hanging my head in shame

worried_jim

hannoja wrote: »

Phew. Finally caught up!

I found your thread ages ago Jim, and sat reading it. I see it 'pop up' in my subscriptions when someone posts on it, and think I'll catch up, but haven't done since Summer, so I had quite a bit of reading to do :eek: Well worth it though :T

As others have said, well done on your 'journey', and thank you for your inspirational thread. It's real and funny, and serious, and informative, and interesting, and you mustn't stop!

Phew. Finally caught up!
- I hope I haven't caused you to waste your day ! I waste most of mine writing this !!!!!! !

GeorgeUK

Then i salute your madness sir

Are you doing a challenge to help you pay for the impending replacement or entering lots of competitions? Failing that you should be able to get lots of tips on using a slow cooker on some of the boards here.

chinawhite_2

worried_jim wrote: »

Is everything okay china white? It has been a while since I've seen any posts form you. I hope if you are smiling now you continue to do so.

Thanks Jim,
have decided my new motto is gonna be " you gotta laugh " - so keep the jokes coming :rotfl:

worried_jim

chinawhite wrote: »

Thanks Jim,
have decided my new motto is gonna be " you gotta laugh " - so keep the jokes coming :rotfl:

You may as well- there is nothing else !


I have been contacted by Payplan today with the offer of doing some publicity work for the ministry of justice. I have thought hard about this but it would mean my name and photo being circulated in the press in early January when the story would be released. I have declined the offer as I cant afford a suitable disguise and I think that they would click on to the fact that my name isn't Mr Worried Jim.

ampersand

worried_jim wrote: »

..........I think that they would click on to the fact that my name isn't Mr Worried Jim.

#############
Don't count on it / Don't let that put you off[choice is yours] wj.

The TRUETRUETOOTRUE stories are legion, i.e. not urban myth, of official/bonafide letters being sent to Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms Now Deceased , Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms Nolongerhere, Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms Goneaway, Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms Inprison etc.etc.

worried_jim

Had a new letter today -



I just can't be bothered calling them. They have just had a brand new income and expenditure via payplan which has no changes and these clowns want me to increase my payment from £41.76 (which they've been getting for a year now ) to £188.37.
I am going for a lie down.......

MS_Dolphin

worried_jim wrote: »

I have got one of those free British Gas energy monitors for electricity usage and have been playing around with it for a couple of weeks now its getting quite addictive. Its shows how much I have used so far since midnight and what my current usage is. I have been using I-measure - http://www.imeasure.org.uk/index.php - for over a year now so it is very easy to compare my usage results.
When I leave the home now I unplug all my appliances (except the oven, fridge/freezer and alarm clock) and the difference is amazing. I have halved my energy usage every day ! For example over the last week I have used £4.10 of electricity and the same week last year I used £7.30- now I must admit that power is slightly cheaper this year but still a massive saving just by turning off two plugs in the morning I could be saving £166 a year.
I can also work the approx cost of running an appliance as well such as the washing machine or the tumble dryer, although these aren't the main consumption culprits- its the iron and the vacuum so creased clothes and dirty floors from now on.

Hi Jim,

Where do I get one of the free energy monitors from? I know the obivous answer is go and look on the BG website and I'll do that next :rolleyes: but also wanted to post on your thread again.

I've recently become addicted to switching off plugs all round the house. I even turn off the alarm clock, but it is a pain re-setting it every night, don't know what was wrong with the old fashioned ones with a key in the back!!

GeorgeUK

Jim, i wouldn't get too worried about that letter.

I also like the way they added "Our aim is to assist you in repaying your debt in a mutually acceptable timeframe". Who says they don't have a sense of humour.

It sounds like a computer generated letter and it may be because you have been making payments for a year that they have issued it. If you're on a DMP through one of the charities, i would just forward them a copy of the letter for them to deal with.

MS_Dolphin

Ok,

I've just been to the BG website and come away totally

I've only recently changed my supplier to BG and the notes say they might (sounds like a DCA) charge me £30 for changing tariff.

I also can't work out whether I'd be better off on one of the new tariffs anyway. I'm curently on 'Websaver 3' tariff and don't know if any of the three suggested tariffs would be any better.

The energy saving monitor sounds like a good toy to play with, but I guess I'll just have to use my common sense for now - and keep on unplugging!!

zhatorna65

MS Dolphin - unplugging your alarm clock doesn't sound like common sense!
It's probably not using very much electricity anyway.

It's the stuff that uses a lot of Watts (W) or especially kilowatts (kW) that you need to watch out for. Anything with a heating element like a toaster, oven, kettle, electric fire will use a lot, but also the time it's on for is important too, so consumption is usually measured in Watt-hours or kilowatt-hours (kWh), which is just the Watts times the number of hours. This is the unit measured by your electricity meter.

A kettle isn't really here or there in terms of saving you money, since it's only on for 2-3 minutes. But having an electric oven on for 1hr+ just to do 1 jacket potato is throwing money away.

If you still fancy one, Maplins or your local DIY store might have offers on energy monitors, especially after xmas. I bought a small portable one (kill-a-watt) for a tenner at Maplins in the summer. It's like a socket with a meter on it. There are also devices like the CurrentCost (google it, I can't post links) which connect to your meter via a special clamp. I have 3 of these! Have to say the novelty wears off a bit once you've been round the house switching stuff on and off to see how much it uses, but I reckon I've saved quite a bit. Good for the environment too.