THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

moneyistooshorttomention

Well....talk about making sure the house uses as little fuel as possible as part of prepping and I thought I might be being a bit "cheeky" telling my supplier to reduce my monthly direct debits to £60 and I might end up owing them a bit.

I've just seen my latest bill online and :j:D - and they say they are reducing my monthly direct debit to £17 for a while - as they owe me money. Happy dance:D

....and I'm blowed if I thought my house was being that light on fuel bills - rough guesstimate the house must be costing less than £50 a month to run for both gas and electric:D.

....and I use exactly whatever fuel I think I will and, if I want the heating on I'll put it on.

I ain't complainin'..

[Deleted User]

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

rough guesstimate the house must be costing less than £50 a month to run for both gas and electric .

I'm paying £39pm, for both.

£15 for electricity, and £24 for gas.

Doveling

Cheel - everything we do in life requires prepping in some way, not just major events in our lives. Not being able to get in at the doctors has made you think about alternatives. Prepping!
If there wasn't some chat this would not be a thread it would be a dull survival manual :rotfl:

Milletts have their camping sale on, some good stoves on offer if anyone needs one.

I had the little igloo candle heater lit last night just to take the chill off the sitting room. I kept the door shut and it definitely worked but I can't see it helping much if the weather is very cold.

Can anyone recommend a solar charger for phones please?

Got my little wind up radio on at present , will see how long it keeps going for.

The chimney sweep is booked for tomorrow afternoon. Need to order coal and logs again.

MITSTM- your house must be quite energy efficient

[Deleted User]

Doveling wrote: »

Milletts have their camping sale on, some good stoves on offer if anyone needs one.

Just had a look, and, I have to say, they still seem quite pricey.

£12 for the Camping Gaz Bistro?

You can get an almost identical one from B&M Bargains, for £9.

£30 for a MSR PocketRocket? :eek:

THIS ONE will do the same job (and it has piezo ignition), and costs barely 1/10th the price.

Can anyone recommend a solar charger for phones please?

I can't speak from experience, but THIS ONE has some good reviews, and is reasonably priced.

It also charges at up to 2.1A, so should run a Hudl, or similar.

Doveling

Thanks Bob. I'm not very good at gadgetry so value your advice

singlestep

I have a solar charger for batteries and phones and stuff that lives on top of a jewellery box on my window sill but it never seems to do much apart from in summer. My window ledges probably don't see enough light. However, one of my friends brought something the one Bob recommended on holiday in France last year and it really kept us going. I couldn't believe the great weather we had while there as every other time I've been to Brittany, including a ten-month stay, it teemed down with rain every other day!

I love France but don't get to go anywhere on holiday nearly enough. For me as a young person, several prolonged working visits really helped me to develop some social skills (i.e. I actually had to talk to people :eek:), a deeper appreciation of history and made me a bit more adventurous with food - I even learned to tolerate olives and actually quite like them now.

daz278

Its difficult to be fully prepped especially a grand of emergency cash and 5 months of living expenses easily another 5k..... i have something put by and loads of back up food and im only a few hundred pound in debt....when it used to thousands hence 5 year old tv and computer and only go out for a few every few weeks......but it serves as a good target.......only 6 hour shift today,,,, you all take care

Margaret54

Hi GreyQueen, just read your piece there about tenancy agreements. My goodness that all sounds horrendous. Over here in Northern Ireland, I have been a renter since 1977. We have what is called The Housing Executive, and people rent properties from them. There came later as well, Housing Associations which built really lovely homes for people to rent from. My dh and I downsized from a 4 bed house to a lovely little bungalow almost 6 years ago now as it was too big for us, and the kids had all flown the nest yes all 6 of them When you sign for the tenancy, there is a piece about anti social behaviour can cost you your tenancy, which is the right thing in my opinion, but other than that, you have the property for as long as you wish. I am not aware of any changes coming in here, but I know my dh and I are okay for the future. I read your piece and thought dear Lord how awful for people renting. The stress that it is going to cause for folk will be so damned awful:) as if life is not stressful enough in these times. We both agree that there is a desperate need for a massive social housing build, and we do not see this happening ever under the conservatives being in power. We really do feel for people who are having very difficult times where ever they live in the U.K

moneyistooshorttomention

Doveling wrote: »

MITSTM- your house must be quite energy efficient

I hadnt thought it's that good actually - as I've done nothing particularly "eco" to it iyswim.

Double-glazed windows and well-fitting exterior doors. I've made sure I have 12" thick loft insulation (and I'm pretty sure that has helped noticeably). Computer a pretty modern one. Not much of a tv watcher. I dry my washing naturally (no tumble dryer). Water and central heating are both gas, the shower is electric. All my curtains are lined (apart from the kitchen ones) and some are thermal (or whatever-it-is). "Machinery" is all pretty new and bought to have the highest energy rating I could find.

House is a 2 bedroom detached one - of reasonable size (ie that amount of floor space these days would likely contain 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms) - so its not weeny.

But - yep...more money for me (or, to be exact, for the next bit of work on the house:cool:).

Living_proof

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

I'm paying £39pm, for both.

£15 for electricity, and £24 for gas.

I have just changed supplier and they charge £33 per month in the summer and £66pcm in the winter, so in effect the big surpluses shouldn't occur any more as it's pay as you go.