Frugal Living 2010 - the final stretch

hollysmum22

had a great day at xmas fair with my best friend fishcake_random did go slightly over my budget by buying princess moo a leapfrog leappad with 4 books and cartridges for £2 but considering its worth well over £25 i cannot complain lol will do for when she is older x

xnatalie81x

cw18 wrote: »

Made a start on working out a budget for this one this afternoon, but would greatly appreciate input from people as to 'life expectancy' of the following appliances.....

Fridge/Freezer - built in one if that makes any difference, with each half being the same size as a standard 'under counter' appliance
Upright freezer - it's about 4.5' tall - I would imagine 8-10 years if well looked after and a good brand.
Gas Hob - my expert daddy (BG engineer since he left school at 15) says these are about 10 years..
Combination Microwave - i don't think that is the same as a normal micro so cannot comment but i imagine any appliance like this lasting 3-5 years depending on usage.........
Washing Machine - about 5 years????
Kettle - 2 years
Toaster - 2 years
Steam Iron - i don't own an iron and i don't iron
Vaccuum (I have a Dys0n animal/anti-allergy, and would want to replace with the same) - a good hoover should last about 5 years??? GOt my dyson on freecycle - was mega chuffed with that!

I'm already giving myself a heart-attack with the annual figure I'm coming up with using 'best guess' on this, but don't want to base it on how long I've had my current ones without them packing in on me (nor how long the one I've recently replaced lasted - even though in most/all cases this could give me longer than I'm allowing )

This is really tricky! But a fab idea - i think the life expectancy will depend on the quality of the item.......... I have tesco value toaster and kettle and always buy the value microwave (although one i have currently came with the house.....) - therefore my guesstimates above are also based on the fact that being so cheap i tend to get rid of the items a bit before necessary but to save me having to do intensive cleaning which could be more expensive than the original item lol

All baby related pains seem to have stopped. I am staying at mums tonight with the kids just in case. Kids have had their pie and i gave my dad my portion so me and mum can have a dinner of LO cheese and onion pastie things with broccoli cheese and cheddar mash we have scavenged in her fridge

cw18

xnatalie81x wrote: »

This is really tricky! But a fab idea - i think the life expectancy will depend on the quality of the item.......... I have tesco value toaster and kettle and always buy the value microwave (although one i have currently came with the house.....) - therefore my guesstimates above are also based on the fact that being so cheap i tend to get rid of the items a bit before necessary but to save me having to do intensive cleaning which could be more expensive than the original item lol

Thanks for the info - especially on the hob as it's something I've never come across being replaced other than as part of a kitchen re-fit (mine's 8.5 years old, and used almost every day)

My kettle is the Mr T value cordless one - have had this one just over 2 years, think the previous one last around 18 months (but this one's had a lot less use)

My toaster is a good 'un - no way I could replace it like-for-like, as it's currently in Arg0s at £37.50 in a half price sale :eek: Have had it 8.5 years, but it's never been heavily used.

The iron wasn't dear either - a B'n'M special when I got my job. Still have the old one as a back-up, but it's really too heavy for me (was DH's choice as he was the only one used to iron anything - I still very rarely use the new one on anything apart from my uniform, which I have no choice but to iron if I want my pay cheque )

My last combi oven lasted 8+ years, but had to be replaced a few months ago after a power outage - so I should have time to save up before this one needs replacing (I hope), though the new one is getting used a lot more than the old one due to using the conventional oven side of it several times a week now I'm only cooking for me

My first Dys0n was purchased in July '98, and replaced with an animal version in Jan '05. The old one went to DD in April '05, and she's recently reported having major problems with it - but she doesn't seem to clean it out as often as I did/do. Still don't think 12 years use is bad though

My current washer is 9-10 years old, and was bought to replace a smaller drum version (both Z@nussi - the other item I've become a 'brand snob' on when it comes to appliances) which was about 7-8 years old. Main reason for replacing at that time was that SIL's machine gave up the ghost and she couldn't afford to replace it - so we gave her our old one, which was accepted on the basis of "we needed a bigger one and it's a shame to tip the old one when it still works"

My upright freezer (2 years old) was bought to replace a small chest freezer which was almost 17 years old - it still worked, but was terribly energy inefficient (and getting stuff out of the bottom wasn't doing my back any good either). It was still snapped up on Free-Cycle though.


My problem in calculating 'lives' of things is that I've been told by a number of people that my last combi had more than earned it's keep, and they seem amazed at how long my washers last me too But if I base the calculations on the length of time they tend to keep appliances, I'm going to struggle to put enough away

And whilst anything put away is better than nothing, my brain just doesn't seem to see the point in tightening the belt in other places when I still won't have enough money in place when something goes - this has actually surprised me, but I think it's 'cos I'm almost certainly going to have to cancel my monthly crafting kit in order to be able to save. It's not like I actually need (nor have space to store) any more crafting stuff though

grandma247

We had a reconditioned z@nussi washer and it lasted for more than ten years with only a little maintenance which dh did. It was actually still working when we got rid but very noisy due to the bearings going.
I read a newspaper article a long time ago that said british washers were made to last 5 years whereas european ones were expected to last 15 years minimum. It was in a frame in the shop where we get our spare parts for washers etc.

NualaBuala

Cheryl, glad you brought this up because I'm trying to work out how much it would cost me to replace my appliances and when that is likely to occur. I have a little emergency fund but I would like separate savings specifically for this and any other household expenses. I also want to budget enough to cover the costs of calling out a plumber, electrician, roofer etc should the need arise for emergency repairs. It's shocking how it all adds up.

[STRIKE]Fishcake [/STRIKE] Edit, sorry, I meant you Natalie (brain is well and truly dead tonight) ... fingers crossed for you and the bump.

Erme, hope you come back, I love your posts.

Hope everyone else is ok.

cw18

NualaBuala wrote: »

Cheryl, glad you brought this up because I'm trying to work out how much it would cost me to replace my appliances and when that is likely to occur.

Having also polled on life expectancies on a couple of other forums, it looks like my figures aren't unrealistic even allowing for newer appliances not lasting for as long as older ones - though I have real-life friends who would be ecstatic to get as long out of an appliance as I'm basing my calculations on

Working on 7 years for a fridge/freezer, a freezer, a hob, a washer, and a Dys0n, 5 years for a combi and a toaster, and 2 years for a kettle and an iron my costing is working out at £20.40/month - so I plan to put away £20/month as a starting point, and this is seperate to the contingency fund I ran for 2010 which paid £75 for my new combi in September (the one it replaced being 8.5 years old)

I'm hoping to fiddle my general contingency fund up to £50/month, but this will also have to cover car and house repairs as well as being used for any shortfall on appliances

This is ignoring the fact that my appliances are already 10 (washer), 8.5 (fridge/freezer, hob and toaster), 6 (Dys0n), 2 (freezer and kettle), 1 (iron) and a couple of months (combi)...... but at least it means I'll hopefully have some cash behind me when they start to give up the ghost enough to need replacing.

NualaBuala

Well my guess is that you take good care of what you've got Cheryl and perhaps that extends the lifespan to longer than what your friends report. I know newer stuff is said to have shorter lifespans and built in/planned obsolescence ... it's hard to find definite information on that though. I had been putting by about €50 a month towards stuff like that but not sure I'll be able to keep doing that when our next lot of cuts come. Will just have to bite the bullet, tighten the belt and do my best.

JayneC

Hi all,

Not been about for a few days as been rehearsing like mad - first night on Tues:eek:

Cheryl - I've got a good kettle and toaster from Freecycle and my dishwasher and freezer were both secondhand, £50 freezer and £40 diswasher and have been fine. My cheap n nasty washing machine (£299 for both washing machine and dryer) is still going after about 6 years (tho very loud and sometimes walks about during the spin;)). Just thinking that whilst it would be great to replace things with high quality brand new items it's not essential and it's more environmentally friendly to go for secondhand - well that's what I tell myself;).

Natalie - I'm sending baby vibes to you, how exciting. I love tiny babies.

Been quite good recently but think that's mainly because I've not had chance to go shopping!!!

Well gotta go DS hovering waiting to use computer. Take care all x

NualaBuala

Jayne, sorry I totally forgot to say "break a leg!" ... be sure to remember us when you are a Star!

slowlyfading

Jayne - hope it goes well!