make do and mend for tougher times

Popperwell

Morning All,
Well in approx 30 minutes I attempt to cancel my last account with British Gas and then just deal with NPower...for the next year unless I find a better deal down the line and there is no penalty clause for switching.

Then ater this morning have a chat with the CAB about what may happen financially if my situation changes I hope I like what I hear(keeping a roof over my head etc...)

Then back home for some more tidying up and house work, hopefully today I will get my food store tidied again and will start to shred throw out more stuff from the outhouse and I think finally all rooms wil be tidy except the one that has the sacks of documents and other things to sort out better or again get rid of but they are in one room and that door is closed and they are not on show...

Then weather permitting I'll get the gardener in again for one last tidy up and we are set up for the future and winter coming...I have some pansies to plant is some tubs for some Winter colour...

greenbee

Hardup_Hester wrote: »

Greenbee, Fuddle
The judge told him she'd report him for living off immoral earnings unless he withdrew his accusation, he threw his briefcase at his legal team & then tried to attack me in the car park. Happy days, lol.
Pooky, we have all year round lettuce, carrots & cabbage all designed to grow for winter.
Hester

Well let's hope the fostering team are aware that he might not be the best person to talk to...

meme30

Morning all, amazing blue skies here in the field and a fairly gusty wind too. Lovely after yesterdays persisting down.
We live in a three bedroomed ex Coal Board house. It was four bedroomed when it was built in the 1920's because the bathroom was a tin bath in front of the fire.
We pay £100 DD per month for Gas and Electric but use less. I pay the extra to keep us ahead in the winter months so we don't get extra bills/huge raise in DD payments.
Welcome CT :wave:by all means join in to our somewhat odd/lively/helpful/downright wonderful at times chat/serious discussion. All voices are heard and no one shares their sweets!:rotfl: Not looking in Scotland's direction, not at all!

Possession

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

Thanks Spiky, I think we can claim a small amount each week to cover the cost of using the house for business - mainly washing up and washing. Not sure how it works while we are not actually in profit, but will be good once (if !) we start breaking even.

I might have to get a map and put pins in for all the Toughies! A forum I used to belong to had a virtual one, it was dead handy (for some reason I like knowing where people are, and my memory is carp).

Mrs C there are two schemes, but one is a great deal more complicated and like us you are 'sharing' home with work premises so they check it and refuse loads. Better with (I think) the one you mention where you can claim a (tiny) amount which is supposed to cover everything. DH is an accountant so I never had to deal with all this, can't stand it! It's all your money so even while you are not breaking even it still needs to be claimed.

[Deleted User]

Hello CT - welcome to the fun, nice to have so many new friends joining us, hope you have as much fun as I do, Cheers Lyn.

Possession

I have a quick question regarding velcro (it's not every day I say that).
DS's new duvet covers are a right pain for ending up with the duvet scrunched up at the bottom every single night. I've ordered some stick-on velcro from ebay which I'm planning to put on the duvet and inside the covers, but it then occurred to me - is it going to stay on when it's washed? Anyone know? I should have got the sew-on stuff but it's ordered now. : (

prepareathome

Morning all, feel a bit more human rather than the moaning minnie I have been past few days, sorry:o

Sun is shining here which is nice after yesterdays darkness.

Kidcat I do want to go to Mr A again anyway as want some more cereal storage boxes, bought 2 the other day and they are great but in use and still have cornflakes and porridge to go into containers. I used to have them all in the tupperware cereal containers but over the years slowly they have vanished, where I do not know or even how.

I ordered seed potatoes yesterday for putting in now for winter, never attempted winter growing of anything but after the success of my potatoes this year - they were the veg that did the best - I thought would try them. I have just ordered 10 but will do what I did with the early and main crop ones and cut them in half as that seems to work better for me than putting whole seed potato in.

Had a email to say Ghillie Kettle has been despatched, oh am all excited:j. Hope Dutch oven is sent out today as well. Weather forecast is for nice weather over the weekend and hoping maybe to take them both and try them out somewhere, if not will be garden.

For electric and gas we are with BG but although I know we could save by going on a normal meter, after 30 years or so on a prepay I am scared to change -went on it when hubby went on the cabs as was frightened of getting big bills that we could not pay and in those days having young children made no difference and you would be cut off regardless. Never so far have gone without either gas or electric no matter how tough things got, although we did pay more of course. My annual statements arrived other week and we had spent £505 for gas for the year and £738 for electric. We did get the £120 towards electric through the help scheme due to low income( some companies offer it to those on low incomes as well as pensioners BG being one of them, where others only give it to pensioners and at £130 for next winter its worth checking if your company offers it and taking it into account over the next 3 years its to be offered) and we receive £15 a year discount being dual fuel customers. I receive a letter which I take to place I top up my gas and electric and can either ask them for the £15 or use it to buy either. I just have to remember to take it, forgot last week when we topped up.

So average gas per month is £43 and electric £62 a month before any discounts. With the discounts I paid £50 a month electric and £43 gas basically a month over past year. Obviously some months higher, some lower but that is the average. To me this is the cheapest we have paid in years as before CH we only had immersion heater and single gas fire that both cost a fortune to run. Both gas and electric used to be well over £1k a year each.

I do check the comparison sites every 3 months or so but so far most I would save is about £20/£30 a year if I change on main costs but then if I add in the dual fuel discount and the low income payment of what will be £130 this winter usually BG comes out best for us by quite a few pounds. I know there are better tarrifs out there if we went off pre-payment but am to scared to do so as dread the thought of a big bill and me not put enough aside. This way we can have heating and everything else on when we want(and not once have I ever said oh cannot put that on money getting short) without worrying as already paid for it.

Not ideal for most people but suits us fine.

Right actually feel hungry so going to get out of this bed and go and have some breakfast, only been awake two hours and not moved yet:rotfl:

Hugs and Love to all xxxx

Rainy-Days

Some of you may be very concerned to read about food going up across the board from meat and vegetables to pulses and pasta.

America has suffered it's worst drought in some years and here in the UK we have had too much of the wet stuff. As a result we are going to have to import allot of food. Russia, who we use allot for wheat for making flour has also had big problems with drought.

You may be interested to read this Daily Mail article today which follows on from the BBC News yesterday about this story:-

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...crops-U-S.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18857765

There was also a World At One discussion on this on the BBC yesterday which you can hear on iPlayer as well.

grandma247

Possession you should still be able to sew it on but it will be hard because the stickiness makes the needle difficult to push through.

Shropshirelass

Morning All

I can see I have a lot of reading to do here, re-intros a brilliant idea, butbusy morning ahead.

We have to drive to town to get a piece of glass to replace broken shed window before all stuff stored (piled) there gets wet and rots. My fault of course, last time I put the whirly washing line away I must have stored it at a rickety angle and it fell and broke said window :-(

Still its a nice day for a trip out. See you all later.
xxx