MAYBE it’s because the countdown to the wedding is well and truly ticking, but my mood has been up and down this week.

It’s like whenever something good happens, karma swoops in and something bad happens to bring me back down to earth with a bump.

Of course I’m being melodramatic. I’ve not lost a limb, and nothing disastrous has happened (touch wood).

But I seem to have been on an emotional rollercoaster this week, and I’m clinging on for dear life in an attempt to stop myself morphing into that monster everyone loves to hate... the bridezilla.

Here’s what happened: GOOD – We travelled to Wales and got almost all of the final details of the wedding sorted. I found a nice (but reasonably-priced) florist, and my friend who works at a posh veil manufacturers has sorted me out with a beautiful and unique veil. Brilliant.

BAD – The wedding hairdressing trial went so badly I actually cried. I can write this safe in the knowledge that she’ll never read this because she’s in Wales, but the hairdresser, we’ll call her “Sara” washed my hair and then put it in thin old lady rollers and “set” me under the dryer for 45 minutes until I looked like a poodle. With too much mousse on. The moment the penny dropped and I realised she didn’t have a clue what she was doing was awful. Of course, being a wimp, I pretended I liked it, handed over my money and only later rang up and cancelled the wedding appointment. Also got a flat tyre on the motorway.

GOOD – Won £100 at work in a competition I didn’t even know I entered.

BAD – found out that the free carpark I use is going to cost £450 per year and you have to pay upfront for six months parking by next Monday.

GOOD – We’ve done some tweaking of the guest list and are now able to invite a few more people to the wedding. Incidentally isn’t it hard that a wedding forces you to ‘grade’ your friends into day and night do?

BAD – Only lost half a pound at Slimming World this week and at this rate I’ll be a chunky bride.

Aside from the mini dramas that have kept me busy this week I’ve made a discovery... we’re all being totally ripped-off by the big companies which provide us with the essentials of day-to-day living.

This realisation struck upon receiving a new quote for my about-to-expire home insurance.

Of course the company had put the price up a good hefty chunk.

And of course, being of the internet generation I logged straight onto Confused.com and Moneysupermarket to search for a cheaper quote.

But when I rang my current insurer to let them know I wasn’t intending to renew, guess what happened?

Surprise surprise, the £410 price they were going to charge me was miraculously reduced by more than £100.

Sadly it’s not just insurance companies that do this, it’s everybody – those who provide breakdown cover, mobile phone companies, even digital TV providers.

Just try it. When it’s time to renew your policies or contracts just ring up the customer services department and ask to be put through to cancellations – they’ll be slicing pounds off your bill faster than you can say “Orange Wednesday”.

What annoys me is that they don’t give us their “real” best price in the first place.

Until next week. I’ll try to be a bit less moany by then.