What changes have you made to adapt to recessionary times?

Starman07 · 14-01-2011 12:21PM

Every winter for the past few years, i've treated myself to a new knee length fur coat. It was glorious. This year however, with the times that are in it, I had to be pragmatic and compromise, so have downgraded to a simple, yet stylish fur waistcoat.

Faith+1 · 14-01-2011 12:27PM

laoisforliam wrote: »

In Ireland I had nothing
No Job, car,social life

But in the last month
Moved into new appartment with pool, gym etc.
Bought car
Bought new laptop
Out every weekend
Man I Love Australia

Sorry

Fair play!:)

Sofiztikated · 14-01-2011 12:28PM

robbie7730 wrote: »

Fine if you happen to check through all your accounts to check if an extra crossing has been charged and likely you wont remember or notice it if using it every day, or have a few cars or vans on an account, so absolutely no doubt they make money for non crossings.

Thats down to you accounts. I know our financial controller scrutinises everything businesswise, including toll crossings. If you do it yourself, and don't do it, well, is that my fault? No.

Non paying cars would be a very tiny percentage, non readable reg`s or whatever reason, so small i can not see how this would be factored into prices. When toll was 80 irish pence the vat came in, this should of brought it to 96 pence, but rounded to a pound thus robbing everyone crossing, but that was ok of course was it not? Then the euro change, the 1 pound should of been €1.27 but of course, round up to the more convienent €1.30 for yet more ripping off. Maybe this was to make up for the 1 or 2 cars that failed to pay? O wait, it was barriers then, so that was difficult to manage (cross without paying).

Pricing is one thing. I never said anything about the price being right. But that still doesn't make stealing correct.

True, but you think if every single car that ever crossed it had paid that it would now be cheaper? I would say the percentage that `did not pay through deliberate avoidance would be less than the ones where the reg was genuinely not read properly. And the number of mistakingly charged crossings which were never refunded because it was not noticed by the users would be higher than the ones that deliberately avoided paying.

Honestly, no. Because companies factor in non payment into their price structure. But again, I never said anything about their pricing.

Also, how many companys can charge double for a service when paid a few seconds late? A fair few euro is made from late payments fees, far far more than they ever lose from the tiny number of deliberate altered plates.

Late payments? Seriously? Xtravision. Ulster Bank. BoI. AIB. Hertz. Europcar. ESB just stop the service if payment is late. So don't give me that.

So the idea these payment avoiders make it more expensive for everyone else is a bit much.

Still true though.

Anyway back to recessionary posts, which is me ignored now:)

As much as I despise that word, I likes me an argument...debate. :pac:

Duggy747 · 14-01-2011 12:35PM

sbsquarepants wrote: »

What!!!
I think you need to review your definition of nice!
Why do you work for free? (i'm not being an assholen by the way, i'm just baffled!)

WPP1 FÁS scheme, saw a job for a 9 month IT techie in an organisation on the webshìte. I needed to keep myself up to date and the gears turning, a job wasn't going to land in my lap otherwise.

Bar the whole un-paid thing, I'm loving it

Back doing what I do best.............so, no, I don't need to review my definition of nice :pac:

bnt · 14-01-2011 12:39PM

I've been a mature student since 2007, funding it through savings, so not much has changed recently. Food isn't a big bill (thank you Lidl), but rent is the big one: I'm paying more than I strictly need to for a bigger place in a convenient location for university. So I have no travel costs other than the wear on my shoes, but I don't know if I can keep this up for another year-and-a quarter till I finish the Master's degree and re-enter the job market ... in theory.

stevveyg · 14-01-2011 12:51PM

haven't been to the hairdressers in nearly 12 months, bought myself a headshavers and cut my own hair (whether it suits me or not!)
took up going to bingo instead of going to the pub too

scientific1982 · 14-01-2011 01:18PM

Starman07 wrote: »

Every winter for the past few years, i've treated myself to a new knee length fur coat. It was glorious. This year however, with the times that are in it, I had to be pragmatic and compromise, so have downgraded to a simple, yet stylish fur waistcoat.

Are you male and if so are you a pimp.

Bruthal · 14-01-2011 01:46PM

Sofiztikated wrote: »

As much as I despise that word, I likes me an argument...debate. :pac:

I dont like that word much myself:)

Thats down to you accounts. I know our financial controller scrutinises everything businesswise, including toll crossings. If you do it yourself, and don't do it, well, is that my fault? No.

Its not about accounts, you claimed people not paying the toll was making it dearer for everyone else, thats the arguement. I know people wrongly billed and paid it because of the worry factor of not paying even though they knew they did not cross it, people in their 60`s they were, not people with accountants. And it was no easy task getting it back like you claim it is.
My neighbour waited near 3 months to get back his account balance when he closed his account, and during that time twice had to pay late toll fees, ironic that, he must pay them their €3 within a day, but ok for them to take months to give him back his closed account balance.

And how can your accountant/financial controller scrutinise every crossing every car or van made, and know it did actualy cross. Sherlock Holmes is he?

Pricing is one thing. I never said anything about the price being right. But that still doesn't make stealing correct.

You said people not paying made the price more expensive for everyone else, i just claimed your statememnt claiming that anyone who did`t pay made it more expensive for everyone else is incorrect in the case of the M50 toll bridge.

Honestly, no. Because companies factor in non payment into their price structure. But again, I never said anything about their pricing.

Does the M50 factor in the €50,000 they make a day in late fees? I would safely say this well out does the people who cross and avoid paying, so explain how they have to increase the toll charges to make up for their lost revenue due to a tiny percentage of drivers intentionally not paying?

Late payments? Seriously? Xtravision. Ulster Bank. BoI. AIB. Hertz. Europcar. ESB just stop the service if payment is late. So don't give me that.

Banks i was leaving out because they rob legally, and you say stealing is wrong. Ok for them of course.

The ESB?? total Sh1te, you dont get disconnected at 8pm the day after the bill is due for payment and have to pay double. And you dont pay`15 times the bill amount for late ESB bill payment if its 2 weeks late, or get disconnected. Or get hounded constantly. If your in trouble with a bill at least you can get some flexability, not end up owing a fortune for crossing a bridge.
Xtravision? You have their property in your posession and they could be losing on rentals which they need to exist, but still, i often brought back an hour or 2 late with no problem. And never got billed for a movie when i was not even in the shop, and then hounded with letters.

Anyway dont forget, we are talking about whether the people crossing and not paying were making it dearer for everyone else, i dont think it does.
You used example of 10 drivers maing them €90, and if only 9 now crossed we pay the extra? Well the fact is 100,000 drivers cross it every day, how many of them cover up their number plates? Not many i would of thought, So how they have to factor this in and then increase their prices accordingly i must of missed. Does this mean if every single person pays next week we will get a reduction? I somehow doubt it.

Other companies have to factor in losses alright, xtravision as the example you gave have to factor it in to survive. But if you have a bridge that 100,000 use in a day, and they have 1000 drivers cover their number plates to avoid paying, thats €3000 euro gone from €250,000 for an average €2.50 crossing. I think 1000 drivers covering plates would be a huge over estimate but just for an example. So that is 3 grand lost from a quarter of a million. Now add in the 50 grand fines a day i read somewhere, which of course could be wrong, but anyway.

And the variation in numbers crossing from day to day would be far higher than the number of fraudsters too, so how can they now factor in the fraudsters to increase the price for the rest of us?

So it can easily be shown how fines would far far outweigh fraudsters, so how does the fraudsters now increase their prices charged to the rest of us? They can charge what they like, its all money for nothing with that bridge. Unlike the other companies you mentioned which struggle to make profits, except the banks at one stage, but in we step again to pay their bills now, while they still rip us off at the same time.

iPlop · 14-01-2011 01:57PM

u_c_thesecond wrote: »

I take money of all my bills every week, 10 off gas, 10 off esb, etc, after 2 months thats 80e off each ,and by the time they come in they are usually paid

I do this any way and always have done as it's easier just to knock off a few quid on line

u_c_thesecond wrote: »

bought a v cheap house(that needed a bit of work and iv 35 years to do it)

Yeah I didn't buy in the boom so I escaped the madness that a lot of friends find themselves in

u_c_thesecond wrote: »

i save for what i want

Yeah i do this as well ,I have no loans other than the mortgage ,so glad I didn't get some of that easy money a few years back and at the time people thought I was a miser for not taking a massive easy loan out to buy lots of stuff with

Bruthal · 14-01-2011 02:02PM

Sink The Banana wrote: »

Yeah i do this as well ,I have no loans other than the mortgage ,so glad I didn't get some of that easy money a few years back and at the time people thought I was a miser for not taking a massive easy loan out to buy lots of stuff with

I remember that myself, i always took it easy on the spending during the "boom" expecting the possibility of harder times ahead sometime. I used to hear people telling me to get a nice new car, you could be dead tomorrow. But i always said we might not be dead tomorrow though.

Although some day they will be right:eek:

kelle · 14-01-2011 02:40PM

I've always been fairly frugal. We were lucky to have bought a house at the right time, and are mortgage-free (it meant living in a shack with concrete floors, feeling the wind blow through the windows and sitting on threadbare furniture for years though!).

I know shoppig in lidl and aldi helps save lots, but I still prefer to shop local and keep people from my town in work, it's just that I don't buy as much as I once would have had and try to keep spending down. I scan the shops for special offers and make meals from scratch based on those ingredients. I don't buy sauces or mixes or readymade meals as I once would have, meals are made from store cupboard ingredients.

My family and I made a pact that we only buy birthday and Christmas presents for our godchildren only, rather than all nephews and nieces.

I try not to have the oil heating on as much, and keep on a turf fire in the sitting room.

phill106 · 14-01-2011 05:46PM

EverEvolving wrote: »

Rang sky and our broadband provider to cancel and they gave us retention deals (which I knew they would, had no real intention of cancelling, if ever you need sky and broadband it's when your unemployed)

Must try that, how much did you get sky reduced by?

Bruthal · 14-01-2011 05:58PM

phill106 wrote: »

Must try that, how much did you get sky reduced by?

You will likely get a reduction alright because so many are leaving.

What changes have you made to adapt to recessionary times?

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