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Helping my children reduce oour energy consumption???

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Comments

  • Magentasue
    Magentasue Posts: 4,229 Forumite
    Even more effective than spiro's measure's is to do what people used to do - take cash only! Can't spend what you don't have.
  • Totality
    Totality Posts: 1,909 Forumite
    Depends I suppose on how often I go shopping? I personally HATE going to the supermarket, one because taking children shopping is a nightmare and two whenever I go shopping I get suckered into all the BOGOF and other special offers and return with half the shopping that I didnt need/want. Yes I know thats just will-power but I combat that by going shopping only when I absolutly have to! If I had all the meat in the freezer I would only need a trip to the local farm shop for veg and corner shop for bread and milk and my family would be fed for at least a fortnight without the need to go to a supermarket!!

    We do most of our "big shops" online to reduce falling for the offers!! Some of them are actually of use to us, but when we shop online we find there's less chance of "impulse buying".

    And by "us" I mean me. :rotfl:
  • Unfortunatly my will power when it comes to food shopping is nil... I have tried all the tips but still stand there looking at things which I would never consider putting on my shopping list and thinking 'Mmmm that looks good, BOGOF and at only £4.49, bargain!!'. Some women (and men) have clothes or shoes as their little addiction, I have groceries!!
    I try not to take the kids when at all possible, and I certainly dont allow them to be 'I want...' kids, I usually take a pot of grapes or homemade biccies with us to stop the whinging but I also find that if I dont take them I just meander through the shop and before I know it an hours gone and also lots of £££'s!!
    TBH my main reason for cutting our energy consumption is not purly saving money (although of course that is nice!) but also I am so sick of the energy companies hiking up their prices to unbelievable levels that I really resent giving them anymore of our hard earned cash than I absolutly have to!!
  • Magentasue
    Magentasue Posts: 4,229 Forumite
    have tried all the tips but still stand there looking at things which I would never consider putting on my shopping list and thinking 'Mmmm that looks good, BOGOF and at only £4.49, bargain!!'

    Ah, but if you only have cash, you can only look - or something else has to go back on the shelf! I'm not very disciplined about sticking to lists if I have a card with me. Even with online shops, I'm a bit trolley-happy because I always stock up to justify the delivery charge, in case the code doesn't work.
  • dogshome
    dogshome Posts: 3,878 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Freezer running costs can be kept down by filling the empty space with 2 pint plastic milk bottles filled with water - This size accepts the ice expansion factor without splitting -then when you need the space you simply take them out. Also beware of your wi-fi box if you have one, the BT box my son has, has no label showing it's voltage & wattage which I always thought was mandatory, but having checked it with a watt meter I found it was using a constant 14 watts 24/7 - they now pull the plug mains out.
  • KimYeovil
    KimYeovil Posts: 6,156 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    They are only 8,7,2 and 12 weeks

    How is that physically possible?

    Oh. I see what you mean. You don't mean there was just one week and then five weeks between the first three. The first three are in years units.
  • KimYeovil wrote: »
    How is that physically possible?

    Oh. I see what you mean. You don't mean there was just one week and then five weeks between the first three. The first three are in years units.

    Its just my bad use of grammer.... not to mention spelling in my question title!! :A
  • dooby
    dooby Posts: 1,337 Forumite
    dogshome wrote: »
    Freezer running costs can be kept down by filling the empty space with 2 pint plastic milk bottles filled with water - This size accepts the ice expansion factor without splitting -then when you need the space you simply take them out.

    If when you have to take them out of the freezer, would it help to then put them in the fridge to keep that cool? Or not? :confused:
  • space_rider
    space_rider Posts: 1,741 Forumite
    Pocket Money??? lol
    Thats a damn fine idea, we had set a family treat if we reduced the consumption down to half by xmas. But having a short term incentive will (hopefully) keep the kids interested longer?? They are only 8,7,2 and 12 weeks :j

    Yikes, if your children are so little then they shouldn`t be the ones that are really using it;) Mine are 19 16 and 8. When we are all at home in the school holidays we go up to 9 units per day but otherwise its 7. They are old enough to understand that money wasted on electric could fund a weekend break. Little one can be a bit annoying when she turns lights off when she leaves a room that I am still in.:mad:
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