Thrifty Pages

You won't believe your eyes with these optical bargains...

Photo by stevegatto2

If you live or work in Dublin and are looking for some new glasses or contacts lenses, head off to the nice people in Spectacle Parade Opticians between Break for the Border and Georges Street.

Niamh from Spectacle Parade tells me that they have the following offers on at the moment:

• Free Eye Test when you spend over €100 on prescription glasses
• 25-50% off all Designer Frames ( excludes special offers )
• Free contact Lens Trial (fitting consultation for trial free and free trial contact lenses)

Might be worth a look (no pun intended) 

:)

Shop around for your soaps and shampoo this Christmas

 Image by boliston

A recent survey by the National Consumer Agency reveals that there are price differentials of up to 162% when buying shampoo, soap, personal care items and over the counter medication.

Some of the more interesting findings include:

• A basket of common items was surveyed across Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Superquinn and SuperValu. The cost of this basket was cheapest in Tesco (€80.85) and dearest in Superquinn (€95.65). 
• A basket of 15 common items was identified across 12 pharmacies - Bradley's Blanchardstown Shopping Centre (€106.31) was the cheapest, Hickey's, The Square, Tallaght (€113.30) was the dearest. 
• Comparing the price of individual products across all retailers showed significant price differences. L'Oreal Paris Recital Preference Hair Colour had a 161.6% (€7.90) difference between the cheapest and dearest. Vaseline 100g Tub had a 155.9% (€1.98) price difference between the cheapest and the dearest 

You can read the full report here.

How to get 150 shaves from one razor blade

Photo by saintbob

If you buy expensive razors you will love this new idea that was mentioned in the Sunday Tribune recently.

The Razor Pit blade sharpener will allow you to use the same blade up to 150 times. This means in theory you could get nearly a whole year out of one packet of blades.

This sharpener utilises a small silicone plate that within a few seconds sharpens razor blades, making them as good as new.  It removes soap, skin and hair that stick to the blade making them dull... ...RazorPit is imperishable and by extending the razor blades life, you can do your bit for the environment and save yourself money.

Compatible with 95% of all razors, including Gillette Fusion, Gillette Fusion Power, Gillette Fusion Stealth, Gillette Mach 3, Gillette Mach 3 Turbo, Gillette Mach 3 Power, Gillette Mach 3 Power Turbo, Gillette Venus, Gillette Venus Divine, Gillette Vibrance, all Wilkinson Swords lines and an extensive list of other brands and models.

The Razor Pit is on sale at the 4Men.ie male grooming product website for only €22.95.

Can't afford a new dress? Swap your old ones!

Wouldn't it be great to be able to get the best clothes for nothing, just by swapping your old clothes?

Well, now you can...

Photo by greenmelinda

Fashion conscious but thrifty individuals have invented a new term - swishing.

Wikipedia defines it as follows:

Swishing [refers] to swapping an item or items of clothing or shoes or an accessory with a friend or acquaintance. Both parties must willingly give an item to participate in the transaction, once they have given an item they are free to choose something of interest.

Swishing parties have become very popular. There is even a website dedicated to it. They describe it thus:

The Art of Swishing involves getting your friends together to swap gorgeous clothes and party at the same time. Every lady must bring at least one good quality, clean item of clothing, or an accessory, that she'd feel proud to hand on.

The Irish are now left out in all this. Irish women can swap their frocks by going to Frock Swap. They hold swishing evenings in Dublin. There is a small cover charge, but well worth it if you have old clothes that you would like to donate to charity or swap for something new. You might even meet some new thrifty friends :)

So now you can revive your style and boost your self esteem for €20 with a nice new wardrobe :)

Joining a gym? Questions to ask first...

RTE have introduced a new money section on their website. One of their features includes an article on "what to watch out for when you join a gym". So many people join a gym at this time of year and then never go more than a few times, wasting money and possibly causing themselves guilt in the process :)

The questions that the article suggests you ask are the following...

• Is the gym near your home or work?
• Does your daily or weekly schedule include enough time to go to the gym?
• Are the hours the gym is open convenient to you?
• Are the facilities, equipment and classes at the gym what you are looking for?
• Can you afford the cost of the gym?
• What goals do you expect to accomplish at the gym?

If you answer these questions first, perhaps you won't waste any money this year on a gym membership you don't use.

A great New Year's resolution..

Link: http://www.rte.ie/money/2009/0109/gyms.html