2014 Frugal Living Challenge

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  • sparrer
    sparrer Posts: 7,547 Forumite
    First Post Combo Breaker First Anniversary I've been Money Tipped!
    I've been practicing 50/50 saving with my purse for a couple of years. I empty my purse of cash every night, split the money ie £1 (or penny, of 50p, whatever coins there are two or more of) for you, £1 for me, etc. If there's an odd number that one goes into the savings pile. That way I always have cash in my purse and am saving at the same time, over the last 12 months I've saved almost £200. I did think of doing it with notes but I'm not that well off!
  • apple_muncher
    apple_muncher Posts: 14,708 Forumite
    First Anniversary Mortgage-free Glee! First Post Name Dropper
    quidsy wrote: »
    That's a good idea.

    I think one of our biggest energy suckers is the charging station. I have an 8 plug extensions & all tablet, laptop, mobile phones & DSi etc chargers are plugged in yet not all being charged at the same time. I will rethink that as it is probably costing a fortune. It is convenient & tidy though and the only way to access the plug, which is behind a heavy dresser!

    I think I will leave all plugged in as normal tonight, take a reading before bed & again on waking, then switch off at the plug tomorrow, take readings at the same time & a total unplug the night after & see where the readings stands. I will post back the results. My elec bill HAS to reduce.

    We have a 6-way charging thingy and each socket has its own off switch. I have no idea if it saves on leccy, but dh is a physics grad (soooo many moons ago, mind!) and thought it was a good idea! We also try NOT to charge overnight as the devices charge up, stop charging, discharge a little and then decide to charge up again.
    NST March lion #8; NSD ; MFW9/3/23 Whoop Whoop!!!
  • Mrs_Cheshire
    Mrs_Cheshire Posts: 1,186 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper
    Will be watching with interest about the chargers, thats one thing we leave one, due to accessing the plugs. I've been a lot better about regularly checking the meter readings this year in order to keep an eye on the bills.
    Grocery Challenge 2020
    Jan £377.98/£380, Feb £417.83/£370 March /£400
  • sparrer
    sparrer Posts: 7,547 Forumite
    First Post Combo Breaker First Anniversary I've been Money Tipped!
    I was told by the fire officer who visited work that to leave things plugged in, even if not switched on, will drain a tiny amount of electricity. The main concern though is the risk of fire. Apparently leaving things on, or on standby, or just plugged in but not switched on, is the cause of more house fires than anything else. I don't mind spending a couple of seconds turning everything off (except the obvious f/f etc) if it saves me £k's on replacing my home :)
  • cw18
    cw18 Posts: 8,619 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Photogenic
    My hi-fi, TV, DVD player and VCR (yes I still have one) are plugged into an extension with a remote to power everything up and down individually. As OH points out the extension itself must pull a tiny amount in order to be ready for the remote to turn sockets back on, but it's got to be less than the clocks on the hi-fi, DVD and VCR - and I can't find a way to turn the TV off any further than standby which seems utter madness to me. Turning off at the mains used to un-tune some of my devices (and definitely resets the clocks, which I can't read from the couch anyway), but as I'm no longer connected to anything that receives TV channels I haven't a clue which do/don't as it doesn't impact me.

    My landline handsets (living room and bedroom) are always plugged in and on, as is my router (I use during the day and son uses 7 nights in 14). Laptop, printer, and 4 port USB charger are all off at mains unless in use.

    I don't turn any of my regularly used kitchen appliances off at the wall (oven, combi oven, washer, dryer, kettle, toaster - as well as fridge/freezer and freezer which I couldn't anyway). The only 'lights' on any of them are the clocks on the main oven and the combi oven, both of which will pull a bit. I used to turn the combi off at the mains after losing 2 to power cuts/surges, but I now have it plugged into a surge protector as the cuts/surges could still happen while I was using it (and DS1 used to forget to switch off after he'd finished with it).

    I rarely use a hair dryer or straighteners, but would never consider leaving those plugged in even if I did.

    I reckon most of the wasted electricity here is down to DS1. He leaves loads of the electricals in his room on standby, and is a royal pain for leaving lights on - I have to turn the stairs/landing one off after him almost daily, and he regularly leaves his bedroom and/or the family bathroom on when he goes out :mad:
    Cheryl
  • lynnejk
    lynnejk Posts: 5,732 Forumite
    Rampant Recycler Debt-free and Proud!
    his_missus wrote: »
    Lynnejk, I did used to do the grocery challenge back in the day but the people on there have such low, tight budgets in comparison to mine I kind of felt awkward posting on the thread. No-one ever made me feel awkward, it was just me.


    Think you should pop back and have a look. There are two of us and we were on £240 a month (same as you trying) for ages and just managed to bring it down a little. However, there are people on all sorts of budgets - it's up to you :D

    quidsy wrote: »
    Maybe someone can help with something that I have wondered for a while. I know (think?) that things plugged in use energy even when not in use, for example a TV on standby will use a residual amount of energy but does that apply to everything, such as a kettle that doesn't have a standby light?
    :)


    I was wondering about this and had a punt about. It seems everything you leave on when not in use will use some electric but it varies from a little to a lot. Some interesting stuff !


    Things with lights on or clocks use more - eg microwaves


    Things left on stand-by use loads - some nearly as much as when on :eek: eg some tvs


    Phone chargers don't use so much when just 'dangling' but use loads if left plugged into phone once the phone is charged


    All computer stuff should be turned off whenever possible and not left on 24/7


    If you have a laptop it is about half the money if you plug it in instead of using battery - but switch off when not using !


    I know it's a given but leaving lights on in an empty room is not clever.


    Personally I also worry about the possibility of fire like someone else and turn off everything at the wall (ex fridge and freezer) when I am finished with it, go out or go to bed.


    Don't know if that helps. If you want to really get to grips with it maybe you can beg/borrow one of those readers and see what each item uses on and off.


    Quidsy - maybe you could get a single extension, plug that behind your dresser and plug your 8-way into that you could just pull the 8-way out each night and just the extension left plugged in each night ;)


    Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday
    Lx
    £10day.2014=3213/2015=3421/2016=3238/2017=2702/2018=498..APR=12.03/300
    GrocC.2014=2162/2015=2083/2016=218/2017=1996/2018=450..APR=17.13/200
    Bulk buy.......APR=233.76
    GC.NSD..2015=216/2016=213/2017=229/2018=39..APR=03/15
    SPC130:staradminx61..2014=1178/2015=1287/2016=4616/2017=3843
    OS WL= -2/8 ......CC =00......Savings = £13,140
  • alja
    alja Posts: 838 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Very good points about things being left plugged in. I'm quite good at turning most items off at the wall, but it is interesting to see what uses up what amounts etc.


    Had my second interview for the job I'm after today, seemed to go okay, I did my best. Shall hear from them in the next couple of days...


    Went shopping after the interview and picked up a despicable me minion notebook from B&M for just £1.99 for my friend (who is an adult!) but she loves the minions and this shall be going in her Christmas bag. I also picked up a slotted serving spoon from Dunelm for my future first home, it was down to £1 so I thought I would treat myself as it gets me excited for what is to come...


    I also went into H*mebase and picked up a cinnamon scented big jar type candle. Not sure whether I'm going to burn this this year or put it away for my home, because it could be lovely as decor. Decisions! Decisions!


    I think I may have mentioned in here the other day that I was finding it hard to sell items on fb selling groups at the moment?! Well, that has now changed a little thankfully and I should be dropping off 2 dresses to a lady tomorrow. So that will be two items out and £8 coming in. Just hope the other items sell now, or I find some other things that sell. Would be great to both condense what I have and make a little money to go towards my home fund :)


    I hope everyone has had a good day!
  • lynnejk
    lynnejk Posts: 5,732 Forumite
    Rampant Recycler Debt-free and Proud!
    alja wrote: »
    Had my second interview for the job I'm after today, seemed to go okay, I did my best. Shall hear from them in the next couple of days...
    Fingers crossed for you for the job :)

    Lx
    £10day.2014=3213/2015=3421/2016=3238/2017=2702/2018=498..APR=12.03/300
    GrocC.2014=2162/2015=2083/2016=218/2017=1996/2018=450..APR=17.13/200
    Bulk buy.......APR=233.76
    GC.NSD..2015=216/2016=213/2017=229/2018=39..APR=03/15
    SPC130:staradminx61..2014=1178/2015=1287/2016=4616/2017=3843
    OS WL= -2/8 ......CC =00......Savings = £13,140
  • alja
    alja Posts: 838 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    lynnejk wrote: »
    Fingers crossed for you for the job :)

    Lx



    Thank you! It really would set my wheels in motion! We'll see :)
  • Frugaldom
    Frugaldom Posts: 6,939 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post Photogenic First Anniversary
    ALJA Good luck with your job interview result. :)
    I reserve the right not to spend.
    The less I spend, the more I can afford.

    Frugal living challenge - living on £4000 in 2024
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