The Passing of the Spendthrift Southerner

Paul Cullen at the Irish Times has been charting the journey from Rip Off Ireland to Cheap Ireland, peppering his account with a few of his own memories of the time when the Celtic Tiger roared loud enough to distract the consumer whilst his/her pocket was well and truly picked- like the 15 euro baby formula, now costing him 8.50 euro.
Niall McHenry of saveafewbob.ie speaks of a new paradigm in which people in the South expect to get value for money:
“This mindset is not a fad. It is here to stay. For a whole generation of consumers mostly in their 20s, 30s and 40s, the repair job on their mortgage, investment portfolio or pension fund is going to take a number of years. They will be on a constant look-out for good value or trying to secure a good deal.”

The establishment of the National Consumer Agency in 2007, the emergence of numerous consumer-oriented websites, the success of the ALDI/LIDL supermarkets and the ‘unpatriotic’ cross-border shopping affair would suggest McHenry may be on to something.

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