I received a telephone call last week, asking if I could speak to a journalist about my money saving experiences and BView, they were looking for someone female and articulate with children, a contrast to the single male they would interview to create balance. I stepped up to the challenge, somewhat dubious about my ability to articulate at the end of a busy week, but willing.
The reporter was straight to the point ‘What money saving vouchers have you used recently?’
Tesco , free delivery and some money off an order. My mind stumbled then, surely, somewhere in the midst of my teaching assessment and dropping the kids at nursery I had made some other purchase? eBay, of course, a lovely gothic top imported from China with reduced delivery charges.
‘Great’ enthuses the journo. ‘What else?’

You want more?  All my shopping has been online recently, there must be more. ‘Pizza,‘ I squeaked nervously down the phone, feeling more like this was a test of my financial savvy than a research opportunity. ‘Yes, I took the girls out for pizza and we got a pretty good deal.’ And indeed it was, there were two satisfied kids with faces decorated liberally with pizza and ice cream but I was happy as someone else would do the washing up.
Then the pièce de résistance sprang to the front of my mind. Bicycles. Christmas is a wonderous event in our household, my 3 year old twins are adored by friends and family alike, two golden girls with cheeky smiles and infectious giggles , treated with Dora The Explorer and Diego toys, My Little Pony and Disney Princess but not a single bicycle upon which to inflict their boundless energy.
Argos had a voucher featured on BView, £20 off toys and games ordered online. In the sale was the ideal pink and sparkly bicycle with training wheels and a doll seat and delivery in time for Christmas. Double discounts, sale items and vouchers and two perfectly girly bicycles for the ultimate Christmas gifts. A done deal.

The journalist dutifully took notes, now flooded with my details of financial acumen and my pleasure in saving.
‘And do you think these are genuine savings?’ he asks, a more academic question of opinion amongst the facts.

Now my opinion differs here. Some companies are merely advertising a sale to maintain face with their competitors, reducing tiny amounts of money off the items which just will not sell in order to legitimately put a sale sign in the window. Thereby drawing some extra clientele and making the non selling items appeal to those who cannot resist a bargain, no matter how pointless.
Then there are those who have a sale to make some money, despite the reduction in spending, clearing old stock, renewing interest and cutting their losses on items ordered months ago when the pound still had some economic strength and no sign of weakening.
Finally there are those who boost their prices up and then offer reductions, taking no responsibility for the price increase, using the recession, reduced provision, increased supplier prices and so on as their excuses. Then they offer some minor reduction to give the impression of joining forces with the great British public to bring costs down so we can weather the storm.

I assume the journo is making his notes, curious shorthand scribbles across the stereotypical notepad and I continue.

The end of season sales are ideal examples, the stock is technically useless, any money made is a bonus and the space is required for the next wave. I like end of season sales. I buy my daughters clothing months in advance, making best use of sales to prepare at lower costs. With twins nothing can be passed down to the next sibling, it really is twice the price.
The end of season sale is the norm, clearing out and making at least a scraping of profit and I am happy to take advantage of that, sacrificing only wardrobe space in my efforts to save.
Boots had a record January sale, the day the 70% sale kicked in shelves were stripped bare in a single day. I saw a woman sat on the floor, guarding 8 or 9 large shopping sacks crammed to the brim with reduced stock. Never before has Boots sold such a phenomenal amount in a single day in their well reputed sales. The staff were speechless. The recession brings out the hoarder in some and to best effect in some cases.

These are the genuine sales in my opinion, the ones which represent best value for money.

There is a prolonged silence. ‘ Could I send a photographer out to take pictures of you and your daughters please?’

I wonder for a moment, how will they illustrate me saving money? But I agree. An hour later a photographer is booked.
The next morning I have the twins dressed in outfits from a sale, looking cute and girly and I’m dressed in an hour casual but hopefully flattering and the photographer comes knocking.
Three hundred photographs later, of me with the my daughters on their discounted swing set in the garden, me with my discounted Tesco shopping walking home, then in the kitchen, me sat with the BView screen on my laptop and then the girls and I apparently looking at BView (but sneakily looking at CBeebies for maximum attention span of 3 year olds), the photographer puts away his lenses and leaves with a smile and a wave.

The next day I buy the newspaper, searching for what I hope will be a nice quote and a pleasant photograph. There’s a huge full page spread on money saving and the impact of BView and others, great lists and links to save money and at the bottom is an interview section with the details of the single chap and his daughter, his money saving tips and tricks and his total savings over the year, illustrated by a small photograph of a very serious looking man.  Squashed into the corner is a small paragraph about my girls and I and our own adventures in saving, but no pictures.

Still, through talking to the journo, I’ve heard myself give my opinion, further concreting it into my mind; not all savings are genuine. A voucher will save you money if you were going to buy the item anyway. Or it will lessen the load if you would like something but would only buy it with reductions.
Shop sensibly for genuine savings.

Tags: interview, press, saving, sunday mirror, vouchers