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Makeup, music streaming & loo cleaning – this week's MSE Forum highlights

James Hatts
James Hatts
Forum Executive
28 August 2026

This week we reached the point where there are four months till Christmas – but in one corner of the MSE Forum it's yuletide all year round as MoneySavers plot their festive preparations. Read on for more of the latest talking points.

If you're not a member yet, here's how to register for the MSE Forum. It's simple and quick to join.

A few of this week's top threads

These are some of the Forum discussions that caught our eye this week:

Money Moral Dilemma

Every week, the Money Tips email features a real-life Money Moral Dilemma (MMD for short). They're intended to encourage debate and, as such, they're usually among the most discussed threads each week.

Should the friend who was late for our trip share his train delay compensation?

I recently went on a canal boat weekend with some friends. We live all over the country, so met at the boat hire location. One friend took the train instead of driving, and his train was delayed, meaning we couldn't leave until he arrived. He later told us he'd claimed compensation for the full cost of his train ticket. Should he share this money with us since we were equally inconvenienced?

See what our MSE Forumites had to say and add your own thoughts on the Money Moral Dilemma discussion thread. Do please stick to the MSE Forum rules: keep it kind and keep it clean. Remember, there's a real person behind every dilemma.

Challenge corner

As August comes to an end Forumites are reporting their results in the month's Grocery Challenge. Blackcats has come in at £27 below their £380 budget: "I'm really pleased with an underspend this month as I have my beady eye on a savings pot to top up with it."

Meanwhile mandco's final result was a bit tighter, but still a success: "Scraping in at 63p under budget tbh despite increasing the budget this month due to the summer hols and extra mouths to feed.

"I was expecting to be over especially after having the grandkids for an extra four days this weekend which wasn’t planned for so happy with that."

Fancy having a 'spend less September'? The new Grocery Challenge is ready for you.

Photo of the week

Forumite Aussie_Tips posted this pic of their EV charger which they have cunningly disguised as a retro petrol pump.

EV charger made to look like a vintage petrol pump

Please note: We love seeing your photos in the MSE Forum, but if you're uploading one, make sure it doesn't include any personally-identifiable information such as your face or address.

Latest comping wins

Redfox5 is having a good run, with a prize haul of four items: "I'm having a bookish month. I've won two audiobooks and one actual book ... And just had an email to say I won a hoodie from the Oasis competition ... I'm already feeling the cold today and this sounds warm so looking forward to it arriving!"

Head over to Competitions Time to see which prizes are up for grabs right now..

Your two cents

My local repair cafe has a touring schedule and visits the church hall at the end of my road a few times a year for a drop-in session where you can bring your broken stuff for volunteers to help you fix.

Last weekend I finally managed to pop in, and within 10 minutes my cuddly toy hedgehog was beautifully repaired and ready for my baby daughter to enjoy.

We'd love to hear your repair cafe experiences – whether as a customer or volunteer – in this Forum thread.

If you're not a member yet, it's easy to register for the MSE Forum.

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Got a suggestion for next week's Forum highlights blog? Let us know

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