for your recent order.

We experience extremely high levels of demand during the M&S SALE and occasionally items sell out as other orders for them are in the process of being placed - orders are confirmed on a first come first served basis. As a result we're sorry to tell you that since your order was placed, one or more of the items you ordered are out of stock. These items have now been cancelled from your order and will not be visible in your online account.

Obviously you have not been charged for any of these out of stock items. Please check your online account to view any remaining items that will be sent to you.

We apologise for any disappointment this may cause. If you have any questions about your order, please feel free to call us on 0845 609 0200. If you are calling from overseas please call us on +44 1925 672 317.

Kind regards

Customer Services

Eventually I got my order, but the value had shrunk to under £200!

If we take a cynical view of this episode, surely M&S must have some idea of their stock levels PRE-SALE? And as a result you'd expect that their website (which is driven by Amazon I hasten to add) is capable of keeping tabs on stock levels. A quick google around finds that I'm not the only one who's suffered this fate.

I mean the Christmas season does come around the same time year in year out doesn't it? So you'd expect them to be stocked up to the hilt. Or maybe I'm just expecting too much *sigh*

I know the BBC article refers to the high street in particular and that the M&S online effort was indeed up on previous years. BUT for me profit and sales to any business are it's bread and butter regardless of the channel (high street, web, phone, whatever) used surely?

Little wonder then with retailers being unable to fulfill orders online (or not) that they'll lose money.

Filed under: Life, Shopping 1 Comment

8Jan/080

Firebox.com Sale

Those lovely guys and gals at Firebox.com - which incidentally is the best place to find the very latest high quality gadgets, games and boys´ toys - are having a sale. The Firebox sale is not just any old sale either, it's an up to 50% off sale.