How to fall in love with saving money

cathybird

115K wrote: »

I don't know if I'm repeating myself on here but I've been doing some sums and I think I might be able to hit £6,000 in savings by the end of 2013.

I'm at £5,100 now and making it to £6k will seem like the target of £12k by the end of 2014 more realistic I think. I am planning on having a frugal Christmas anyway but I think I can reduce my grocery bills and save a bit more.

Fingers crossed anyway.:D

Go for it, 115K - hearing about wot everyone else is saving spurs me on to stay enthusiastic about it myself I should really set myself another (higher) goal since I've met my original goal already, but I've got Christmas to come and also my trip abroad, so will keep the efforts up and see what they yield me rather than name a figure, I think. £12k by the end of 2014 though, that sounds like such a wonderfully solid achievement

atush

Cathy, I moved here from abroad and when if first did- i had to set the temp to 20C, I can live with 18 now lol. Dont think i'll ever get to 15C!!!! That is less than 60F so no go for me.

Wanttobe

my 9 yr old broke his ankle (again! 2nd time in 6 months!).

Unless your son is involved in some extrmeme sports (and even if he is)

2 breaks like that in 6 months is a red flag for me. Get him checked out by a specialist (ask your GP for a referral) as breaking bones frequently is a major sign of a few things.

cathybird

atush wrote: »

Cathy, I moved here from abroad and when if first did- i had to set the temp to 20C, I can live with 18 now lol. Dont think i'll ever get to 15C!!!! That is less than 60F so no go for me.

I've acclimatised to a colder setting too - in fact don't think I could cope with the Australian heat any more Anything over 25C strikes me as too hot now, whereas I used to cope fine in the summers with 40C, sometimes over! Having said that I'm not sure I could get down to 15C either - that is (to me) just cold.

I suspect Eco Miser is right to mention insulation/draughts though - this is quite a draughty house, so the temperature setting on the thermostat is probably not a reflection of the real temperature of the house.

atush

yes, that is what has happened to me- now I can't take heat. Not so hot from where I come from, but it got over 100F on occasion in August and I can't take heat over abt 88F now.

I am a total wimp now.

cathybird

atush wrote: »

yes, that is what has happened to me- now I can't take heat. Not so hot from where I come from, but it got over 100F on occasion in August and I can't take heat over abt 88F now.

I am a total wimp now.

oh well, you know, hopefully being a wimp saves money on heating That's what I'm hoping

Eco_Miser

cathybird wrote: »

I wear the thermals and still want the heating on. :(:( The insulation is something I should look carefully at - I know I have it in the loft but I could have a think about draughts etc.

Do you have insulated walls and double- (or triple-)glazed windows? This is where the high one-off cost of installing them has to be balanced against the savings in running costs. Draught elimination is pretty cheap though, unless it involves replacing all the windows and exterior doors. which I did (almost - the kitchen door's original) about 14 years ago. That route does provide double glazing and highly insulating frames though.

115K wrote: »

Whoa, that is very cheap.:T We use about £65 a month on average and I thought we were doing well.;)

That's using 6381kWh of gas, over twice the 2011 total (cold spring this year), and 1152kWh electricity. It's not even a cheap tariff, except that, until the government interfered, I was on a tariff that rewarded low consumption, because it was two-tier with no standing charge, so my gas bill for two quarters each year was zero. Effectively any quarter for which all the units were at the high rate gave a discount on the standing charge (included in the high rate). In future I won't have so much of an incentive to keep consumption down.:mad:

• I keep all doors, external and internal , and windows shut if not actively in use - cuts out unwanted convection.
• I have fluorescent tubes in the kitchen and compact fluorescent low-energy lamps in the living room (and normally use only one of them, or even none if I'm just watching TV or surfing the web), and a wind-up torch so I don't even switch the lights on in the other rooms if I'm just passing through.
• I keep my arms, legs,and body covered, so I don't feel any cold air, so don't feel cold.
• I wait until I have a full load for the A-rated washing machine, and don't have a tumbler drier.
• I don't have a conventional oven, just a microwave and hob. Yes, that restricts my cooking options, but since I've never used an oven, not really.
• and probably some more energy-saving tricks I'm not even aware of.

atush wrote: »

Cathy, I moved here from abroad and when if first did- i had to set the temp to 20C, I can live with 18 now lol. Dont think i'll ever get to 15C!!!! That is less than 60F so no go for me.

The recommended temperature for living rooms is 21C, so 20C is not bad.

Yes, 15C is below the legal limit for shops and offices, but I don't have to follow those rules.

Until I got a digital thermometer/clock/calendar a couple of years ago, I had no idea what temperature this room was at. I just twiddled the thermostat knob in the kitchen until I was at a comfortable temperature.

Eco_Miser

cathybird wrote: »

You walked over the North Sea? ... Are your real initials JC? ...

Funny you should say that ...

cathybird wrote: »

It is remarkably cheap, but Eco Miser has let slip that he may have divine connections, or at the very least superpowers

My superpower is ... Not Spending Money:rotfl:

Sea air was supposed to have health-giving properties, so walking over the sea was very popular in Victorian times, and they built apparatus to facilitate this at seaside resorts.
I happen to live near one such resort, home of the most northerly surviving pleasure pier in England.

There's one guy there who stands upright and almost motionless, bobbing up and down on the actual waves. No, he's not in a boat.

cathybird

Eco_Miser wrote: »

Do you have insulated walls and double- (or triple-)glazed windows? This is where the high one-off cost of installing them has to be balanced against the savings in running costs. Draught elimination is pretty cheap though, unless it involves replacing all the windows and exterior doors. which I did (almost - the kitchen door's original) about 14 years ago. That route does provide double glazing and highly insulating frames though.

That's using 6381kWh of gas, over twice the 2011 total (cold spring this year), and 1152kWh electricity. It's not even a cheap tariff, except that, until the government interfered, I was on a tariff that rewarded low consumption, because it was two-tier with no standing charge, so my gas bill for two quarters each year was zero. Effectively any quarter for which all the units were at the high rate gave a discount on the standing charge (included in the high rate). In future I won't have so much of an incentive to keep consumption down.:mad:

• I keep all doors, external and internal , and windows shut if not actively in use - cuts out unwanted convection.
• I have fluorescent tubes in the kitchen and compact fluorescent low-energy lamps in the living room (and normally use only one of them, or even none if I'm just watching TV or surfing the web), and a wind-up torch so I don't even switch the lights on in the other rooms if I'm just passing through.
• I keep my arms, legs,and body covered, so I don't feel any cold air, so don't feel cold.
• I wait until I have a full load for the A-rated washing machine, and don't have a tumbler drier.
• I don't have a conventional oven, just a microwave and hob. Yes, that restricts my cooking options, but since I've never used an oven, not really.
• and probably some more energy-saving tricks I'm not even aware of.

The recommended temperature for living rooms is 21C, so 20C is not bad.

Yes, 15C is below the legal limit for shops and offices, but I don't have to follow those rules.

Until I got a digital thermometer/clock/calendar a couple of years ago, I had no idea what temperature this room was at. I just twiddled the thermostat knob in the kitchen until I was at a comfortable temperature.

I have Crittall windows, which are not double-glazed - they are original 1930s windows. My house for good or ill is in a conservation area and I couldn't replace them without getting like for like. I wouldn't mind getting double-glazed Crittalls, which the company still makes, but it would cost £30 grand to do the whole house, because they are not cheap. As it happens, I love the windows and the fact that they are original to the house - it is one of the main reasons I bought the house. I could consider secondary glazing in the winter though. It's something I've not really looked into enough.

I don't keep many lights on in the house at night either and have eco bulbs in the ones I do use. Don't possess a tumble drier and only do full loads of washing. I do have an oven but am a hugely keen cook so could not live without it. I also (mostly) dress warmly in the house including sheepskin boots to keep my feet warm.

I suspect in fact the weakest link in my house and habits is the Crittalls.

cathybird

I have discovered £30 cashback in my current account this morning from my gas and electricity supplier so that can also go straight in the pot.

WantToBeSE

Morning All

Things are a bit tight this week due to no income, so i cant even save £1...but its OK, i am sticking to a tight budget, not using any savings and making sure that i remain motivated.

i am at my sisters house for the weekend, house sitting for her. Instead of buying lots of food while we are here, i worked out our mealplan for the weekend and bought everything with us from our house, so i shouldnt have to spend any £ on food.

it's my sisters b'day on Sunday, so i am going to buy her a snood from fatface and leave it here for when she comes back. Thats the only spend this weekend, about £20.