Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 2

tumptyteapot

oldtractor - I think it comes in waves, sometimes it is harder than others, I hope this difficult time passes for you quickly.

cw18

CRANKY40 wrote: »

Just had my latest gas and electric bill...and it is with great relief that I find I am still in credit.

I've just had mine as well. Still in credit compared to this time last year, but by £22.06 less than at the same time last year.

However, over the last 12 months I've also paid £169 less than for the previous 12 months - so my bills are actually down by about £157 over the year :T

But I still received a letter from them today informing me that, as of July, my Direct Debit was going to be increased from £43/month to £61/month :eek: So I had to phone them tonight to try and argue this one down.... good timing actually as I had other queries on my account due to a couple of mix-ups in the past month or so (caused by them claiiming an email they tried to send me went back as undeliverable, so they took me off the on-line tariff I was on).

Initially she said we could meet half way (interestingly more my side of that point than theirs ) at £49 starting from June, but I still wasn't happy. Stressed that I dropped from a 2-person occupancy to 1-person last September, so the estimates they're doing for the next 12 months - based on the last 12 months - don't include a full year without DS2's energy hungry PC (and that over last summer - between college and Uni - it wasn't unusual for him to have it turned on for 16 hours a day)..... but she wasn't prepared to (or couldn't due to system constraints) budge any lower.

She then had to speak to a member of another team about getting my correct tariff back-dated, and said she'd call me back after doing that. But she also mentioned to the other person that I was disputing the need for such a large increase if any increase at all (she'd informed me I've used around £66 worth of g&e per month over the last 6 months which I couldn't see), and that person had done some number crunching to take into account the loss of DS2 and his PC leading to him/her suggesting leaving my D/Debit exactly as is now with another review to take place at the start of August (which will give me 11 months as a single occupancy household and should be a lot closer - even though that final month it still excludes was one of his heaviest use ones!).

Think they finally agreed as there's only a little drop in gas consumption (about 9.23%) but a very significant drop in electricity (41.9%) when comparing Nov '09-May '10 against Nov '10-May '11, which totally supports my claims as to changes at home.....

23rdspiral

redglass wrote: »

It's been very quiet here for ages...a bit scarey :eek:

it's odd isnt it? maybe its because i'm off line!

redglass wrote: »

Good luck, we'll still be here when you get back!

Thanks. i'm exhausted. i dont want to do this again in a hurry! I've finally moved the computer and am currently wombling connection from an unsecured neighbour. i'll only be a few minutes and when i meet 'colin' i will let him know how to protect himself! is that ethical enough?

~ welcome to the newbies, sorry to hear the job wasnt for you SF, good luck to everyone else it's nearly payday and i hope it helps, well done on the caravan sounds fantastic!

cw18

23rdspiral wrote: »

......and am currently wombling connection from an unsecured neighbour.

Well, if he's daft enough to have an unsecure connection, then I don't blame you at all

i'll only be a few minutes and when i meet 'colin' i will let him know how to protect himself! is that ethical enough?

sounds fair enough to me

cloud_cuckoo_land

redglass wrote: »

Well done, Cheryl, :T do enjoy your meal and your historic cinema visit!

Welcome, Cuckoo! :hello:

Help/advice please - I've just bought a big woopsied bunch of fresh coriander, any ideas for how to use it? So far I've thought of tomato salsa, of coriander pesto and of scattering it on my super-frugal potato & lentil curry...

You can freeze herbs as far as I know, but then I don't know much! lol

Cuckoo. x

rising_from_the_ashes

redglass wrote: »

It's been very quiet here for ages...a bit scarey :eek:

Was just thinking that - I've not been around for a few days (bad news at weekend) and thought I'd have loads of news to catch up / cheer me up ......

cw18 wrote: »

But I still received a letter from them today informing me that, as of July, my Direct Debit was going to be increased from £43/month to £61/month :eek: So I had to phone them tonight to try and argue this one down....

Congrats on the lower consumption Cheryl:T

From past memory .. (may be wrong) think you're also with SP?

I have the same problem every reading time too, drives me bananas, don't know why they can't average it out over the year (esp once you've been with them longer than that) - that's the whole point of paying by direct debit!!:(

slowlyfading

Still here, plodding along.

cw18

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

From past memory .. (may be wrong) think you're also with SP?

Yep, I am.

I have the same problem every reading time too, drives me bananas, don't know why they can't average it out over the year (esp once you've been with them longer than that) - that's the whole point of paying by direct debit!!:(

I've been with them since May 2002 - so they've plenty of background on my useage. However the drops in headcount over the past 2.5 years (3 to 2 in Nov 2008, and 2 to 1 in Sept 2010) seem to have totally confused the computer system over the last 18 months.

This has lead to constant attempts to raise my d/debit, which I've actually manged to negotiate a drop on twice in the same timescale..... and without them having increased it first

mooomin

Erme wrote: »

You know maybe it's me but I've had an MSE fast for a few days and have gotten back to see some posts in which I challenged the logic of folk on here for FL et al being deleted. Now appreciating how fickle the net is and how things can get lost in translation I find it hypocritical for folk to state I'm 'wanted' on FL when most of my posts most of the time get deleted not least when I challenge you corporately. I find myself on iggie with a number of folk for my faith...fair doos. Your loss but it still hurts a wee bit. I find the folk that bullied me last year back and actively worshipped (mentioning no names of course. Believe me....it wasn't pleasant but if they want to push their weight around there's more than enough room for the three of us on MSE). To me 101 folk thanking the bullies, my posts being deleted, me being thanked by about 3 folk and that's only as a marker, and then saying in the next breadth you want me back, hypocritical. I have news....I don't like hypocrites. I'm blunt and often put my foot in it, but I'm honest and WYSIWYG. Please can someone tell me the truth here? Cos I really don't know whether to tell the planet FL thread on MSE is full of ppl who don't understand the limitations of anyone outside their bubbles and can't bare to be challenged or come back? Please can we have an open and honest discussion around this one....not dog fights, just a discussion please....

Thanks

E
PS. Any word on Nuala and did she get the Disabilty allowance? Have been praying for her. E

Don't know about Nuala Erme, sorry. I don't know about your posts being deleted either. I hadn't noticed, but then I didn't notice when Lesley's posts were deleted either Once I read something once I tend not to go back to it...:o:o

As you know, I did have you on iggie earlier in the year, mainly because I disagreed with you - not on the grounds of your faith but on the way it came across to me. You and anyone else are welcome to believe whatever you like, but I have issues with people who say that their god, whomever that may be, is the only one. We've spoken about that via PM though and you're obviously off iggie now or I wouldn't be quoting you

I've always felt that anyone is welcome on this thread (even folk like myself who clearly aren't posting due to falling off their frugal bike ) but it has to be inclusive to all and, for me and I only speak for me, I sometimes feel as though you don't hear others points of view and have a tendency to take things personally when perhaps that wasn't the posters intentions. As someone who is quite blunt herself, I don't want to worry about upsetting you or anyone else...but my size eights do tend to reside in my mouth normally

I say come back to the thread and see how you go...I'm going to continue lurking for a bit again though. I'm finding all the frugal tales inspiring, and you have all done wonders for me, but I was finding it too hard to count every penny and having relaxed the spending reins seems to have made me a bit happier, so I'm continuing on that road for now.

Best of luck to all frunchkins, I hope to join you for a full year sometime soon (This year I managed 2 months more than last though, so there's hope for me...)

slowlyfading

I just think that this is a thread where everyone is welcome to share their stories and advice.

Esme - For me personally, you come across as aggressive and confrontational when someone disagrees with what you've done or what you believe. While I think it's fine to have your own beliefs, you have to remember that not everyone feels the same way. Does that make sense? Everyone is entitled to believe in what they want, and not have other people's views forced down their throats. This is a prime example:

Erme wrote: »

Cos I really don't know whether to tell the planet FL thread on MSE is full of ppl who don't understand the limitations of anyone outside their bubbles and can't bare to be challenged or come back?

You insult people on the thread, then expect everyone to reply/thank your posts. It can't be both ways. I have never had you on ignore, but don't thank posts I don't agree with - that's the only thing in that. Hope you continue to stay around and that you find the thread useful in some shape or form.

To be honest, I don't post on this thread in much detail anymore. It's changed, somehow.