May 27, 2020 / Ben / 0 Comments
With the UK
still under lock down, the postal service seems to have been struggling a bit.
As the majority of shops are shut most people are turning to online shopping to
get their supplies. Places such as Ebay, Amazon and clothing retailers have
seen a huge spike in traffic and purchases through their sites and this has had
a knock on effect on the postal service.
Some retails
send mail out via the Royal Mail and others have their own delivery drives or
use third party couriers to dispatch items. It seems that all logistical
companies have been hit and with social distance rules that have to be adhered
to and staff members self isolating, this has just added even more pressure to
the situation.
The Royal
Mail had said that they were going to cut out Saturday deliveries for now to
catch up on mail in the sorting office, but this only seems to have happened in
some areas.
If you have
ordered something online, most retails are cutting the cost of their delivery
charges and stating that delivery times are expected to take longer than usual
at present. If this is not the case and you paid for delivery within a certain
time which didn’t happen, I would contact the company and ask them to refund
you the delivery fee paid.
April 17, 2020 / Ben / 0 Comments
With so many
of us not being able to get out other than to do a weekly food shop, many of us
are missing our bit of retail therapy. It may even be that you do not like
shopping, but if you need items that you cannot get from the grocery store you
may have to participate in a bit of online shopping. If you are not sued to
online shopping then you may worry about security. If you use one of the big retailers
and ensure that you are on the genuine site then the security level is usually
pretty high.
Paying with
a credit card for higher cost purchases or using PayPal will also give you a
bit of added protection.
When shopping
online you may think you are less likely to impulse buy but because you often
do not realise how much stuff you have added to your basket until the end, if
your not careful you can easily get a bit carried away. Many retailers have
tempting sales on at the moment which makes it even more likely that we will
spend too much.
Always decide before hand how much you can
spend and be sure not to go over that.
March 27, 2020 / Ben / 0 Comments
Since the
Coronavirus pandemic, the way people shop is changing. When it first became
apparent that this was going to hit the UK, many people started to stock up on
essentials such as food, cleaning products and toilet rolls. This led to many people
panic buying and buying in bulk. Now that the UK is on lockdown, people are
only supposed to go out for food when it is essential. This means that trips to
the local shopping centres are no longer permitted. The only stores that are
open are those that supply food and medicine and supplies for people in certain
trades.
Many
supermarkets are restricting what how many of a certain item you can buy now to
try and stop the panic buying and ensure that there is enough stock for everyone.
Some supermarkets have also put a restriction on how many people can go into
the shop at one time, meaning often there is a one in one out policy in place.
Shopping has
certainly changed very drastically for now and no one knows exactly when it
will return to normal. Shopping can no longer be the enjoyable outing it once
was for many, now it is purely an essential trip that has to be done at certain
times.
February 24, 2020 / Ben / 0 Comments
If you have children,
you will already know how much buying clothing and footwear can cost. The
problem when it comes to buying children’s clothing is that they grow so fast
that especially in the early days, you may find yourself having to buy them a completely
new wardrobe 5 or 6 times in the first year.
Also
slightly older children may often get quite messy either by playing outside,
painting or even just from eating their dinner. For this reason you do not want
to be spending a fortune on clothing that could be ruined the firth time they
wear it!
Children’s
clothes, like adult clothes range in quality and price so you may need to choose
which you feel is more important. As a baby does not stay in the same size
clothes for long, you may consider it more sensible to buy cheaper clothes as
they will not have to last long, but some people feel that they want their baby
to wear high quality clothing even if it does cost a little more. It may be
that if you have other children or family / friends’ children that you may be
able to pass the clothing down to. You can even buy designer brands of clothing
for babies and young children buy you may feel that this is a bit of a waste.
November 11, 2019 / Ben / 0 Comments
Kitchen
accessories are often very important in order to make our lives a little bit easier.
We often look for appliances that make cooking / heating times shorter and are
easy to use and easy to clean.
Almost all
of us use a kettle at least a few times a day to either make a cup of tea or
coffee or to boil water to cook potatoes or veg. With this in mind it is
important to remember that if you want a reliable kettle you may need to fork
out a little more than you had hoped. Some kettles have quite fancy features on
such as keep to a certain temperature and rapid boil. These sorts of features
often increase the price of the kettle, but if it is something that would be
handy to you, then it may be worth the extra investment.
When
choosing your kettle, many people go purely for looks and cost but you should
also check how quickly it boils and the energy efficiency rating. If you tend
to use your kettle a few times in quick succession or boil it and then don’t
make a drink for a while, then choosing a kettle with the keep warm setting can
be ideal. This can also save money on your electricity bills by reducing the
amount of times you have to boil the water.