If things get tougher?

MoJo

Eeek!
Okay

Ember999

catowen wrote:

On the Richard Hammond show a few nights ago, they had a feature about energy saving, and they actually said that using a full dishwasher was more econaomical than handwashing, as you are using less water, and less energy heating a full tank of water!!!!!
Im going to start meal planning, been meaning to do it for a long time, but must def start, also that way im hoping that i wont be impulse buying so much (im a sucker for the special offers, that i then dont use!!!). Im also going for more layers, to save on the heating, my thermostat is on 18 at the moment, which i think is the recomended level!!!

Goodness me, my thernostat is on 21 and I complain I am cold! I see a lot of you have it on 18. Is mine set too high would you say? It feels cold if I have it lower.

squeaky

Try lowering it a tiny bit at a time at intervals of a week - let your body acclimatise.

Ember999

I've just spent 20 minutes reading this entire thread and I have to say it has depressed me no end I've been on a happy 'high' since coming home from the hospital yesterday morning but this thread is certainly making my smile slip a little. Is everyone really struggling/expecting to struggle so much? What happened to the idea that life in 2006 Britain is getting better? As a kid I was taught that as you get older, things get better! not worse? Shouldn't everyone have more money as time passes not less? This thread is making me feel so wasteful and maybe it's time I thought about that. I have my heating on 21 degrees, and turn it up to 23 if it gets cold. I buy new clothes constantly without thought and although I run two homes I haven't thought about impending gas bill rises. We are not flush with cash by any means - we were till we bought a second home and took on double bills for everything but still, I haven't really cut back. I have to pay 2 of everything from TV licence to council tax and all these propsed bill rises will hurt us eventually. I suppose with me there is a lot we could cut back.

I could:

Stop buying expensive skin care and make-up
Cancel my gym membership of £39 a month in England and £25 a month in Scotland - geez....just realised I spend £64 a month on the gym!
Try value products rather that assuming they taste awful when they obviously don't etc.
Cut out my 2 bottles of red wine a week
Stop spending £60 a week on Nicorette Nasal Sprays (but that stops me spending £70 a week on cigarettes!)
Use the car less though that would be difficult as I have to live in 2 places 3 hours apart!
Turn some of the spare land that came with my cottage in to an allotment and grow my own veg. My hubby laughed when I said this, he said it would be like imagining Barbie doing gardening! :mad:
I could feed my cats less expensive food.
I have already replaced all lights with energy saving bulbs.
I already turn TV's off rather than leaving on standby.
I could I suppose totally change our way of life if need be. But do any of us really want to? Seems so unfair when footballers who kick a ball around get paid 30 grand a week etc.
The government tax what we earn, what we save and what we spend. No wonder so many of us British are leaving this country.
Maybe I should have bought a cottage in Spain rather than Scotland? ..... But I love Scotland so I guess I will have to find other ways to cut back if necessary. The thought of cutting back doesn't please me at all....at all....

suki1964

I dont know how you organise your heating but if you have it on a timer to come on before you get home from work, then set it lower - the house will feel warm to you as you have just come in. Later if you feel the chill turn it back up for a while. I keep mine at 18 during the day, giving it a boost for a while around 8 if we are sitting watching tv. Its switched off at 9 - 9.30

Ember999

suki1964 wrote:

I dont know how you organise your heating but if you have it on a timer to come on before you get home from work, then set it lower - the house will feel warm to you as you have just come in. Later if you feel the chill turn it back up for a while. I keep mine at 18 during the day, giving it a boost for a while around 8 if we are sitting watching tv. Its switched off at 9 - 9.30

Good idea Suki,

I have actually just gone and turned it down to 20 from 23. I hope I don't notice the difference but if I do, I will get used to it. I have to start saving energy just as everyone else has to.

stumpjumper

Hmm there's not much left for us to cut down on other than days out to theme parks and camping trips. The first thing we'd do if things get really tight is unplug the aerial and detune our TV's so we don't have to pay the TV tax anymore. We mostly use the computers and watch DVD's anyway.

I really need to get a job nearer home (not easy!) to reduce my massive car and petrol bills.

competitionscafe

Hmm, food and wine would be the last things I cut back on - you have to have some pleasures in life!! Biggest expenses are rent, bills and council tax so I guess I would have to move somewhere smaller and cheaper or rent a room in a shared flat. Broadband is another essential - at less than £1 a day it provides way more entertainment and information than SKY (which I don't have) but then I am one of those rare blokes who hates football!

[Deleted User]

HOLsale wrote:

we're on a massive waiting list been on for nearly a year and it will likely be another 3-4 years before we get one :eek:

however, if things get really bad with energy and fuel supplies they may start making more allotments like they did during WWII and i would definately be grabbing one then

i long to get my hands in the dirt again, i really miss it so it wouldn't be a hardship to me

If you lived near to me you would be welcome to my garden as I can no longer do much out there. I have osteo-arthritis and cannot bend .My garden is a nightmare for me in the summer as I just can't manage it any more. If you live near to someone with a garden that they can't manage why not ask them if you can use it to grow some crops in exchange for keeping it looking a bit better.In france where my brother lives this is quite common and it benefits both the person's garden and the would-be gardener.

Katgoddess

I could:

Stop using my mobile phone, except for free calls. (save £15 a month)
Change my internet package to one thats much cheaper,but slower and capped. :eek: (15 a month)
Stop driving my car as much as possible. (£1000 a year if I sell car and walk every where, but in reality I'd have to get buses and cabs to get to work which works out at £1100. £50 a month for a bus pass :eek: )
Sell all my worldly goods on ebay and amazon marketplace.
Stop going out to the pub and cinema. (£1.50 for pub and £4 for cinema, I'm a cheap date)
Take out a student loan to pay for my OU courses and the various hardship funds.
Stop buying little bits of crap. I have cut down on this a lot over the past year but can still improve a lot.
Cash in all the loyalty points that I keep saving for a rainy day.
Get a 2nd job.