I cant get my head around my money please help!

Thrifty_Pixie

slightly o/t, but i have to say that the OPs bills might not be as wrong as you think. i live in a 3 bedroom stone cottage, pretty well insulated, and we only have the heating on for about 2 hours in the morning and 3 in the evening. thermostats on the radiators....supplemented by a wood fire...turn everything off when not in use...etc etc. we're on the SP fixed price until 2014 (considered the best deal) and i've extrapolated over the year for our total to be around £1350. and this is with me sending in regular meter readings and our d/d being adjusted nearly every time. i'm currently paying £106pm. i'd like to know what sort of houses people are living in or what energy saving regimes they have that they can pay £50pm FOR BOTH?? (like i've read people suggest elsewhere)

unless prices change dramatically regionally?

[Deleted User]

Maybe having a combi boiler helps, but I pay £42pm, for both gas and electricity combined.

How the OP can be paying more than 3 times that (£4-18 A DAY), is beyond me :huh:

soontobemrsg

Mine's £88 a month for both gas and electricity, and I know I can reduce that further which I intend to work on as soon as this cold has passed and I haven't got the constant shivers!!!

quinny

Thomas85 wrote: »

That's the lowest quote we can find, renewal quote is £1756.64. Getting something cheaper to run is definitely something we need but getting the money to pay for it is another!

Your car is worth only £600 and your insurance is 1756? Is 3rd party only an option?
Where do you do your shopping? Try the switch to Aldi.
Mobile phone bill, as others have said ring up and see what they can do for you, see if you can cancel it for a small charge and use different provider, eg. myself and partner have not paid a single penny since switching to Ovivo last year.
Electric bill is very high, if you don't currently need to wear a jumper in your house then IMO your house is too warm, turn it down. Do you heat water constantly and is it just for washing up? If so this is a waste unless you don't have an electric shower or cold flow washing machine of course. Ring up supplier and don't let them fob you off with the "we allow for the colder months" story.
Water bill is high for ST, we currently pay them £15 a month on a meter.

sistafromanothermista

Thrifty_Pixie wrote: »

slightly o/t, but i have to say that the OPs bills might not be as wrong as you think. i live in a 3 bedroom stone cottage, pretty well insulated, and we only have the heating on for about 2 hours in the morning and 3 in the evening. thermostats on the radiators....supplemented by a wood fire...turn everything off when not in use...etc etc. we're on the SP fixed price until 2014 (considered the best deal) and i've extrapolated over the year for our total to be around £1350. and this is with me sending in regular meter readings and our d/d being adjusted nearly every time. i'm currently paying £106pm. i'd like to know what sort of houses people are living in or what energy saving regimes they have that they can pay £50pm FOR BOTH?? (like i've read people suggest elsewhere)

unless prices change dramatically regionally?

We pay £110 pm for our duel fuel too...

katsu

We pay around £50 for both. Semi-detached house, no thermostatic valves so all radiators on together. Boiler around 15yrs old. Heating on all evening, water 2x p/d and heating on longer at weekends (most of the day).

Thermostat in hall set around 18C

pleasedelete

If your school is the nearest one or the one at which you were allocated a place not from choice and it is beyond walking distance then you would get free transport. How far is the school?

The law is 2 mies for children under 8 and 3 for those over.

Thrifty_Pixie

soontobemrsg wrote: »

Mine's £88 a month for both gas and electricity, and I know I can reduce that further which I intend to work on as soon as this cold has passed and I haven't got the constant shivers!!!

sistafromanothermista wrote: »

We pay £110 pm for our duel fuel too...

thanks for the comparisons. we talked about it last night, me and DH, and came to the conclusion that we need to test our dishwasher's consumption. we moved from an inefficient 4-bed and i think our bills haven't changed much, which was a shock, but we do now have a dishwasher and a small freezer along with our large one (one in kitchen one in garage). it's good to get some comparisons.

katsu wrote: »

We pay around £50 for both. Semi-detached house, no thermostatic valves so all radiators on together. Boiler around 15yrs old. Heating on all evening, water 2x p/d and heating on longer at weekends (most of the day).

Thermostat in hall set around 18C

this sounds incredibly cheap and makes me want to cry


[sorry for slight thread hijacking! ]

19lottie82

Clothing................................ 0 really, ever?

Road tax................................ 18.33 (based on one car at £220 per year)
Car Insurance........................... 61.5 (£737 for year but this will be higher if we pay monthly)

Can you not get your OH a car that is cheaper to tax / insure? These figures are quite high.

Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0 need something in here, especially if it's an old car. You've said it's only worth £600, so I'm guessing it is!

Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0 never?

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0 totally unrealstic. unless you never buy your children xmas or bday presents? or anyone else?
really, how much did you spend on your kids last year, and who else did you buy for? (xmas and bdays) tot this up and divide by 12

Haircuts................................ 0 do you and your OH both cut your own hair at home? and do the kids?

Entertainment........................... 0 not realistic either. do you never buy a newspaper, magazine, chocolate bar, cup ofcoffee on the go at work, a dvd for the kids? do you know what your OH spends when you're not there? even if you don't drink / smoke, you must spend SOMETHING