Principal dancer with Riverdance, Melissa Convery is an attentive grocery shopper and says that she would know the price of all the "basic" grocery items. She knows the exact price of a litre of milk at €1.05, but she's not sure about the price of a pint of the black stuff, because she would never drink it.
She says that her spending weakness is glossy magazines, which acquire a significant VAT mark-up when distributed in Ireland. "I buy around three or four of them a week and they cost about three or four euro each, so that's a lot of money!"
Convery is an active consumer and she always knows how much money she has and how much she owes. "I'd also always intend to keep my receipts at the beginning of the year, but it's hard to keep up the good habit", she says. "I'd look for bargains and always go for cheaper supermarkets and that."
As far as making complaints goes, Convery thinks she is probably one of the people who says "everything was grand" in restaurants, even if the food was disappointing.
"I do think it's important to be honest, though, and I complain when I think I've been ripped off. I was in a chemist's recently and I was buying a product that cost three times the price in the States. It would have been cheaper for me to get some posted over! I gave out yards, but I don't think it made a bit of difference!"
The dancer has not switched her business to save money, but she is interested in doing so. "I'd like to switch from ntl because I think they're terrible, but I can't because there's no alternative. I definitely think I should switch my business in a few things, but I just get lazy and don't do it."
Bríd Higgins Ní Chinnéide