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Garden makeovers, leftover cream & London short breaks – this week's MSE Forum highlights

Forum Executive

4 April 2025

This week's brighter weather has got many Forumites asking garden-related questions. Whether you're green-fingered or not, the MSE Forum has some MoneySaving wisdom for you. Here are some of the highlights from the past seven days.

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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 I stop sending birthday cards and money to my brother's ungrateful kids?

I don't have children, but my brother has three. I send birthday cards with money in for the children every year. I very rarely get a 'thank you' from any of them and I'm lucky if I get a birthday card from my brother, while my partner of 10 years never gets one. My partner doesn't mind and always says I should be the better person when I ask why I bother. Should I keep sending my brother's children cards and money even though they don't thank me?

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 pink_poppy has shared lots of stunning pics on the Gardening board this week, including this snap captioned "getting all my ducks in a row".

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

Some of the wins we've heard about on the Forum this week have included £1,000, an iPad, a hamper of chocolate and a cocktail making party for 10. See what you could win this week by visiting the Competitions time boards.

Challenge corner

There's a new thread called Spring in our Step on the Old Style MoneySaving board. As PennysIntoPounds explains: "Lots of people have been doing brilliantly at smashing their OATs (Outstanding Annoying Tasks) during March and now proper spring is here we want to keep up the good work of tackling those jobs that have been on the to-do list for ages, whether that's because they're time consuming, intimidating, or just really, really boring.

"The aim is to choose at least one task a day that's been bothering us in the background of our lives, and do something about it!"

Your two cents

As it's the end of one financial year and the start of another, our ISAs & tax-free savings board is particularly busy right now. It's a great place to ask savings questions. Or maybe you could help some fellow Forumites with their queries?

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