The Frugality #4 I spy with my little eye a secret second storey reaching up to the sky.

[PineappleQueen19]

But what if you fancy a ham & cheese toastie rather than a hand and cheese sandwich?

That is permitted but only if you firmly cross out out ham & cheese sandwich and write in ham & cheese toastie Don’t forget to write in ‘+ spring onions’ if you are having those.

Also just realised Wednesdays lunch is a ham sandwich, no cheese that day

I would say this is top drawer trolling but I think this really is how odd they are? If I wrote a meal plan like that my husband would be genuinely concerned about my mental state & vice versa.

 

[Dizzy]

If they got rid of all the fucking shit they have, the whole house would immediately feel double the size!

 

[Xyzabc1234]

Guys she's so busy and important with mid week mid morning rushes to IKEA for meatballs, she literally has no time to herself or to think! Busy working mum!

 

[louderforthecheapseats]

Also the Hoxton Hotel is not ‘affordable’ Premier Inn or Travelodge are affordable. 7-1500 euros for 3 nights is not a cheap stay, another 200 euros on top if you want brekkie

She’s also in the biggest room they do at a bargain 2000 euros for 3 nights with breakfast….soooo affordable

 

[CornedBeefHashtag]

The work/life balance discussion (from whoever, not necessarily Alex) always irritates me and feels dated and tired.

It’s a conversation that is only really had by middle class women. Everyone else just has to get on with it - work, kids, family, house etc.
There’s no opportunity for balancing to be done - or rather, no choice to consider any kind of ‘balance’. You just have to get on with it all!

To even have the time/opportunity to consider and pontificate about it is a privilege.

Maybe it’s all part of trying to seem ‘relatable’? Misses the mark for me though.

 

[AutumnDays]

If she’s working until midnight every night, she must watch a huge amount of TV during the day as she always seems to be telling us about what she’s watched.

 

[PineappleQueen19]

Personally what I think would be an elegant solution is just to say the season eg cashmere jumper Joseph AW19/20. Then you don’t have to keep recalculating the age and the influencer should be tracking their wardrobe anyway so you’re just copy+ pasting from your tracker when you feature that item.

but yes @heretoreaditall2019 you are spot on it’s about the cognitive dissonance over their purpose. Here to help you make the most of your wardrobe? Here to provide inspiration on a budget? Here to help you navigate the trends?
Or…. here to provide me with a lucrative income for relatively easy effort (compared to many/most jobs). Of course these things co-exist but influencers like to make out their existence is some sort of benevolent service to the masses. Such hard work and long hours, much multi-tasking… while I drop some stuff off at the post office before going to a free exhibition on a weekday

 

[Sickofads]

Is it just me or is every single post and story atm just about buying stuff?! Absolutely the most hypocritical influencer out there

 

[PastorBake]

I think her understanding of 'frugal' just doesn't match how anyone else defines frugality.

To me, being 'frugal' would mean scouting around to find something for a really good price, maybe a surprisingly good quality Primark set of sheets or a great bedding brand in the TKMaxx clearance or on eBay..

In these difficult times there will be lots of people looking for advice and tips on true 'frugal' living as they try to manage their tight budgets. Alex's page will be of absolutely no use to them whatsoever. She's like the posh girl from the song 'Common People' who thinks that poor is cool.

 

[Banana Pyjamas]

Never one to shy away from ways to make money at minimal effort, Alex has added this rather snotty edit onto the tiles reveal:

I assume this means she returns the favour by paying a fee to the companies for all the photos of products she’s cut and paste into her affiliate link spam gift guides?

 

[CyberNannies]

I think Alex honestly feel that she doesn’t have any free time. She comes from a world of privilege and the idea of having to work/commute/juggle childcare/manage the house just doesn’t come into it

I work pretty long hours (roughly 55/week Mon-fri) but feel lucky as my husband and I stagger it so I can always take children to school and he can always collect them.
I have flexibility in that I can mostly stop working and do bedtimes and then carry on working once the children are in bed.
I genuinely feel lucky that despite my husband working long hours outside of the home (he does weekends too) and me working a mix of home/office/community we are able to make it work around our family and one of us always be available for our kids.

I often eye roll at Alex’s posts but this is all she’s ever known and to her it probably seems a lot

 

[it’s not been changed?!]

I guffawed

 

[louderforthecheapseats]

Can we just discuss the party food….how much ham and cheese did they buy? Is that all they gave them? A ham/cheese sandwich And does it really need to be on the planner every day

 

[knickerbocker glory]

Alex’s new profile picture

 

[EllsBellsWells]

Sancho, a Black-owned independent sustainable shop, was recommended; she tagged the shop and said that it was too expensive… In the end, she bought it from & Other Stories for not much less than it would have cost had she bought from an independent business. So disingenuous…

That is absolutely appalling. Why on earth would you criticise a business in this way when you could easily just gloss over and not mention it? It’s funny how she has the energy and time to critique this kind of thing but is utterly silent on most social issues. Being so willing to drag a small independent business and give them negative publicity for no other reason than you personally finding them too expensive is abhorrent when you will happily spend hundreds on mountains of plastic tat from Tiger.

 

[Cerase]

And there we have it

 

[AutumnDays]

It’s baffling, they want everything in house to be ’chic’ and fit in with ‘their style’, yet their house appears to be stuffed full of un-necessary crap, complete lack of storage, rooms that can’t be used because of work stuff, preference for a sofa in the kitchen/dining area instead of a dining table and chairs.

 

[Now What]

I've finally given up and unfollowed her- I can't face the flipping glasses shite any more.

I unfollowed too. Not only the glasses for our Friday entertainment, but her overall site is not interesting. This is going to sound mean, but the clothes modeling shots drive me crazy. She needs to stand up straight or something - if I want to see a woman looking like a sack of laundry I'll look in the mirror. I'm sick of all the money moaning also. Yes, you're frugal. Zzzzz.

 

[Tiger tat]

She ‘finally’ got to the exhibition. Wasn’t it LITERALLY only yesterday that she planned to go?!

 

[skyehigh]

I have spoke about this before especially re Alex and the impact it’s having on women, in particular those who will identify with her who have 2 small children.
I will say it again as I hope it provides some kind reality.
That period of your life is hard. Your money goes on mortgage and childcare and despite being utterly frazzled there is no spare money for anything that feels like a treat. It’s pretty relentless.
I remember it well.
It gets better. But please don’t let influencers like Alex make you believe that you aren’t doing it right because you are not fannying about on mini breaks, buying Dipytque candles and 7 pairs of glasses.
She should be ashamed of what she’s part off. It’s certainly not a feminist movement

Thank you for this! We have two small children and are in good jobs... and just this evening I looked at an airbnb someone had recommended (want to fanny about on a mini break!), £900 for 3 nights! We just don't have this kind of disposable income anymore!