If things get tougher?

[Deleted User]

I am not being clever Mary its just my lifetime os training!!.

I dug out a meter that I bought ages ago. You plug it in and it tells you how much a device costs to use. I use ebico and the cost of electricity is 12.72pence a kwh, so it makes it very easy. I started using that part way through june and have discovered several ways to save a lot of money on electricity.

The remoska and pressure cooker on the induction hob each costs about 5p to cook a casserole-type meal. The pc is about 4 years old and the induction hob is portable and is about 2 years old. I did buy the remoska recently but I use it daily and it is great for baking as well. The bm costs about 5p a loaf

If I use the oven it would cost me about 60 pence to cook a loaf of bread, a casserole and a crumble all at once. That compares with 18 pence. So I haven`t used the oven for a while now but my cooking is still going well. Another big saver is likely to be the ecocamel but I cannot give any figures on that

Sarahsaver, wee smell is ammonia ie alkaline so an acid will probably help. Vinegar might be worth trying.

mary43

I'm not familiar with the 'ecocamel' and 'remoska' kittie. Think I'll have to google them and find out a bit more.
I was brought up just after the war so am used to the 'make do and mend' and 'waste not want not' way of living. Always haunted jumble sales -now its boot fairs and charity shops..............I love a bargain and it saves me a lot of money. Even christmas and birthday pressies this year are from the charity shops - people 'unwanted' pressies I bought in January and February........so Christmas is well taken care of, plus I've made all my Christmas cards. (could have been cheaper I suppose if I'd bought a bargain box of them but I like to give a bit of the 'personal' touch)
We grow as much of our own veg as we can........not a lot as it has to be 'veg in pots' and so far tomato plants, runner beans, peppers and chillis have been given by friends.
We use the car as least as possible due to fuel costs and OH being main cook in the household is a dab hand at concocting meals cheaply.
I scratch my head to see where else we can cut corners and save a few quid but just can't see it. Mind you, I'm picking up tips from this site all the time.

teedy23

Well folks, things are tougher. I now make full use of the leftover loo rolls that the cleaner in the work leaves out when she changes it, use half the detergent I used to, I try to get my hands on the free fruit they have started to leave out in my workplace for my brekkie, never leave anything on standby, try never to waste food and use coupons whenever I can to bring down my shopping bill. On the beauty front, I like to look as best I can, I have begun to use household ingredients(when I cant get freebies) for face masks, scrubs etc. and get my hair done at good quality training academies. Now for the big one, I have to stop puffing that inciduous weed called tobacco. I have started to grow my own veggies and begun mystery shopping to make ends meet, this also provides me with quite a few lunches and evening meals, thus saving on power for cooking, and gets me out of the house. Thats the best I can do for now.

Icemaiden

teedy23 wrote: »

Well folks, things are tougher. I now make full use of the leftover loo rolls that the cleaner in the work leaves out when she changes it, use half the detergent I used to, I try to get my hands on the free fruit they have started to leave out in my workplace for my brekkie, never leave anything on standby, try never to waste food and use coupons whenever I can to bring down my shopping bill. On the beauty front, I like to look as best I can, I have begun to use household ingredients(when I cant get freebies) for face masks, scrubs etc. and get my hair done at good quality training academies. Now for the big one, I have to stop puffing that inciduous weed called tobacco. I have started to grow my own veggies and begun mystery shopping to make ends meet, this also provides me with quite a few lunches and evening meals, thus saving on power for cooking, and gets me out of the house. Thats the best I can do for now.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: I had to re-read this bit......

Primrose

Sarahsaver - if your children have baths before bedtime, instead of pulling out the plug afterwards you could put the stained sheets in the bath overnight to soak. A long period in water might help remove any urine stains/smells and then you could do the quickwash in the machine the next day. I know it's not always convenient to have wet or stained sheets hanging around but I sometimes think that the amount of water used in a quickwash and the short duration isn't always sufficient to to really clean some things. I sometimes use this method for heavily stained or dirty items such as towels or gardening clothes.

[Deleted User]

primrose that is what my mum did 55 years ago and it worked

I did my energy sums last night and the situation this winter is going to be very scary for a lot of people. I am using less energy now but the cost is roughly the same as the last bill, which covered some of the winter months. Anyone living in cloud cuckoo land is going to have one mighty shock after christmas when the big bills will be rolling in. :eek:

I might investigate my lounge tv set-up today. Everything is connected via the sky (free sky) box and the video recorder. My tv is freeview anyway and that is what we watch so by linking direct to the aerial I can bi-pass the two boxes, which are on standby when the tv is on

ceridwen

Hi kittie

Cant PM you - as that facility isnt active.

Do you think you could PM me please? Is that possible?

regards

ceridwen

Sarahsaver

Primrose wrote: »

Sarahsaver - if your children have baths before bedtime, instead of pulling out the plug afterwards you could put the stained sheets in the bath overnight to soak. A long period in water might help remove any urine stains/smells and then you could do the quickwash in the machine the next day. I know it's not always convenient to have wet or stained sheets hanging around but I sometimes think that the amount of water used in a quickwash and the short duration isn't always sufficient to to really clean some things. I sometimes use this method for heavily stained or dirty items such as towels or gardening clothes.

Thanks for this tip.
i am going to ask if I can get another protective sheet on the NHS. Trouble is DS has eczema and athsma too and the sheet he has is organic rubber coated with organic cotton with no chemicals at all in it and it was about £40:eek:
Tried him with cheaper mass produced stuff and he just got so sweaty and his eczema flared up

My slow cooker will be on today

mummysaver

Well if things get tougher I shall be going back to work full time, I'm lucky that I have the option of working part time at the moment.

I have cut our food bills hugely, just by not going to the supermarket (yes I know I work in one, but I avoid going shopping I mean!), if I'm not in one I can't be tempted to buy stuff! And it means that we use what we already have in the house. I have also taught the children to cook an awful lot more than they used to, they can all manage basic meals like spag bol and hm pizza, but I am teaching them how to make quick snacks.

I need to have a think about reducing energy costs, but actually think that my cries of put another jumper on if you're cold have finally got through - our gas is LPG and is in a tank under the front lawn, and last winter there was a problem with the pipes so we were without central heating for ages, so we got used to the cold! But we do need to reduce the electricity costs, must make the children stop leaving things on in their rooms, might try one of those plug in energy calculators so they can see the costs!

One thing we can't save much on is my car, we live in the middle of nowhere and there is no public transport, save the school buses! But I am combining a lot more journeys or just not bothering to go out!

Looking forward to Friday, off out with my best friend on a charity shop rummage, she also enjoys jumble sales but not sure that there would be any on a Friday! I want some more serving spoons and these always seem to turn up in charity shops, might even find some bargain clothes for my ever growing kids - they get quite excited when they get bargain clothes!

winniepooh

Well I thinks most of us can say it is getting tougher.

I'm in the process of trying to cut down on food bills. Energy bills.... well I thought I was doing quite well until BG wrote to me yesterday saying my electric has gone up from £40 per month to £98 per month :eek:

We have energy saving light bulbs, always turn things off, put extra jumpers on.

Weve got to buy something to seal the front door cause we have a huge gap at the bottom of the door and its so drafty

Looking into growing veg and herbs. Dont really know to much about gardening so I'm not sure what time of year to plant them. My dad has brought me a nice herb pot ( the kind where you can put loads in throught lots of different holes..... sorry I have no idea what they are called)