I wonder if people are still joining gyms or are they one of those “luxuries” that have been knocked on the head as a result of this little depression we’ve been having? Up until quite recently, I used to belong to a very, very fancy gym with enormous chandeliers and a huge chaise longue in the lobby and gold tiles on the steam room walls (oh, and some fitness equipment too) but I decided to knock it on the head because I couldn’t justify the expense. They’ve been texting me for months now pleading with me to re-join and with each message I ignore, the price of membership seems to fall further. If I hang on long enough they’ll be paying me to join. I wonder do these fancy clubs have a future or all they all going to go the way of the Celtic Tiger?

Gap in Dublin have apparently introduced a charge of one euro to wrap presents? Why on earth would they do that? They’ll make peanuts from it and annoy absolutely everyone.

A reader got in touch last week to give out about Tesco. She was doing her shopping there earlier this month when she noticed a whole pile of products which had been recently reduced. “These included the usual items with 50 per cent off or buy-one-get-one-free offers,” she says. Included in this special offer aisle she saw blocks of President Emmental Cheese with “price cut” on the tag. “Being a lover of cheese and fond of a bargain I looked a little closer. The reduced price was €3.09 for a 250g block of cheese. However, on further examination and to my complete amazement, the previous price of this item was a whopping €3.10. A massive reduction of €0.01, equating to a saving of 0.3 per cent. Thanks Tesco for another amazing price cut.”

Another reader got in touch over the pricing of Krackawheat. Up til recently he was paying €1.07 a pack. When he went into Tesco in Dún Laoghaire in October the price was €1.99. He says: “As if almost doubling the price wasn’t bad enough, Tesco had the gall to say on the shelf that this price was a reduction from €2.39. “Unbelievable! Their ‘price cuts forever’ campaign lasted about two months.” Tesco says “a keying error” caused “some confusion in the price of this product” – the price should be €1.09 and is “being corrected”.

There’s worse. Lil - who can be found blogging here - sent me a mail this morning after coming a “special offer” on Surf washing liquid. Previously it cost €8.19 but is now selling at a special price of €9.50 which Tesco claims is a “saving of €2.19″.

Hmmm…. As Lil says, the retailer is either deliberately trying to con people or it has a “faulty and unreliable computer system which can’t calculate”.

Either way, it shows that it pays to be vigilant - every little helps, after all.

CREDIT unions around the country are distributing a guide to members urging them to seek advice on budgeting and advising them to plan well to enjoy a better Christmas.

FAMILIES can travel to Dublin for today's Family Day in the capital, as well as on weekends in the run-up to Christmas, for just €20 with Bus Eireann.

A NEW company is promising to win back thousands of euro for people who have been ripped off by the banks and other financial institutions.

BANK of Ireland was accused of being "hopelessly out of touch" last night after it admitted it had double-charged its own customers for the second month in a row.

THE Revenue Commissioners has warned taxpayers about a fraudulent email purporting to come from Revenue seeking personal information from taxpayers in connection with a tax refund.