Discount retailer Home Bargains is known for offering household essentials at budget-friendly prices, but it can also be a danger zone where shoppers easily exceed their shopping lists. That's exactly what happened to YouTuber and savvy shopper Pippa Ashton when she popped into her local store for gardening basics and bathroom necessities.
Pippa meticulously compared prices on everything before adding items to her basket—until the end of her visit, when she found herself heading to the checkout with an unexpected purchase that was definitely not on her list.
Picking up a bottle of shampoo, she noted: "So, at the moment, this is cheaper than on Amazon. Amazon is £16.50 for two. So, this is a pound cheaper here. But if you do it on subscribe and save, then it's £14 something, but you do need to keep an eye on the subscribe and save prices."
As she browsed the store, Pippa became increasingly tempted by items she had no intention of buying. In the luggage aisle, she examined bags designed for aircraft overhead compartments but quickly concluded there was little point, admitting: "I don't have a passport, so I won't be flying anywhere!"
However, something in the aisle caught her eye: "I'm just looking at these rucksacks," she said. "My son could probably do with something like this. It looks waterproof. It's UPVC. It's quite a wide base on it. It's only £9.99, and it folds down so that no rain gets in it...he quite often cycles to work with a laptop and a lunchbox. So, I might get him that."
Although Father's Day is still a month away, Home Bargains already boasts an impressive selection of fitting gifts—including a couple of items Pippa thought she might like for herself. On a nearby shelf sat a giant novelty Werther's Original tin, packed with dozens of the beloved boiled sweets that are a favourite among grandparents.
Pippa confessed she had spent considerably more than intended and even failed to pick up one of the items she originally went in for, yet she left feeling pleased with her purchases: "That was a relatively successful shopping trip, even if I couldn't find the potato growing bags."
"That's fine though," she added. "I can just use something else I've already got at home. I did come out of there having spent more than I really planned on spending though, purely because I got things I didn't even know I needed."
Revealing her front seat "passenger," Pippa explained she had been drawn to a garden ornament while browsing. She hoped it would attract admiring glances from visitors: "One of those things I got was my little Buddha friend who's strapped into the front seat with me. She doesn't look overly happy about coming home with me, but I'm sure she'll have a lovely time in my garden."
Totalling up her shopping trip, Pippa said: "So, what did I come home with? Laundry detergent, the tin I was talking to you about, sugar-free biscuits for my other half, a huge bottle of Head and Shoulders, two bottles of Lucozade Sport Blue Force, the rucksack for my son. He's very pleased with that, two bags of compost, three more of these sticks, and my little Buddha lady who made it safely home on the front seat behind the seat belt. And I've spent £68.70 in Home Bargains."
