Category: economic issues

Best deal?

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I think we did ok on Black Friday.

It was fortunate timing for replacing items after this.

But we don’t splurge. We select the deals which work for us, and we use the opportunity of a discount to purchase things we were going to get anyway.

Except, well… There was this on Simonsig’s Instagram:

We’re pricing like it’s 1969. ?
For today only, the first 50 customers who purchase our Sunbird Sauvignon Blanc 2024 can take home a case for ONLY R90 (that’s R15 a bottle).

We chose Sunbird for a reason – that 1969 invoice listed three white wines, a reminder that our story began with white. And in summer, nothing beats a crisp Sunbird Sauvignon Blanc.

One day. One deal. It’s our way of tipping the hat to where it all started.

Bullsh…. Nonsense, I thought. No-one sells R750 worth of wine for R90.

But obviously, I clicked through anyway, and there it was.
So I tried to buy some. And then I did buy some.

Because it was a genuine deal. (T&Cs meant one case per customer.)

And the money went off my account, and then the wine arrived this morning:

I’m not a white wine expert, but:

A perfect aperitif on a warm summer day, this wine also works very well with rich and fatty foods. Try it with salads, goat’s milk cheese, lemon-garnished fish dishes and Thai foods.

sounds pretty good, but it sounds even better when it comes in a R15 a bottle.

That case also looks good when stacked on top of the other… “several”… cases that also arrived today from other places, stocking up ahead of Ke Dezemba.

Boring Fund

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OK, so this one is only for UK readers, but I do like the idea, and I’m sure if something similar were set up here in SA, it would be massively oversubscribed hugely popular.

And yes, I was drawn in by the bright colours and the beagle.

It’s a sidearm of Christina Poulton’s business, and it’s there to help out organisations like charities, community groups and voluntary projects.
And Boring only because it’s not there to fund sensational stuff and cutting-edge projects.
Quite the opposite, in fact

The grant is to spend the money on something boring and behind-the-scenes, that would otherwise be more difficult to fund e.g. insurance, accountancy, admin time, web hosting, training, office costs etc. Essential but unsexy costs. The grants are not for project delivery or anything too exciting.

Those everyday expenses that can really hold back a small enterprise: essential costs, but which are never really built in to any one project or programme.

What a great idea.

If you want to apply for a Boring Fund grant of up to £200, you have until the end of the month to apply. The rules are pretty strict, but that’s simply to ensure that only worthy organisations get a chance to be funded. It makes sense.

If you are part of an eligible organisation, or you know someone who is, this might really help out.

Why not give it a try?

Buy A Fraggle

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Dance Your Cares Away, etc etc.

But not your bank account. You’re going to need that.

It’s:

The Jim Henson Company 70 Years Anniversary Auction, and you can bid on – amongst several or more other things – a Fraggle.

Sure, it’s going to cost you up to $50,000 (that’s R875,410.52)(lol)(weep), but should you win, you will own an actual Fraggle.

There are 435 different lots, from a lot of different productions, most of which I have never heard of:

The top three are all Fraggle Rock related and are each sitting at $15,000, three weeks before the auction goes live.

Obviously, I don’t have the cash to mount any sort of challenge (although I haven’t checked down the back of the sofa yet), but these are clearly for the real fans out there who collect this sort of memorabilia.

If I remember (I won’t), we can check in again nearer the auction date and see just how much money it actually costs to own a Fraggle.

Internet ads

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Love them or hate them (and honestly you’re a bit of a weirdo if you’re in the former camp), they’re part of our everyday browsing and doomscrolling experience. And I get the gist how they work: looking at your behaviour online, and then targeting ads to best lever a little more money out of you for the things that you know, love and need.

Except… they don’t always quite hit the mark, do they?

No.

I promise you that I have not looked up, discussed or in any way browsed anything to do with condoms in the last twenty-plus years. But still, I got a condom ad this weekend. But it wasn’t actually the condom bit that really confused me. It was the combination of products that I was being offered.

Because for me (and each to their own here), nothing completes a night of passion avec perles et nervures (oh la la!) than a bit of time spent poisoning rodents. And it’s even better when your presevatifs and pellets are 55% off.

Talk about killing the mice mood.

Take this flight ad. Decent prices, sure. We usually put the R in front of the number, but whatever.
But wait a second…

Newcastle-upon-Tyne (a bit random) 3½ times the price of a flight to London? I reckon I could pop on a Kevlar vest and get the train from Heathrow to Tyneside for less than that R6150.

Just.

But beagle-eyed readers will have spotted an additional issue here. Yes, the flight to Cape Town (one way, subject to availability, change and search dates). R589 does seem quite cheap until you realise that you’re already in Cape Town. Turn up to the check-in desk, present your ticket to the agent and prepare to be looked at a bit funny.

“Er… Sir. You’re here.”
“I know. What a bargain, right? Got it on an internet ad.”

And then you look at the price for Joburg and you do some rudimentary calculations and you work out that maybe the internet thinks you’re in Bloemfontein or Kimberley.

Why would anyone be there?

And even if they were, it still doesn’t explain the condoms and rat poison thing, does it?

Finally (for this post, at least) there’s this:

What a selection.

Selected for me, though?

“Tempting Whisper” Body Wash – no.
Brown Onion Soup – no.
Coffee pods – ok, yes.
Deep Heat Spray – only on Wednesdays.
Cesar 100g – pretty sure that’s not actually a lamb.
Cat Food Sticks – absolutely not.

The thing is, they’re wasting their money with all this misaimed stuff, and that means that the prices for the things that I do want to buy from them (from all the ads above, it’s honestly only the coffee) are just that little bit more expensive.

It does make for a good blog post every now and again though, I guess.

There is no diesel in Cape Town

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I don’t want to alarm anyone, but there is no diesel in Cape Town.

I went to a filling station earlier this afternoon and they didn’t have any diesel, and then I did some rudimentary extrapolation, and now apparently, there is no diesel anywhere in Cape Town.

That’s 1/1 or 100% of filling stations which did not have diesel.

And if you think that’s not quite comprehensive enough a study, then add to that the fact that every extrapolation that I have done today has proven that there is no diesel in Cape Town.

That’s 1/1 or 100% of the extrapolations that I have done which have proven that there is no diesel in Cape Town.

Worrying times.