The Frugality #2

[Boutros-Boutros Ghali]

Thread suggestion: content is free, don’t care if it’s drivel, shopping in Sainsbury’s, pretending it’s Lidl

 

[domino88]

My punt at a title..!

The Frugality - It’s all gone a Lidl bit Saino’s! Don’t mention the $ecret exten$ion…

 

[PastorBake]

Is she saying they take all those books off the shelves every night a) so the older child can read them and b) so they don't fall on the baby? Every single night, and then putting them all back again the next morning. And then taking them down again at every baby nap time....

Absolutely bonkers. Or more likely completely untrue

 

[EllsBellsWells]

Yeah the twins thing is grim. I guarantee there will be at least one parent who has seen that photo (she has a quarter of a million followers, and her demographic is parents) who has lost a baby to SIDS. For them to then see some woman flogging a dangerous setup on Instagram for money, at the expense of babies safety is just awful.

How distasteful for her to basically say ‘it’s okay for me to do this because I’ve lost babies too you know’ when she actually miscarried them, they didn’t die from SIDS. A very sad circumstance still, but very gross of her to use a miscarriage as a defence for behaving so appallingly.

 

[Polly Pocket]

Weekend. Went to some shops. Bought some stuff. Ate some pizza. Oh look, here’s an Ad! Had an extra day off from my job eating pizza and buying stuff because all the girl I went to London day school with married venture capitalists and are all off at their second homes in Wiltshire but my husband won’t even wash his hair so I’m feeling a bit hard done by and really do deserve a day off from showing you want I bought and what I ate

 

[Polly Pocket]

This is completely extraordinary. The nonsense about unhealthy working habits completely got me. There’s no way she works more than a 15hr week running that blog. She also doesn’t seem to understand her own business model. She’s not making free content, she’s building and sustaining an audience which is then monetised through brand partnerships. I willingly donate my hard earned time to literally watch paint drying on a fence, so that she gets a pay check and a free sofa from John Lewis. Surely she should be grateful enough for that? There are influencers out there with Patreon accounts but many of them are putting well researched content out into the world, holding space for dialogue and discussion and really educating around e.g. sustainable fashion or mental health or child development etc. Alex literally adds no value to the space. Her writing is dreadful and her content is random and erratic. She did have some particular expertise as a stylist but she’s already being remunerated for that through affiliate links and of late does little more than post blurry pictures of household tat (CF the Tiger £1 candles, for e.g.). All in all a picture perfect example of a late stage capitalist blagger who has pushed her audience too far and who's house of cards looks likely to topple before long. Chris better dust off his interview suit and prepare for a hair wash.

 

[jaymie]

How does losing your unborn twins relate to this danger, she needs a big slap.

She is my most hated influencers for now, I find her absolutely fake and she can't even keep with her own BS. I don't find her pretty, her style is very Oliver Bonas which is pretty much what everyone is wearing now, she is not frugal....why is she an influencers

 

[don't want identifiable!]

I think part of the issue here is that her audience have largely moved on and she hasn't. In the sense that scrimping on food so you can afford designer shoes or expensive doormats (lol) is a very young single girl in the city type of thing to do (Carrie Bradshaw?) but ultimately not very grown-up or even admirable once you have kids... time to be more of a Miranda??

 

[Polly Pocket]

I can’t bare the pseudo feminism. She literally earns her living selling women in the Global North mass produced clothes made in factories where women are being exploited in the most horrifying conditions. Sure that’s not her responsibility. Sure a bit of froth on Instagram is fine. But don’t act like you’re on some sort of equality crusade lady, it’s just so profoundly disingenuous and you are only opening yourself up to being called out.

 

[Harpyharpyunder]

Wow, that’s a lot of pushback on the unsafe sleeping conditions. And a borderline passive aggressive reply from Alex made no less passive aggressive with the heart emoji.

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There’s something about her using the medical termination of her last pregnancy with the twins that really doesn’t sit right with me here. What happened is obviously very sad but I don’t like how she’s using it to garner sympathy here instead of owning up and saying she messed up. Her including that in a comment is very easily lost too. I saw she replied to someone asking about where the bumpers were from by just saying they’re old, but not also including ‘but we’ve removed them now for safety, we just used them for decoration before he was sleeping in the cot’ which surely implies that they do use them?

she should either delete the picture or edit the caption so it clearly states to not try and emulate as it’s unsafe ! Really dangerous influencing, as if she could get worse

 

[Harpyharpyunder]

How does losing your unborn twins relate to this danger, she needs a big slap.

She is my most hated influencers for now, I find her absolutely fake and she can't even keep with her own BS. I don't find her pretty, her style is very Oliver Bonas which is pretty much what everyone is wearing now, she is not frugal....why is she an influencers

It’s such an annoying influencer habit to weaponise their personal trauma in order to deflect any negativity coming their way. ‘We lost our babies we would never do anything to harm our children’ she says as she posts a picture of a very unsafe sleeping set up. Such a contradiction.

I really dislike her too. I have on good info from my brothers girlfriend who works in the industry that Alex charges around £5k for 4 Sunday’s of Instagram stories. She can earn £5k per month from just ONE brand for 4 sets of stories. Way way more for a grid post. The frugal angle is a scam and her not sharing her upper story extension makes her a liar and a fraud.

NB: my info is second hand so might be misremembering but I think that’s what it is

 

[Cerase]

I actually messaged her saying it was Sainsbury's and not Lidl.

Sadly the note I get under my messages is that 'Alexandra can't receive your message as she doesn't allow new message requests from everyone'

Why am I not surprised? Of course she doesn't. It's the influencer equivalent of putting her fingers in her ears.

 

[Penelope Strawberry]

Right so I’ve received the newsletter even though I don’t remember signing up for it. Has to be a joke - asking for donations for people to buy coffee to keep the frugality going?! Get a real job like everyone else!

Donations for WHAT?

I supported some artists/podcasts such as The Guilty Feminist on Patreon throughout lockdown and in turn received content from them.

Comedian and half of the All Killa No Filla duo, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, did virtual shows throughout lockdown and donated the proceeds from fans to The Trussell Trust.

No fucking way am I donating my hard-earned money to Alex so that she can spend it on more tacky prints for her gallery wall. Getting a real job hun, and while you're at it, tell your husband to wash his hair and get a job too.

 

[it’s not been changed?!]

Alex: Jo Malone* candle for me, £1 candle from tiger for my friends and family.



*gifted jo malone candle.

 

[EllsBellsWells]

I used to follow Alex a while back and I've just caught up on her and I can't believe how downhill she's gone. Her house looks terrible- loads of insta trends that were done ages ago and SO MUCH CLUTTER EVERYWHERE

I cannot get over her asking for cash from her followers!! I actually can't quite believe she did that. Two people I follow use the 'Ko-fi' system, and they post about it very occasionally. But they are both highly knowledgeable and are experts in their field, they give up huge chunks of their time to provide information and content to people. Crucially for me though, they don't do adverts OR publicise gifted stuff they've been given? So they do actually provide all of their content for free. Alex on the other hand, has a feed full of paid adverts, makes money off affiliate links and constantly displays all of the free stuff she's been given. How cheeky can you be to then say 'I provide my content for free'.... no you don't? Honestly, I'm actually appalled that she had the nerve to ask people to give her cash.

 

[Spiesandliea]

What a boost to the local economy they bring!

ugh it’s like the time she got gifted a beach front apartment in Whitstable and told every one about the best places to eat and drink but then just ate crisps and crap she brought from home

 

[Libertine]

There’s a reason I’ve never seen black tiles laid on a patio, terrace or around a pool before…They’ll be scorching hot to walk on on warm days and will show every mark, bit of mud, grass clipping and leaf.

And to mop or hose them, they will need to move fifty small chairs, tables, baskets and pots.

 

[Greencatfysh]

Guys. This is so sad of me. But isn’t this Sainsbury’s?

 

[Penelope Strawberry]

@Penelope Strawberry just reminded me she existed, I unfollowed her at the start of the pandemic when she was giving awful advice suggesting people took mortgage holidays. Is her house scruffy then?! Had no idea assumed it was all paid for by the bank of mum and dad?

You've missed some riveting content. Her and Chris took turns painting the garden fence with a small paintbrush. We hope they'll finish it by summer 2022.

 

[allthefs]

Came here to say this....surely cover both?

Wish she’d cover the husbands hair