Just for fun

Childcare costs, cross-stitch and a Caribbean cruise – this week's MSE Forum highlights

James Hatts

Forum Executive

28 March 2025

Join us as we delve in to some of this week's best bits from our MoneySaving community.

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 my mum help with our childcare costs while she's on holiday?

My mum picks my son up from school three days a week, as his dad and I work full-time. On the other two days, we pay for him to go to an after-school club. My mum has just booked a two-week holiday in June, which means we'll have to pay for an extra six days at the after-school club while she's away. Should we ask her for a contribution towards the cost? Or should we just be grateful that she picks him up at all, and not say anything?

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.

Photo of the week

Forumite nmm shared this photo of the cross-stitch card they have made for Mother's Day:

Our Crafting board has lots more inspiring images from creative members of our community.

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

We heard about a brilliant comping success this week when Smamfer posted to say that they'd won a 14-night cruise around the Caribbean. It's been a good year for this Forumite who featured in the blog a few weeks ago when they won a makeover courtesy of Gok Wan. As Smamfer put it: "There's some things you dream about in life and this was certainly one of them!"

Will luck be on your side this week? Head over to Competitions time to find out.

Challenge corner

A new month is a great opportunity to take up a new MoneySaving habit. As April begins, why not give the Grocery Challenge a go?

Your two cents

This week we've been doing some spring cleaning on the Forum: we've made a new Community noticeboard for announcements from the MSE team and tweaked the name of the Site feedback & Forum help board which is the best place to get assistance with queries about how any part of MSE works.

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