THURSDAY 23 NOVEMBER - LOAN MOAN

Well it had to happen sometime. No, I haven’t been asked to take over running the show from King John (as I will call big cheese John King from now on) or anything else for that matter. Yes, you’ve guessed it … the Christmas decorations are up!!! Well, it’s nearly the end of November so I guess that’s not too bad. I seem to remember not so long ago television adverts for The Famous Grouse, Woolies, Boots and other brands that only seem to wake up at Christmas used to start almost straight after the August Bank Holiday weekend. But, although I don’t watch a lot of television, I haven’t seen too many this year (yet), thank goodness. And whilst the decorations are up at least the carols haven’t started yet so the excitement is being phased this year! Today I found a trolley that had somehow escaped from the rest of the herd (or whatever the collective name for trolleys is – a basket perhaps?) so I didn’t need a £1 to release it. Not quite sure how this would have happened other than the trolley rounder upper (he who rounds up the trolleys) set one free by accident. I found it with all the other trolleys though so obviously freedom was not all it was cracked up to be and now it was pining for company, a mate etc. Anyway, now for some good news! The pork and egg cutting pie has not been superseded by the pork cutting pie! Both are now being sold – how exciting is that!! And for the same price per kilo, so obviously I bought the one with the egg as the egg is free. Eggsellent. Whilst at the ham and cheese counter I noticed an old looking poster for a brand of country farmhouse cheese saying ‘Ask for some today’. So I did – and, blow me, they actually had some which rather took the wind from my sails as I was expecting the server (she who serves) to deny all knowledge. Now, I have to admit I lied last week. When I said I looked at buying the Basics yoghurts and decided against them, I did actually buy some! I found them at the back of my fridge today, so I will try them – the worm has turned! I had a very lively cashier this week. Instead of turning the inbound conveyor on and off, he stood up and leaned down the conveyor and picked up my cauliflower, pork & egg cutting pie, Special K etc. Maybe he’s been told he needs more exercise and this is a way of getting some? I’ve noticed that none of the cashiers put your credit/debit card into the sockety thing on a stalk that you put your pin number into. Instead they do a very theatrical swiping at the side of their till. So, ever the rebel, today I stuck my card into the sockety thing but the lively cashier took it out saying it didn’t work. Why not? Seems odd. I will persevere! Mr Lively also gave me a petrol voucher!!! I’ve never had one of these before (why not?) and they look a good deal – 5p off per litre which is around 5%. Mind you, I’ve no idea where the nearest Sainsbury’s petrol station is so if I’m not careful I will fall into the ‘costing more to get there than you save’ trap! But it was nice to get a voucher, even so. It must be Christmas! As I will need some extra funds for my Christmas shopping I’ve checked out the Sainsbury’s loan offer and guess what? In theory, anyway, it looks OK! The leaflet says you can borrow at ‘6.5% APR typical’. I’ve never really understood APR, only that I suspect it means it costs you more than you think, and the 47 (yes, 47) lines of small print on the back page don’t offer any explanation. I do know, however, that ‘typical’ means sort of an average and the actual rate you are quoted when you apply will vary depending on your credit history and so on. Anyway, inside the leaflet Sainsbury’s compare their rate and repayment amounts with other big hitting lenders such as NatWest, Egg and so on and (surprise, surprise) they are the cheapest. Of course, what they have done is to just list those lenders that charge more than they do so it’s not surprising they’re the cheapest. If you go to their source, Moneyfacts, there you will find rates better than Sainsbury’s. But, having said that it does seem that the Sainsbury’s rate is pretty good, so, after my disappointments with car insurance, pet insurance and savings, this is very welcome! Interestingly, after the 47 lines of small print (and it is really small – electron microscopes needed!) it says ‘Information is available in large print on request’, so I’m tempted to ring in and ask for all the small print stuff to be sent to me in large print and stand by for a huge thud as this wad of paper hits the doormat. Anyway, next week I’m checking out Home Insurance where the leaflet is tempting me with a saving of up to £107 …… Ha! We will see. Well, that’s about it for this week, the car park exit barrier was broken again (I saw it not working when I came in) and I gleefully watched as people put their money into the cash machines unaware that they could park for free. Now, how nasty is that? Still, it is over a month to Christmas and my festive spirit, goodwill to all men etc has yet to kick in.

Items bought 35
Cost £60.99
Cost per item £1.74
Checkout number 12

Nectar points balance 504